Parables of Jesus

The gospels in the Bible recount the parables of Jesus, in which Christ used allegorical stories to teach gospel lessons. Sometimes, the messages of His parables were difficult for hearers to understand. Often, He took his apostles aside and dissected the stories to increase their understanding, and He even told them that only listeners who were aided by the Spirit were meant to grasp the meaning of the stories.

And the disciples came and said unto [the Savior], Why speakest thou unto them [the multitude] in parables? He answered and said unto them, [that is unto the disciples,] because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them, [that is, unbelievers,] it is not given; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath’ (Matthew 13:10–12).

Now we discover that the very reason assigned by this prophet [Isaiah], why they would not receive the Messiah, was, because they did not or would not understand; and seeing, they did not perceive; ‘for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, their eyes have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.’ [Matthew 13:15.] But what saith He to His disciples? ‘Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear, for verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them’ (Matthew 13:16–17).

Some parables are more complex than others, and some have layers of meaning. In creating allegories, Jesus employed common objects and cultural cues—oil lamps, mustard seeds, wedding traditions, sheep, and wine, for example. Taken collectively and looking at the allegorical material, one can conclude that gospel truths can be grasped in the humblest of circumstances, attuning oneself to the nuances available even in the simplest of environments.

Christ's choice to teach in parables is not limited to the Bible. Christ used parables to teach the Book of Mormon peoples when he visited them in ancient America after His resurrection. He also taught His modern prophets through revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, and even there taught in parables.

Parables from the Bible

Scholars list thirty-three parables from the Bible, none of them appearing in the Gospel of John. They are as follows:

• Drawing in the Net, Matthew 13:47–50
• Laborers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1–16
• Lost Money, Luke 15:8–10
• The Faithful Servant, Luke 12:35–48
• The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30–37
• The Seed Growing Secretly, Mark 4:26–29
• The Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:12–14, Luke 15:1–7
• The Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31–32 Mark 4:30–32 Luke 13:18–19
• The Pearl, Matthew 13:45–46
• The Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11–32
• The Sower (The Four Soils), Matthew 13:3–23 Mark 4:1–20 Luke 8:5–15
• The Wedding Feast, Matthew 22:1–14, Luke 14:16–24
• Pharisee and the Publican, Luke 18:9–14
• Ten Talents, Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 19:11–27
• The Budding Fig Tree, Matt 24:32–36, Mark 13:28–32, Luke 21:29–33
• The Friend at Night, Luke 11:5–8
• The Hidden Treasure, Matthew 13:44
• The Importunate Widow, Luke 18:1–8
• The Leaven, Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:20–21
• The Master and Servant, Luke 17:7–10
• The Rich Fool, Luke 12:16–21
• The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus, Luke 16:19–31
• The Tares, Matthew 13:24–30
• The Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1–13
• The Two Debtors, Luke 7:41–47
• The Two Sons, Matthew 21:28–32
• The Unjust Steward, Luke 16:1–9
• The Wicked Husbandmen, Matthew 21:33–46, Mark 12:1–12, Luke 20:9–19
• The Wise and the Foolish Builders, Matthew 7:24–27
• Unmerciful Servant, Matthew 18:23–35
• Building a tower and waging war, Luke 14:28–33
• The Barren Fig Tree, Luke 13:6–9
• The Guests, Luke 14:7–15

=Some Latter-day Commentary

Concerning the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Prophet Joseph Smith said,

Now we can discover plainly that this figure [parable] is given to represent the Church as it shall come forth in the last days.” The Prophet then made a particular application of the parable. Not only did the mustard seed represent the kingdom of heaven; the Prophet also compared the mustard seed to the Book of Mormon: “Let us take the Book of Mormon, which a man took and hid in his field, securing it by his faith, to spring up in the last days, or in due time; let us behold it coming forth out of the ground, which is indeed accounted the least of all seeds, but behold it branching forth, yea, even towering, with lofty branches, and God-like majesty, until it, like the mustard seed, becomes the greatest of all herbs. … It has sprouted and come forth out of the earth, and righteousness begins to look down from heaven, and God is sending down His powers, gifts and angels, to lodge in the branches thereof.”

Concerning the Parable of the Leaven:

The Prophet Joseph Smith saw a special meaning in the Savior’s mention of three measures of meal: “It may be understood that the Church of the Latter-day Saints has taken its rise from a little leaven that was put into three witnesses. Behold, how much this is like the parable! It is fast leavening the lump, and will soon leaven the whole.”

Concerning the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price:

See the Church of the Latter-day Saints, selling all that they have, and gathering themselves together unto a place that they may purchase for an inheritance, and that they may be together and bear each other’s afflictions. … See men traveling to find places for Zion and her stakes or remnants, who, when they find the place for Zion, or the pearl of great price, straightway sell that they have, and buy it.”

Concerning the Parable of the Net:

Concerning the fishermen in this scene, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “Behold the seed of Joseph, spreading forth the Gospel net upon the face of the earth, gathering of every kind, that the good may be saved in vessels prepared for that purpose, and the angels will take care of the bad.”

Concerning the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares the Prophet said,

Now men cannot have any possible grounds to say that this is figurative, or that it does not mean what it says, for He is now explaining what He has previously spoken in parables; and according to this language, the end of the world is the destruction of the wicked; the harvest and the end of the world have an allusion directly to the human family in the last days, instead of the earth, as many have imagined, and that which shall precede the coming of the Son of Man, and the restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began; and the angels are to have something to do in this great work, for they are the reapers.

As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the world’ [Matthew 13:40]; that is, as the servants of God go forth warning the nations, both priests and people, and as they harden their hearts and reject the light of truth, these first being delivered over to the buffetings of Satan, and the law and the testimony being closed up, … they are left in darkness, and delivered over unto the day of burning; thus being bound up by their creeds, and their bands being made strong by their priests, [they] are prepared for the fulfillment of the saying of the Savior—‘The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 13:41–42).

We understand that the work of gathering together of the wheat into barns, or garners, is to take place while the tares are being bound over and preparing for the day of burning; that after the day of burnings, ‘the righteous shall shine forth like the sun, in the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’

External Links

• How to Read a Parable
• Parables of Jesus:Prophecy for Our Day
• The Parable of the Talents
• The Parable of the Lost Coin
• Oil in Our Lamps
• The Unprofitable Servant
• The Priceless Parables
• Parables of Mercy
• The Good Samaritan:Forgotten Symbols
• The Parable of the Empty House
• The Unjust Steward
• Back to the Fold
• The Laborers

“Chapter 25, Relief Society Lesson Manual: Truths from the Savior’s Parables in Matthew 13,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007), 292–305.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 98.

Teachings, 100.

Teachings, 101–2.

Teachings, 102.

History of the Church, 2:267, 271.