WHAT IS A PARABLE?

The Sower

Learn to Interpret Bible Parables

A Parable is a short story used to teach a lesson of truth through comparison or contrast. The hearer or reader can easily understand the short story and remember it. The reader or hearer can then easily understand the meaning of the doctrine or principle by illustration and understand how it works, and the point that the teacher wants to teach.

Bible Parables will almost always employ the use Bible symbols in the story to give a deeper meaning to the parable, Parables and Bible Symbols are connected and the reader must know how to use Bible Symbols in order to fully understand Parables. That is why this website’s first priority is teaching Bible Symbols.

A Parable is like a Symbol in that there is a surface or obvious meaning but also there is also a deeper meaning that conveys doctrine that is associated with the parable and requires some additional thought and study.

Jesus used parables to transmit doctrine, to teach the people. That is the central concept of parables. Matthew 13:34 says that Parables are the only way He spoke to the people. Therefore all His teachings were in Parables. As you learn to study parables you must continue to remember that parables are the teachings of Jesus, not the doctrine of any specific church. They are for the edification of the church.