The parables of Jesus
A parable is a short story Jesus told to teach about the kingdom of heaven. Here are the best-known ones, with a one-line summary and where to read each.
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.Matthew 13:34 (KJV)
The parables
| Parable | The story | Read |
|---|---|---|
| The sower | Seed falls on the wayside, stony ground, thorns and good ground. Jesus explains it himself: the seed is the word. | Matthew 13:3–23; Mark 4:3–20; Luke 8:4–15 |
| The wheat and the tares | An enemy sows tares among the wheat, and both grow together until the harvest. | Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 |
| The mustard seed | The least of all seeds becomes a tree where birds lodge. | Matthew 13:31–32 |
| The leaven | A little leaven hidden in three measures of meal leavens the whole. | Matthew 13:33 |
| The hidden treasure | A man finds treasure in a field and sells all he has to buy the field. | Matthew 13:44 |
| The pearl of great price | A merchant sells all that he has for one pearl. | Matthew 13:45–46 |
| The net | A net gathers every kind, and the good are kept apart from the bad. | Matthew 13:47–50 |
| The unmerciful servant | A servant forgiven a huge debt will not forgive a small one. | Matthew 18:23–35 |
| The labourers in the vineyard | Workers hired at the eleventh hour receive the same penny as those hired early. | Matthew 20:1–16 |
| The ten virgins | Five wise virgins bring oil for their lamps and five foolish ones do not. | Matthew 25:1–13 |
| The talents | Servants are given five, two and one talent and must give account. | Matthew 25:14–30 |
| The good Samaritan | A Samaritan helps a wounded man after a priest and a Levite pass by. | Luke 10:30–37 |
| The rich fool | A rich man builds bigger barns, but his soul is required that night. | Luke 12:16–21 |
| The lost sheep | A shepherd leaves the ninety and nine to find the one that is lost. | Luke 15:3–7 |
| The lost coin | A woman sweeps the house until she finds her lost piece of silver. | Luke 15:8–10 |
| The prodigal son | A younger son wastes his inheritance and comes home to his father. | Luke 15:11–32 |
| The unjust judge | A widow keeps asking until the judge gives her justice. | Luke 18:1–8 |
| The Pharisee and the publican | Two men pray in the temple, and the humble one goes home justified. | Luke 18:9–14 |
One you might not know
In Mark 4:26–29, a man casts seed into the ground, sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs up and grows, “he knoweth not how.” Only Mark records it.
Why so many in Luke 15?
Luke 15 gives three parables in a row (the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son), all about something lost being found.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.Luke 15:7 (KJV)
In Overflow Bible, “the prodigal son” is a common answer. The unjust judge or the net is a rare one.