During His earthly ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke often in parables. The word, “parable” which is derived from a Greek word, “parabole”, has the idea of comparing things to bring forth a spiritual or moral lesson. Simply stated, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. A parable helps to convey the deeper truths of the Gospel, making them plain and clear to the hearers.

For some parables that were hard to be understood (for example, the Parable of the Sower, and the Parable of the Tares), Jesus expounded the meaning privately to His disciples – for it was given unto them “to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 13: 11). But other parables were so pointed that even His enemies could understand them.