Interpreting Jesus’ Parables

Besides being the Son of God, Jesus was also a great teacher, probably the greatest of all time. But much of his teaching was by means of parables. So, why did he teach in a way that was sometimes difficult to understand? Was this intentional? And are there rules and standards we should follow to interpret Jesus’ parables?

What is a parable?

A parable is a short story designed to teach a truth or answer a question. The storytelling aspect is meant to draw in the audience and create interest. But the lesson is hidden in the story using metaphors, so the parable must be interpreted to be understood.

Parables are used in many cultures to teach important concepts and lessons and even entertain. They can be very effective teaching tools, as stories appeal to people. Almost everyone has heard of the parable of the tortoise and the hare in which the slow tortoise won the race by persistence and the hare lost by overconfidence.

Why did Jesus teach in parables?

Jesus taught in parables to teach spiritual lessons, truths, or principles. He engaged his audience using metaphors and themes that people in that culture could relate to. Although our way of life is different from that of Jesus’ time, we can still understand the timeless principles from his parables that apply to all cultures.

There were at least two different groups present when Jesus taught, usually the religious leaders and the common people. Many of the common people couldn’t read or write, so to them he told stories with settings that they were familiar with. Many were from rural areas and could easily understand stories about fields, farming, seeds, animals, the weather, and natural disasters.

The stories themselves were easy to follow, but to understand the spiritual meaning behind them required an open heart and a motivation to learn. So, only those who had a love for the truth would benefit. Jesus explained the meaning of his parables only on certain occasions, and usually privately to his disciples.

Clouded vision and obstructed hearing

When his disciples asked for an explanation of the parable of the seeds and soils, Jesus told them:

The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.”  (Luke 8:10).

In his answer Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:9, which recounts Isaiah’s call by God to prophesy to the rebellious Israelites who had closed their ears to God’s word. Because these people had rejected God’s words to them, God promised to further cloud their spiritual vision and obstruct their spiritual hearing. Jesus was telling his disciples that he had given the “secrets of the kingdom of God” to them, because their hearts were open to the things of God.

Unfortunately, some Bible teachers claim this verse proves that God unilaterally preselects before birth those who will understand his word to be saved and those who will not. But the “others” in this passage refers not to a preselected group. It refers to those who had already rejected Jesus’ teachings because of their closed hearts and minds. If they really wanted to know the truth, they would’ve taken the time to unravel the meanings of his parables instead of mocking them.

These were usually religious leaders and their followers who because of jealousy had declared Jesus to be a false teacher. These people were analogous to the spiritual rebels in Isaiah’s time—their rejection of Jesus’ teaching proved that they weren’t seeking God’s truth.

Closed hearts and minds

Jesus assured the disciples that God would someday uncover his truth for all, but for now, only those who willingly receive God’s words and act on them would benefit from them:

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”  (Luke 8:17-18)

Those who accepted his teaching would be given more revelation. But those who closed their hearts and minds and rejected the truth God gave them would be given less in the future. They would receive less and less revelation with time. So, Jesus’ parables served the dual purpose of both revealing and concealing—revealing God’s truth to those who were humbly seeking it and concealing it from those who were self-righteous and arrogant.

Uncovering the meaning of Jesus’ parables

In Jesus’ parables, the story is the vehicle through which he conveys the lesson. But the story topic itself doesn’t necessarily give its meaning. This is obvious when we look at simple parables like that of the mustard seed (Luke 13:18-19). The meaning has nothing to do with mustard, seeds, or bushes, but in how the size and growth of these seeds resemble the growth of God’s kingdom. The parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) is not about how to prepare for weddings, but how we are to prepare for Christ’s coming. These examples are clear and easy to understand.

This principle becomes harder to apply when we come to more difficult parables, like the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-9). Though this tells the story of a failing business manager, it’s not about how to (or how not to) manage a business. The lesson is in how the dishonest manager who prepared for his future parallels our need to prepare for our eternal future with God by investing our resources for God’s kingdom.

Guidelines for interpretation:

Parables have a well-defined purpose and unless we understand their intended meaning, we won’t be able to properly apply them to our lives. Guidelines are necessary for interpreting Jesus’ parables because he usually didn’t explain them explicitly. And we will never understand Jesus’ intent if we simply follow our own rules and assign our own meanings.

Of course, if he explained a parable (as he did with the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:36-42), then that is the explanation we should accept. We should never try to extrapolate beyond his own explanations.

Here are some basic guidelines for interpreting Jesus’ parables, adapted from Understanding and Applying the Bible by J. R. McQuilkin.¹

1. Identify the immediate context. The context is by far the most important factor that controls the interpretation. What was the topic being discussed or question to be answered?
2. Identify the central point or theme. A parable usually has one main theme.
3. Identify relevant and irrelevant details. Not all details are significant or have a spiritual meaning but are just part of the story.
4. Compare parallel and contrasting passages. Look at other verses that address the same subject matter.
5. Come to a conclusion based on all of the above. Abstain from building doctrine from the parable alone.

Jesus’ teaching style

Jesus frequently used exaggeration to illustrate his points. His stories had wild and drastic plots with storylines that rarely happen in real life. But ironically, they accurately represent the spiritual realities he was describing. They were exaggerations as life stories but absolutely true as applied in the spiritual realm.

For example, in the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35), a man owed his master 10,000 talents and was forgiven. But when someone who owed him 100 denarii he threw him in prison until he paid his debt. This extreme story would likely never happen in real life, but it does describe how people actually behave in the spiritual realm. Many people take God’s grace for granted but rarely extend it towards others. It’s common for people to enjoy God’s complete forgiveness but demand full restitution for wrongs they suffer from others.

Types of messages in Jesus’ parables

 Jesus gave different types of messages in his parables:

Moral or spiritual lessons

For example, in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) Jesus tells us of the foolishness of ignoring the poor and suffering in our midst. In the story of the rich fool (Luke 12: 13-21) he tells us of the folly of selfishly amassing wealth.

Principles or truths of God’s kingdom

Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed (Luke 13:18-19) illustrates the principle of how God’s kingdom starts very small and grows into something big and widespread.

Values or norms of God’s kingdom

In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus shows us that true service to God involves sacrificial love that transcends racial and national boundaries. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) clearly contrasts self-righteousness with true repentance and humility.

Teachings on God’s goodness and love

The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) showcases God’s love for the lost. Jesus sometimes used contrasts or “how much more” arguments to teach about God’s goodness. For example, in the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), if the unjust judge gave in to the widow’s pleas, how much more will our loving heavenly Father respond to his own children’s pleas. In his teaching on the birds of the air and lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25-32), if God cares this much for birds and flowers, how much more will our loving God care for his people.

Rebuke to the arrogant and self-righteous

The parable of the tenants (Luke 20:9-19) unveiled the religious leaders’ unresponsive attitude to God’s call and to his Messiah, and God’s resulting judgment awaiting them.

Warnings of his return

The parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) warns us of Christ’s sudden and unexpected return.

Warnings of God’s judgment

In the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27) Jesus warns of final destruction to those who ignore his teaching. The parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30) illustrates how God will judge humanity by first separating the believing from the unbelieving.

Common mistakes with interpreting parables

Assuming all details are significant

One of the most common mistakes in interpreting parables is taking minor details of the story and giving them meanings Jesus didn’t intend. His parables usually teach only one or several key lessons or principles. The details only provide the setting for the story and add interest for his hearers. He didn’t intend for the details to lead us into protracted searches for hidden meanings or obscure and difficult concepts. Jesus taught mostly common people and not scholars.

Many Bible teachers mistakenly search for deep hidden meanings in every word. This is typical of the allegorical method of interpretation. This was especially popular during the early church age, popularized by Origen (185-254 A.D). Augustine (354-430 A.D.) also used it, and as a result it was commonly used in the church up to the Reformation. Luther (1483-1546 A.D.) and other prominent Reformers rejected the allegorical method and instead sought to uncover only the plain and simple meaning of the parables.

Misidentifying characters

Most of Jesus’ parables have identifiable characters such as God, Christ, or the devil. In some it’s easy for us to identify who the fictional characters represent. For example, in the prodigal son, the father is God, the younger son is the foolish sinner in need of God’s grace, and the older son is the self-righteous religious person.

But we should be careful about identifying characters, as not every character in a parable represents someone specifically. They may not represent anyone in real life at all but may just be part of the story.

For example, the characters in the parable of the good Samaritan are purely fictional. Although they could theoretically be anyone, there are no real-life equivalents to any. To try to assign actual people to them would lead us into wild speculation. Augustine held that in this parable, Christ was the good Samaritan, the injured man was Adam, the robber was the devil, and the inn was the church. This is all highly speculative and misses Jesus’ simple lesson of showing compassion to the hurting and unfortunate.

Personalization of every story

People in today’s world often like to personalize everything they read in Scripture, looking for an application to their own lives. This is normally a worthy goal, but not everything in Jesus’ parables was meant to be applied to the hearer personally. Many times, Jesus was describing something large and universal (such as the expansion of God’s kingdom throughout history). Or he was describing an event that is central to God’s plan (the harvest at the end of time or the Day of Judgment). The personal aspect in these kinds of parables is limited or non-existent.

Faulty assumptions

Sometimes even major elements of the story are not the main lesson. In the parable of the shrewd manager, a major part of the story was the dishonesty of the manager. But the master commended the manager for his shrewdness, not his dishonesty. Jesus used dishonesty in the story for contrast and irony, not as a moral lesson on why we shouldn’t be dishonest.

Associating metaphors in different parables

Another mistake is taking a metaphor from one parable and assuming it means the same in other parables. For example, the seeds in the parable of the seeds and soils (Luke 8:1-15) represent God’s Word. They do not directly correlate to the seeds in the parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30) which represent either sons of the kingdom or sons of the evil one. These are two different stories with two entirely different lessons.

Birds are used as metaphors in many parables and also in teachings of both the Old and New testaments. But birds clearly do not represent the same thing in all cases. In some passages they have a good connotation, and in others a negative one.

Building theological doctrine 

With so many different possible interpretations and opportunities to go wrong, parables are not best for building theological doctrine. Once the intended meaning of a parable is uncovered, it can be used to support established doctrine.

But many Bible teachers still use parables to build doctrine, based at times on debatable interpretations. This is especially common with those who use the allegorical method. It’s no wonder why there are so many faulty and fanciful teachings that make it to the pulpit.

Committing to deeper study

Instead of breezing over Jesus’ parables and assuming their meaning, take the time to look at them in more depth. Using the principles outlined in this article, make it your goal to truly understand what Jesus was teaching. This will expand your understanding of Christ, his gospel, and the kingdom of God.  And in the end your faith will be stronger and your love for God will grow.

¹ J. Robertson McQuilkin, Understanding and Applying the Bible, Chicago: Moody Press, 1983, pages 154-161

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