What Is A Parable?

A Parable is a story. Jesus told parables to help his followers understand various principles. A Parable is an illustration or comparison told to increase the listener’s understanding. In those cases, the stories usually symbolized something else.

Jesus told the following parable or story about a farmer and the seeds that he planted:

“‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ^{9  Matthew 13:3-9}

Keep in mind that Jesus knew more about seeds and farming than he shared in the above story. But Jesus told the Parable of the Sower and the Seed to illustrate a point. When he felt that he had made that point, he moved on to another story. With that knowledge in mind, please know that I am not being disrepectful when I add the following points that I feel might had added to the story as Jesus told it: