The Parables of Jesus Christ
Jesus taught a great number of lessons during his ministry on earth. He often used parables, or simple stories with a moral lesson, to teach the multitudes. This kind of lesson is easier for people to remember, because they can follow the story as opposed to trying to remember a moral lesson alone. These are the parables of Jesus. If you have any questions about the teachings of Jesus, please feel free to contact us, or just stop by this Sunday for 11:00 am. We would love to welcome you to our church!The Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:3-9 (NIV)
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
The
Parable of the Mustard Seed
Matthew 13:31-36 (NIV)
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
The Parables
of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
Matthew 13:44-46
(NIV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When
a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and
sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for
fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and
sold everything he had and bought it.
The Parable of
the Weeds
Matthew 13:24-30
(NIV)
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like
a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was
sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and
went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the
weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow
good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them
up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds,
you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until
the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First
collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then
gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
The Parable of
the Weeds Explained
Matthew 13:36-43
(NIV)
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples
came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in
the field.”
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people
of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and
the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of
the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will
be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his
angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the
blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom
of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Parable of the
Lost Sheep
Luke 15:3-7
(NIV)
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a
hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the
ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep
until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on
his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and
neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my
lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more
rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The
Parable of the Lost Son
Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had
two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give
me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property
between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he
had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his
wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there
was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to
be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of
that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He
longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were
eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my
father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father
and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and
against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son;
make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and
went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,
threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven
and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best
robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals
on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have
a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to
celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came
near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he
called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has
killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and
sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his
father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his
father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and
never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a
young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when
this son of yours who has squandered your property with
prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and
everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be
glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.’”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test
Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal
life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read
it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all
your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you
will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who
is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of
his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A
priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he
saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a
Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on
the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where
the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went
to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then
he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and
took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and
gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you
may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man
who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Parable of the Unmerciful
Servant
Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many
times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against
me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but
seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like
a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand
bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay,
the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and
all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient
with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The
servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let
him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him
and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he
demanded.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be
patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown
into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other
servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went
and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’
he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged
me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant
just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to
the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he
owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you
unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
The
Parable of the Persistent Widow
Luke 18:1-8
(NIV)
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they
should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain
town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what
people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept
coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my
adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself,
‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet
because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she
gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack
me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And
will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry
out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I
tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.
However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the
earth?”
The
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:9-14
(NIV)
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and
looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the
other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and
prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other
people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even
look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have
mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home
justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will
be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The
Parable of the Bags of Gold
Matthew
25:14-30 (NIV)
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called
his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave
five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one
bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his
journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at
once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So
also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the
man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the
ground and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and
settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags
of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you
entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five
more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in
charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’
“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said,
‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained
two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in
charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’
“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’
he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you
have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.
See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew
that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have
not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on
deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have
received it back with interest.
“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who
has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they
will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they
have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant
outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’
The
Parable of the Rich Man
Luke 12:15-21
(NIV)
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of
possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of
a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought
to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my
crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear
down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store
my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have
plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat,
drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This
very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who
will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how
it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but
is not rich toward God.”
The Parable of
the Ten Virgins
Matthew
25:1-13 (NIV)
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish
ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their
lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they
all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang
out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then
all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish
ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps
are going out.’ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be
enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell
oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on
their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The
virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding
banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also
came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But
he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore
keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
The
Sheep and the Goats
Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates
the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you
who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger
and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you
came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something
to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in,
or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick
or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and
you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me
in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick
and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They
also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in
prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do
for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’“Then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous
to eternal life.”