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Parables series · Prerequisite study

How to Understand the Parables of Jesus

A Jewish/Rabbinic framework for hearing, understanding, and responding to Jesus’ parables. The prerequisite study for the three-part parables series.

Before studying Jesus’ individual parables, we need to understand what a parable was supposed to do and how a disciple was expected to respond to the teaching of a rabbi.

Jesus was not simply telling memorable illustrations.

His parables were designed to make the hearer:

The goal of this study is therefore not merely:

How do we decode a parable?

The deeper question is:

How does Jesus expect us to hear one?

Section 1

What is a parable?

“Before we begin studying individual parables, we need to understand what kind of teaching we are dealing with.”

A parable is a story in which important characters, actions, or circumstances illustrate a lesson.

Ancient Jewish parables commonly used a comparison formula similar to:

“A parable—to what may it be compared? It is like…”

Jesus uses this kind of language Himself.

Read Matthew 11:16 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like…”

Teaching notes

The comparison is essential.

When Jesus tells a parable, the listener should immediately begin asking:

What situation in this story corresponds to the situation Jesus is addressing?

The story is not disconnected from reality.

Something has prompted Jesus to tell it.

And something inside the story corresponds to the real situation around Him.

Section 2

Why not just state the lesson?

Discussion

If Jesus wanted people to understand something, why not simply state the lesson directly? Why tell a story?

“A parable does something that a simple statement sometimes cannot.”

Theologian T. F. Torrance described this kind of teaching as creating a:

“crisis of decision.”

The hearer is given enough distance from the subject to enter the story without immediately becoming defensive.

He listens.

He evaluates the characters.

He decides who is right and who is wrong.

And then suddenly he realizes:

This story is about me.

The parable gives the hearer room to wrestle with the truth before confronting him with the decision that truth demands.

Section 3

We interpret the parable — then the parable interprets us

“This gives us one of the most important principles for the entire series.”

At first:

We interpret the parable.

We ask what the story means.

But eventually:

The parable interprets us.

We read the story.

Then the story reads us back.

It exposes:

Discussion

Have you ever read one of Jesus’ teachings and initially thought about someone else, only to realize later that it was exposing something in you?

Transition

“That is why understanding a parable cannot end with figuring out what the symbols represent.

Jesus wants a response.”

Section 4

“he who has ears, let him hear”

Jesus repeatedly says things like:

“He who has ears, let him hear.”

“At first that sounds strange.

Everyone listening presumably has ears.

So Jesus clearly means something more than physical hearing.”

Biblically, hearing often carries the idea of:

hearing in a way that produces response and obedience.

Someone can understand Jesus intellectually while still refusing to truly hear Him.

Section 5

Understanding without obeying

One of the clearest examples appears in the parable of the wicked tenants.

Read Mark 12:12 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

“They perceived that he had told the parable against them.”

“The religious leaders understood the parable.

They decoded it correctly.

Their problem was not intellectual confusion.”

They knew Jesus was talking about them.

But instead of repenting, they sought to arrest Him.

So they understood the information without truly:

hearing.

Key Principle

Having ears to hear means more than understanding what Jesus said.

It means possessing a willingness to:

receive it and respond to it.

Section 6

Four questions for reading a parable

“As we go through this series, there are four basic questions we should ask every time Jesus tells a parable.”

Question One — What Is The Occasion?

Ask:

Why is Jesus telling this parable now?

What happened immediately before it?

Was Jesus responding to:

“The surrounding context is crucial.

If we remove the parable from the situation that caused Jesus to tell it, we can easily make the story mean something Jesus was never addressing.”

Discussion

What might happen if we study a parable without looking at what happened immediately before it?

Question Two — Who Are The Important Characters?

Identify the major figures or elements in the story.

Ask:

Who or what does Jesus want us watching?

Parables often revolve around only a few important figures, although there are exceptions.

Sometimes a character who initially appears central only sets up the real focus.

“Do not assume that the person with the most dialogue is automatically the point.

Watch how the characters relate to one another.”

Question Three — What Do They Say Or Do?

Pay close attention to dialogue.

Ask:

The words and actions of the characters often reveal the central tension.

Question Four — What Happens At The End?

“The ending of a parable is often where Jesus turns the knife.”

Jesus frequently introduces:

The ending forces the hearer to reconsider the entire story.

That is often where the listener must finally ask:

What does this require of me?

Section 7

Jesus taught within a Jewish scriptural world

“To understand Jesus properly, we also need to remember the world in which He taught.”

Jesus taught within a first-century Jewish environment.

The New Testament was written in Greek, but its thought world is deeply connected to the Hebrew Scriptures.

Jesus and His disciples knew the Scriptures of Israel.

Jesus constantly:

His teaching therefore repeatedly sends the hearer backward into what Christians call the Old Testament—the Hebrew Scriptures.

Key Principle

A disciple was not merely expected to hear a teaching once and immediately move on.

He was expected to:

wrestle with his rabbi’s teaching.

Section 8

A traditional framework — PaRDeS

“One helpful traditional Jewish framework for thinking about different levels of engagement with Scripture is commonly called PaRDeS.”

The word functions as an acronym:

Peshat — Remez — Derash — Sod

These should not be treated as four competing meanings.

Rather, they describe different ways Scripture can be engaged.

And importantly:

Not every verse must be mechanically forced through all four categories.

The framework simply helps us understand how a disciple can move from the plain meaning of a passage into deeper scriptural relationships.

Section 9

Peshat — the plain meaning

Peshat — פשט

Peshat refers to the straightforward meaning of the passage.

Ask:

“This comes first for a reason.”

Before searching for hidden connections or deeper symbolism:

Understand what the text actually says.

Deeper interpretation should not destroy or contradict the plain meaning.

Discussion

Why do you think it can become dangerous to search for deeper meanings before understanding the basic context?

Section 10

Remez — the hint

Remez — רמז

Remez means:

hint

A word, phrase, image, or biblical pattern can send the knowledgeable listener backward toward another passage of Scripture.

“The disciple hears something familiar and thinks:

‘Where have I heard this before?’”

He searches the Scriptures.

Then he discovers that the earlier passage gives additional context to what the teacher is saying.

The hint functions almost like buried treasure.

Key Principle

The purpose is not merely cleverness.

The hint sends the disciple:

back into God’s Word.

Section 11

The disciple is expected to wrestle

This kind of teaching assumes that understanding Scripture requires effort.

The teacher does not necessarily explain every connection immediately.

The disciple may have to:

“And that difficulty is not necessarily a flaw.

Sometimes the journey is part of the lesson.”

If the disciple must wrestle with the teaching, he spends more time:

The student must chew on the teaching, rather than simply consume an explanation and move on.

Section 12

Derash — search or inquiry

Derash — דרש

Derash carries the idea of:

searching, inquiring, or investigating.

Here the interpreter recognizes meaningful connections between biblical passages and asks what lesson emerges when they are brought together.

“This is not random word association.

The connections still have to respect the texts themselves.”

A useful example appears in Matthew.

Read Matthew 2:14–15 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

Consider this phrase

“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Read Hosea 11:1 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

In Hosea’s immediate context, the “son” is:

Israel.

But Matthew recognizes a meaningful biblical pattern.

Israel came out of Egypt.

Jesus comes out of Egypt.

The earlier event becomes a pattern through which the later event can be understood.

Section 13

Remez and Derash together

“A simple way to remember the difference is this.”

Remez says:

“There is something back there in Scripture that you should notice.”

Derash asks:

“What do these Scriptures teach us when we search the relationship between them?”

The hint starts the search.

The search develops the lesson.

Transition

“This is going to become extremely important when we eventually reach things like vineyards, wedding garments, wolves, priests, and prophetic imagery.

Jesus is often working within a much larger scriptural world than the few verses immediately in front of us.”

Section 14

Sod — the secret or mystery

Sod — סוד

Sod means:

secret or mystery.

This describes understanding that ultimately comes through divine revelation.

It cannot be produced merely through intellectual effort.

Read Matthew 16:15–17 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

Peter says:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus responds:

“Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

“Peter did not merely solve an intellectual puzzle.

God revealed something to him.”

This illustrates the principle behind:

Sod.

Section 15

Pardes in summary

“So we can remember the framework like this.”

Peshat What does the passage plainly say?

Remez What earlier Scripture may be hinted at?

Derash What larger biblical lesson emerges when those Scriptures are meaningfully connected?

Sod What understanding ultimately requires God to open our understanding?

Important Reminder

The point is not to force every verse through four mechanical stages.

The larger principle is this:

Jesus taught within a scriptural world where careful study, memory, connection, and reflection mattered.

Section 16

“incline your heart to understanding”

Read Proverbs 2:1–5 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

Consider this phrase

“making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding…”
“To incline your heart means more than casually hoping to understand something.”

It carries the sense of:

Understanding God’s Word requires intentionality.

The disciple actively pursues it.

Section 17

What does scripture mean by “the heart”?

“This becomes even more important because we sometimes use the word ‘heart’ differently today.”

In modern Western culture, the heart is often treated primarily as the location of:

emotion.

But biblically the heart can represent the center of the inner person, including:

So when Scripture speaks about:

understanding with the heart

it does not merely mean:

feel something strongly.

It means allowing your entire inner person to engage with God’s truth.

Your thinking.

Your desires.

Your intentions.

Your will.

Your decisions.

Section 18

Why did Jesus speak in parables?

The disciples eventually ask Jesus this directly.

Read Matthew 13:10–17 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

“When the disciples ask why Jesus teaches in parables, Jesus points them toward Isaiah.”

He draws from:

Read Isaiah 6:9–10 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

The people:

“The problem is not simply that Jesus deliberately made everything intellectually impossible.”

The deeper issue is:

the condition of the hearer.

Some people do not incline their hearts toward understanding.

They hear the words.

But they do not pursue the truth behind them.

Section 19

Parables can reveal and conceal

This creates an important paradox.

Jesus’ parables can both:

reveal

and

conceal.

“To the person willing to wrestle with God’s Word, the parable becomes an invitation to deeper understanding.

To the person unwilling to hear, it remains only a story.”

Jesus tells His disciples:

“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven…”

Why are the disciples different?

They remain with Jesus.

They ask questions.

They seek explanation.

They continue following the teacher.

Others hear the same words and walk away.

Section 20

The parable itself tests the hearer

“This means the parable itself becomes part of the test.”

The real question is not merely:

Can you figure out what all the symbols mean?

The deeper question is:

Will you incline your heart enough to seek, understand, and obey what Jesus is teaching?

The parable communicates truth.

But at the same time:

it reveals the condition of the listener.

Section 21

The word of the kingdom

Jesus uses the phrase:

“the word of the kingdom.”

Read Matthew 13:18–23 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

“This should not be reduced to hearing only a short summary of how someone becomes saved.”

The word of the Kingdom includes the larger teaching of the King:

Receiving the Kingdom therefore means continuing to:

learn from and obey the King.

Section 22

The goal is fruit

Return to:

Read Matthew 13:23 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

Jesus describes the good soil as the one who:

“hears the word and understands it.”

And then:

“bears fruit.”
“Notice where understanding is supposed to lead.”

The goal is not:

information for information’s sake.

The movement is:

Hearing

Seeking understanding

Receiving the teaching with the heart

Obedience

Fruit

That is the intended outcome of discipleship.

Section 23

Our framework for the rest of the series

“So from this point forward, every time Jesus tells us a parable, we are going to work through the same basic process.”

First:

Context

Why is Jesus telling this story now?

What happened immediately before it?

Characters

Who or what are the important figures?

Who does Jesus want us watching?

Words And Actions

What do they say and what do they do?

Where does the conflict appear?

Ending

What surprising thing happens at the conclusion?

Where does Jesus force the listener to make a judgment?

Then we can go deeper.

Peshat

What does the story plainly say?

Remez

What words, images, or patterns may send us backward into Scripture?

Derash

What larger biblical lesson emerges when those passages are meaningfully connected?

Sod

What truth ultimately requires God to open our understanding?

And then comes the question we must never skip:

WHERE AM I IN THIS STORY, AND WHAT IS JESUS ASKING ME TO DO ABOUT IT?

Section 24

Why this matters for the studies ahead

“The next parables we study are especially important because they do not occur randomly.”

Jesus is going to enter a confrontation with the religious leadership.

The chief priests and elders will challenge His authority.

Jesus will respond through a sequence of parables.

And everything we learned tonight will matter.

We will need to ask:

What is happening around the parable?

We will need to watch:

the characters.

We will need to notice:

what they say and do.

We will need to pay special attention to:

the endings.

And we will repeatedly discover language and imagery that sends us backward into the Scriptures.

Section 25

The series we are about to enter

The coming sequence will move through three major parables:

The Two Sons

Read Matthew 21:28–32 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

The question becomes:

Will you actually obey the Father?

The Wicked Tenants

Read Matthew 21:33–46 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

The question becomes:

Will you give the Owner the fruit that belongs to Him?

The Wedding Feast

Read Matthew 22:1–14 (ESV) (opens in a new tab)

The question eventually becomes:

Whom do you belong to?

These stories are not merely illustrations to solve.

They progressively expose the hearer.

Final application

Discussion

Before we begin interpreting Jesus’ parables, ask yourself:

When Jesus teaches something that challenges me, what kind of hearer am I?

Do I immediately dismiss it?

Do I understand it but refuse to change?

Do I wait for someone else to explain everything to me?

Or do I:

Closing thought

Jesus’ parables were never intended merely to be solved.

They were meant to create disciples who:

hear, understand, obey, and bear fruit.

We interpret the parable.

Then the parable begins interpreting us.

It asks where we stand.

It exposes our hearts.

And eventually it demands a decision.

So as we enter the parables of Jesus, the most important question is not merely:

“Do I understand the story?”

It is:

“DO I HAVE EARS TO HEAR?”

Looking ahead to the first parable

With that framework in place, we are ready to enter Matthew 21.

The religious leaders will challenge Jesus’ authority.

Jesus will answer them with a story about:

a father, two sons, and a vineyard.

And using the framework we learned tonight, our first questions will be:

Why is Jesus telling this story now?

Who are the sons?

What do they say?

What do they actually do?

And finally:

Which son am I?

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