The parables of Jesus
Jesus taught the deepest truths in the simplest stories — seeds and soil, lost sheep, a father running down a road. Here is each parable in the King James Version, with its meaning unfolded plainly.
The Dragnet
The gospel net gathers every kind of fish — and the sorting comes at the end.
The Good Samaritan
Who is my neighbour? An unlikely hero answers with oil, wine, and his own money.
The Good Shepherd
The shepherd who knows his sheep by name and lays down his life for them.
The Hidden Treasure
A man finds treasure in a field and joyfully sells all he has to buy it.
The Leaven
A little yeast, hidden in the dough, until the whole is leavened.
The Lost Coin
A woman sweeps the whole house for one lost coin — and God searches like that for you.
The Lost Sheep
A shepherd leaves ninety-nine to find one — and heaven throws a party.
The Mustard Seed
The kingdom begins as the smallest seed and becomes a tree for the birds.
The Pearl of Great Price
A merchant sells everything for the one pearl worth more than all the rest.
The Pharisee and the Publican
Two men pray; the one who says God be merciful to me a sinner goes home justified.
The Prodigal Son
A wayward son, a running father, and a love that will not wait to forgive.
The Rich Fool
A man builds bigger barns for a future he will not live to see.
The Sheep and the Goats
The King separates the nations by one measure: what they did for the least of these.
The Sower
One seed, four soils — and the state of the heart that receives the word.
The Talents
Three servants, three sums entrusted — and a reckoning for what they did with them.
The Ten Virgins
Five are ready with oil, five are not — and the door shuts at midnight.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
Two houses, one storm — and everything depends on the foundation.
The Unjust Steward
A shrewd manager, about to be fired, uses money to secure his future — a lesson in foresight.
The Unmerciful Servant
Forgiven an unpayable debt, a servant chokes a man over pennies.
The Wheat and the Tares
An enemy sows weeds among the wheat — and the harvest, not the servants, will sort them.
The Workers in the Vineyard
All the labourers get the same wage — and grace offends the ones who worked all day.
Why Jesus taught in stories
A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning — a truth thrown alongside something familiar until the light jumps across. Jesus used them to reveal the kingdom to seeking hearts and to veil it from the merely curious: who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Each page here quotes the parable in full from the King James Version, then unfolds its meaning slowly and plainly, with an eye to the one point Jesus was making. Every account links into the full Bible reader, so you can always see it in its place.