Reading the Parables of Jesus

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The Bible is a book. The best way to read a book is to start at the beginning and read to the end. But there are many other ways to read a book as well.

 

Read a Parable Every Day

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One way to read the Bible is by reading the parables that are found there. There are many of them. A parable is a story that teaches a lesson. There are many of them in the Bible. Most of them are the stories Jesus told.

You may want to read one of Jesus’ parables each day. After you read each one, you may want to think about what kind of things you can learn from such a story. Then you may want to see if you can remember the parable so you can tell it to someone else.

 

LET US HELP YOU GET STARTED

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Here are 30 stories that Jesus told. Read a new one each day for 30 days. You will be surprised at how much you can learn just by reading these stories.

Some of Jesus’ stories are quite simple. Some of them are not so simple. Do not be surprised if you do not understand all of the stories that you read. Jesus told stories to help people know what he was saying. But some of his stories were filled with mystery. If you keep reading, you will learn many things about what Jesus wanted to say.

 

30 Parables of Jesus

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1. The speck and the log
    Matthew 7:1-6; Luke 6:37-43

2. The two houses
    Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:47-49

3. The two debtors
    Luke 7:41

4. A rich man and his barns
    Luke 12:16–21

5. The fig tree with no figs
    Luke 13:6-9

6. The sower
    Matthew 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-8

7. The weeds
    Matthew 13:24-30

8. The small seed
    Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:19

9. The lamp
    Matthew 5:15, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16, 11:33

10. The treasure and the pearl
    Matthew 13:44-46

11. Clothes and wineskins
    Matthew 9:16-17, Mark 2:21-22, Luke 5:36-37

12. Two men who owed money
    Matthew 18:23-35

13. The good neighbour
    Luke 10:30–37

14. The three loaves
    Luke 11:5-8

15. The good shepherd
    John 10:1-16

16. The guests
    Luke 14:7-11

17. The great dinner
    Matthew 22:2-9; Luke 14:16-23

18. The wedding clothes
    Matthew 22:10-14

19. The tower
    Luke 14:28-30

20. The king goes to war
    Luke 14:31-33

21. The lost sheep
    Matthew 18:12–13, Luke 15:4–7

22. The lost coin
    Luke 15:8–9

23. The lost son
    Luke 15:11-32

24. The bad worker
    Luke 16:1-9

25. The workers in the vineyard
    Matthew 20:1-16

26. Three men and some money
    Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 19:11–27

27. The widow who would not stop
    Luke 18:2-5

28. The Pharisee and the tax-gatherer
    Luke 18:10-14

29. The wicked vine-grower
    Matthew 21:33–43, Mark 12:1–9, Luke 20:9–15

30. The ten virgins
    Matthew 25:1-12