Jesus used parables for the following reasons:
- Jesus used parables to conceal the brutality of His messages. Some of the messages of Jesus were shocking and people would have avoided Him completely if He didn’t use parables. Jesus was able to pass such messages without raising eyebrows using parables. An example is when Jesus said a seed of wheat must die for it to produce more wheat while referring to how He must be crucified and rise from the dead for others to rise from the dead.
- Jesus used parables to make heavenly occurrences relatable. It was difficult for men to understand how God operates and so Jesus used everyday occurrences as parables to show how God operates. Jesus taught the parable of the prodigal son to show how God reacts when a sinner repents.
- Jesus used parables to prove He was the creator. Jesus knew the exact parable that would fit every situation. This was a way to show us that He was the one behind all creation and He designed the patterns of how events happen. The fact that a man leaves ninety nine sheep to go look for one that is lost proves that we are a creation of God since Jesus too left glory in heaven to look for us when we were lost.
- Jesus used parables to buy time to preach the good news. Since the message of Christ would overpower Rome, it was wise to conceal the message from the Romans using parables so that they wouldn’t come to arrest Him before time.
- Jesus used parables because He was wise. Parables have to be thought out and by constructing them, Jesus proved that He was wise. The wisdom of Jesus was to appeal to intelligent people for them to know that Jesus was not an ordinary man.
These are some of the reasons why Jesus used parables.