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parable-and ‘parable’ in the Gospels has a much wider connotation than ‘illustrative

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anecdote’….”
Jesus utilized parabolic story to help them to grasp the spiritual meaning he was trying to

conveyed. In an attempt to adapt the message of the Kingdom to the reality of the common

experience of the peasant life shared by the listeners, Jesus told farming related stories: the

Parable of Sower (Matt.13: 3-8), Parable of Tares (Matt. 13: 24-30), Parable of Mustard Seed

(Matt. 13:31-32), Parable of Leaven (Matt. 13:33), and so on.

Bowman explains the intention of using parable plainly, saying:

The parable was easy to understand up to a point; it was a fascinating story not readily
forgotten. In this respect it serves as the “bait” on a fishhook… .The hope was always
present, however, that the time would come when the deeper, spiritual meaning (the
parable’s Kingdom significance) would dawn on the hearer who remembered the story.
When the deeper meaning was comprehended, then the parable would strike home and
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perform its saving work.
It is clear that Jesus designed his message to fit his listener’s frames of reference. For the

multitudes of people, Jesus used life-situational stories to communicat spiritual meaning. The

movement of this type of preaching is innately inductive. While there exists examples of

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deductive movement in his preaching, inductive movement is prevalent in his preaching to the
crowds.

The fourth group of Jesus’ audience was the opponents, composed mostly of religious leaders.

This group had hostile attitudes toward Jesus and his preaching. Jesus was adept, however, with

dealing with the antagonistic audience, too. Since Jesus knew who these people were and what

75 Manson, Teaching of Jesus, 18

76 Bowman, Jesus’ Teaching, 69.

77 Claude C. Jones, The Teaching Methods of the Master (St. Louis, MS: The Bethany
Press, 1957), 136. He explains Jesus’ use of deduction in the Beatitudes.