The parables of Jesus Christ can be found in all canonical scriptures, as well as in some apocryphal texts, but most of them are found in the three synoptic gospels. They represent an important part of Christ's teaching and form approximately one third of the sermons recorded after him. Christians attach particular importance to these parables, since they are the words of Jesus - it is believed that they contain the teachings of the Lord himself.
At first glance, the parables of Jesus Christ are simple and memorable stories, often figurative - each of them carries a certain message. Theologians noted that, despite the apparent simplicity, these messages are deep and are the heart of Christ's sermons. Christian authors consider them not as simple examples that are used to illustrate a particular situation, but as innermost analogies that allow you to see the spiritual world. Although many of Jesus' parables turn to everyday life: for example, the parable “About the Good Samaritan” speaks about the consequences of roadside robberies, and in the story “About the leaven”, a woman bakes bread - they all touch upon religious topics such as the establishment of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning love
In Western culture, the parables of Christ were a prototype of the very concept of “parable,” and in the modern world, even among those who are familiar with the Bible quite superficially, these stories remain the most famous.
In Matthew, disciples ask Jesus why he uses parables. Jesus replies that the disciples are given the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but the rest are not: people do not see, hear, and cannot understand much. While Mark and Matthew suggest that the parables of Jesus Christ were intended only for the “foolish crowd,” and the disciples gave detailed explanations, modern scholars disagree with this point of view and believe that Jesus used the parables as a method of universal learning.
It is believed that Jesus built his parables on the basis of divine knowledge of how to teach people. One may encounter the assertion that the parables of Jesus Christ are images borrowed from the visible world and accompanied by truth from the spiritual world. The theologian W. Barkley expresses a similar idea, according to which the parable is an earthly history with a sacred meaning. She turns to well-known examples to guide the human mind towards divine ideas. Barkley suggested that the parables of Christ are not just a form of analogy, but are based on "an internal resemblance between the natural and spiritual order."
Of the more than 30 parables in the art of the Middle Ages, only four are mainly represented: “Ten Maidens”, “The Rich Man and Lazarus”, “The Prodigal Son” and “The Good Samaritan”. Illustrations for the parable "On Workers in the Vineyard" are also found in the works of artists of the early Middle Ages. Starting from the Renaissance, the number of parables featured in works of art is gradually increasing, and various scenes from the story “About the Prodigal Son” become a favorite topic.