How Many Parables in The Bible?

Here we will discuss about how many parables are in the bible. Basically parables are very short stories which are addressed by Jesus. The stories are very interesting and have a lesson. Most of the stories are told by Jesus to people. By reading these stories humans can conduct conclusions and consequences and then apply it to their lives.

By applying the lesson given by the parable a person can live a life according to the teachings of the message and commandments of God in an interesting way. As a human can hear and develop an interest in the story very well instead of specific command. For example the listener can lose his interest if the other person told a command of God in a straight way but if the other person tells the same order in an interesting way by telling a story then the listener can hear interestingly.

Number of Parables in the Book of Bible

There are many numbers of parables in the bible. These parables are based on interesting stories with authentic and lesson giving consequences. According to many people the number of interesting stories in the bible told by Jesus vary. Some say the numbers of parables are around 50 in the bible. Some people say that they are around 40 or above 30.

But for you guys I will describe some interesting parables. I have studied a lot of the stories and they are very interesting. I don’t get bored while reading them. It’s my habit in the morning that I take a cup of tea and sit on a table with the Bible and read them with full focus with interpreting their meanings and lessons.

Number of Parables in Old And New Testament

I was fifteen years old when I started to study about Christianity and the commandments of God. One day I was studying new-testament sitting on my bed. Then a question arose in my mind that if the new testament has many interesting stories then how much old testament would has?

I was searching. When I did my research, I realized that there are fewer stories in the old-testament but many are present in the new-testament. If you guys want to study short stories in abundance then you should read the New Testament of the Bible. 

There are only some stories related to Isaiah and Solomon in the old-testament. While you can find stories in the New Testament in the gospel of John, Mark, Luke and Matthew.

In Bible, The Topics of Parables

• New Cloth on an Old Coat
• New Wine in Old Wineskins
• The Two Debtors
• The Sower
• The Good Samaritan
• The Friend at Midnight
• Growing Seed
• The Rich Fool
• The Watchful Servants
• Unfruitful Fig Tree
• The Weeds
• The Seed
• Yeast
• The Concealed Treasure
• The Pearl
• Casting of the Net into the Sea
• Owner of a House
• The Lost Sheep
• The Unforgiving Servant
• The Vineyard Workers
• Lowest Seat at the Feast
• The Great Feast
• Cost of Discipleship
• The Lost Coin
• The Prodigal Son
• The Shrewd Manager
• The Rich Man and Lazarus
• Master and His Servant
• Persistent Widow
• The Two Sons
• The Vineyard Owner
• The Marriage Feast
• Fig Tree
• Faithful and Wise Servant
• The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
• Ten Virgins
• The Talent
• The Sheep and the Goats

New Cloth on an Old Coat

Verse:

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.”

Verse Number:

• (Matthew 9:16)
• (Mark 2:21)
• (Luke 5:36)

Explanation:

This story in the bible is the answer to a question of Jesus’ disciple John. John asked Jesus that Christianity believes in all the prophets that have come before Jesus but why Jesus not following the rules of Moses teachings. As Jews were fasting but Jesus was not doing this.

There are many things that Jews did but Jesus never did this. Then Jesus replies that when Moses commands Israel they follow them but gradually they adopt the things which were apart of religion that’s why God sent Jesus in this world so that he can teach them again with new Commandments.

He is like a new cloth and Jews beliefs are like old cloth. if an old cloth is torn and we stitch a new part of cloth in it then it looks very bad and new cloth will never adjust with old cloth. New Clothes have the highest stretching but old cloth can be torn with stretching and if he did some new things by acting upon the rules of Jews then the outcome will be worse.

New Wine in Old Wineskins

Verse:

“Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Verse Number:

• (Matthew 9:17)
• (Mark 2:22)
• (Luke 5:37-39)

Explanation:

This is a second part of the above example and in this Jesus also gave another example. He says that there are two types of wine; one wine is old and the other one is very fresh. They both have no comparison because the old one will not be very good in taste but the new wine will be very fresh and tasty. If we pour the new wine on a skin then it will never harm the cloth. Wine will be preserved and skin will also be prevented but the old and highly fermented wine burns the skin. New wine is like Jesus and old wine is like the old rules of Jews.

The Two Debtors

Verse:

“Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.”

Verse Number:

• (Luke 7:40-43)

Explanation:

After reading this we can conclude the lesson that a person should always spend money in the way of God generously. God will love those who spend more than less. A person’s greater spending shows his love and sincerity.

Parable of The Sower

Verse:

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”

Verse Number:

• (Matthew 13:1-23)
• (Mark 4:1-20)
• (Luke 8:4-15)

Explanation:

This story from the bible gives us a beautiful lesson that if a person starts to live a life according to the teachings and commandments of God then He will be rewarded greatly. A person who tries to understand God’s order is like a fertile land on which seed grows quickly and nicely.

Bible Story of The Good Samaritan

Verse:

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Verse Number:

• (Luke 10:25-37)

Explanation:

This story of a good samaritan teaches us that we should always love God with our whole will. We should always try to help neighbors and others who need help. This samaritan helped a man who was in trouble facing hopelessness. He didn’t know; who is he? From where he belongs? He just helped him and God loved his compassionate act.

The Friend at Midnight

Verse:

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.“ Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Verse Number:

• (Luke 11:5-13)

Explanation:

Jesus gave an example that if we knock at his door for food at midnight he will surely give us food because he is our friend. Similarly we should also knock at the door of God with the help of prayers. We should never think that God will never forgive us, listen to us or grant his blessings. He is the owner of all the things in the universe. A continuous call will surely answer.

Parable of Growing Seed

Verse:

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Verse Number:

• (Mark 4:26-29)

Explanation:

This parable teaches us that a little impact of God on the heart of a person leads a man to become a righteous servant of God. An example is given of seed. Seed is like the teachings of God. Once it falls on the ground it starts to germinate automatically. Similarly once a person listens to God’s words then it will affect the person’s heart and he will grow and become a good servant of God.

The Rich Fool

Verse:

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Verse Number:

• (Luke 12:13-21)

Explanation:

This is a small story described by Jesus. he says that there was a man who wanted to accumulate a lot of wealth and wished to enjoy it. He decided that he will gather crops and grains and will live happily . Once he does this hard work then he will enjoy his whole life. After that he will call himself a wealthy man. However, he had no idea that he would pass away tonight.

Therefore, we should follow God’s guidelines and do good deeds rather than collecting worldly wealth. The afterlife is permanent, while this earth is temporary. Thus, we should put in a lot of effort to live the best everlasting life. Real rich persons are those who have done good actions; wealth is not everything. A person with material money is poor, but a man who does good deeds is wealthy.

The Watchful Servants

Verse:

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Verse Number:

• (Mark 13:35-37)
• (Luke 12:35-40)

Explanation:

While reading this parable I can understand what Jesus is saying. He says that if there is a servant in a house but the owner is not present in it. He is outside the door to do some work and left the servant alone in the house to look after the house from robbers and thieves. Jesus is advising that this servant should remain awake the whole night until his owner comes.

When his owner comes he should find him awake instead of sleeping. I can conclude from this story that the servant of the house represents us, the house is like this world and the owner is Jesus. So the result by comparing this is that we should remain awake to protect ourselves and the world from the negative energies until Jesus comes again in this world.

The Sheep and the Goats

Verse:

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Verse Number:

• (Matthew 25:31-46)

Explanation:

So basically what the result of this I concluded is that as a shepherd separates sheep from goats, Jesus will also do this. He will separate righteous servants from bad people. Sheep in this story is indicating good people while goats are representing bad people. Good people will be on the right hand of Jesus and bad people will be on the left hand of Jesus on the day of judgment.

Conclusion

After reading and counting these stories I can say that how many parables are in the bible? And can also tell you guys what the purpose of these stories are. Basically these parables are a way to guide us and to tell us about the teachings and orders of God. I can confidently say that if we read and understand them then we can get the nearness of God and can achieve the hereafter world.

According to my observation, Jesus and God this world is not real but It will destroy one day. The world of the hereafter will stay forever. Now it’s our choice and will which world we will choose. I have a great confidence that we will choose hereafter because it is best and eternal.

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