Parables, Similes and Metaphors |
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A parable is an imaginary story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson (for example, the parable of the Good Samaritan or the Lost Sheep). A simile is a phrase that compares one thing with another, e.g. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches". A metaphor uses names or phrases to describe an object or action where it is not literally applicable e.g. "I am the bread of life"; "a glaring mistake". This works because the unusual contrast makes us think again about what is being described. "Jesus always used stories and illustrations when speaking to the crowds". Jesus used similes and metaphors all the time in his teaching, and many of the parables use similes in story form. Sometimes the similes are to make us laugh as well as think: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich (greedy) person to enter the Kingdom of God". Sometimes the simile in the parable is meant to shock us: "You are like whitewashed tombs - beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead men's bones and all sorts of impurity. You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness." |
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The 'I Am' Metaphors |
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The parables of Jesus |
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