Why Jesus Turned to Parables

by Dave Miller

One of the most common misunderstandings of Jesus’ parables is that they were primarily a teaching aid meant to simplify complex spiritual truths. Though they indeed did just that, Matthew presents something even more intentional. Parables were not introduced because Jesus’ message was unclear. They were introduced because His message was already abundantly clear and widely rejected. Jesus was not seeing repentance among most of his listeners even though his message was clearly, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

When Matthew is read as a carefully structured Gospel rather than a loose chronological diary, the turn to parables appears neither sudden nor accidental. It is a strategic shift in response to hardened hearts, not a change in ministry.

Matthew 1–9: Revelation Without Parables

From the opening chapters through Matthew 9, Jesus teaches plainly and acts powerfully. The kingdom is announced directly. Authority is demonstrated publicly. Miracles authenticate the message.

Matthew summarizes this entire phase succinctly:

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”

— Matthew 9:35

This is not a lack of clarity. This is saturation. Teaching, proclamation, and healing are fully integrated. The problem is not insufficient evidence, the problem is perception.

Even after visible miracles, forgiveness of sins, authority over nature, demons, disease, and death, resistance grows. The Pharisees accuse Him of partnering with Satan (Matt. 9:34). Opposition is no longer curiosity-based; it is willful.

Matthew 9 functions as a summary close to the Galilean ministry phase. It brings to completion a sustained season of revelation that leaves religious leaders furious and crowds like sheep without a shepherd, and all without excuse.  The need for more laborers who see and understand the Kingdom living as living, breathing, speaking models of salt and light is where Matthew turns next. 

Matthew 10: A Lifelong Training Summary, Not a Single Mission

Matthew 10 is often treated as instructions for one short missionary trip. But the scope is much broader. Jesus is not merely preparing the disciples for a brief outing; He is preparing them for a lifetime of witness after His departure, in a word, training the laborers. 

The language stretches beyond the immediate moment:

“You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake…”

— Matthew 10:18

“You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”

— Matthew 10:22

This is not limited to Galilee. This is a training summary section that establishes expectations for following Jesus in a hostile world. Jesus is forming messengers who will proclaim the kingdom after His visible ministry concludes.

Matthew 11: The Transition Point

Matthew 11 explains why the approach changes.

John the Baptist struggles with unmet expectations. Cities that witnessed miracles remain unrepentant. Jesus explicitly names the problem:

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.”

— Matthew 11:20

Miracles did not produce repentance. Clarity did not produce disciples.

Then Jesus prays publicly:

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.”

— Matthew 11:25

This is not Jesus acting on a whim. It is judicial revelation. What is rejected plainly is now revealed selectively, but not as a permanent statement on the eternal state of the people’s souls, but rather a clear acknowledgment of their current condition of hardened hearts.  

Matthew 13: Jesus Explains the Purpose of Parables

When Jesus begins teaching in parables in Matthew 13, the disciples ask the obvious question:

“Why do you speak to them in parables?”

— Matthew 13:10

Jesus’ answer removes any sentimental interpretation:

“Because to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”

— Matthew 13:11

He then quotes Isaiah, grounding His reasoning in Israel’s long-standing pattern:

“This people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.”

— Matthew 13:15

They have already seen and heard enough. Parables are not concealment from the sincere. They are mercy toward the willing and a judgment of the condition of hard hearts.

Parables as Reframing, Not Retreat

Jesus does not abandon kingdom proclamation. He relocates it.

Rather than arguing within hardened religious frameworks, He embeds eternal realities into everyday life: farming, baking, fishing, family conflict, economics, labor, loss, and joy. The kingdom is no longer confined to synagogue debate. It is scattered into daily existence.

“The kingdom of heaven is like…”

— repeated refrain of Matthew 13

Those with ears to hear recognize the kingdom because they are willing, not because they are clever.

Theological Implication

Parables are not puzzles for intellectual elites. They are truth placed at ground level so that humility, not status, becomes the interpretive key.

Jesus does not obscure truth to prevent repentance. He reveals truth in forms that expose the heart. The same story that opens one person’s understanding confirms another person’s blindness.

Reading Matthew Correctly

When Matthew is read with attention to summaries and teaching blocks rather than strict modern chronology, the narrative coherence becomes clear:

• Matthew 1–9: Open proclamation and miraculous confirmation

  
  

• Matthew 10: Comprehensive disciple training summary

  
  

• Matthew 11: Explanation of rejection and covenant availability

  
  

• Matthew 13 onward: Parables as kingdom reframing for the willing

  
  

The parables are not a softening of the message. They are the sharpening of it.

The kingdom is now everywhere and available. Those who want it will find it. Those who do not will hear stories and walk away unchanged.

And Jesus is entirely intentional about that.