The genre of Parable did not originate with Jesus they already appeared in the Greco-Roman world.

   Further explanation of the Kingdom was needed and Jesus came to the aid of people who didn’t understand what the Kingdom would be like, or even what it was! What Jesus did was to declare the urgency and hope of the Kingdom, and set out vividly in memorable parables the conditions of entrance into it and the obligation of obedience within it illustrated by The Parable Of The Sheep And Goats (Matt. 25:31-46) and Harkness states” The Kingdom of God is our ultimate challenge and our ultimate hope. Thus, it is not surprising that Jesus found in it his central message”. (‘Understanding the Kingdom of God,’). Jesus for me seems to have understood his mission to bring in the kingdom of Gods reign so we see this is what Jesus was essentially using his parables for.  

   It appears especially according to Mark Jesus also used parables to hint at Messiahship. The mention of the Kingdom of God for Jews also meant the coming of the Messiah. In the Old Testament the king, who was believed to be the Lords Anointed One, was to rule on earth in God’s stead, as King David had done. The Israelite territory grew in the time of David and she had peace with all her neighbours, (“Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end” ) this is what the Jews expected when their Kingdom came- the Jews thought the Messiah would come to re-establish the House of David forever and for Israel have political independence. Jesus knew he was the Messiah prophesised by Isaiah to suffer silently for the sins of the people.

 “My righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities”.
Through him the relationship with God will be reconciled and the reward for this servant is resurrection and regeneration.
See, my servant will act wisely he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.  According to the evangelist Mark and in light of the resurrection Jesus played this role so who better to teach about the coming of the Kingdom than Jesus himself because it came directly from God. This was one of the ways in which Jesus used parables in his teaching. Jesus used the parables to teach and convince the Jews to believe he was the Messiah bringing the new Kingdom but in a concealed form through parables so as not to alert the authorities of such a man making such drastic statements.  Jesus wanted to show through parables that as the Kingdom of God is the aim of all history that the kingdom will appear (in a concealed form) with the coming of Christ however not all gospels agree that the messiahship was secret.  However Sarah K Tyler (Philip Allen Updates) states that many of the parables included only in Matt and Luke reflect the evangelist particular theological interest, so that could account for the differences about the messianic secret within the gospels. Other differences to illustrate the differences in gospel is the fact that Matthew used the term Kingdom of heaven () because his audience was Jewish and the Jewish religion does not use the word god because god is so sacred to speak his name even is a crime. This is an example of differing themes within the gospels. So to know how Jesus used his parables we need to know which evangelist if any portrays him and his parables most accurately.

   Jesus used parables to teach about the kingdom in seemingly different ways  for example, the fact that Jesus told parables about seeds is significant,  for it indicates that he was teaching that the kingdom involved a process of growth. The mustard seed gives this message most clearly. (Matt 13:31-32) the kingdom starts small as a group of Jesus and his disciples, but slowly grows over the years into something mighty. Jesus used this parable to show the reader that the Kingdom will become reality even if it takes time the whole eventual outcome will be a magnificent result. Parables were a means by which Jesus could convey deep truths that could only be grasped by those who were granted the ‘secret of the kingdom of heaven’ (Mt13:11) Jesus was trying to preach repentance to the people who could grasp these truths. So Jesus began his ministry saying: `The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel'' (Mark 1:14) The parabolic images of patched clothes and old wineskins (Mark1:21-22) are also very significant because Jesus uses them to show that the ‘new’ kingdom cannot be contained in the ‘old order’ (Pharisees for example who believed you had to make a hedge around the law to follow God the)- that reform has to be made to integrate the new kingdom. Reform involved striving for forgiveness to achieve salvation before the judgement came. If reformers could have Gods mercy then so could everyone else. Jesus certainly accepted much of the Jewish ideas but he wanted to give new insights and rejects some old ideas or dispute them with those that have misunderstood them.  His mission was to teach the correct understanding of the kingdom. According to J Jeremiahs         Jesus used parables to show that the kingdom is here and now, but it also expects a future consummation of the kingdom to all who accept his teachings.

Jesus preached a kingdom that could be attained now, because through his parables if the listeners chose the right path when being made to chose (as in the Good Samaritan) Gods passion and mercy was available to them then. This is particularly well shown in the table- fellowship that Jesus establishes with outcasts and the marginalised. (Mark 2:15) “While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners”. Jesus used his parables to challenge social and religious attitudes of the time that acted to keep the marginalised secluded from the life of the rest of the people. His actions also make this clear, friendships with women and help for the poor.  Thus Jesus through parables was challenging the discriminations and injustices of his time. Through conversion to this new way of treating people God was available to everyone and the Kingdom would be eternally theirs if they had a change of heart or metanoia. (Shown in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats) The Parables seemed to have been used to explain the kingdom in the terms of here and now. It seems that through Jesus use of parables there was an invitation to conversion into a new way of living so that God could be accepted on a personal level.  They are allowing themselves personal entrance to the Kingdom that can be taken now on a personal and social level and fulfilled by everyone else latter.

Jesus used his parables to teach about Judgement. He used parabolic images such as the Sheep and the Goats to show that on the when they are  judged the good and the bad will be sorted and those who accepted Jesus and did good to their Neighbours would attain the Kingdom of heaven “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (Matthew 25:33) Jesus through his parables tried to get the message across that a new approach was now needed he reinterpreted what traditional Jewish thought was about the coming of the kingdom. Jesus used the parables to teach that if you were truly sorry for your sins that the lord would forgive you and only once you had repented could you achieve salvation and enter the Kingdom of God.  This is shown in The Parable of The Unforgiving Servant. Matt 18:21-35.  

Jesus intended his hearers to accept him as their Messiah’ and repent and so then through his death they will also achieve salvation within the New Kingdom. Which can only be realised fully when the Messiah comes and brings with him the kingdom and suffers death (according to Isaiah 53) However we must consider if Jesus was actually teaching about himself as the redeemer or God. Many scholars believe that Jesus did teach the parables but in the context of God (Theo centric) rather than through the context of himself (christo centric). (Some say that the christo centric element was added by the evangelists in light of the resurrection, this would have been used to fit the audience and purposes of the evangelists.) However some scholars believe Jesus was teaching within the context of God but with the messianic secret in his mind set. (prominently according to mark)

Jesus preached great reform was needed to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught that the New Kingdom was not an earthly kingdom as in traditional Jewish thought but heavenly. Jesus spoke of a new covenant renewing those made with Abraham and Moses. For example he did this by teaching about his forefathers in synagogues then applying the teachings to himself. He taught that with a new kingdom a new way would come and to enter into it the Jewish people must enter into the new covenant and accept him as Messiah. This was another way in which Jesus used his parables to teach people and give them guidance about the new order and to teach that they would be forgiven if they accepted him and repented now to achieve salvation.

   In order to understand even more of Jesus’ use of parables there are many question to address about what Jesus meant when he taught about Kingdom of God through these parables. The first question is whether the Kingdom is a present or a future reality. The ideal world, which Jesus wanted to create, was not yet there, so in what sense can the Kingdom of God be said to have arrived? There is a case for saying that the Kingdom will come at some time in the future. This however, seemingly contradicts Jesus' declaration that the kingdom was close at hand. The answer seems to be that the kingdom can be regarded both as a present and a future reality. (Luke 11:20) “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” and associated as continuance with his own ministry (Matt 11:2) “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples” this indicates the Kingdom is inaugurated. Perhaps Jesus was trying to teach that belief in him would lead the believer to god and so they could access the kingdom through him. Also Jesus seems to teach about a future kingdom in the parables of the Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids, which no time can be lost in making preparations for the immanent kingdom and the urgency was, highlighted though this. He also taught that the time between now and the Kingdom must be accounted for, the parables of the Talents shows that immediate conversion is required to attain the kingdom before its to late to convert. “then the door of the festival hall will be closed, and the world will be heard: Too late! (these) closely related parables describe what it means to be too late. (J Jeramias The parables of Jesus)

   To examine the ways in which Jesus used parables to teach about the kingdom, we must have an idea of what type of kingdom he was teaching about and what he was encouraging people to strive for through belief in him. We also have to ask whether Jesus used his parables to teach about kingdom as an external or an internal reality, whether it can be experienced by all on a global level or is only open to the individual or both. The Jews of the period certainly thought it be external where everyone could rejoice in the coming of the saviour and the new age in which all their troubles would go. Yet some Christians today think that the kingdom is an internal place of happiness by this we mean a state in the individual which makes them at one with God and life. A third question is whether the kingdom is spiritual or physical. That Jesus spoke of the Kingdom as being at hand for Jews implies he saw it as somehow happening here and now. Jesus had a goal for the world, the transformation of society into a community run according to the law of God. We must look at scholarly opinion to attempt to answer these questions.

There are various scholarly opinions about what Jesus meant when he taught about kingdom of god.  Here are some approaches to the Kingdom of God issue. Conzelmann (Philip Allan Updates) argued that the time of Jesus was one of eager expectation but not yet the time of the kingdom. While Sanders said that Jesus statements were divided up into two categories future and now kingdom. The approach of `consistent eschatology' states that the coming of the kingdom must be understood exclusively as the intrusion of the great final catastrophe (A. Schweitzer, M. Werner). While W. Bousset () supported a metaphysical-dualistic understanding which presents the kingdom as an eternal, invisible world of a higher order that surrounds our world and Jesus teaching was to call to a repentance before an a immanent  end. However The liberal theologians Harnack and Wellhausen () suggest Jesus parables contained teachings of a ethical-evolutionary approach which states that the kingdom is a reality in the souls of mankind.  Again The parables of the Pearl and Treasure would give examples of this, those who seek can find and have the treasure of the kingdom.(Matt 13:45-52) The eschatological aspect is put entirely to the background and is understood as just an accommodation to the conditions of the time in which Jesus lived. R. Bultmann says Jesus teachings are used to represent the crisis or `Entscheidungs' approach, which sees the New Testament idea of the approaching end of the world as belonging to the mythology of the time.  For him then The kingdom consists of the idea that every moment man is confronted with the necessity of deciding because the `now' might be the last hour for him just as it might be for the foolish Bridesmaids. He is saying that dominion of God does not enter the world but invokes man to make a choice against the world. This theory is supported  by the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  Yet C. H. Dodd is well known for his realised eschatology, which states that with the coming of Jesus the kingdom has become present instead of future, from the sphere of expectation it has passed into that of experience. The eschatological expectation has been fulfilled as a spiritual reality. An accepted universal view is that Jesus used parables to teach that the kingdom was on its way and had partially arrived yet the final chapter will be when the Christ comes again (or the parousia,) Through his parables about the immanence of kingdom Of God, for example the Parable of the Talents.

Before examining Jesus use of parables for teaching we must examine if we can ever actually know if those teaching of parables were original to Jesus. To answer this we must look to the work of form and redaction critics.  Form critics examine traditions about Jesus as they developed during the period of Oral Transmission. They do this by separating pericope from each other and from their gospel context. Redaction critics aim to identify the ways in which the evangelists used their written source material - selection, editing, arrangement and omission. They do this by examining pericope within the context of the whole Gospel (Vertically) and against parallel pericope in other Gospels and possibly OT (Horizontally). Graham Stanton (Interpeting the parables Dialogue magazine) states that” In the course of their transmission in the early church and their use by the evangelists, the parables have undergone more extensive adaptation and reinterpretation than any other part of the traditions about the actions and teaching of Jesus”. So if he is right how can we know exactly in what ways Jesus used parables in his teachings.  However “it has been suggested that some teachings of Jesus may have already acquired a written form before his death” (Sarah K Tyler Philip Allen updates). Also Perrin states that “they are from the lips of Jesus” (Sarah K Tyler Phillip Allen Updates) Scholars try to find out if what is  written down in the gospels, as Jesus’ teachings are truly the work of Jesus and not the adaptations of the early church or the evangelists for their own purposes. It is almost certain that the evangelists added endings to many of the parables for example and it is almost universally accepted that some of the parables have an allegorical interpretation added by the early church. E.g. the Sower (Matt13:18-23) (In some cases evangelists may have added the allegorical interpretation to utilise them to their own purposes. However some say it may have been the early church.) A Julicher said that Jesus use of parables were not allegorical, in which every single item had different meanings. He said that each parable was only intended to make one point for example the sower made the point that you should broadcast far and wide and your message will get though (in the context of disciples spreading the word of Jesus). Redaction critics say that the parables were the work of Jesus yet they believe that they have been redacted to fit in with the kergyma and the theological purposes of the evangelists. Redaction critics such a Drury agree with this approach. They use example of parables which Jesus would certainly not have taught in the context they are written down because they teach about the resurrection and some even contradict what seemed to be his message for example. (However he may have been using apocalyptic language to teach about him being the eschaton) So to know the ways in which Jesus used parables in his teaching it is essential to know the original form of the parables.

   Did Jesus use parables for a different purpose, for example criticising the Talmud, or stirring up trouble amongst the authorise ( which in effect made more people want to hear what he was teaching about) did the evangelists or church adapt the parables to make it appear Jesus knew he was he Messiah and the kingdom is coming because the purpose of the gospels is to spread the good news of Jesus and lead people to believe in him so if they want their gospel to sound plausible they needed to make the events fit their purpose.

  In order to draw conclusiuon about the ways in which Jesus used parables in his teachings we must know that the parables are original to Jesus if we can accept that what is in the gospels is the teaching of Jesus. We can then say Jesus used them in different ways, to preach salvation and forgiveness for example. To tell of impending Judgement and most importantly to proclaim the forth coming kingdom (as the messiah) which had arrived already not partially (inaugurated) and then when the parouisia comes the kingdom will be realised fully. This understanding has been formulated by scholars and is most universally accepted. To know whether the parables were from Jesus repertoire or not does affect the fact that they are timeless forms of literature, which had significance 2000 years ago but still are of major significance to many people in the world now.