* Note: Many of these parables are repeated in at least one, sometimes two, of the other Gospels.  In those cases, I have listed only one of the examples from just one Gospel so as not to multiply examples unnecessarily.

The Bridegroom’s Guests [Kingdom as a wedding feast]
Mark 2
19 And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them,  the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20 “But the  days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

Unshrunk Cloth/New Wine [New/Old Covenants]
Mark 2
21 “No one sews  a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise  the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.
22 “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Strong Man Bound [A house divided against itself ....]
Mark 3:
22 The scribes who came down  from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by   Beelzebul,'' and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
23  And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in  parables, “How can  Satan cast out Satan?
24 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26 “If  Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but  he is finished!
27 “ But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

Parable of the Sower [Different seed falling on different ground]
Mark 4:
1 He began to teach again  by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that  He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.
2 And He was teaching them many things in  parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,
3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 “Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.
6 “And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 “Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
8 “Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
9 And He was saying, “ He who has ears to hear,  let him hear.”

[Explanation of the Parable of the Sower to the Twelve]
Mark 4:
13  And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?
14 “The sower sows the word.
15 “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately  Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
16 “In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they  fall away.
18 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
19 but the worries of  the  world, and the  deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20 “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and  bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

Lamp, Measure, Seed Growing, Mustard Seed

Lamp [Keeping first things first; keeping the light before your eyes in order to see]
Mark 4
21 And He was saying to them, “ A lamp is not brought to be put under a  basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?
22 “ For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.
23 “ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Measure [The measure with which you measure ....]
24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to.   By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.
25 “ For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

The Seed Grows By Itself [The hiddeness of God’s grace]
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows how, he himself does not know.
28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
29 “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Mustard Seed [From small beginnings, great things can come.]
30  And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?
31 “It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,
32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE  AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE.”

Parable of the Vineyard (and the Wicked Tenants) [Christ’s situation vis-a-vis the Pharisees]
Mark 12
1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “ A man  PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A  WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.
2 “At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.
3 “They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 “Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.
5 “And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.
6 “He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’
8 “They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.
10 “Have you not even read this Scripture: " THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;
11  THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?”
12  And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the  people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

Budding Fig Tree [Keep alert!]
Mark 13
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
29 “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening,  recognize that  He is near, right at the  door.
30 “Truly I say to you, this  generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
32 “ But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
33 “Take heed,  keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time  will come.

The Watchman [Keep alert!]
34 “ It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and  putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.
35 “Therefore,  be on the alert for you do not know when the  master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or  when the rooster crows  in the morning
36 in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep.

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Parents and their Children’s Requests [God knows how to give good things]
Matthew 7
9 “Or what man is there among you  who, when his son asks for a loaf,  will give him a stone?
10 “Or  if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,  how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

[The Heart of the Law]
12 “In everything,  therefore,  treat people the same way you want  them to treat you, for  this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Two Ways/Gates [Many ways of going astray; one way to live rightly]
13 “ Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

15 “Beware of the  false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are  ravenous wolves.

Good and Bad Trees [By their fruits shall ye know them]
16 “You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 “ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 “So then, you will  know them  by their fruits.

Wise and Foolish Builders [Building on rock and on sand: similar to the Parable of the Sower]
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them,  may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 “And the rain fell, and the  floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall.”

Lost Sheep [The Kingdom searches for us!]
Matthew 13
12 “What do you think?  If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
13 “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
14 “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Wedding Banquet [Refusing to enter in; also, be ready!]
Matthew 22
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying,
2 “ The kingdom of heaven  may be compared to  a king who  gave a  wedding feast for his son.
3 “And he  sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, "Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”'
5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own  farm, another to his business,
6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.
8 “Then he said to his slaves, "The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
9 "Go therefore to  the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.'
10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw  a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,
12 and he said to him, "Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.
13 “Then the king said to the servants, "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into  the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Thief in the Night [Be ready!]
Matthew 24
42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 “But  be sure of this, that  if the head of the house had known  at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be  broken into.
44 “For this reason  you also must be ready; for  the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Faithful and Unfaithful Stewards [Be ready!]
45 “ Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his  master  put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46 “Blessed is that slave whom his  master finds so doing when he comes.
47 “Truly I say to you that  he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, "My  master  is not coming for a long time,'
49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
50 the  master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
51 and will  cut him in pieces and  assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of the Talents [Be ready! (Dressed for the banquet)]
Matthew 25
14 “ For it is just like a man  about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.
15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
16 “Immediately the one who had received the five  talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.
17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his  master's money.
19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and  settled accounts with them.
20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, "Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'
21 “His master said to him, "Well done, good and  faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will  put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your  master.'
22 “Also the one who had received the two  talents came up and said, "Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.'
23 “His master said to him, "Well done, good and 1 faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
24 “And the one also who had received the one 1 talent came up and said, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
25 "And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'
26 “But his master answered and said to him, "You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.
27 "Then you ought to have put my money  in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
28 “Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.”
29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
30 “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[NB:  A talent was worth about fifteen years' wages of a laborer.]

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The Wheat and the Tares [Mix of good and evil: Kingdom is like leaven in the mix]
Matthew 13
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “ The kingdom of heaven  may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed  tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 “But when the  wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?'
28 “And he said to them, "An  enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, "Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'
29 “But he said, "No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 "Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but  gather the wheat into my barn.”

The Mustard Seed [like leaven]
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “ The kingdom of heaven is like  a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that  THE BIRDS OF THE  AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”

Leaven [The Kingdom is not overwhelming; it works in small, quiet ways.]
33 He spoke another parable to them, “ The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three  pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them  without a parable.
35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “ I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

Explanation of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
36 Then He left the crowds and went into  the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “1 Explain to us the parable of the  tares of the field.”
37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the  end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the  end of the age.
41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all  stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears,  let him hear.

Treasure Hidden in a Field [We are the treasure; God has sold all He has for us]
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Pearl of Great Value [We are the pearl of great value; God has sold all He has for us]
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Fishnet With Good and Bad Fish [Like the Wheat and the Tares; but note, God will search out the good, like the “pearl of great value” or the “treasure hidden in a field” ]
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and  take out the wicked from among the righteous,
50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Unmerciful Servant [The measure with which you measure; forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness.]
Matthew 18
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him  ten thousand talents was brought to him.
25 “But since he  did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him  to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.
26 “So the slave fell to the ground and  prostrated himself before him, saying, "Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'
27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and  forgave him the debt.
28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, "Pay back what you owe.'
29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, "Have patience with me and I will repay you.'
30 “But he was unwilling  and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.
32 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, "You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 " Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?'
34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.
35 “ My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from  your heart.”

[NB:  A talent was worth more than fifteen years' wages of a laborer.  The denarius, on the other hand, was a day's wages.]

Laborers in the Vineyard [The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.]
Matthew 20
1 “For  the kingdom of heaven is like  a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2 “When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 “And he went out about the  third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;
4 and to those he said, "You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went.
5 “Again he went out about the  sixth and the ninth hour, and did  the same thing.
6 “And about the  eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
7 “They said to him, "Because no one hired us.' He said to them, "You go into the vineyard too.'
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his  foreman, "Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'
9 “When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a  denarius.
10 “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more;  but each of them also received a denarius.
11 “When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,
12 saying, "These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the  scorching heat of the day.'
13 “But he answered and said to one of them, " Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14 "Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
15 "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'
16 “So  the last shall be first, and the first last.”

Two Sons [Who did the will of the father?]
Matthew 21
28 “But what do you think? A man had two  sons, and he came to the first and said, " Son, go work today in the vineyard.'
29 “And he answered, "I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.
30 “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, "I will, sir'; but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
32 “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but  the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

The Wise and Foolish Maidens [Be ready!]
Matthew 25
1 “Then  the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their  lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were  prudent.
3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
4 but the  prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
6 “But at midnight there was a shout, "Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
8 “The foolish said to the prudent, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
9 “But the  prudent answered, "No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'
10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were  ready went in with him to  the wedding feast; and  the door was shut.
11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, " Lord, lord, open up for us.'
12 “But he answered, "Truly I say to you, I do not know you.'
13 “ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

The Sheep and the Goats [Mix of good and evil; but God will seek out His own.  Also, “as you did it to the least of these, so you did it to me.”]
Matthew 25
31 “But when  the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then  He will sit on His glorious throne.
32 “All the nations will be  gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another,  as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33 and He will put the sheep  on His right, and the goats  on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed of My Father,  inherit the kingdom prepared for you  from the foundation of the world.
35 "For  I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink;  I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 "And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 "When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 “The King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
44 “Then they themselves also will answer, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not  take care of You?'
45 “Then He will answer them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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Two Debtors [He who is forgiven little, loves little.]
Luke 7:
41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42 “When they  were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you  gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45 “You  gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.
46 “ You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say  to themselves, “ Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
50 And He said to the woman, “ Your faith has saved you;  go in peace.”

Parable of the Good Samaritan [Who was neighbor to the man?]
Luke 10:
25  And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law?  How does it read to you?”
27 And he answered, “ YOU SHALL 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 YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly;  DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”
29 But wishing  to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was  going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and  beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
31 “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?”
37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do  the same.”

Friend at Midnight [Keep knocking]
Luke 11:
5 Then He said to them, “ Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';
7 and from inside he answers and says, "Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children  and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'
8 “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet  because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

Rich Fool with New Barns [Be ready!]
Luke 12:
13 Someone  in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “ Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 Then He said to them, “ Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, "What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?'
18 “Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 "And I will say to my soul, “Soul,  you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”'
20 “But God said to him, " You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and  now who will own what you have prepared?'
21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Barren Fig Tree [Be ready!  Also: mix of good and evil;  and by their fruit shall ye know them.]
Luke 13:
6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had  a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.
7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, "Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any.  Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?'
8 “And he answered and said to him, "Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;
9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.”'

Tower Builder [Be prepared!]
Luke 14:
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

Warring King [Be prepared!]
31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and  consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends  a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who  does not give up all his own possessions.

Lost Sheep (the 1 and the 99) [God seeks us out.]
Luke 15:
1 Now all the  tax collectors and the  sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and  eats with them.”
3 So He told them this parable, saying,
4 “ What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Lost Coin [God seeks us out]
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten  silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!'
10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy  in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Prodigal Son [God seeks us out (to be with Him)]
11 And He said, “A man had two sons.
12 The younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me  the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his  wealth between them.
13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15 “So he went and  hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the  pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
17 “But when he came to  his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
18 "I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and  in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”'
20 “So he got up and came to  his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 “But the father said to his slaves, "Quickly bring out  the best robe and put it on him, and  put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was  dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
27 “And he said to him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.'
28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
29 “But he answered and said to his father, "Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never  neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your  1 wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'
31 “And he said to him, "Son, you  have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 "But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was 1 dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”

Unjust Steward [Be prepared!]
Luke 16:
1 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was  reported to him as  squandering his possessions.
2 “And he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'
3 “The manager said to himself, "What shall I do, since my  master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.
4 "I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.'
5 “And he summoned each one of his  master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, "How much do you owe my master?'
6 “And he said, "A hundred  measures of oil.' And he said to him, "Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
7 “Then he said to another, "And how much do you owe?' And he said, "A hundred  measures of wheat.' He said to him, "Take your bill, and write eighty.'
8 “And his  master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of  this age are more shrewd in relation to their own  kind than the sons of light.

Rich Man and Lazarus [A reward beyond this life? Even if someone was raised from the dead...]
Luke 16:
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
20 “And a poor man named Lazarus  was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
22 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to  Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23 “In  Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “And he cried out and said, " Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in  this flame.'
25 “But Abraham said, "Child, remember that  during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
26 "And  besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'
27 “And he said, "Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house
28 for I have five brothers in order that he may  warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29 “But Abraham said, "They have  Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'
30 “But he said, "No,  father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'
31 “But he said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.”

The Humble Servant [We have only done what we ought.]
Luke 17:
7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, "Come immediately and sit down to eat'?
8 “But will he not say to him, " Prepare something for me to eat, and properly  clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and  afterward you  may eat and drink'?
9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, "We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.”'

Unjust Judge [Pray and do not lose heart]
Luke 18:
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they  ought to pray and not to  lose heart,
2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not  respect man.
3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, " Give me legal protection from my opponent.'
4 “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, "Even though I do not fear God nor  respect man,
5 yet  because this widow bothers me, I will  give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.”'
6 And  the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
7 now, will not God  bring about justice for His  elect who cry to Him day and night,  and will He  delay long over them?
8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

The Pharisee vs. the Tax Collector [Justifying onself]
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: "God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 "I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'
13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, "God, be  merciful to me, the sinner!'
14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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The Good Shepherd
John 10:
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is  a thief and a robber.
2 “But he who enters by the door is  a shepherd of the sheep.
3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear  his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and  leads them out.
4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know  his voice.
5 “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know  the voice of strangers.”
6 This  figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am  the door of the sheep.
8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
9 “ I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and  have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

The True Vine
John 15:
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the  vine dresser.
2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He  prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3 “ You are already  clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 “ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit  of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he  bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is  thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 “My  Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so  prove to be My disciples.

Finis
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