What are Parables?

Jesus often used parables to teach people about the Kingdom (Matthew 13:34). The word "parable" literally means "a comparison." Usually, a parable is a short, simple story -- but always with a deeper, spiritual meaning. The people and things in the parable represent things that are much more important that they seem to be on the surface, and the story teaches an important lesson. Many of the stories we learned as children are really parables intended to teach us something: the Three Pigs, for example, or the Grasshopper and the Ants.