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Jesus used parables to teach people all sorts of things. He said to them: "Listen! There once was a man who went out to sow seed. Some of the seed he sowed fell on the pathway and birds came along and ate it. Some seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. It soon sprouted because there wasn't much earth. Because its roots weren't deep enough it withered and was scorched when the sun came up. Some seed fell among thorn bushes. It produced no grain because the thorns choked it. But some seed fell on fertile soil. It sprouted and grew, producing grain - some with a yield of thirty, some of sixty and some of one hundred."

4.9
Jesus usually finished by saying: "Those with good hearing had better listen!"

4.21, 25
Jesus once said: "Surely a lamp isn't brought inside to be put under a measuring basket or under a bed? Isn't it placed on a lamp-stand?"

He also said: "Those who have a lot will be given even more. And those who have almost nothing will have even that taken away from them. Anyone who has two good ears had better listen!"

4.26-29
And again he once said: "The way God gets things done is like this: it's like a man sowing seed on his land. He gets up every day and goes to bed every night, paying little attention while the seed sprouts and matures. The process is automatic - first comes the shoot, then the head, and finally a mature ear of grain. When the grain is ripe, the man acts quickly, calling for his sickle, because it's time to harvest."

4.30-33
Yet again Jesus asked: "What's the best way to describe how God acts? What sort of parable can we use? Think of a mustard seed. It's smaller than any other seed on earth. But when it's planted and comes up it's one of the biggest garden plants. It's branches are large enough for birds to make their nests in its shade."

By using parables like these, Jesus was able to tell people as much as they were capable of understanding.

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