Why parables?

Mark 4:1–20 WEB

¹Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea. ²He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching, ³“Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow. ⁴As he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it. ⁵Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. ⁶When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. ⁷Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. ⁸Others fell into the good ground and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.” ⁹He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” ¹⁰When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables, ¹²that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’” ¹³He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables? ¹⁴The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. ¹⁶These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word, ¹⁹and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”