Jesus And A Parable
In His ministry, Jesus traveled and spoke to many people, teaching and preaching to many groups and individuals. One of the interesting things about studying Jesus's ministry is that you can see that He was not a "one-trick pony" when it came to preaching and teaching. Whether in front of a vast group or one-on-one with an individual, He was a master at sharing His purpose and calling those people to a better understanding and action.
One tactic that Jesus used in teaching others was parables. A parable, the way most people explain it, is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It was a message that contained lessons about morality, behavior, and other areas of a person's life. Jesus used them on various occasions to teach about the kingdom of God and other heavenly ideas. He used words and situations that, for the people hearing, should have helped them understand. However, this was only sometimes the case.
Parables are an interesting teaching medium because the lessons are not out in the open or plainly stated. This requires the hearer to do more work to understand the meaning of the message they have heard. This required effort is likely a reason Jesus used this medium. Following Jesus requires more than listening to and agreeing with various teachings. To truly follow Jesus, we must put in extra effort, study His teachings deeply, and apply the teachings to ourselves to change our lives.
An example of this extra work is the disciples and apostles in Mark 4 waiting until Jesus was alone and then beginning to ask Him questions regarding the parable of the sower that Jesus had just taught to the masses. They did seem to understand at first, but instead of leaving and shrugging their shoulders, they asked him to explain so they could understand.
A challenge for us is studying a passage of scripture that we didn't understand when we read it at first. The word of God is filled with the most life-changing words, but it is our job to not just hear but understand, and understanding requires diligent study and prayer.