Bible Strands
Matthew 13:34
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a crowd in Matthew 13, concluding a sequence of kingdom parables. He uses this statement to summarize his teaching method during this specific phase of his ministry.
The words — The Greek term παραβολαῖς (parabolais) denotes parables or figurative comparisons. The phrase πᾶντα ἐλάλησεν (panta elalēsen) literally records that he "spoke all things."
The thread — This consistent use of parables appears in Mark 4:33, where Jesus adapts his message to the crowd's capacity to understand. John 16:25 contrasts this period with a future time when Jesus will no longer speak in figures.
Why it lands — The text states Jesus deliberately withheld direct explanation, relying entirely on parabolic speech. A reader must decide whether this method functions as a filter for understanding or a deliberate concealment of truth.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Cross-references
- Mark 4:33 With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
- John 16:25 I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
- Matthew 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’