Over one third of the recorded teachings of Christ consist of parables. Why did Christ teach in parables? Well, parables in the days of Christ were equivalent to what we would call today visual aids. It has been discovered that visual aids -- what the eye sees -- leaves a much deeper impression than what one simply hears. Parables are simply word pictures. Jesus took incidences in life, He took things from nature, He took things that people were familiar with and He gave them some wonderful spiritual truths. Jesus taught in parables to communicate to His hearers the message of salvation in a clear and simple manner.