One third of Jesus' recorded words in the New Testament are parables. If these stories were so important to him, they should also be important to us. Jesus was a communications genius, his parables convey important spiritaul truths - appealing to young and old, rich and poor, educated and non-educated - because they are not just a story to be understood, they are a spiritual tempertature gauge.

Deceptively simple, often taken from everyday Palestinian life; the parables are not just aimed to inform, don't even stop at transforming peoples' lives, but go further; to become part of the means Jesus uses to secure faith in men and women's hearts - they put us in touch with his mind.