Last time we discussed that metaphors are implied comparisons. Psalm 100:3 declares, “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Note the metaphor: We are sheep. The metaphor does not state an actual fact; we are not literally sheep. Rather, the metaphor offers a comparison. Similes are formal comparisons using the words like or as. Isaiah 53:6 uses simile: “All of us like sheep have gone astray.” As a formal comparison, the simile is more true to fact. People often resemble wandering sheep.

Parables are extended similes. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44). Note that this parable begins with a simile. In this case, Jesus draws out the comparison. In addition to being extended similes, parables are also stories that could actually take place. A man can find a treasure in a field, sell all that he has, and buy the field. When interpreting a parable, your task is to determine the central comparison set forth by the extended simile. The point of this little story is that the value of the kingdom of heaven exceeds all else.

“He spoke another parable to them, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened’” (Matt. 13:33). Here is another extended simile. It is a story that can take place. Women often put yeast in flour and make bread. The yeast spreads and affects the whole lump of dough. The central message of this parable is the promise that the kingdom will inevitably grow.

Isaiah 5:1-2 presents another parable in poetic form. “Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones.” This is a story that can take place. A man can dig and plant a vineyard and his vineyard can produce bad fruit. This little story does not begin with a simile. However, it can be reduced to a simile, a central formal comparison: God’s servants are often like a vineyard that bears only bad fruit.

Isaiah 5:3-4 interprets this parable. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?” God is the vinedresser. The people of Judah and Jerusalem are the vineyard. Significantly, the parable is interpreted using metaphors too. Notice this interplay.

Remember these basic definitions and rules regarding similes and parables. Similes are formal comparisons. Parables are extended similes. If a parable does not begin with a simile, you should be able to reduce the parable to a simile. Parables are stories that could have actually taken place. Because parables are extended similes, formal comparisons, interpretation requires you to determine the central comparison of the parable. Seeking to pursue all the details of a parable will lead you astray. It is the central comparison that counts.