In the New Testament we find numerous parables that have become part of our popular culture over the centuries. Jesus taught almost exclusively in parables (Mark 4:34) in order to veil the meaning from the uninspired (Mark 4:12). A parable is a short story through which Jesus taught gospel principle. A parable is referred to as a didactic story because it is intended to teach a moral concept. Many of the parables are hyperbole which means they are an extreme exaggeration to prove a point. I suspect that the original audience would have found great humor in the message, a humor that has been lost over the centuries. The greatest teachers use humor and if Jesus is to be considered the master teacher, we should assume he used humor a fair bit. The Jesuit Priest James Martin explains in a special article to CNN that “one difficulty with finding humor in the New Testament is that what was seen as funny to those living in Jesus’ time may not seem funny to us.” And “Too many Gospel stories have become stale, like overly repeated jokes.” (more…)