Parables in the New Testament Are Easy to Remember Stories. Some were illustrations the people related to, while others were pictures of religious leaders who were controlling the congregation. As defined in the New Thayer Lexicon, a parable is “a narrative, fictitious, but agreeable to the laws and usages of human life..” Some Parables are used to reinforce a teaching, making the points the speaker wants to stress. Often the Parable is a metaphor, drawing a word-picture for the listeners. In the Hebrew Scriptures Parables are often very brief, but Ezekiel makes use of these more extensively.