The distinction lies in this: the similitude and parable present an analogy between two very different things (e.g. the reign of God is compared to seed, a sinner to a lost coin). The exemplary ...

In another parable Jesus used the image of a farmer sowing his crops to explain how people respond to God’s word. The farmer sowed the seeds and they fell on different types of ground.

It's hard to make sense out of all these different things together. We also of course have the parables, which seem to be a kind of social commentary on the world of Galilee. We occasionally meet ...