Christ's Miracles as Moral Parables Transparent with Truth

Maclaren observes that John's Gospel contains no parables in the traditional sense, yet every miracle narrated becomes a parable itself. The outward event communicates spiritual and religious truth through what he calls the 'semi-transparent' visible fact. This principle rests upon an instinctive human apprehension of analogy between the spiritual and natural worlds—the very analogy poets, orators, and religious teachers have always exploited.…