‘And Peter answered and said to him, “Declare to us the parable.” '
That the disciples were wrestling with this problem was understandable. For years they had grown up believing that in general the Pharisees' way was the right way, even if they had nor fully followed it. They had grown up recognising the importance of ritual for their lives as being of prime importance. It was therefore difficult for them to thrust all that aside and see everything from a new perspective. And if they were to do so they must ensure that they had got it right. So Peter, on their behalf, bravely speaks up again, asks for an explanation of Jesus' words, and has to take the gentle rebuke addressed to them all. Here ‘parable' simply means ‘a saying', although a saying with an inner meaning. The problem was, what did Jesus really mean?