Could some of the parables be real?

Answer 1

It is unlikely that any of the parables were real. In fact, it is likely that most, if not all, of the parables were never really spoken by Jesus.

Most of the parables attributed to Jesus are in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Scholars say that these parables were copied by the authors of these two gospels from the hypothetical 'Q' document. The Q document, in turn, was built up in four layers over a period of several years. It seems likely that, at best, only the parables of the first layer could really have been spoken by Jesus, with the later parables being pious additions.