Parables of Jesus the unforgiving servant, dealing with forgiveness; the parable of the Good Samaritan, dealing with practical love; and the parable of the Friend at Night, dealing with persistence in prayer. Of the thirty or so parables in the canonical Gospels, four were shown in medieval art almost to the exclusion of the others, but not mixed in with the narrative scenes of the "Life of Christ". These were: the Ten Virgins, the Rich man and Lazarus, the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Artists famous for depicting parables include Martin Schongauer, Pieter the Elder Bruegal and Albrecht Dürer. The Workers in
Parables of Jesus the Empty Jar. The noncanonical Apocryphon of James also contains three unique parables attributed to Jesus. They are known as "The Parable of the Ear of Grain", "The Parable of the Grain of Wheat", and "The Parable of the Date-Palm Shoot". The hypothetical Q document is seen as a source for some of the parables in Matthew, Luke, and Thomas. In the Gospel of Matthew (13:10–17) Jesus provides an answer when asked about his use of parables: The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied, <br><DD>"The knowledge of the secrets