Based on the texts of the Synoptic gospels and the history of the interpretation of Jesus' parables, this article analyzes thoroughly the structure of the parables and proposes seven models. These models show that parables, as a kind of quoted speech/saying, are both flexible and fixed in form. They consist of the essential narrative element placed next to the object of discourse, with the relationship between the metaphor and the object of the discourse described by the Greek terms ơμoɩóω/oѷꚍωϛ (as if/so). The analysis provides a framework for interpreting Jesus' parables and identifying whether a given saying is a parable.