In A Lesson Before Dying, why is Jefferson compared to Jesus?

There are several circumstances toward the end of A Lesson Before Dying that do the most to explain a comparison between Jefferson and Jesus. One circumstance is that Jefferson is executed on Good Friday. Good Friday is important because it is the day on which Jesus was executed, or crucified. This shared day, a holy day, establishes an analogy between Jefferson and Jesus through the similar details of their deaths. Another circumstance is that Wiggins connects Jefferson's last days, the time during which Jefferson keeps a journal, with both teaching and believing. The concept of belief ties Jefferson to Jesus because Jesus taught belief and embodied belief. A third circumstance is that Wiggins concludes that Jefferson was the real teacher between the two of them and a true teacher. Jesus is conventionally referred to as a great teacher or a true teacher. This third analogy between Jefferson and Jesus deepens the reasons for why Jefferson is compared to Jesus.

How are parallels between Jefferson and Jesus developed in "A Lesson Before Dying"?

I can see the parallels between Jefferson and Jesus. Both were innocent men who were executed. In chapter 28, Jefferson seems to see that parallel himself when he says to Grant, "Your cross, Nannan’s cross, my own cross. . . . You’all axe a lot, Mr. Wiggins. . . .Who ever car’d my cross?" It is Grant who has learned a lesson, though: "My eyes were closed before this moment, Jefferson. My eyes have been closed all my life. Yes, we all need you. Every last one of us."

As for scriptural connotations of the word "lesson," all I can think of is that Jesus was called "rabbi," or teacher. His method of "teaching" was to tell stories, or what we might call today "object lessons." These stories are classified as parables. In a sense, A Lesson Before Dying is itself a parable. Indeed, in one of his parables, Jesus taught "don't cast your pearls before swine," which is exactly how Grant felt at the beginning. Why teach someone so ungrateful of his help. He comes to learn, however, that redemption belongs to everyone.