Posts that mention the parables of Jesus

Kingdom Stewards

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Matthew 21:43

When we read the Gospels, it is easy to criticize the religious leaders.
They challenged and opposed Jesus at every opportunity.
Willingly blind to the truth that stood before them.

Israel was given a solemn stewardship.
They were to point people to the coming Messiah and the Kingdom of God.
Isaiah 11 describes the Messiah and His kingdom:

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9

In Matthew 21:33-46, Jesus told a parable about that stewardship.
Israel was depicted as tenant farmers who beat and killed the messengers the vineyard owner sent until they finally killed the owner’s son.

At the end, Jesus pronounces this judgment.

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Matthew 21:43

If the stewardship of the kingdom has been taken from Israel and given to the church …

Then the question we have to ask …

How have we done with it?

How have I done?

Study Tip: Luke

By Paula

Luke's gospel is a sweeping narrative, rich in detail and scope. Polished, proper with a formal prologue, he then gives us an account of the perfect man, the Son of Man. Luke interviews witnesses, tracks down details to ensure there would be a lasting record, to prove that these stories- seemingly too good to be true, weren't. In Luke's mind, you can't argue with the facts- God became a man, and He lived among us.

Some things worth noticing as you read through Luke-

Humanity. In Luke we see the birth of Jesus, His family, an episode from His childhood among other things. But we also see Him interacting with all sorts of people, especially Gentiles and women. Tracking these encounters makes a great study.

Parables. Luke records some of the most familiar, most beautiful parables Jesus taught, including the Good Samaritan in chapter 10, and the 'lost' parables in chapter 15 culminating in the story of the Prodigal Son. These also make a great study and illustrate Luke's passionate desire to communicate to his readers that the Gospel, the kingdom of God is for them, too.

Miracles. Luke, the physician, shows a keen interest in the healing ministry of Jesus. He knew firsthand how inadequate human efforts were and He recognized Jesus had all the answers.

It's also important to note that gospel is book one of Luke's two-volume work. We'll discuss book two, Acts, in a couple of weeks.

What's your favorite passage in Luke?

Study Tip: Parables

By Paula

My Wednesday morning group is looking at a number of parables Jesus told in Mark 4, so I wanted to share some tips that may help in considering the parables.

Jesus told 3 kinds of parables- similes, metaphors, allegories.

Similes – Just the way you learned them in English class, these are simple comparisons using the words "like" or "as". We use them all the time- my son eats like a wild animal, and so on. many times, Jesus introduces these with the words, "The kingdom of heaven is like …" The thing to remember with similes, is that they highlight one idea. In the simile with my son, I drew attention to his table manners- or lack thereof. When Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, what aspect is He highlighting? Maybe… It starts small and insignificant but grows.

Metaphors– A metaphor is a comparison without any "road markers" to identify them. In Mark 4 Jesus says, "Do you light a lamp and then stick it under the bed? No! You put it on a lampstand." (That's a paraphrase.) Like similes, metaphors are one-idea comparisons, so don't torture them into saying too much. What was Jesus getting at with this metaphor? He never mentions the word gospel at all, but He's explaining to His disciples that the gospel message wasn't meant to be hidden in a dark corner somewhere, but preached so that it can bring the most benefit to the most people.

Allegory– An allegory is a story in which the characters and situations stand for somethings else in order to relate a moral truth. The parable of the sower is a tremendous allegory and Jesus explains it for the disciples after He's finished teaching the crowds that day. I won't detail the parable or the explanation here, but it's well worth a deep study. Unlike the similes and metaphors, a number of ideas are bundled up in an allegory– The sower just sows. If you're a sower, don't worry about tilling, watering or weeding. The seed, the message, is the same. Some will receive the message. Most won't.

The key to interpreting and understanding the parables is sticking with the type and not making them say more than they do.

Worth It

By Paula

Yesterday in class, my boys and I looked at the story of Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8. In verses 5-6, it describes the revival that broke out in Samaria after Philip preached the gospel to them. In v. 26, though, Philip gets new orders. "Arise and go on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza." Then the writer adds a note "This is desert."

Why would God yank this super-evangelist and send him out in the middle of nowhere?

Because there was a man who needed some guidance. It wasn't that the man was more important than city full of Samaritans, even though he was wealthy, and had power and position. The thing is, he wasn't less important. He was like the one lost sheep in Jesus' parable. God pulled Philip away from the 99, to go get that one sheep.

That one man was worth it.

So am I. And so are you.

God loves us that much.

A Parable of Facebook

By Paula

: Image via Wikipedia

My husband hated Facebook. Let me back up a step. He hates computers, not in a Unabomber, anti-technology kind of way, I mean he has one, and he uses one at work, but they are a necessary evil, on the order of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Facebook, in his mind, was a timewaster. He didn't "get" it and quite frankly didn't want to. It wasn't for him. He didn't understand what the big deal was. It was a closed community. People who were on Facebook spoke their own little lingo that was as intelligible as Russian. (Jon could probably understand Greek, so THAT old metaphor is no good here.) It was irrelevant and he couldn't see any use for it in his life.

I tried to be the Facebook apologist. I know Facebook has its issues. It may not be what the designers envisioned and, yes, there are a lot of, uh, nuts there, but I use it everyday. People read my blog because it posts to Facebook. I keep in touch with all the 20-something nieces and nephews. It's a non-threatening way to touch base with folks who used to come to our church. I've reconnected with folks I haven't seen or talked to in 10 or 20 years.

He was not impressed.

So I sent an invite to join Facebook and suggested a couple dozen friends for him. Maybe he just needed a little encouragement, and this way he would have a ready-made bunch of connections, I thought. The friends all responded and Jon was swamped with 20-some emails. He was NOT amused. He was more irritated at Facebook. He was more confused at the "system". I had overplayed and lost him. I wrote him off as a Facebook hater.

I quit mentioning the FB-word. Instead, I'd relay a little bit of news, here and there. A new baby someone was expecting. A nephew's race results. It wasn't long before he asked, "How'd you find out?" Facebook. For weeks, not even daily, this went on. Until one night, after I'd gone to bed, alone at his desk, he joined Facebook.

I found out the next morning as MY inbox was deluged with messages informing me that everyone added a friend I suggested. Then I found him in the kitchen making breakfast. "You joined Facebook!" I said. He said, "Yeah, but I'm still not sure I get it." So I helped him with a few settings to make it more useful for him.

We haven't had that "I love this-best decision I ever made!" moment, but he's in there, working at it. I think he'll like it even more than the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Sooooo – (And this was HIS brilliant realization, not mine) How much is this like trying to reach people for Christ? It's a parable/analogy so the correlation is not perfect, but as believers, are we an irrelevant, closed community that outsiders don't get? Are we a bunch of time-wastin' nuts? Do we write people off as Jesus-haters, because they don't buy our pitch? Do we ever quit talking/selling it and just live it? Do we push too hard and annoy people or do we answer 'no' for them and never bother to ask?

Something to think about.

Why Study? Jesus’ Answer

By Paula

After giving a series of parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His words. They answered that they did, and He replied:

(MSG) [Jesus] said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.” Matthew 13:52

In that simple statement, Jesus answers the question of why we need to study. God has a storehouse of wisdom and instruction in His Word- Old and New Testament- that covers the range of human experiences. Studying helps us find the answers we need AND the answers for others who come to us for insight.

The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us absorb, interpret and apply all these things, but He won’t unless we apply ourselves to learning.

After giving a series of parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His words. They answered that they did, and He replied: