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    Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth
    Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth
    Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth

    By John Zehring

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    About this ebook

    Jesus was master of the parable. His stories made people think for themselves. That is a hallmark of the parable: it is not so much for another to tell you what it means but for you to discover its meaning to you. A dozen of the most beloved parables from Jesus of Nazareth are presented for study and inspiration to help you apply the bible to your life today. "Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth" also lends itself well to adult study groups.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Zehring
    Release dateOct 21, 2016
    ISBN9781370756810
    Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth
    Author

    John Zehring

    John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

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      Book preview

      Favorite Parables from Jesus of Nazareth - John Zehring

      Favorite Parables

      from Jesus of Nazareth

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

      John Zehring

      Copyright 2016 John Zehring

      INTRODUCTION

      Think about the learning you remember best. Lecture? Lists? Tables? Facts? Dates? Chronologies? Truths? Sayings? Perhaps our memories are best engaged by stories. We remember the story. Even if told over and over with some details changed here and there, the overall story and its message remains.

      Jesus of Nazareth was a story-teller. He was master of the parable. When challenged with a question, sometimes with malicious intent, he answered with a story. His stories made people think for themselves. That is a hallmark of the parable: it is not so much for another to tell you what it means but for you to discover for yourself its meaning to you. Some of Jesus’ parables were so simple that a young child could understand. For example, the Good Samaritan is the one who stops to help other in need. Go and do likewise, Jesus said. Others are so difficult that even biblical scholars struggle to suggest an interpretation. Many parables have layers of meanings so that just when you have peeled back one and think you’ve got it you continue to peel and discover even more levels of understanding.

      The point of this work is to consider some of the favorite parables. These are the most beloved. Some interpretation or background explanation is offered for your study but in every case you must confront the story and think for yourself about what it means to you. That was the intent of the storyteller from Nazareth.

      Why title this from Jesus of Nazareth? Why not simply from Jesus Christ?

      Because Christ was not Jesus’ last name. Christ means the anointed one. That is from the Greek. In Hebrew it is translated as Messiah. In Jesus’ day people were named by whom they came from (e.g., Jesus bar Joseph, or, Jesus the son of Joseph) or by where they came from (Jesus of Nazareth). I have no question that Jesus was anointed… sent by God. But I also like to remember that he was a real person in the flesh who visited our planet and was settled in a village named Nazareth. What’s in a name? Lots. To consider Jesus to have both the title and the place name recognizes that Jesus was both divine and human. Jesus was God and he was human. It is affirming to consider that the Son of God should know better than anyone… ever… what God is like so that his stories carry a heightened credibility to tell us about God’s nature. On the other hand, it is also reassuring to consider that Jesus the master teacher from the village of Nazareth would address our human needs, anxieties, wondering and search for truth. He was like us.

      There are different ways to approach the parables. They can be approached devotionally, seeking inspiration and uplift for daily living. They can be approached as a study, seeking to consider them in their context and their possible intended meaning to original hearers. Let us attempt both here. To neglect their potential meaning for you today renders them as nothing but old stories told for benefit to another. To neglect their context and biblical setting renders them as not much more than inspirational fables and does injustice to biblical scholarship that undergirds their understanding.

      And so, to begin with, we must understand that half of Jesus’ parables were about the Kingdom of God.

      THE KINGDOM OF GOD

      Jesus talked more about the Kingdom of God than any other topic. It was his highest priority. No other subject content surpasses the number of times he taught about God’s Kingdom.

      When he was asked why he came to this planet, he answered that he came to proclaim the Kingdom of God. That is the reason he came, his purpose for being here. But he said to them, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God… for I was sent for this purpose. (Luke 4:43)

      When he was asked how to communicate with God, he answered to pray like this: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Worshippers pray for God’s Kingdom from the Lord’s Prayer in every worship service.

      When he was asked, in the Sermon on the Mount, which of all his teachings was most important he answered by prefacing the teaching with the word "first": Strive first for the Kingdom of God. The King James Version puts it this way: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. No priority was higher to Jesus than the Kingdom. First means #1. Most important.

      Ironically, Jesus never said exactly what the Kingdom of God is. Rather, he told stories to explain that It’s like this. Half of Jesus’ parables begin that way: The Kingdom of God is like… Such is the great benefit of parables, for they can tell what something is like. Parables point to profound truths.

      Sometimes Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God and other times of the Kingdom of Heaven. Scholars may delineate fine lines of difference but for the most part they are used interchangeably. Except for one thing: The word heaven is not like the modern concept – tempered through centuries of literature, art and translations – of the place you go when you die, as in heaven and hell. Jesus the Jew probably had a vastly different understanding of the word than, say, Dante. When you see the phrase Kingdom of Heaven assume it is basically a parallel to Kingdom of God. Matthew uses the expression Kingdom of Heaven whereas Mark and Luke use Kingdom of God. See the section FAST FACTS about the authors of the synoptic gospels to consider the audience to which each author was addressing and the emphasis of their particular message.

      Some biblical interpreters today choose other words for king and kingdom. To speak of kings might imply an age or place where citizens were subjects and kingdoms were not run for the benefit of the common people. So, some might prefer the word divine sovereign or realm. We want to respect those sensitivities but I have favored using the same words Jesus used as translated by the New Revised Standard Version.

      Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God in teachings and parables. One teaching stands out. As noted, Jesus never really explained what the Kingdom of God is despite the fact that it was his highest priority. The closest he came was by using a parallelism in the Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

      The bible uses parallelism frequently where one phrase or part of a verse amplifies, explains, clarifies or builds upon the other. In parallel form, both parts of the verse mean approximately the same thing. If you have difficulty understanding the meaning of a verse, see if it has a parallel partner to clarify or explain. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus used parallelism when he said Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…. Both phrases mean about the same thing. It is like saying "in other words." God’s Kingdom could therefore be interpreted as wherever and whenever God’s will is being done… today on earth as it is in heaven. You would be well-served to make a substitution when you see the phrase Kingdom of God: Substitute my doing of God’s will or the doing of God’s will. Whenever you are desiring to do God’s will, you are in God’s Kingdom. Pray this phrase with trepidation and the utmost of holiness because when you say these words, you are inviting God to have God’s will with you... to put God’s will above your own will. It is a prayer of yielding. The one who prays these words is volunteering to submit to God’s will, to yield to God’s desire and to trust that God knows and wants what is best for you. Try this interpretation on for size as you study Jesus’ parables when he says The Kingdom of God is like…

      An alternative: substitute for the Kingdom of God the phrase God’s way. What is the way of God in our relationships, in our world and in the reality we encounter day by day? What is God-like behavior? Jesus came to teach us about God’s way. His parables might just as well begin with the saying God’s way is like… Or, A God-like life is like… The Kingdom of God = God’s way.

      The parables about the

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