Jesus of Nazareth was a master teacher. Some of His most well known teachings are told in short stories called parables. Yeah, like the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant that was looking for pearls. When he found the ultimate pearl, he sold everything so that he could buy it. It must have been some pretty amazing pearl! Or, the Kingdom of God it is like a tiny mustard seed that a farmer planted in his garden. It grew and became a huge tree and birds came to perch in its branches. That is a beautiful image but, what does it mean? Exactly. Jesus did not tell parables to make everything clear. Rather, He wanted to provoke the imagination and invite people to see what God is doing in the world from a new perspective. So, let us talk about how to read the parables of Jesus. There are many great teachers that throughout history have used stories to teach students about morality, religion, and philosophy. But Jesus did not use his parables to teach abstract religious or moral ideals. He said that His parables were about Himself and His mission. His mission, which was to announce that the Kingdom of God was arriving, on earth as it is in heaven. Right! So, in Jesus' day the Israelites were ruled by the Roman Empire. But their Scriptures promised that one day their God would come to rule His people as king. So, many Israelites wanted to revolt against Rome and fight for their freedom. This is what some people thought of as the Kingdom of God. Exactly! But Jesus was a poor traveling prophet, healing the sick, inviting people to follow Him. And He said that this was the arrival of God's kingdom. That did not fit people's expectations. Right! and so Jesus used some parables to help people imagine that His small movement was the arrival of God's kingdom. Oh, yeah! Like the parable that the Kingdom of God is yeast hidden in a lump of dough. You might not see its influence but it is going to change everything. Jesus also told parables about the upside down values of God's Kingdom, about how the least important people in the world are actually the most important people to God, especially those who are poor and of low status. Yeah, like the parable of the business owner who hired workers throughout the day: in the morning, later in the day, and even towards the end of the day, and when it was time to pay everyone, he paid them all the same wage. Right, Jesus is showing how money and status are irrelevant to God, who offers His generous mercy to everybody. Now, not all of the parables have happy endings. Some are really intense. Yes, Jesus stood in the tradition of Israel's prophets who also told parables to criticize Israel's leaders because they mistook their kingdom for God's. So, Jesus warned the leaders of his day if they do not accept his offer of God's kingdom, they are headed for destruction. Yeah, like the parable of the land owner who built a wonderful vineyard. and He expects it to produce fruit. Yes, Jesus gets this parable from the prophet Isaiah but then he adapts it. Right. So the land owner appoints managers to take care of his vineyard and at harvest, he sends servants to collect the fruit. But those managers kill the servants. So the landowner sends own son to confront the managers and they kill him, too. So Jesus asks the people around him, "What do you all think this land owner should do?" Oh, he is going to punish those managers and hire new ones. Jesus knew that if Israel kept on their current path, they would be destroyed by Rome. So, in parables like these, He is forcing people to make a decision about His offer of God's kingdom. Are people going to reject Him, ignore Him, or trust and follow Him? Now, if this message of God's Kingdom is so important, why cloak it in parables? Why not be more clear? Well, through riddles and parables, Jesus could make really bold claims that reveal truth to people who are open minded. For those who have ears to hear, they can ponder it and go deeper. But, the parables would also conceal His message from those who were against Him so that He could buy more time. Buy time? For what? Well, Jesus was preparing His closest followers for the greatest surprise yet. Jesus claimed that Israel's God was coming to rule over His people, not through coercion or violent force but through self-giving love, as He was going to die for their sins. But His death was not the end. Right. He said that His death would be like a tiny seed buried in the ground but then it would grow and produce a crop with many seeds. So, these parables explain who Jesus was and what He was up to. And the gospel authors have preserved these parables so that now, every generation of Jesus' followers can read and ponder them. And imagine how God's Kingdom is still at work, even today. Right! These ancient parables are still full of new surprises and challenges. They are like a storehouse packed with treasures, some that are new, some that are old. And it is all just waiting to be discovered.
The spoiler tag makes me giggle. Thanks for posting.
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but what were the Reformed specific issues with Bible Project? I think it was something along the lines of not believing in substitutionary atonement and some other things? Refresh my memory.
I'm not sure if I missed something but It just seems that their interpretation of things is foreign to me. 1. Jesus being a teacher/prophet (no mention of divinity 2. First time I heard to parable of the evil workers in the vineyard interpreted like that.