The other Sunday at church, I was preaching on Luke 8. We went for it and covered the whole chapter with its big stories and its big signs. We might wonder what those miracles in the second part of the chapter have to do with the parables at the start. Well, it struck me that… Continue reading Letting God’s Word do its work in the light
Tag: parables
Lost sons, shrewd stewards and loved beggars -common themes across the parables
One of the fascinating things that stands out as we read the parables of Jesus is to see the literary themes that link them together. As well as linking back to the stories about a lost sheep and a lost coin, the parable of the prodigal son links forward to the two parables in Luke… Continue reading Lost sons, shrewd stewards and loved beggars -common themes across the parables
The Good News of the Kingdom
Matthew and Mark cluster together a series of parables with a strong farming theme to illustrate what God’s kingdom is like.[1] Luke selects one of those parables at this stage, the main and longer one about a sower and seed. He pairs this with one also included by Mark at this stage about a lamp… Continue reading The Good News of the Kingdom
The pearl of great price -another perspective
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells two parables about valuable treasure. First he describes a man finding a a field with buried treasure in it. He sells everything in order to purchase the field and so own the treasure in it (13:44), then in the following verse he tells of a merchant who finds a pearl… Continue reading The pearl of great price -another perspective
In a world where no-one is allowed to say no, this is an uncomfortable parable
You know the parable about the wedding feast don’t you? That’s right, it’s the one where the people are invited come up with lots of excuses for why they cannot attend on the day. Do you know how it ends? You might assume that it ends with all the people brought in from the highways… Continue reading In a world where no-one is allowed to say no, this is an uncomfortable parable
Provoked
In the Old Testament, the prophet Nathan tells a parable like story to king David about a rich farmer who takes and kills his poor neighbour’s lamb. David doesn’t realise at first but when it is pointed out to him that the story is about him, it provokes repentance. Jesus sometimes told stories that challenged… Continue reading Provoked
Taking on the religious guardians (Mark 12)
Jesus’ opponents were looking for an excuse to have Jesus arrested. Here in his last week, Mark puts the focus on their attempts to trap him. I guess that in a sense 12:1-12 forms a kind of invitation to “bring it on.” Jesus tells a parable which might also be seen as a figurative retelling… Continue reading Taking on the religious guardians (Mark 12)
God’s Growing kingdom (Mark 4:26-34)
The imagery throughout Mark 4 is centred on this small seed which gets planted, buried in the ground and begins to grow. Yes there’s this period of time when it’s hidden from sight, when n-one knows what happens, yes there are the obstacles: birds, rocks, thorns but growth and fruitfulness is inevitable. That’s what we… Continue reading God’s Growing kingdom (Mark 4:26-34)
God’s Word at work bringing growth (Mark 4: 1-34)
We now have a cluster of parables about God’s kingdom with farming imagery dominating. The most famous of these is the parable of the Sower (or perhaps more accurately ‘soils’) where seed lands on different types of ground bringing different outcomes. There are things that prevent seed from taking root, growing and bearing fruit reflecting… Continue reading God’s Word at work bringing growth (Mark 4: 1-34)
Faithroots 