1. Parables of the Kingdom Jesus and the Use of Parables in the Synoptic Gospels

2. Session One The importance of the parables can hardly be overestimated The parables are generally regarded by scholars as among the sayings which we can confidently ascribe to the historical Jesus Perhaps no part of the Gospels, then, can better put us into touch with the mind of Jesus Christ than the parables They still today present us with the challenge with which Jesus encountered his hearers in first-century Palestine The story begins when the teller stops talking Parables are meant to involve us and challenge us t o change our perspective, our hearts and our behavior The parables invite us to live in a new way, in a way worthy of the Gospel

3. Session One The Parable in the Ancient World When Jesus preached so strikingly in parables, he did not create a new literary genre. Rather, he made brilliant use of a genre which was already of long tradition and which was familiar to all throughout the Mediterranean world In Israel, parables were uttered by prophets and wise women and men. They appear even in the oldest books of the Old Testament. Parables were often used by Jewish rabbis who were contemporaries of Jesus The parables which most closely resemble Jesus' are those in the Old Testament and rabbinic literature These Semitic parables (as distinct from the classical) are no doubt the predecessors of those we find preserved in the Synoptic Gospels

4. Session One What is a Parable? At its simplest a parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought." (C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom , New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961, p. 5) Most parables contain some element that is strange or unusual. They should cause you to say, "Wait a minute! That's not how farmers do their work! That's not what kings usually do! That's not what normally happens in nature!" And this strange element should cause you to think!

5. Session One The Three Types of Parables All three types, have this in common, that they present an implied comparison between an experience or event from ordinary, everyday life, and a reality of the moral or religious order Similitude: The similitude is the most concise type of parable. It briefly narrates a typical or recurrent event from real life. It tells a story which everyone would recognize as a familiar experience. Parable: The parable is often (though not always) longer and more detailed than the similitude. The parable tells a story, not about something recurrent in real life, but about a one-time event which is fictitious Exemplary Story: The exemplary story presents, not an analogy, but an example, one specific case which illustrates a general principle

6. Session One The Use of the Parable in Jesus' Ministry Certainly it could not have been Jesus' intention to use parables in order to render his message incomprehensible The purpose of a parable is to strike the imagination, to pique the curiosity, to make the listener reflect and work to arrive at the meaning, but only so that the lesson will be more deeply engraved on the mind. The purpose of a parable is to move to decision or action; paradoxically, that purpose is perhaps more effectively achieved precisely because the speaker proceeds indirectly rather than directly.

7. Session One What is the Kingdom of God? Through parables Jesus taught about God and about te Kingdom of God But Jesus did not come among us primarily to establish the Church. His main mission was to promote and manifest the Kingdom of God. He entered our midst to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is close at hand (Mark 1:15), to call us to conversion and repentance (Luke 10:13-15; Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 13:1-5, 19:41-44), and to urge us to be watchful and ready for the Kingdom (Luke 12:35-40; Matthew 25:1-13). The Kingdom is not a physical place but the event of God’s reign. The Kingdom of God has a similar meaning. It exists wherever God's will is at work. And God's will is at work wherever people are faithful to the command that we love one another as God first loved us

8. Session One Where are the Parables ? Matthew 13: 3, 10, 13, 18, 24, 31, 33, 34a, 34b, 35, 36, 53; 15:15; 21:33, 45; 22:1; 24:32 Mark 3:23; 4:2, 10, 11, 13a, 13b, 30, 33, 34; 7:17; 12:1, 12; 13:28 Luke 4:23; 5:36; 6:39; 8:4, 9, 10, 11; 12:16, 41; 13:6; 14:7; 15:3; 18:1, 9; 19:11; 20:9, 19; 21:29 Most of the material Matt and Luke have which is not in Mark are sayings of Jesus. Some from Q; some unique to Matt or Luke Matt and Luke use parables found in Mark, but with their particular spin. Each Gospel was written for a specific community, at a specific time, for a specific reason

9. Session One Common Themes in Parables Great reversals e.g. first shall be last Growth and transformation over time –nature parables Joy of finding what has been lost Effect of mixing ingredients – yeast with flour to make bread; salt flavors meat and preserves it like nothing else Living in the Kingdom of God: coming of the Kingdom, grace of the Kingdom, discipleship, now and not yet