Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem turned up the heat on everyone, from Jesus himself to his disciples to the religious authorities, to the crowds, to the Romans. In this context, Jesus has gotten into a battle of will and wits with the Temple leaders and Pharisees, as though he’s trying to make every moment count … Continue reading The Parable of the Bridesmaids
The last couple of parables we’ve looked at here in Matthew have threaded the line between grace and judgment. But today we move headlong into the parables of judgment, with the Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard. It’s a text that’s important to me, but also one that has a long history of antisemitic … Continue reading The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard
Last time, we rewound and started joining Matthew’s account of Jesus’ travels to Jerusalem with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Today we we continue that journey with another parable of both grace and judgment, the Parable of the Day Labourers. Text As found in Matthew 20.1-16, the parable goes like this: [20.1] The Kingdom … Continue reading The Parable of the Day Labourers
I mentioned the other week that I was feeling the weekly 'What's Lighting Me Up' post had run its course, but I still wanted to engage with pop culture in an intentional way. So today I'm introducing a new format to do a quick roundup of what I've been listening to, reading, and watching lately … Continue reading Culture Roundup (August 9, 2025): Initial Thoughts on the Booker Long List
Over the last two posts, we’ve used the two versions of the Parable of the Great Banquet to transition from Luke’s parables of grace to Matthew’s parables of judgment. But today, we’ll rewind a bit in Matthew’s Gospel and look at a parable that balances these two themes: the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant from … Continue reading The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Matthew Root 