The Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

Today we leave Matthew’s parables discourse behind and start another sequence of parables, scattered throughout the middle chapters of Luke. If Matthew’s were “parables of the Kingdom,” we might call these parables in Luke “parables of the lost and found.” And so, appropriately, today we’ll look at the first two of these, the Parables of … Continue reading The Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

Scribes for the Kingdom (And the Matthew 13 Parables Discourse in Review)

So far we’ve looked at the seven parables that make up the ‘parables discourse’ in Matthew 13. But guess what? The conclusion of that discourse as a whole includes another parable, and it’s the oddest of the bunch. So today, we’ll be looking at that parable through the lens of the discourse as a whole. … Continue reading Scribes for the Kingdom (And the Matthew 13 Parables Discourse in Review)

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

After explaining the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, Jesus ends his parables discourse with three rapid-fire parables. The third of these acts as a nice book-end to the discourse, so we’ll leave that for next time, but the other two will be our focus today. These are the Parables of the Hidden Treasure … Continue reading The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven

Jesus’ parables discourse in Matthew ‘s Gospel gets off to a rollicking start. Fist he tells the Parable of the Sower, with its public message of an exorbitantly generous God but private message about the variability in reception to his message. Then he tells the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, on the need … Continue reading The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven