Have you ever wondered why Jesus often spoke in parables? Are you curious about what lessons we can learn from these parables today? Pastor and bestselling author John MacArthur breaks down the parables and teaches us how we can apply these deceptively simple stories to modern Christianity. Jesus was a master storyteller, and the parables he often told were no exception. Beneath these unassuming stories were deeply profound spiritual lessons that were designed to reach all who heard them--from the faithful to the faithless--and they're still relevant today. In Parables, MacArthur argues that these short, memorable stories represented more than just symbolism or a clever teaching style--they were carefully crafted tales that made the mysteries of the Gospel more accessible to everyday believers. Parables will help you see Jesus' teachings in a brand new light, addressing some of the most common questions on the topic, including: When did Jesus start teaching in parables? What makes parables so accessible? How can we interpret these stories? What common threads link each of the parables together? What do parables teach us about the kingdom of God? MacArthur has spent a lifetime sharing the Word of God in clear and comprehensible terms with believers of all walks of life. Let him be your guide as he sheds light on the essential lessons contained in the most infamous and influential short stories the world has ever known.

Jesus was a master storyteller, and the parables He told were ingeniously simple word pictures. Some of them were no more than fleeting remarks about commonplace incidents, objects, or persons. In fact, the most compact of all Jesus' short stories does not even fill a complete verse of Scripture. Yet the all were filled with profound spiritual lessons that He wanted His listeners to hear and understand. Jesus told these parables so they would clearly comprehend His message about the kingdom of God and the reason He had come to earth. In the Parables Workbook, master expositor and Bible commentator John MacArthur draws on his years spent studying and explaining the Word of God to guide readers through some of the most famous and influential short stories that Jesus told. Each session contains the following: Biblical focus: the primary passages on which the session draws Another look: questions to facilitate review of content in the book Biblical connections: questions that focus on the main Bible passage Highlighting the lesson: questions that focus on the central teaching points Lasting implications: questions to help draw out personal conclusions Daily assignments: five sets of questions that reflect on the parable, the point, the purpose, the principles, and the practical application This workbook has been designed to enhance readers' experience of reading the book and is intended both for individual use and for study in a small-group setting.

2022 Catholic Media Association first place award in scripture: academic studies In this book, which covers all of Jesus’ parables, award-winning author Gerhard Lohfink takes a closer look at the origins of each one—its shape, its realistic details, but most of all its original message and the situation into which it was once spoken. Jesus’ parables speak in bold images of the kingdom of God, making it present to us as they reveal something of the mystery of his own person. Lohfink also offers a review of some of the scholarship in this area—as this topic has sustained research on Jesus since the first telling of these stories—but not for the purposes of debate. His reflections interpret the forty parables and show how they speak of the coming of the reign of God, lead us to Jesus, and reveal the mystery of Jesus himself.

The parables of Jesus seem designed to sneak up on us and upend our assumptions. The familiar takes an unexpected turn and the listener's secret thoughts are exposed. In these twelve-session LifeGuide® Bible Study, John White invites us to lend an ear to thes greatest stories ever told—stories with power to reveal us to ourselves.

Segments of Christensen's painting interpreting 12 parables provide the basis for Millet's expert commentary on the parables and four other teaching stories recorded in the New Testament.

"Some sections of the Bible give us grand theology. Some move us to grateful responses to God. But the parables break through mere words and make us ask whether there has indeed been any real difference in our lives." In this beloved classic, James Boice takes us systematically through the parables of Jesus, grouping them into five categories: parables of the kingdom, salvation, wisdom and folly, the Christian life, and judgment. In each section Boice brings Jesus' words to bear on life today. Through his careful study and clear explanation of each parable—born from a sermon series he preached at the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he pastored for 32 years—he helps us understand just what Jesus meant, and how our hearts and lives ought to respond. Jesus' parables are memorable for a reason. Discover their power for yourself.

Craig Blomberg surveys the contemporary critical approaches to the parables--including those that have emerged in the twenty years since the first edition. This widely used text has taken a minority perspective and made it mainstream, with Blomberg ably defending a limited allegorical approach and offering brief interpretations of all the major parables.