Customer Reviews

The Parables of Jesus (Jesus Library)

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I prepared a series of Bible studies on the parables of Jesus and wanted supplemental material to add to my understanding and class lectures. Specifically, I was interested in Jewish traditions and cultural insights that would add color and clarity to the stories.

I purchased three books, including David Wenham's "The Parable of Jesus." I am not a Bible scholar and not particularly interested in theological debates over allegorical loose ends and old disputes over linguisitc fine points that other books were consumed with.

This book provided me exactly what I needed - clear, concise insights into the culture, traditions and context of the times. For example, in the Prodigal Son, Wenham pointed out that by asking his father for his inheritance while the father was still living, in the meaning of the legal traditions, the prodigal was actually implying that he wished his father dead.

In the parable of the Good Samritan, he observes that the road from "Jericho to Jerusalem" drops 2,500 feet along a treacherous and winding path; ideal for robbers and thieves to hang out. Further, he points out that "two denari" was enough money to pay for twenty-four nights at the inn.

These details helped me to put meat on the bones of the story and bring to life these precious parables. These are not earth-shattering biblical truths, but they were very helpful to me in making the topic interesting and relevant. Just like Wenham's book.

I am using this book as the text for a group bible study on the Parables of Jesus. This book is an excellent resource for teachers and students of the Bible. It provides a thorough basis for exegesis of each of the parables, grouping them logically and explaining them accurately. Wenham lets the historical and literary context drive his interpretations, avoiding the twin pitfalls of assuming the parables are either allegory or single point. Overall, a must-have for anyone who plans to seriously study the parables.

This book offers a straight forward discussion of the major parables of Christ. It never strays off from the main theme and launches into irrelevant and long-winded 'sermons'. If it's precise, on-the-dot infomation you are seeking, look no further - this book fits the bill!
All the parables are discussed individually, so there's no need to read the book in sequential order. Just dip straight into the parable that interest you!
A great reference book for those who has a basic acquaintance with the Gospels. Beginners can benefit from it also.

...this is it!

I have read most of the commentaries currently available as I've written two books about the parables from a Biblically-faithful and creative perspective(Parablelife: Living the stories Jesus told in real time published by FaithWalk and available on amazon.com). Wenham's volume was far and away the most useful. He used the metaphor of revolution throughout this well-written, readable volume to help explain Jesus' use of the words "the Kingdom of Heaven". The book is organized in a creative way - the parables are grouped and discussed as they pertain to the metaphor of revolution.

Wenham's strength is in application, demonstrating both how and why these stories of Jesus can shape our lives. He is an able scholar, and his love of God's Word shows in his careful discussion of each parable. There is a short discussion about various historical and contemporary methods of interpretation at the back of the volume, along with several indexes that make the book even more user-friendly.

The Parables of Jesus by David Wenham is a superb book on one of the most important topics in Gospels study. It is not new. It has been on the market since 1989. Even so, it is not "dated". Even after all these years it is quite simply the best book on parables for adults that aren't Bible college or Seminary grads I and most readers have ever seen. (Originally, it was part of a series called the Jesus Library. There were at least 10 volumes by very fine authors [including F. F. Bruce, R. T. France, and Michael Green]. This one is the only one still in print. It's that good.)

It particular is an ideal book for an adult Sunday School class or in-homes study class to use as a textbook, if they want to dig a little deeper than usual, but not get overwhelmed. I have used it that way myself, with the group reading and discussing about half of a chapter per week.

Wenham is a first rate British expert in parables studies, but he writes this book with lay people and college students in mind, not seminarians or grad students.

Even His arrangement is telling: What most technical books on parables start out with he puts at the end in three appendices--The authenticity of the parables, The Interpretation of the Parables, and The Purpose of the Parables and the Interpretation of Mark 4:10-12.

With that arrangement, you can start by studying the parables first, and you can go further to see what the experts are saying about the most controversial topics later--if, that is, you wish to. He does point the way. There is even a select bibliography and a note on further reading, all of which help the reader who gets hooked on the topic and wants to explore it more do so.

Wenham is no ivory tower theorist. Like Jesus engaged his listeners, he engages the reader with Jesus' call to a revolutionary Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, in some sense starting small and ending up dominant, and demanding obedient discipleship. He is very practical, engaging, and calls the reader to commitment.

If you want the best book available on parables, you probably want instead Klyne R. Snodgrass's Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus: (Eerdmans, 2008), say, as the teacher of the Adult Sunday School class or, in particular, as a pastor. But it is the sort of book layfolk might consult. From my experience, I think few of them would sit down and read it, even in small chunks. Still, there is so much vertical whitespace setting off the various topics along the way through the book, that they are intelligible most of the time. And the most difficult issues are dealt with in about 200 pages of end notes (which can be consulted or ignored, depending on the reader's needs).

I purchased this book and two others to preach a series of sermons on the Parables of Jesus. I especially appreciated the way that this particular book categorized the different parables in the context of the Revolution of Jesus - or the growth of the Kingdom of God.

By creating the headings and groupings, Wenham has created meaning of the parables simply by placing them within the grouping. For example, he places the lamp and the measure after the sower (where it appears in Mark and Luke) and attempts to understand this parable in light of the parable of the sower.

This is a very valid way of attempting to interpret the parables in their context, and I found much of what he had to say very helpful.

My favorite book, which I used as my primary resources was The Parables: Understanding the Stories Jesus Told. I found that it created a solid foundation of understanding, and it included the parables as told in each Gospel - a handy thing to have at my fingertips. However, I moved between both texts and would highly recommend this one as a resource as well.

Very good book. I led a Bible study on the parables and used this as one of my references and guides. Definitely made the planning and teaching easier.

"The Parables of Jesus" looks at the cultural and historical background to Jesus' parables to help readers better understand what he was trying to convey. Each chapter discussed a group of similar parables (usually in the same groups as they're found in the gospels). The author gave the cultural background to the parable and how the people of Jesus' time would have understood the point he was making. He also referred to other verses in the Old and New Testaments that have the same theme or which help us to understand the meaning of the parable.

The tone was casual, and his points were easy to understand. This book did help me to better understand the parables, and I thought his points made sense and were insightful. At the end of the book, he had an appendix that contained articles on the reliability of the parables (i.e. how likely they accurately portray what Jesus really said and taught), what a parable actually is and the various ways they have been interpreted through history, and why Jesus taught using parables.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this book to those interested in better understanding the parables or in learning more Bible background information.

D. Wenham's survey of the parables is modern, inclusive, relaxed, and inventive. He loves the parables and you will appreciate them much more after reading this book.

Great resource for anyone who is interested in a more in-depth study on the parables of Christ as they relate to the radical nature of discipleship.