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Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed

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Herzog tells us that Jesus' parables were originally "earthy stories with heavy meanings" as opposed to "earthly stories with heavenly meanings", not so much about the kingdom of God per se, even if they hinted at implications about his coming reign on earth. Much like the 20th-century Paulo Freire, Jesus was teaching people that life under exploitation and oppression wasn't inevitable; and the parables explored how the Jewish peasantry might respond to distressing situations in order to break violence and poverty.

The stories did this by depicting everyday life (to which peasants had long since resigned themselves) only to introduce shocking departures from it. For instance, an elite goes to the marketplace to exploit groups of day-laborers, but one of the day-laborers challenges him (Mt.20:1-15). Lazarus, a destitute man, ends up in Abraham's bosom, while a rich man burns in Hades, destined for an even worse place (Lk.16:19-31). A retainer buries his master's money instead of investing it to make more, and then he blows the whistle on the tyrant (Mt.25:14-28/Lk.19:12-24). A widow is treated unjustly in court, but she relentlessly and publicly refuses to accept the judge's verdict (Lk.18:2-5). A messianic king forgives a colossal debt, but this messiah turns out to be not such a benign sweetie-pie after all (Mt.18:23-34). Like Friere, Jesus empowered people by allowing them to understand the world on their own terms for a change. And just as Freire was arrested and exiled, the Galilean was arrested and crucified.

Talk about thinking outside the box. If Herzog is right, most commentators have been clueless for ages. The masters and landowners in these stories aren't ciphers for God. Just the opposite: they're exactly as portrayed. This book (and its sequel, "Jesus, Justice, and the Reign of God") provides an especially insightful window onto the historical Jesus, whose concerns were forever with those at the bottom of the social heap.

Professor Herzog's work is not the socialist denial of the Gospel that it has been accused of being. Neither is it an overly difficult text, as some reviewers have claimed.

Instead, it is a thoughtful, scholarly, re-examination of the parables, which raises the possibility of alternate readings, more appropriate to the first century a.d., rural, Palestinian context in which the parables were first proclaimed. Professor Herzog's work is challenging. It refuses to accept as sacrosanct any of the old verities that many of us were taught years ago in seminary.

In a modified form of redaction criticism, Professor Herzog closely examines each parable in its canonical form, and then seeks to work back to the most plausible words of Jesus, consistent with Biblical archeology and the sociology of religion. The results are new possibilities for proclamation.

This is not a book for the casual reader, or those who wish to maintain long-held beliefs at any cost. However, for educated seekers of truth this book is a gem.

I was introduced to William Herzog's book while taking a seminary course on the New Testament Parables. The professor included Herzog to provide some "angularity" to the more traditional approaches of other scholars and commentaries we were reading. And that it did.

Herzog is an acquired taste. For those with a more conservative bent, his liberation theology with Marxist ideology may be off-putting at first. In my opinion, his premise that Jesus' audience would have understood the parables through a Marxist lens limits the value of his interpretations. I think the work of the Context Group (Bruce Malina, et al) simply don't support that theory. But I do give him credit for being up front about his agenda.

Having said that, I still think the book is definitely worth buying. In particular, I very much appreciated his discussion of the work of Paulo Friere. This section of the book is dense, but worth the effort.

Herzog develops the premise that the parables were not designed to `teach' in the traditional sense, but to help the listeners break free of their perceptual limitations and see the world as a different reality. In this way, he compares Jesus' use of parables with Friere's work in `liberating' the self-defeating mindsets of illiterate peasants.

I found this approach to be very helpful in my own studies of the parables. Herzog's steadfastly refuses to too-quickly `spiritualize' the parables. Instead, he focuses first on the emotional or even visceral responses of the audiences to whom the parables were directed. By intently looking for the emotional reactions first, he helps to show the impact of the parables beyond simple `sermon illustrations.'

While I can't always agree with Herzog's conclusion regarding what that reaction would have been, the approach gives new insights into parable interpretation.

As a direct result of the Jesus Seminar and their insistence that the parables are a lens through which a different vision of Jesus can be seen, I began to read books that helped me to understand that "different vision." This is what I found. He bears little resemblance to the portrayal by the evangelicals of one who is for what we are for, against what we are against, goes where we go and stays away from people and places we stay away from, goes to a "seeker friendly" church when and where we go, blesses our business and makes us prosperous, flies our flag, waves our banners, fights our wars and cites our orthodox dogma. Despite the face that he did none of these things while he was here, some believe that he would do all of these things now.

Open to new light and insight I glimpsed "a subversive story teller" with a unique gift for framing a counter-world with aphorisms, pithy sayings and parables, a counter-world he called Empire of God and scholars call his "alternative social vision." It is a counter-world of unfailing justice, full inclusion, authentic freedom, incredible love, astounding forgiveness, sheer grace and unending peace..

Another major reason why I see Jesus in this fashion is the result of reading this book by William R. Herzog entitled "Parables As Subversive Speech: Jesus As Pedagogue of the Oppressed." This was a powerful contribution to a revolution in my thinking. He demonstrates that the focus of the parables of Jesus was not "on a vision of the glory of the reign of God but on the gory details of how oppression kept the ruling powers in control." "His work," someone said, is to show parables as "not just earthly stories with heavenly meanings but earthy stories with heavy meanings."

I don't think a review could possibly convey the radical change in one's understanding of Jesus and his ministry this perspective entails unless it conveys that these parables must be seen politically if they are to be understood in all their potency. When you see them as "subversive speech" that calls into question the Empire of Rome and sets the Empire of God up as an alternative social reality then you are beginning to see why the Romans could only challenge that "subversive story teller" by getting rid of him! That's what the cross is about. I warn you that some of your cherished dogmas may be called into question by this book. And that's precisely why you should read it!

William Herzog has taken the parables of Jesus and has certainly put a different twist on them. As some other reviewers have noted, Jesus was put to death for what he SAID and did, so the stories he told must have been more then aphorisms. To reduce Jesus to a fire brand revolutionary is useless, though not as useless as making Him an american, and reading these parables as middle class people in the 21st century. They are certainly both timeless and of their time,and their time was in a far away backwater occupied by a viscious,brutal efficeint machine called Rome.I also, cannot agree on everything that professor Herzog puts forth. However, I know enough to realize that Jesus was more then aware of what was going on around Him,and that his stories would have great signifigance for the motley group that listened to Him.If not, then the parables are mere fables, Aesop for the age,with cute morals. I think that the message of Jesus is so challenging and difficult that we have added all the historical accretion we can find to soften its impact. I do not think, even remotely, that this is a defining portrait of Jesus,or even the only viable view of his parables. What I do think is that it is time to look, really look at the message of Jesus, not just outside of time, but in its time. And for that,for stimulating and causing me to re-think some of my tenents, I am grateful for this book.

For the first time I felt as if I really understood Jesus daily life. Many of the studies of the Parables left me with at least one conclusion that just didn't fit into the rest of what I believed to be true. By providing a clearer, and I believe more accurate, picture of the culture in Jesus time, Bill Herzog changed the paradigm for understanding the Parables and the context for many of Jesus activities. The details of the Parables now "fit" as naturally as they must have been understood by Jesus listeners. Not light reading for sure, but most enlightening.

The information in this book is profoundly informative and gives insights, viewpoint to clear up vagueness in the parables of Jesus. Now I understand what Jesus was talking about, what Jesus was about.

Jesus was an anomaly, difficult to classify, but people constantly pidgen hole Jesus to conform to their viewpoint. To see what he was really about is enlightening. Jesus knew what was wrong with people but people generally do not want to know what is wrong with them. This is why this book is not on the best seller list, because people really do not want to know the turth. The truth is like the weather, knowing what it is, is frustrating, for there is nothing you can do about it. Often when one says "I see!" they stand lonely looking at the sight they enjoy, all alone. That must have been how Jesus felt especially in his last hours.

Think about it. Jesus was in conflict with the authorities because, most of all, of what he was teaching. The parables, therefore, must have been more than nice, allegorical stories. The author positions them within their background, especially the economic one, and indeed presents them as subversive. The book is clear, though I can understand why some people can be upset by this way of reading the parables. But, again, those stories must have meant something to those people.....

Herzog has reconsidered Jesus' sayings in the light of the modern recognition that He was first and foremost a Jew and thought in terms of the Judaic tradition. Some of the results are startling. You probably remember the parable of the 3 servants entrusted with money during their boss's absence. Who was the hero of that story? You'll be surprised.
That is just one example of the insights Herzog has in store for you. Easy reading? No. There is a lot of detailedn scholarship here. Rewarding insights? You betcha!

Herzog's book is excellent. He is able to offer insights into the cultural setting and how it influences the interpretation of a parable. It is a must read for understanding parables.