The Parable of the Camel and the Needle. Please read Luke 18:18-30. THE CONTEXT. A rich man, probably the up and coming young rich ruler in the synagogue, approaches Jesus and asks the same thing the uppity lawyer asked Jesus in the prelude to the Good Samaritan story. “What must I do to inherit eternal …

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids. Please read Matthew 25:1-13. THE CONTEXT. a. Just prior to this parable, in Matthew 24, Jesus is seated at the Mount of Olives, teaching his disciples. They asked him about the consummation of the Age, when will the End come, when will they see Jesus usher in the New Kingdom …

The Parable of the Pounds. Please read Luke 19: 11-27. THE CONTEXT. Jesus taught this parable because the disciples assumed the New Kingdom was to appear very soon. They are just coming from Jericho, where Jesus announced to Zaccheus that salvation had come to his house. Surely, the disciples thought on the way to Jerusalem, …

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager. Please read Luke 16:1-9. THE CONTEXT. a. The disciples were the primary audience, as it states in verse 1. But there were also a number of Pharisees mixed into the crowd, since Jesus had just told a parable with them in mind, the Prodigal Son, and they are mentioned …

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Please read Luke 18:9-14. This is one of the Lord’s more colorful and humorous stories. It is full of irony and a big surprise in the end. To compare a Pharisee and a tax collector at the beginning of the parable was no doubt met with …

The Parable of the Judge and the Widow. Please read Luke 18:1-8. THE CONTEXT. Jesus told this parable immediately after conversations with both the Pharisees and his disciples about the coming Kingdom of God. His comment and parable are about prayer, both for present needs and for the 2nd Coming of the Lord. Jesus tells …

The Parable of the Two Builders. Please read Matthew 7: 21-29 and/or Luke 6:46-49. PRELUDE. The opening words of the section in Matthew are actually scary good, and I do mean scary. Evidently one can have a powerful ministry, even prophecy and exorcism, and still not be known by God. Apparently, one can do great things for God …

The Parable of the Longsuffering Vineyard Owner. Please read Matthew 21:33-43 (also refer to Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:9-18). THE CONTEXT. Jesus had just completed two Big Events in his life: the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and the Cleansing of the Temple. Both were audacious, unprecedented, and greatly offended the religious leaders. And both events seemed …

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Please read Luke 16:19-31. THE CONTEXT. Jesus was in the middle of a conversation with an audience that included some of his disciples and some Pharisees and Sadducees. Among other things, Jesus told them all that one could not serve both God and money. He said that …

The Parable of the Obedient Servant. Please read Luke 17:7-10. THE CONTEXT. In chapter 17 of Luke, Jesus is talking to the disciples, and then his apostles, about a number of topics related to discipleship… the perils of being a bad influence; ongoing forgiveness; the quality not quantity of faith; and then obedient servanthood. His parable …

The Parable of the Great Feast. Please read Luke 14:15-24. THE CONTEXT. a. Jesus is reclining at a supper hosted by a Pharisee. As usual, they are grumbling, putting Jesus under their microscope. They didn’t like it when he healed a man right there at supper, on the Sabbath! And they didn’t like it when …