Words Jesus Spoke - in Verse

By James Vasquez Ph.D.

The words of Jesus have fascinated men and women of all ages in virtually every country in the world. For millions of people his teachings are the basis of relationships within and between families and with neighbors. They are the daily ground rules for every day conduct in countless households and societies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452077918

James Vasquez Ph.D.

James was raised in So. Calif., the ninth of ten children. After serving briefly in the US Army (82 airborne division), he graduated "with distinction" from the University of Redlands and has an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and a PhD from UCLA (Education Psychology and Psycholinguistics). He pastored a church in Colombia and was principal of a Boy's School in Cartagena in Colombia. He is of Mexican American descent and recently co-sponsored a family reunion. He has been the family historian for the families on both of his parents' sides.

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Words Jesus Spoke -

in Verse

James Vasquez

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© 2010 James Vasquez. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 11/3/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4520-7789-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-7790-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-7791-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010916075

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Introduction

The Parables

The Speck and the Plank

Old Garments and New Wineskins

The Wise and Foolish Builders

A Wicked Generation

Seed of the Kingdom

Wheat and Weeds, Until Harvest

The Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value

The Net

The Unmerciful Servant

The Workers in the Vineyard

The Two Sons

The Tenants

The Wedding Banquet

The Ten Virgins

Men Awaiting Their Master

The Faithful and Wise Manager

The Talents

The Growing Seed

A Samaritan

Who is my Neighbor?

The Friend at Midnight

A Rich Fool

The Unfinished Tower and the Unwilling King

The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

The Prodigal

The Shrewd Manager

The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Unworthy Servants

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The I Am Claims of Jesus

I Am the Bread of Life

I am the Light of the World

I am the True Vine

I Am the Good Shepherd

I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life

I am the Resurrection and the Life

Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia

To the Church in Ephesus

To the Church in Smyrna

To the Church in Pergamum

To the Church in Thyatira

To the Church in Sardis

To the Church in Philadelphia

To the Church in Laodicea

Other Words of Jesus in Verse

Where Your Treasure Is

A Humble Heart

Unto the Least of These

A Man with a Withered Hand

A Prophet Without Honor

Love Your Enemies

Set Not Your Heart on Things

The Narrow Door

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

Inside a Pharisee’s House

Coming of the Kingdom

Whence John’s Baptism?

Jesus’ Prayer for His Followers

The Good Shepherd

When Jesus Entered Heaven

When Jesus Comes

Before the Throne

Acknowledgments

The following poems have appeared in the Society of American Poets’ quarterly publication, Poet’s Pen, as indicated:

Dedication

To those who have patiently listened as I read,

Critiqued as I listened,

Encouraged at all times,

My wife Linda,

My children Jody, Debbie and David,

Their spouses Todd and Jackie,

My friends in the Spokane Christian Writers Group,

Poetry Scribes of Spokane, and

The Spokane Authors and Self-publishers,

This book is gratefully dedicated.

James Vasquez

Spokane, WA

July, 2010

Introduction

No doubt all the words Jesus spoke in his brief life on earth could be put to verse and readers would be greatly benefitted, even blessed. In this volume I have chosen to put some of his more well known teachings to rhyming, metered verse. Two companion volumes (Men Who Knew Jesus Well and Women of the Bible) contain over 90 additional poems, most of which also present the words of Jesus in poetic form. These books mainly relate the encounters our Lord had with individuals, and the subsequent blessings (in most cases) for each.

In my own late ministry I feel God has led me to write in rhyming verse, and I can honestly say I have never enjoyed deeper satisfaction in any work I have done. Rhyming, metered verse is pleasant to the ear and mind. It is notably memorable and allows for the expression of concepts in new ways that can bring added meaning and meaningfulness to the one who spends thoughtful time in the reading. This fact, of course, is experienced — though not always consciously — by every person who reads any English version of the Bible. The very act of translating from one language to another inherently provides additional meaning – new, different, nuanced – for the reader. I believe it is true that no translation, from any language into any other language, can provide an exact rendition of the original text. We add and subtract from an original text when we translate. The same is true when we put any narrative passage (as found in our English Bibles) into poetic form. Still, I have attempted to remain faithful to the English text in each poem I have written. What better way is there to point readers to our Lord?

The Parables

I have found that didactic passages like the parables are not as easily put into verse as, say, passages about a person’s life, where the pieces of that life provide more options from which to begin and develop each part of the tale. For this reason more freedom and creativity are allowed the writer when putting to verse non-didactic passages. Still, the content of the parables is so instructive and even alarming for us who follow the teachings of Jesus that I have not hesitated to put these parables into poetic form. (Perhaps I should have! The reader will judge.)

A master teacher like Jesus most often begins with what is already known by the student and proceeds to the unknown, that is, to the new information he wishes to impart. He does this by the use of some particular strategy or device. In this way Jesus used the parables to communicate both to skeptical or resistant non-followers, and to his disciples (though he is said to have always explained the parables more fully to them in private).

Most of the parables Jesus used were about the Kingdom of God (Matthew uses the phrase, Kingdom of Heaven), its nature, how to become a member, its value and what awaits those who do not enter heaven.

Parables generally begin with some reference to an obvious (thus known) truth from the physical or social worlds, such as the mustard seed’s size, the shrewd household manager, or the merchant who finds a pearl of great and irresistible value. Truths easily perceived in these common instances are then applied either to the hearer’s spiritual life or to his/her understanding of the Kingdom of God.

Exactly how many parables there are in the gospels is difficult to determine. Different lists in scholarly books do not agree on the number, in my review ranging from 30 in the NIV Study Bible to 40 in The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. This is due in part to the difficulty in determining whether a given parable is merely a variation of another, or is so divergent as to be a different parable, e.g., the parables of The Talents and The Ten Minas. Some parables are but a single verse, others comprise an entire story or, some will say, even two stories in one. Thirty of the parables are found in a single gospel only, three are in two gospels, and six are in three gospels. None