Parsing the Parables: Biblical Christianity, #3

By Daryl J. Koerth

This book steps through each of the parables in the gospel and provides explanation and analysis. It's a good study guide, as well as a good individual read.

Is it definitive? No! I didn't live two millennia ago and hang out with Jesus; none of us did. However, it's a logically thought out and historically informed look at these short moral stories and what they can teach us.

This is the third book in my Biblical Christianity series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rockin' K Publishers LLC
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781959282013

Book preview

Introduction

It took me a ridiculously long time to come up with the idea for this book.

I wrote another book that stepped through the gospel, called The Gospel Unpacked, but for some reason it took a while for me to come around to the idea of explaining the parables. Jesus uses a lot of parables. They are a key part of the gospel message, and Jesus uses them brilliantly.

This book, therefore, will attempt to both explain what’s being said by these parables and show you how absolutely genius Jesus really is. Not was. Is. The Man was resurrected. He’s alive and well. I truly believe that.

Moving on.

I have structured this book so that each chapter will first quote the parable, then explain the context in which it was given, then explain what it means. Each parable has a specific message for us, and I want to make sure we receive all of them. The parables, unfortunately, get twisted a lot. I view it as the mission of this book to tell the truth about these short stories. Enough with the garbage. Time for truth.

I want to make something absolutely clear, though, right from the start. I’m not a Biblical scholar or a member of the clergy. I’m not ordained by any church, and I don’t have a degree in religious studies. I’m a highly intelligent person who was forcibly humbled by a brush with death, a near-death experience, and brain damage. That happened to me almost four years ago.

I spent the previous nineteen, almost twenty, years as a Norse pagan. Seriously. My death experience forced me to reevaluate my spiritual path. That sounds harsh, so I’ll explain. I’m intellectual. I learned a lot about religion and spirituality during my nineteen years. When I died, my expectations weren’t met...and the only religion that matched my experience was Christianity. So, I was strenuously invited to reevaluate my spiritual path. By my own smarty pants brain. Nobody forced me but be.

Okay, enough of that.

The parables are very important. I would say they’re critical to the message Jesus was trying to give us. To misunderstand them is to miss the point. We have a responsibility, I believe, to think this through carefully and act accordingly.

Parables are short stories that represent something else. Think of them as a metaphor. Sometimes Jesus uses a parable to represent something complex. Sometimes He uses a parable to conceal a hard truth or insult. Sometimes He uses a parable just to see who is listening. We’re going to examine each one, and each one is amazing.

Ready to jump in and get going?

Let’s do this.

Chapter One

13You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

This parable is given by Jesus to a crowd of His disciples during what is typically called the Sermon on the Mount. The context for this is simple enough: it was given during a very public teaching to a crowd of Jesus’ followers. What it means, though, is far more awesome.

This is a call to action.

To paraphrase, Jesus says that His followers are simple, honest people (salt of the earth)...and then He calls them light and tells them to let their light shine. Have you ever heard the song, This Little Light of Mine? It refers to this parable.

It’s easy enough to say you’re a Christian. It’s even easy enough for most people to attend church on a weekly basis...to play the part of a Christian, as it were. It’s easy to pretend. Jesus wants us to live as Christians, though. Our actions are the light people can see. Here He says that it is not enough to be idle and profess to be a Christian.

We must live as Christians. We must live as though we are already in the kingdom of heaven.

I know. It sounds insane...but think about it. When you want to be a successful anything, you take on some of their attributes. You live like they do, learn what they know, practice some of the same habits.

You live as though you are already that successful...whatever. With Christianity, it’s no different. If you want to be a Christian, you must live as though you are already in the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because that’s probably how the kingdom of heaven arrives on Earth. I take that from Jesus’ life and His message.

Don’t believe me? Go read through the gospel and the book of Revelation. At no point does it say this world will end, but it does imply that Jesus is God come among us to show us how to live and love. It also shows how Jesus spent His ministry bringing the kingdom of heaven to Earth.

Let’s explore that for a minute, because it’s very important.

The first thing to wrap your head around is that Jesus wasn’t just some guy who showed up to rabble-rouse. He spent His ministry challenging the religious establishment, teaching His followers, and proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of heaven...namely, that it has arrived.

If the kingdom of heaven has arrived, and Jesus is a perfect example for us to follow, then He spent a good portion of His ministry teaching us how to bring the kingdom fully into reality.

The second thing to consider