Table Of ContentTable of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction to the Parables of Jesus
Necessary History
What Is a Parable?
How Should Parables Be Classified?
What about Allegory?
Characteristics of Jesus’ Parables
Distribution of the Parables
How Should Parables Be Interpreted?
NT Criticism — Assumptions and Hesitations, Method and Procedure
Parables in the Ancient World
The Old Testament
Early Jewish Writings
Greco-Roman Writings
The Early Church
Later Jewish Writings
Grace and Responsibility
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT (Matt 18:23-35)
THE TWO DEBTORS (Luke 7:41-43)
Parables of Lostness
The Arrangement of Luke 15
THE LOST SHEEP (Matt 18:12-14/Luke 15:4-7)
THE LOST COIN (Luke 15:8-10)
THE COMPASSIONATE FATHER AND HIS TWO LOST SONS
(Luke 15:11-32)
The Parable of the Sower and the Purpose of Parables (Matt 13:3-23; Mark ...
Parables of the Present Kingdom in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 13
THE GROWING SEED (Mark 4:26-29)
THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43)
THE MUSTARD SEED (Matt 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19)
THE LEAVEN (Matt 13:33; Luke 13:20-21)
THE TREASURE (Matt 13:44)
THE PEARL (Matt 13:45-46)
Parables Specifically about Israel
THE BARREN FIG TREE (Luke 13:6-9)
THE TWO SONS (Matt 21:28-32)
THE WICKED TENANTS (Matt 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-
19; Gos. Thom. 65-66)
THE WEDDING BANQUET AND THE FEAST (Matt 22:1-14; Luke
14:15-24; Gos. Thom. 64)
Parables about Discipleship
THE TWO BUILDERS (Matt 7:24-27/Luke 6:47-49)
THE GOOD SAMARITAN (Luke 10:25-37)
THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD (Matt 20:1-16)
THE TOWER BUILDER AND THE WARRING KING (Luke 14:28-
32)
Parables about Money
THE RICH FOOL (Luke 12:16-21)
THE UNJUST STEWARD (Luke 16:1-13)
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS (Luke 16:19-31)
Parables concerning God and Prayer
THE FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT (Luke 11:5-8)
THE UNJUST JUDGE (Luke 18:1-8)
THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR (Luke 18:9-14)
Parables of Future Eschatology
THE NET (Matt 13:47-50)
The Eschatological Discourse
THE FAITHFUL OR UNFAITHFUL SERVANT (Matt 24:45-51; Luke
12:42-46)
THE TEN VIRGINS (Matt 25:1-13)
THE TALENTS AND THE MINAS (Matt 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27)
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS (Matt 25:31-46)
Epilogue
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Authors
Index of Ancient Sources
© 2008 Klyne Snodgrass All rights reserved
Published 2008 by
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
www.eerdmans.com
Printed in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 08 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-0-8028-4241-1
Quotations from The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, by Florentino García Martínez and Eibert Tigchelaar
are copyright 1997-98 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, the Netherlands, and used by permission.
Quotations from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyright 1946, 1952, ©1971, 1973 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of
America and used by permission.
Quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible are copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America and are used
by permission.
Quotations from the Holy Bible, New International Version, are copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society and used by permission of Zondervan.
To my students
at North Park Theological Seminary —
Past, Present, and Future
and
To Gabriel and Caeden
who are wonders to behold
Preface
This is unapologetically and quite consciously a selfishly motivated book. This
is what I want when preparing to teach or preach on the parables. Hopefully
others will find useful what I have collected. This is not a devotional book or a
book to be read through at one sitting. It is a resource book for the parables.
Are parables so complex that they require a comprehensive guide? I do
believe that Jesus’ parables can be understood by average readers and without
special helps and instructions. They are not jigsaw puzzles. Some are enigmatic
— like the Unjust Steward — but many are clear and compelling or they would
not have been loved as much as they are. At the same time, the parables were
told in a complex context, one enlightened by numerous parallel texts, and they
assume familiarity with an ancient culture. They involve questions dealing with
a variety of subjects: ancient agricultural assumptions, wedding customs,
relations of slaves and masters, and Judaism and its history, to name only the
most obvious. The parables have been placed in a context of scrutiny by
scholarship, again involving an array of subjects. Anyone who desires to
understand the light offered by the first-century context and to follow the
scholarly discussions needs a guidebook like this. Anyone who is going to
preach or teach the parables should be fully informed about the world of the
parables, the intent of their teller, and the discussions about them in modern
literature. I have tried to convey the complexity of discussions by NT scholars
because I feel people should be as fully informed as possible and because such
discussions become a platform for reflection. I am well aware how easy it is to
misrepresent someone, and if I have done so, I apologize in advance.
We live in a day when bibliographies can be electronically produced and
updated easily, so I have chosen to list resources in the notes and to include a
complete bibliography for the book, rather than a full bibliography for each
parable. In the further reading section for each parable, I have not included
obvious works on parables or commentaries except where they were especially
helpful. I have not chosen contributions that I think are most correct but those
that are most helpful in understanding the issues and discussion of each parable.
The gestation period for this book has been quite lengthy, and I have had
marvelous support. Thanks is expressed for a grant from the Pew Evangelical
Scholars program. I am extremely grateful for unparalleled support from the
