Luke chapter fifteen begins with Jesus teaching sinners and tax collectors, who were considered men and women of doubtful reputation, and they were listening intently to Him. The religious leaders of that day, also known as the scribes and Pharisees, questioned Jesus’ actions, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!” (Luke. 15:2). Jesus responded with a message spoken through parables to explain how precious each individual person is to Him. In using parables, Jesus was able to teach a spiritual concept is such a way that even the most uneducated person would be able to understand. As a child, I remember attending Sunday school and hearing these stories of lost things. I was like the Pharisees and questioned why God would reach out and help people who have nothing to do with Him. I didn’t fully understand why a shepherd would leave ninety-nine sheep to save one or the big deal about losing one coin, and I also …show more content…
As I’ve grown older and heard these parables many times, I’ve began to understand their meaning and applications in greater detail. I have realized the significance of all these stories and how in three different situations, they all relate to God and what He does for us. I can imagine the Pharisees and scribes standing in awe around Jesus as He explained the true meaning behind his actions. Even though the three parables relay the same message of God’s love for all people, I think it is interesting that Jesus told three different accounts to make sure people in all different walks of life could relate and understand His message. Of these three parables, the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the lost sheep are
In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
...he battle with the men, but we do know that both of these stories have a very clear message. Both of these stories wants to save lives in some type of way. They both overcome obstacles and come out on the winning side even though that side is death. Furthermore, they carry on the legacy that Jesus left by trying to uplift higher to newer dimensions. The struggles of these characters can give hope to anyone who comprehends the depths of each story.
Luke Timothy Johnson uses Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church in order to make a strong point that when studying both Luke and Acts as a unit, rather than reading the canonical order in the Bible, gives us one of our best prophetic looks at the Church for all ages. By presenting this point Johnson hopes to light a fire in our churches of today by using the prophetic works of Luke, so that we as Christians will attend to the ways that Christ intended the church to be. In Johnson’s introduction he states that it is not wrong to study Luke and Acts separately as there are many ways to study the scripture, nevertheless it is wrong to look at Luke and see the prophetic ways of Jesus, and then looking at Acts as non-prophetic. Through seeing Luke’s
From the excerpt from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character is Estrella, a young Spanish girl with a powerful desire to learn to read. Although she is persistent, her teachers refuse to educate her because they are more concerned of Estrella’s personal hygiene. This leaves Estrella resentful because of the barrier between herself and knowledge. Estrella remains silent until a man named Perfecto Flores teaches her how to read by using his expertise in hardware and tools to represent the alphabet. Viramontes depicts the heartfelt growth of Estrella through her use of tone, figurative language, and detail.
In the book, “Jesus and the Disinherited,” the author, Howard Thurman in chapter five expounds on “Love.” Moreover, Thurman, a black man in the early 1900, with the ultimate goal to offer a humanizing combination as the basis for an emancipatory way of being, moving toward an unchained life to all women and men everywhere who hunger, thirst for righteousness, especially those “who stand with their backs against the wall.” By the same token, Thurman experienced “Fear,” “Deception,” and “Hate” that causes internal, spiritual damage to those who choose compliance, isolation, and violent resistance over the way of Jesus (www.smootpage.blogspot.com). Notably, Howard Thurman’s message helped shaped the civil rights movement that
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
All biblical stories are dedicated in providing a life lesson. They are God’s ways in teaching His people on how they should behave and how to better their relationships with Him. In addition, the accounts also give insight to characteristics and truths of God. The lives of numerous biblical characters serve as archetypes that affirm the fact that God is the sovereign Creator, the supreme Judge, and the merciful Savior.
Since Matthew and Luke are not modern day biographies, they do not follow the standard that we imagine. I think the explanation for the combination of similarities and differences comes from the fact that the Matthew and Luke are styled differently and also have different audiences. Since Matthew and Luke are interpreting history for a specific audience, this would explain why Matthew and Luke contains differing details. For example, Matthew tells of the Wise Men that came to visit Jesus in Matt.2:1-12 while Luke tells of shepherds that came to visit Jesus in Luke 2:8-20. Since Matthew is styled for a Jewish audience, perhaps it is considered more impactful and stunning that wise philosophers came to worship a child. On the other hand,
When a person hears the word “parable” they often automatically think of stories told by Jesus. Although Jesus did tell a lot of parables, he was not the only biblical figure to use parables. One example of an Old Testament figure telling a parable is the prophet Nathan’s parable to King David about the rich man seizing and killing the poor man’s sheep. 2 Samuel 12: 1-14. David gets very angry at the rich man and orders him killed before realizing the rich man is himself. The reasons Nathan used a parable are the same reasons Jesus used parables: discretion, to avoid defensiveness, and to stimulate deeper reflection. Parables are discreet because no one can get mad at the parable teller because even if he is talking about you, he doesn’t actually say your name, so you can remain anonymous. Parables avoid defensiveness because if you don’t think the parable is talking about you, you are more willing to listen and understand the wrongdoings in the parable, even if they are your own wrongdoings. Finally, they stimulate deeper reflection because they are stories, and while later remembering and thinking more about the enjoyable story, you can get more meaning from it. By using parables, Jesus helps us, his readers, understand his messages better.
The first parable centers on the rich man who does not recognize the existent of the poor man named Lazarus. The rich man “who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.
In the parable of the talents, Matthew tells the story of three servants who are given a specific number of talents reflecting their abilities. When their master returns, each of the servants reports back their earnings from the talents. Two of the three servants doubled their talents in the absence of their master, but one only buried his, fearing his master. Both of the servants who earned money were proudly received by their master, while the servant who had only buried his talent, was chided for his laziness (Matthew 25). This parable resonates through much of Milton's work including "Sonnet XVI" and "The Reason of Church Government." In each of these texts, the lessons learned from Matthew 25 serve as the foundation for their argument. Milton toys with the double meaning of talent as both money and ability as he retells this parable in a more subtle way. Along with retransmitting this parable, Milton uses both "Sonnet XVI" and "The Reason of Church Government" to relate his triumph over disabling blindness to still praise God.
The parable is about second chances, just as the gardener gave the fig tree a second chance, so is God giving us a second chance to join His Kingdom. This is the over-generosity nature of God’s mercy, and it is an important theme in Luke’s Gospel. The fig tree as being symbolic to humans, the fig tree may be given another year to demonstrate its ability to produce fruit, but if it fails to do so, it will be cut down. It has been supposed by some scholars that there is a concealed significance, that the Kingdom of God has still yet to come, and right now it is recruiting those who trust in the Lord and in
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants and enhances Godly characteristics. This parable explains what happens when one is denied over and over again. There is story to this parable, Sin is something that everyone does, but why does one choose to do it over and over again.
What are parables of Jesus Christ? The word parable in general may mean the placing of two or more artifacts together to make a comparison or explain an ideology. This same concept could be related to the parables of Jesus Christ the son of God. Some people may choose to define these in various meanings depending on their own understanding. However, in my opinion, a parable is basically an analogy consisting of human circumstances that is accompanied with a spiritual or biblical lesson. Altogether, there are thirty-two parables; which could be found in the books of Mathew, Mark and Luke. Out of all these parables, eighteen of them are found in Luke and ten in Mathew. The eighteen parables found in Luke include, the Lost Coin, the Lost Son, the Unrighteous Steward, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Unprofitable Servants, the Unrighteous Judge, the Pharisee and Publican, the Pounds, the Two Debtors, the Good Samaritan, the Friend at Midnight, the Rich Fool, the Watchful Servants, the Barren Fig Tree, the Chief Seats, the Great Supper, the Rash Builder, and the Rash King. The ten in Mathew include, the Laborers in the Vineyard, the Two Sons, the Marriage of the King's Son, the Ten Virgins, the Talents, the Tares, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, the Draw Net, and the Unmerciful Servant. Again, the parables of Jesus Christ could be compared to a class of students with a teacher in the front. Basically Jesus Christ was the teacher and the whole world would be considered as the students. Out of all the parables of Jesus Christ, the main ones I will be talking about will be the parable of the good samaritan, and the parable of the sower.
It is about a son who abandons his family to “squander his wealth in wild living” (New International Version, Luke.15.13). After losing all his wealth he recognizes the importance of family and returns home. His father lovingly welcomes him because he will always love his son, regardless of the incident. God loves all His children; even the ones that abandon Him. All He asks of us is to repent from our sins and seek Him with all our hearts. This parable motivates believers to always repent because God is the most merciful and forgiving. Besides teaching about the good news, Jesus also performed miracles that caused many people to believe in his