The Parables Then and Now

With the parables of the gospels we may be sure that we are in direct contact with the mind of Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, thanks to the work of scholars like C. H. Dodd and Joachim Jeremias, we may claim to understand the parables better than any Christians since the apostolic age. But is that enough? Modern scholarship puts the parables back in their original setting, but when this has been done, Professor Hunter argues, 'You sometimes wonder if the parables have not been made so historically time-bound locked away in a first-century Jewish strait jacket-that Jesus' words have little obvious relevance for us today in this so different twentieth century.' In an attempt to go one stage further, Dr Hunter offers an interpretation of more than thirty of the parables of Jesus which not only takes into account their origin but also relates them to our world. This, and an introductory section on the history of interpreting the parables, makes the book a valuable guide to those teaching and preaching in schools and parishes. 'A useful book for preachers, teachers and Bible readers generally . . . Marked by the author's usual good judgment and lucid style this is a book to recommend' (The Expository Times). A. M. Hunter, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, was formerly Master of Christ's College, Aberdeen.…