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Lesson OneKeys to Interpreting the Parables3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoExploring the Simpler 3-Point Parables3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeExploring the More Complex 3-Point Parables3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourExploring 2- and 1-Point Parables3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FiveExploring the Parables: Themes and Conclusions3 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 88
Overview and Objectives
Good guys and bad guys. Because Jesus often tells stories about two contrasting characters, it’s natural to assume that he is presenting us with good people and bad people, the right way and the wrong way. On one level, he is. However, in this fourth lesson, we learn that Jesus’ original audience, first-century Jews, would have felt tensions in these stories that are easy for us to miss. Why does Jesus make the enemy (the tax collector) the hero? And why would he compare God to an unjust judge? Explore fourteen more parables with us as we continue our journey through these stories of Jesus.
When you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
- Describe the two different types of two-point parable structures (horizontal and vertical).
- Explain how the six one-point parables can be grouped into pairs.
- Explain why the first-century Jewish context of these parables is important.
- Discuss interpretations of each parable covered in this lesson.
As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
Reflect on the two questions asked in the Lesson Overview. Why does Jesus make the enemy (the tax collector) the hero? Why would he compare God to an unjust judge?