Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART 1: LEARNING TO SEE
The Pharisee and the Toll Collector (Luke: 18:9-14)
The Vinegrowers and Violence (Mark 12:1-12)
The Closed Door (Matt 25:1-13)
Politics with Carrot and Stick (Matt 22:1-14)
The Snubbed Host (Luke 14:12-24)
The Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:1-9)
Hearing and Doing the Torah (Mark 4:1-20)
PART 2: IN SEARCH OF A NON-DUALISTIC PARABLE THEORY
Social-Historical Interpretation of the Bible in the Framework of Contextual Theologies
Dualism in Parable Theories
Metaphor or Not Metaphor? That Is the Question
What Is a Parable?
The Historical Jesus and the Jesus in the Gospels
The Genre of Parable Discourse
Toward a Synthesis of Methods
The Literary Context: The Gospels
PART 3: JESUS THE PARABLE-TELLER: THE PARABLES IN THE LITERARY CONTEXT OF THE GOSPELS
Political Prophecy (Mark 4:26-32)
Springtime and the Night Watchers (Mark 13:28-37)
Gos Is Near: Jesus the Parable-Teller in the Gospel of Mark (Summary)
Loving God: The Merciful Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
The Great Messianic Feast of Rejoicing, or The Partying Neighbor Women (Luke 15:1-32)
"Once There Was a Rich Man": Money and the Torah (Luke 16)
"He Lived the Life of a Slave": Slave Parables in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 12:35-48; 17:3-10; 19:11-27)
Crying to God: The Insistent Friend and the Stubborn Widow (Luke 11:5-13 and 18:1-8)
Parables in the Gospel of Luke (Summary)
God's Forgiveness and the World of Finance (Matt 18:21-35)
Bread and Hope ((Matthew 13)
"Am I Not Allowed to Do What I Choose with What Belongs to Me?" (Matt 20:1-16)
The End of Violence: Jesus' Discourse in the Temple (Matt 21:23-22:14)
The Parable of the Talents and God's Judgment on the Nations (Matt 25:14-46)
Appendix: How Should I Read a Jesus Parable?
Notes
Abbreviations
Bibliography
List of Parables Discussed
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Subjects and Names