Author Klyne Snodgrass once noted, “Stories are inherently interesting. Discourse we tolerate; to story we attend. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence.” Therefore it should come as no surprise that when the Son of God came in human flesh to reveal God to humanity, He came sharing stories. He came telling tales. But not just any stories… So much of the ministry of Jesus is marked by His infamous use of parables.
Following an intentional collection of healing ministry stories, Matthew's gospel account moves on to include several chapters of Jesus' parables. With great diversity in length, formatting, characters, and imagery, Jesus uses the familiar to explain the unfamiliar ways of God. Weaving together different tales, these stories all share a common theme: insight into the Kingdom of God. Over the next few summer months, we will dive into these stories of Jesus with an ear to hear. Parables are Kingdom stories with the intent: to puzzle, provoke, and make plain a person’s response to Jesus.