The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary

Arland Hultgren's book, `The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary', provides an interesting look at one of the key methods of the ministry of Jesus. At the beginning of his introductory chapter, Hultgren wrote, `Two things are generally known about Jesus of Nazareth that are beyond historical doubt, and they are known around the world by Christians and non-Christians alike. The one is that Jesus was crucified in the first century of the Common Era. The other is that he taught in parables.'Parables are not unique to Jesus, or to Christianity, Hultgren concedes. However, there are key components of Jesus' parables that make them unique and long-lasting. Starting with a working definition of parables as `a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between God's kingdom, actions, or expectations and something in this world, real or imaginary', Hultgren then looks at the numbers and types of parables. There are two types of parables: narrative stories, and similitudes, parables that act as analogies in a more direct fashion. Hultgren examines scholarly arguments for and against the uniqueness of Jesus' parables, concluding that the parables are distinctive on six bases:1. Directness of address to their intended audience is present in all parables.2. The parables are message-bearers in and of themselves - they don't rest on outside interpretations or tag-line morals3. The parables are not used for argumentation and stand alone, presupposing little if any specific background knowledge.4. They describe God in relationship and action, not in substance and attribute.5. Many have a `surprise ending', or an unexpected twist.6. Jesus' parables combine elements of wisdom tradition and eschatology elements, otherwise often seen as being at odds with each other.Hultgren then examines the scholarship behind looking at the universal and the particular in parables. Despite the universal appeal and application parables are wont to have, Hultgren argues strongly that their particular placement in history as the composition of a Jewish man (Jesus) preserved by the Christian church over time has a central importance.In Hultgren's examine of the interpretation of parables, he argues (via Adolf Julicher) that parables cannot be interpreted as pure allegories. He cites Cadoux, Dodd and Jeremias as looking at historical settings and seeking to go `behind the text' of parables, recognising the difficulties inherent in such an approach. Also referencing Jesus Seminar scholars and the likes of Kingsbury, Donahue, and Drury, Hultgren explores briefly the literary and contextual aspects of parable interpretation. Hultgren ultimately chooses a method of interpretation from within a decidedly Christian context, within the canon of scripture.One minor point here - this approach is rather faulty at times, given that Hultgren draws in the references from the gospel of Thomas, not part of the official canon of scripture of the Church, at every point where there is overlap

Arland J. Hultgren has creatively produced a definitive scholarly encyclopedia focused upon Jesus' parables. In Chapter One he moves smoothly from the description of parables as a "figure of speech," either types of narrative or similtudes: "comparisons made without stories but analogies between God's Kingdom and something in this world, real or imagined."Under this inclusive description Hultgren thoroughly references thirty-eight units within the Synoptic Gospels. Two Scholar- Professors of EMORY UNIVERSITY'S Candler School of Theology consider this text as "undoubtedly the best book available on the parables... a treasure for both scholars and preachers." The Author singles out five story-units as being the Revelation of God, six as the Wisdom of God, five more being Parables of the Kingdom. He places the others under titles - Parables of Exemplary Behavior, Life Before God, (the longest) the Final Judgement, and Allegorical Parables. Within each unit our versatile scholar includes an exegetical commentary, a shorter exposition, numerous footnotes, plus a greatly varied, selected bibliography. (The total general Bibliography totals over 200!) Since my early days as layman and seminary student, followed by church ministry and chaplaincy, to present status of hospital chaplain and student of Candler classes in Jesus' Parables and Devotional Classics, I have searched for such a treasure chest of insightful scholarship on the Synoptic Gospels. EUREKA!