54. Tell Me The Stories of Jesus

Tell Me The Stories of Jesus: The Power of Jesus' Parables. R. Albert Mohler Jr. 2022. [June] 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence from Introduction: Jesus came preaching the gospel of God--and he came telling stories. The most famous of Jesus' stories are the parables. They are not tame stories intended to deliver sentimental messages. They are not moralistic, like Aesop's famed fables. They are not fairy tales, such as the kind that abounded in medieval Europe. Nor are they stories intended for children, though children are often among the first to understand them. In the parables, Jesus was not concerned with mere self-improvement or trite moral messages. Not at all. God's own Son, God in human flesh, is who shared the parables with us. For this reason, Jesus' parables reveal nothing less than the kingdom of heaven and the power of almighty God expressed in both judgment and grace. They illuminate God's character and the hardness of sinful human hearts.

R. Albert Mohler's written a book about the parables of Jesus. He doesn't cover every single parable from all the gospels. He covers a variety of parables--of all lengths and types. Reading his insights and thoughts about the parables helped me appreciate them more. Parables--and the gospel in general--can feel too familiar to pack a punch. It is good, sometimes, to be reminded of how they felt to the original audiences--and to those hearing them for the first time. For better or worse, Christians can take so many things for granted that things that should be powerful, engaging, and sometimes shocking, just fall flat. Believers should pray for hearts to receive the gospel--not just once but every time the Word is read or preached. 

Quotes:

The parables are like hand grenades. Jesus took them out and set them before his hearers. Then...he pulled the pin out. Listen carefully, because the parable explodes. If you miss the blast of the story, you have missed the power of the parable.  

There is nowhere to hide when Jesus' parables come at us with their stabbing truth.

There is not one unnecessary word in any of the parables. 

Only the quickening power of the Holy Spirit can open hearts that sin has made dull. Only God's work of regeneration can explain how ears now hear hear and eyes now see--and hearts now receive the gospel. 

Moralism says, whether explicitly or implicitly, that God expects us to behave. But what expects of us is to believe in Christ. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible