Parables in Luke

The parables of Jesus are one of the most precious treasures that he gave us. Parables are more than stories. They are an art form because they take you into the story. The majority of Jesus’ parables concern the kingdom of God. By reading or hearing them, you are taken there. You encounter God, you sense what it means to live in God’s kingdom.

Some of Jesus’ best parables are found only in Luke—the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. This blog will discuss these parables as well as two that Luke takes from Mark—the Sower and the Mustard Seed. Taken together, these five parables present an approach to religion that is life enhancing, a stance that makes Jesus relevant for the ages.

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37) is well known. An inquiring lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds by saying that the man must keep the two great commandments to love God and neighbor. The man then follows up by asking Jesus to define what he means by neighbor. Who is my neighbor? The Good Samaritan is Jesus’ answer to that question.

A man is traveling between Jerusalem and Jericho who falls into the hands of brigands. The brigands rob him, beat him, and leave him by the side of the road. The first person to see the victim is a priest who passes him by. The priest is followed by a Levite, an assistant priest, who also passes him by. The victim is finally saved by a Samaritan who takes compassion on him.

What is fascinating about this story and shocking to Jews of the first century is that the victim is saved by a Samaritan. Jews hated Samaritans. They considered them to be mortal enemies and unclean. Samaritans lived in central Palestine between Judea on the south and Galilee on the north. They accepted only the first five books of the Jewish scriptures, and worshipped Yahweh in their own temple on Mount Gerizim.

The answer to the man’s question is that your neighbor is the one you find in need, but this parable is about far more than Christian ethics. The kingdom of God is inclusive—all are invited. It is about reconciliation and reaching out to those who are different. Only love can lead to such reconciliation. Only love can bridge the gap between the Samaritan and the Jew, the Evangelical and the homosexual. Love overturns values and opinions. It produces a revolution in the heart.

The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is also well known and loved by Christians. A man has two sons. The older one is self-righteous, dutiful, and responsible. The younger one is irresponsible. The younger son asks his father for his inheritance which the father gives him. The son then leaves the father’s estate and squanders the inheritance with high living. In desperation, this wayward son returns to his father, ask his forgiveness, and to work as his servant. When father and son meet, there is no lecture from the father. Instead the father throws his arms around his son and welcomes him home. He throws a big feast to celebrate the fact that his lost son has been found. When the older son sees what has happened, he is mad. He feels cheated. The father tries to mollify the anger of his oldest son, but he cannot contain the overflowing love that he feels for his lost son who has now returned.

The kingdom of God is a feast—a powerful image in a poor, agrarian society. The love of God is unconditional. Her power to forgive is without limits. This parable also lays out the ground rules for the divine/human relationship. A self-righteous perspective doesn’t work. It is ego driven. The younger son’s ego was shattered. He recognized his dependency, his limits as a human being, and his need for God’s love. When the ego is pushed aside in that way, space is created in awareness for God to fill.

The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18: 9-14) makes the same point. The Pharisee is self-righteous, believing all the correct things, and acting in proper ways. The Tax Collector is hated. Jews viewed these officials as petty tyrants, traitors, collaborators. From the perspective of Jesus, however, the tax collector is the one who is right with God.

Religion is not about correct belief. A self-righteous perspective inflates ego which leaves no space for God. The tax collector recognized that he was a sinner. He understood his limits as a human being. People who use religion for privilege and power are not right with God. A humble approach to life is the key.

I will conclude with two well known parables that Luke takes from Mark. A sower (Luke: 8:4-15) went out to sow his seed. This beloved story had special resonance for rural people whose lives depended on the skillful sowing of seed. The focus of the parable, however, is not on the sower but the seed. Most of it falls on bad ground with poor results. The seed that falls on good ground in contrast, flourishes. Jesus explains to the listening crowd that the seed is the word of God. The kingdom of God will result not from military force or political action, but the power of love working on the heart. The seed that lands on good soil finds people with a “noble and generous heart who have heard the word and taken it to themselves (15).” The kingdom is all about an inward revolution.

So is the parable of the mustard seed (Luke 13: 18-19). A mustard seed is the tiny seed that produces a six foot shrub in one season. The growth is explosive. The kingdom of God is like that. It is here when love explodes in your heart.

The Jesus of these parables could not have been behind the voice of the Son of Man. An apocalypse that seeks revenge against one’s enemies would not create the type of kingdom that Jesus describes in the parable of the sower. The exclusive club that meets in heaven would not include the Samaritan, and thus would not be endorsed by Jesus.

Religion is about love—unconditional love from God and forgiveness. It is life enhancing, not denying, a great feast. The kingdom is an inner realm of the heart where God rules. When God rules with love, it leads to reconciliation, a reaching out to those who are different.

I am quite confident that Jesus preached about a renewed Israel. He was a first century man. That was the fond hope of his contemporaries. That dream ended in 70 CE when Rome brutally destroyed the Jewish nation, slaughtering tens of thousands and scattering those that survived throughout the Hellenistic world. It is time for Christians to get over our fixation with salvation. The teachings on salvation in the New Testament have no relevance to people living in the twenty-first century. What is relevant are these parables in Luke. They present a religion that will transform the individual practitioner and change the world.