The Storyteller New and Revised
By Dean Reding
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About this ebook
The Storyteller New and Revised looks at the parables of Jesus as told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Comparing the stories in each gospel we may be able to conclude why the writers of the gospels chose to tell the identical story. Is there a diverse meaning for each one, or do they all communicate the same message. What evidence leads us to conclude that some of the parables had multiple meanings. Can some of the stories tell us why they were intended for a specific audience. Knowing to whom the parables were written and why they were told is a compelling study.
Dean Reding
Dean is a native of Denton, Texas, now living in East Texas. He worked thirty years for an oil company, traveling in Central and South America, Africa, and Europe. He retired in 2002 and began writing novels, poetry, and non fiction. You can reach him at redinvd@gmail.com
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The Storyteller New and Revised - Dean Reding
THE STORYTELLER
NEW & REVISED
by
Dean Reding
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Reding Enterprises on Smashwords
The Storyteller:
New & Revised
Copyright © 2011 by Dean Reding
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations were taken from The King James Bible. Some scriptures are from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Third Edition, Copyright: © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. The Publisher is NavPress in Colorado Springs, Colorado. THE MESSAGE text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses, without express written permission of the publisher, NavPress Publishing Group, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible and do not account for 25 percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.
The Synoptic parallel Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke as well as other quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Publisher is National Council of the Churches of Christ in the New York, NY. The NRSV text may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
Some Scripture references use The King James Bible, which is in the public domain.
Table of Contents
Book I
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Wise vs Foolish Builder
Chapter 2 – The Parable of the Leaven
Chapter 3 – The Lost Sheep
Chapter 4 – Faithful and Wise Servant
Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Talents
Chapter 6 – Watchful Servants
Book II
Introduction
Chapter 1 – The Lamp Under a Bow
Chapter 2 – New vs Old Cloth & New vs Old Wineskins
Chapter 3 – Sower and the Soils
Chapter 4 – The Mustard Seed
Chapter 5 - Tenants
Chapter 6 – The Fig Tree
Book I
Parables as told in two of the Gospels
Introduction
I have included the first book (The Storyteller) at the end of the work to give those who have not read the first in this series a chance to gain the background for the study.
Book I considers the parables told by Jesus, which two of the Gospel writers included and two did not. A comparison of Matthew and Luke precedes the study of Mark and Luke. If Mark and Matthew have the same parable in their Gospels, then Luke includes it as well. A comparison of the gospels in Matthew and Luke or Mark is not complete unless a discussion of the terms Kingdom of God
and Kingdom of Heaven
are included. Some scholars believe there is a difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. However, the difference in the terms is negligible.
In the parables, Matthew uses heaven exclusive of Mark and Luke. Mark and Luke use the phrase Kingdom of God. Some believe Matthew, when writing to the Jews, did not want to use the word for God because he knew the Jews did not like to use or say the word. Although we find the word for God used in Matthew in many places, still Jews were uncomfortable using the word.
Matthew uses the Greek word transliterated ouranos and pronounced oo-ran-os’. We translate this word as heaven. He uses it when speaking about the kingdom. Matthew uses the term "kingdom of God four times in his gospel. Each use occurs in something other than a parable. The four occurrences are:
In 12:28, But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Jesus says his presence is evidence of the kingdom’s presence.
In 19:24, Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus describes the difficulty of entering the kingdom of God.
In 21:32, Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God…
Jesus uses the kingdom of God as the believer’s reward.
In 21:43, Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Jesus explains to the Jews that the kingdom of God goes to a nation that produces the fruits of the kingdom.
Matthew uses the term kingdom of heaven 31 times.
Following is the breakdown.
Jesus talks about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 13:11, He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Jesus talks about the keys to the kingdom of heaven once. Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Once Jesus describes how the kingdom advances. Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Twice Jesus uses the term in the beatitudes. Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,
and 5:10, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Four times Jesus describes who is greatest and least in the kingdom. Matthew 5:19, 11:11, 18:1, 4
Six times Jesus says who does or does not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20, 7:21, 8:11, 18:3, 19:23, and 23:14
Fifteen times Jesus describes what the kingdom of heaven is like. Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7, 13:24, 13:31, 13:33, 13:44, 13:45, 13:47, 13:52, 18:23, 19:14, 20:1, 22:2, and 25:1
Then, there is that description in Matthew 19:12 where Jesus talks about men making themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven sake.
Matthew uses the terms Kingdom of heaven and Kingdom of God interchangeably. He knew his Jewish audience’s familiarity with the concept of the afterlife. After all, the Hebrews had a long history of reading and hearing stories of life after death. The following are biblical references that discuss a life after death:
Job 14:7-14 asks the question If a man dies will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
In Psalm 16:11 … at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
In Psalm 49:15 the psalmist writes But God will redeem my life from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah
In Isaiah 25:8 we find he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces…
In Isaiah 26:19 But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.
In Daniel 12:2 we find, Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
In Daniel 13:13 we find, As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.
Finally, in Hosea 13:14, Hosea writes, I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are our plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?
From these verses it is plain to see that the Jews were knowledgeable about heaven and knew that God resided there, and there would be a resurrection to that place eventually.
Luke uses the Greek word transliterated theos and pronounced theh’os. Translated it means God. He uses it in many parables when speaking about the kingdom. Luke, in writing to the Gentiles, knew that they did not share the same concept of heaven or paradise, as did the Jews. They probably based their idea of heaven on the mythology about the underworld ruled by Hades for the Greeks or Pluto in the Roman world. The concept of heaven for the Greek or Roman was limited to discussions regarding Hera and Juno, who were the Greek and Roman queens of heaven respectively. They believed that Prometheus or Titan stole fire from heaven. Uranus was considered the personification of heaven. The Egyptians believed their God, Ra, created heaven and arranged for some humans to live there. It appears that Luke chose to use the phrase Kingdom of God
to avoid this division of the idea of heaven as other nations conceived of it.
So, we begin a study of parables that appears