Parable

Commentary: The Good Israeli Settler: Luke 10: 30-36

June 18, 2022 by P A Downs Leave a Comment

Scenic Overlook by Ori/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The Good Israeli Settler is based on Luke 10:30-36

Two Messages?

The parable of the Good Samaritan is frequently retold, mainly because only one of its two messages is popular today. Certainly, the UK pop culture understanding of the word ‘Samaritan’ is that it means ‘someone who helps people in need.’

It’s not a bad understanding to have – that The Good Samaritan tells us, ‘everyone in need is my neighbour.’ But it does skip over the Samaritan being from a hated group of people; that the Samaritan was the person your culture insists you’re supposed to hate.

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The Good Israeli Settler: Luke 10: 30-36

June 4, 2022 by P A Downs Leave a Comment

The Good Israeli Settler is based on Luke 10:30-36

There was some one travelling down Highway 1 to Jericho, who got robbed. Thieves stole their motorbike, beat them up and even took their clothes. They ended up left for dead by the side of the highway.

A member of the Palestinian Authority was travelling back to Jericho and he saw them. But he didn’t tell his driver to stop; instead, he passed by.

Likewise, someone working for an NGO also saw them lying by the road, but he didn’t stop either. He just speeded up and passed on.

Finally, an Israeli settler came by, on leave from his service in the IDF. When he saw the body, lying by the side of the road, he felt sorry for them. So he stopped by the side of the body. When he found that the person was still alive, he bandaged up the wounds, using his own first aid kit to do it. Then, realising it’d be quicker, he put them in his car and drove them to the hospital in Ein Kerem.

When he reached the Emergency Room, he gave the hospital his credit card details. “Any problems with payment, just contact me,” he said. “I’ll cover any treatment he needs.”

Previous Parable: The Shrewd Lettings Agent (Luke 16: 1-9)

Next Parable: The Friend at Midnight (Luke 11: 5-8)

Commentary: The Shrewd Lettings Agent (Luke 16:1-9)

May 21, 2022 by P A Downs Leave a Comment

The Shrewd Lettings Agent is based on Luke 16: 1-9

Introduction

This is probably the most confusing parable in the Gospels. It’s possible that the deep confusion is because Jesus was relying on a well known type of story in the ancient world; the wily servant outwits his master. In the context of the modern UK, this would be like using Robin Hood to make a point in a sermon. Everyone knows Robin Hood will rob the rich and give to the poor – and we wouldn’t assume that the preacher was telling everyone to go out and rob random rich people. We’d look for: ‘What is it in this story of Robin Hood that tells us about God?’

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The Shrewd Lettings Agent (Luke 16: 1-9)

May 14, 2022 by P A Downs Leave a Comment

The Shrewd Lettings Agent is based on Luke 16: 1-9

During Covid there was a rich landlord, whose lettings agent was accused of wasting his money. So he called up the agent and said, “I’ve looked into this. I want the accounts, and I want them today. Then take a month’s pay in lieu of notice and go, because I won’t have you running my lettings any more.”

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What’s in the box? (Matthew 13: 51-52)

May 7, 2022 by P A Downs Leave a Comment

What’s in the Box? is an adaptation of Matthew 13: 51-52

So Jesus asked his students, “Have you understood all these parables?”

And they said, “Yup.”

Jesus replied back to them, “So, listen, everyone who’s been trained to teach, trained for God’s nation is like someone who’s got a jewellery box in their house. They can bring out the old jewellery, the new jewellery – or both!”

Commentary

Yes, I know. I usually put the commentary on a different blog page. But this parable is really only one sentence long and it also doesn’t fit thematically with the parables it comes after. Matthew seems to be suggesting Jesus used this parable to round off a teaching session (about parables) with another mini-parable on how to use what he’d just taught.

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Commentary: The Donations (Matthew 13:47-50)

April 30, 2022 by P A Downs Leave a Comment

The Donations is based on Matthew 13: 47-50

Fishing

A fishing net catches anything too big to fall through the netting, all jumbled up together. After they’ve brought up their net, fishermen would need to sort through the catch. They’d keep the fish that were edible (had visible scales and fins) and throw away anything that wasn’t.

As far as we know, Jesus only told one parable about fish. It’s surprising, because Jesus spent a great deal of his ministry around and on the Sea of Galilee and several of his disciples were fishermen. The various Gospels contain many passages where Jesus is on the lake – telling the disciples where the fish were, sorting out a sudden squall, taking a short cut across the lake instead of around it. Perhaps, in this case, actions spoke louder than words.

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