Jul 30, 2018
Jesus earlier, in Mark 11:12-14, had cursed a fig tree because it bore no fruit (metaphor for Israel). Now, after describing events leading up to the end of the age, Jesus speaks of a fig tree that puts out its leaves since summer is near. As with the fig tree, when Jesus’ followers see the events He had described in...
Jul 30, 2018
Jesus uses childhood games to speak to the attitudes of the scribes and Pharisees. Kids played a wedding and a funeral game but no one danced to the wedding music or mourned at a funeral—fickle kids—and Jesus said this is what the Jewish leaders were doing with both He and John the Baptist. But, in time this...
Jul 30, 2018
Jesus’ hearers would be familiar with foreigners owning large tracts of land and then bringing others in to manage the land and its products, in this case, grapes. A certain owner planted grape vines, put up walls, a tower, and a wine press then retired to his home. When it came time for a percentage of the crop to be...
Jul 30, 2018
The parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value are similar in meaning. When the treasure or pearl is found, nothing else compares in value, and all else is counted as loss. Here the treasure or pearl is Jesus Himself and the salvation that is in Him alone. The Net parable has to do with God Himself...