Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus Kindle Edition

Since Jesus didn't speak to people except by parables, Capon believes we need to continually study them; always with a virgin approach and with our eyes focused on Jesus. Capon looks at the parables through the prism of Jesus, the Light of the World. According to Capon, if we don't view the world through Jesus, we will get a distorted view of God, his plan and purpose. He compares Jesus to a prism. The colors in light are hidden except when viewed through a prism. In the same way we can only see the full spectrum of colors in the parables when we view them through Jesus; not only by what he said but more importantly, by what he did - the acted out parables. When we view the parables through the prism of Jesus, we see God as a left-handed, right-brain God of vindication; not a right-handed, left-brain vindictive God of fury. It's in this way that we can gain a deeper insight to the mystery of the kingdom of God and for Capon this is what the Bible is all about.Capon does an excellent job at addressing what he considers to be two obstacles in understanding the parables. First, people have an overly familiar and shallow approach to reading them and second, the idea that when it comes to the Scriptures, there is nothing new under the sun. Capon eradicates both of these obstacles by dissecting the parables in the larger context of the gospel-the good news of Jesus. He challenges the reader not to accept the old wine of understanding, but to drink of the new wine, in the full spectrum of colors that Jesus himself brings us.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. However, I have point of disagreement with Capon. Although he recognizes Jesus as the source of God's unconditional love and forgiveness, he doesn't have anything good to say about the Father or the Holy Spirit. God is love and Father, Son and Holy Spirit are and in complete union and communion.In John 15, Jesus is the true vine and the Father is the vinedresser.Jesus also said, "If you have seen me, you've seen the Father," (John 14:9)."I and the Father are one," (John 10:30)."The Father abiding in Me does His works," (John14:10."I am in the Father and the Father is in me," (John 14:11).For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them (2 Cor. 5:19 NLT).Jesus is the complete and total revelation of God; which Capon acknowledges in another place in the book.

I recently found Capon's books and have been reading them all.Capon is an interesting bird! He takes scripture seriously and makes no apologies for his belief that it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. He's very scholarly, often quoting from the original Greek, and he is a brilliant thinker as well. On the other hand he interprets scripture in a way that is radically different from Evangelical Christianity's interpretation and different from about every other interpretation I have read of as well. Capon's belief is that it is our death that's our "ticket" to the kingdom - that Jesus has joined us in the one place we will all go - death - so that we can all join him in his resurrection whereas Evangelical Christianity's belief is that it's one's personal acceptance of Jesus death and resurrection that's the ticket. OK, so I just greatly simplified all that but I hope you get the idea.Capon talks about Jesus taking a "left handed" approach to his messiah-ship. That is Capon says a "right handed" approach would have been what John the Baptist was expecting - someone who was going to kick butt and clean house! Another term I would equate with "right handed" approach would be the traditional "heroic" approach. Capon says that Jesus did start out his ministry using a more right handed approach, i.e. working miracles, doing healing, etc. but that at a certain point switched to a left handed one, i.e. a messiah who was going to die - an approach that his disciples never got till after the crucifixion and resurrection if at all. Capon skillfully shows where most of Jesus parables ultimately dealt with this life/death issue.I can't do justice to Capon's ideas in this review - I'm not that smart or gifted - but I highly recommend reading this book (and his others as well). Whether you agree with him or not, reading this book will enlighten much about Jesus parables and message and consequently you will never read scripture the same way afterwards.

The Reformation advanced under three solas: grace alone, faith alone and word alone. The first and the most radical to the way we naturally think is grace alone. What Mr. Capon does in these treatments of the parables is proclaim with vigor and wit the grace of Jesus Christ. If you haven't heard the radical core of the gospel in a long time, if you are tired of all the arguments both inside and outside the church, this book is a dip in the eternal waters of the gospel well.The book is really three combined into one, the first on the parables of the kingdom is the clearest and most compelling. It is worth the price of admission itself. The other two extend the reading to all of the synoptic gospel parables which Mr. Capon plausibly breaks up into parables of grace and parables of judgment. The dividing lines between the parables are events in the life of Jesus - the feeding of the 5000, and the triumphal entry/Palm Sunday. The author writes in what might best be described as a spoken manner. The prose reads like a very good preacher and bible study leader engaged in an intelligent way but one that avoids all academic jargon and pretension. Mr. Capon is not ignorant to critical studies nor the struggles of his own church (Episcopal) which were just getting roiling at the publication of these books, but deals with them typically as trifles (i.e. almost not at all) compared to the core of the gospel. If you have ears to hear what he says, these are simply the trials of the kingdom. If you don't, they swallow whole churches. Hence, like the parables themselves, Mr. Capon proclaims to those who have ears and to those who don't the same message of the Kingdom.This book is a great retelling of grace and the odd and wonderful ways it works in the midst of this world.

I know I’ve only rated this book 3 stars, which, in hindsight and in comparison to other reviewers, may have been too harsh. But I did enjoy this compilation of Farrar’s three volumes on the Parables of Jesus. There are many wonderful insights in here, and Farrar’s understanding of the Catholicity and the Mystery of the Kingdom of God is spot on (especially as demonstrated under what Farrar has labelled the Parables of Grace, in Volume 1 of the compilation). Additionally, I’m totally on side with Farrar’s understanding of the Kingdom’s and Jesus’ emphasis on the Lost, the Last, the Least, and the Lifeless.However, what’s lacking in these interpretations is cultural and historical context. There’s plenty of great (and important) insights into the Greek wordings of the texts here, but I do feel that the Cultural Hermeneutic provided by Kenneth E. Bailey (see *Jesus Through Middle-Eastern Eyes* or *Poet and Peasant*), and the Historical/Political Contexts provided by N. T. Wright (see his *Christian Origins and the Question of God* volumes), provide a much better setting in which to see the “thrust and the parry” of Jesus’ parables with the social/political/religious ideologies of his own environment.That’s not to say that Farrar’s conclusions are way off. On the contrary, much of what he posits would have been reinforced by Bailey’s and Wright’s work.In summary, I would recommend that this is an essential study on the parables. Personally, I will continue to refer to this, and I anticipate that I will quote from it often. But should this be the only book in your toolkit? No. But that’s not a bad thing. In the same sense, this shouldn’t be the only review you read of this book.—Tristan Sherwin, author of *Love: Expressed*

As an Elder in the Church of Scotland I am sometimes asked to preach: very often this involves expanding on one or two of the day's readings. Many of the parables, especially Luke's, seem very difficult to understand, even after sixty years of regular church-going. This book was recommended by our Minister, and I can endorse her recommendation whole-heartedly. The author explains the context of each parable, and most importantly some of the allusions which would have been understood by the audience of the time but leave us mystified. Some of his interpretations are open to dispute, but that's fine -- his thesis is cogent and his commentary always valuable.Some readers may find the American homespun language a bit too folksy, but that's not really important. The book is easy to read while at the same time being scholarly. It's a real find, a book that you can browse for sheer pleasure, not just to make preaching easier.

Wow. This book is amazing. I wish everyone could read it. So thoughtful, biblically sound and enlightening. I feel so blessed to have read this!

Still reading it but finding what I'm reading very illuminating. Just when we think we've got God all worked out and boxed, it's probably time for him to smash our paradigms as He does in His parables.

Needs to be read carefully,with the bible at your side to get the full picture. You may find a resistance to his ideas but perseverance will be rewarded. Ideal for group bible studies.