Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus Paperback – March 11, 2002

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.

I have been teaching in the Grace book for about three months and it has been interesting. This is a scholarly work and would be at least an upper division text in school. What I mean is it isn't a beginners class book that would work in a class were everyone just gives their own interpretation of a verse. The author has a little A.D.D., and writes like he's thinking out loud and does use exaggeration and hyperbole to make his points. It seems to be in the same vein as The Ragamuffin Gospel and Three Free Sins. It stresses Chriistianity as the anti -religion. I have only taught from seven chapters and have discovered that my interpretation of the parables is only correct about half of the time. The majority of my students who have trouble with the author are those from strict fundamentalist background and those that are uncomfortable with his flippant dismissals of church tradition. Love him or hate him, he is interesting and far above the tripe that you find in Christian Bookstores. TheI three part book is the only one available, I have had to go to the aftermarket sellers to provide my students with copies of the The Parables Of Grace.

love books that clarify the Bible teachings & writings...

I am rereading this book in conjunction with another well respected commentary on Luke as I read the parables. Mr. Capon's writing is like no other, to say the least. The contrast is jarring to me after reading a standard textbook style commentary. But that should be one of the results of Bible study, shouldn't it - being jarred out of complacency, challenged to rethink and reaffirm?Writing in a casual style, almost as though he were speaking to his dearly beloved congregation from the pulpit, Capon leads me down familiar territory. I smile, I nod my head, I murmur a quiet "yes" here and there, and then he grabs my attention in a new way with an interpretative way of seeing the text that I had not thought of. This is a small quote from his discussion on the Parable of the Sower that caused me to stop and mull over what he said: "It says, first of all, that the Sower is God the Father, not Jesus. What Jesus turns out to be - since he is the Word - is the seed sown." His writing is full of little gems like that which cause me to engage more fully with the text.I Believe Capon's style is meditative, full of wondering and wonderment. I recommend it to anyone wanting to take a meditative look at Jesus' parables.

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.

This book opens my eyes to the parables etc of Jesus. What a find! A must read.

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!

Terrible cover apart - this continues to blow my mind, is easy and funny to read and so thoughtful!

Best book ever !!! Can not recommend highly enough