Short Stories by Jesus

Author: Amy-Jill Levine
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 006219819X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Book Description
The renowned biblical scholar, author of The Misunderstood Jew, and general editor for The Jewish Annotated New Testament interweaves history and spiritual analysis to explore Jesus’ most popular teaching parables, exposing their misinterpretations and making them lively and relevant for modern readers. Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives. In this wise, entertaining, and educational book, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus’ narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus, she analyzes these “problems with parables,” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.

The Difficult Words of Jesus

Author: Amy-Jill Levine
Publisher: Canterbury Press
ISBN: 1786224755
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
As well as telling parables and stories, giving teachings on how to discern questions of ethics and human nature, and offering beatitudes for comfort and encouragement, Jesus also spoke words and flung insults that followers then and now have found difficult, to say the least. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), warns that unending fire awaits some people, says body parts should be cut off if they offend. He calls a foreign woman a ‘dog’, the Jews ‘offspring of vipers’ and his closest disciple ‘Satan’. Preachers often gloss over these or avoid them altogether as they are still so shocking. In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine sheds vital light on understanding these by exploring how these sayings sounded to those who first heard them. She reveals Jewish modes of expression, humour and the long tradition of Jewish insults and what they mean, and how we might interpret these sayings today within a gospel of love and reconciliation.

Parables

Author: Mary Hoffman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780711215238
Category : Bible stories, English
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Book Description
In eight retellings, Mary Hoffman shows how Jesus used simple parables to convey essential truths to his listeners. The parables include The Lost Sheep, The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, and The House on the Rock.

The Parables of Jesus the Galilean

Author: Ernest van Eck
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498233716
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 379

Book Description
Who do we meet in the stories Jesus told? In The Parables of Jesus the Galilean: Stories of a Social Prophet, a selection of the parables of Jesus is read using a social-scientific approach. The interest of the author is not the parables in their literary contexts, but rather the parables as Jesus told them in a first-century Jewish Galilean sociopolitical, religious, and economic setting. Therefore, this volume is part of the material turn in parable research and offers a reading of the parables that pays special attention to Mediterranean anthropology by stressing key first-century Mediterranean values. Where applicable, available papyri that may be relevant in understanding the parables of Jesus from a fresh perspective are used to assemble solid ancient comparanda for the practices and social realities that the parables presuppose. The picture of Jesus that emerges from these readings is that of a social prophet. The parables of Jesus, as symbols of social transformation, envisioned a transformed and alternative world. This world, for Jesus, was the kingdom of God.

The Misunderstood Jew

Author: Amy-Jill Levine
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061748110
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
In the The Misunderstood Jew, scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps Christians and Jews understand the "Jewishness" of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place. Levine's humor and informed truth-telling provokes honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.

Entering the Passion of Jesus

Author: Amy-Jill Levine
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 1501869566
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 123

Book Description
Jesus’ final days were full of risk. Every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward. Jesus risked his reputation when he entered Jerusalem in a victory parade. He risked his life when he dared to teach in the Temple. His followers risked everything when they left behind their homes, or anointed him with costly perfume. We take risks as we read and re-read these stories, finding new meanings and new challenges. In Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story. She shows us how the text raises ethical and spiritual questions for the reader, and how we all face risk in our Christian experience. Entering the Passion of Jesus provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike. The book is part of a larger six-week study that is perfect for Lent and includes a DVD, and a comprehensive Leader Guide. The book’s six chapters include: Jerusalem: Risking Reputation The Temple: Risking Righteous Anger Teachings: Risking Challenge The First Dinner: Risking Rejection The Last Supper: Risking the Loss of Friends Gethsemane: Risking Temptation

Parables Jesus Told

Author: Ella K. Lindvall
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 9780802471161
Category : Bible stories, English
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Retells eight parables, such as the foolish farmer, the sheep that was lost, and two men who talked to God, in terms of modern situations. Includes the Biblical version and interpretive text.

The Five Books of Jesus

Author: James Goldberg
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781479271306
Category : Bible stories, English
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Book Description
It starts in the desert. John the prophet lowers Jesus under the Jordan's muddy waters and pulls him up, just as a bird swoops down to skim the river's surface.It spreads next to Galilee, where some welcome Jesus as a disciple of John and others grow wary of his rising influence-fishermen are leaving their nets, tax collectors their offices, and students their masters to listen to this new saint. After abandoning his nets, Andrew ties knots in the threads of his shirt to remember Jesus' teachings. After escaping his slum, Judas waits for Jesus to call down the legions of angels who can end a broken world.But just as Jesus' movement in the north is gaining strength, he turns south toward the Temple and a fate his followers will struggle to understand. The Five Books of Jesus, James Goldberg's lyrical novelization of Jesus' ministry, tells the story of the gospels as Jesus' followers might have experienced it: without knowing what would happen next or how to make sense of events as they unfold.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Author: Sally Lloyd-Jones
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310877024
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David---every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle---the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation---and at the center of their Story too.

My Little Library: Stories of Jesus (12 Board Books)

Author: Little Grasshopper Books
Publisher: Little Grasshopper Books
ISBN: 9781645586708
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120

Book Description
This Little Grasshopper Books collection includes 12 board books with art based on the life and teachings of Jesus. The simple stories will delight babies and toddlers. Whimsical illustrations bring the stories to life. The small sturdy board books are great for little fingers! - 3x3 inches each. The books included are: The Birth of Jesus, Baby Jesus, Miracles of Jesus, Miracle at Cana, Jesus Heals the Sick, The Parables, The Sower, The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, The Lord's Prayer, The Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus and His Friends. The keepsake box houses all 12 books until it's time to bring them out again! 12 board books - 10 pages each