Faith

June 24, 2007

By Howard Bess

We have four accounts of the life of Jesus in the Bible. By name they are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We call them the gospels.

The first to be written was Mark. It was written a full generation after the death of Jesus. The last written was John, yet another full generation later.

The gospel records are reconstructed accounts that were written for evangelistic and liturgical purposes.

Finding real history about Jesus is difficult if not impossible. Histories are written by the ruling classes. Jesus gets no mention in the official written records of Rome and its puppet government in Palestine. He was not important enough for his death by hanging on a cross to be recorded in the Roman records that kept tabs on such things. The peasant class with whom Jesus worked, wrote no history. Few could read or write.

In recent years there has been a lot of fuss over the finding of other gospels, which were not included in the New Testament. Without exception they all were written later than the gospel of John. They are useless in expanding our knowledge of historical Jesus. I read them out of duty.

How then can anyone honestly say &#8220I know Jesus.”

The most important tie we have with Jesus is the stories he told. The stories were short enough and simple enough for remembering. Peasant people, not having the ability to read and write, could remember the stories of Jesus said and then repeat them over and over again.

The parables of Jesus are masterpieces. Depending on how one classifies them, there are over 40 parables in the gospel writings.

Artists, no matter whether the artist is a painter, a sculptor, a carver, a poet, a song writer, or a story teller, reveal themselves in their art work.

The stories Jesus told are the most authentic material that we have about Jesus. I have told my parishioners many times, if you want to know Jesus, study his parables.

The Jesus of relevance can be known through his story telling.

How many parables of Jesus can you (the person reading this column) tell in your own words? If you cannot recite at least eight or ten, you do not know Jesus.

Let me recall some of the more fascinating parables. The story of the good Samaritan. The story of the prodigal son. The parable of the divided kingdom. The story of the sower. The story of weeds in the field. The parable of treasurers hidden in a field. The story of the lost coin. The parable of the mustard seed. The parable of the lost sheep. The parable of the unforgiving servant. The story of the laborers sent to the field. The story of the irresponsible tenants. The parable of the wedding banquet. The parable of the talents. The story of the ten bridesmaids. The parable of the lamp put under a bushel basket. The story of two foundations. The parable of a blind man leading another blind man. The parable of good trees that produce good fruit. The story of the rich fool.

That is twenty of them. How many of these can you retell in your own words? How many of them can you translate into 21st century life?

I am appalled at how little time Christians spend reading and pondering the parables of Jesus. My contention is specific.

Persons who master the parables will not only find solid direction for their lives, they will experience Jesus as friend and companion.

They will know Jesus!

Not only will persons who study the parables know Jesus, they will understand what Jesus believed. They will know that Jesus expects us to be good stewards of everything we have. They will know that Jesus had nothing but contempt for unshared wealth. They will know that mercy comes to the merciful. They will know that Jesus had his own version of a minimum wage. They will know that Jesus believed we will ultimately reap what we sow. They will know that God is exceedingly compassionate toward the repentant.

Study the parables of Jesus with diligence. Then the next time someone asks you &#8220do you know Jesus?,” you can answer with confidence &#8220I certainly do!”

The Rev. Howard Bess is pastor of Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.