Was the historical Jesus an anarchist?^169- The Greek work for parable, παραβολή, is used in the following
texts: Matthew 13.3, 10, 18, 24, 31, 35, 53; 15.15; 21.33, 45; 22.1;
Mark 3.23, 4.2, 10, 11, 13, 30, 33, 34; 7.17; 12.1, 12; Luke 5.36; 6.39;
8.4, 9, 10, 11; 12.16, 41; 13.6; 14.7; 15.3; 18.1, 9; 19.11; 20.9, 19; 21.2.
Most relate, either directly or indirectly, to the kingdom of God/heaven. - This is true of most parabolic material but not all (see, for ex-
ample Mark 7.17; Luke 14.7). We should be wary of approaches
to the parables of Jesus that do not take account of such diversity
(see Peter Dschulnigg, ‘Positionen des Gleichnisverständnisses im - Jahrhundert. Kurze Darstellung von fünf Wichtigen Positionen
der Gleichnistheorie (Jülicher, Jeremias, Weder, Arens, Harnisch)’,
Theologische Zeitschrift, 45 (1989), 335–351 (p. 347). - Ruben Zimmermann, ‘How to Understand the Parables of Jesus:
A Paradigm Shift in Parable Exegesis’, Acta Theologica, 29.1 (2009),
157–182 (p. 175). - The sayings that conclude a number of parables are often allu-
sive and are usually thought to be secondary additions. For exam-
ple, the saying “the first will be last and the last first” is found as a
conclusion to the Parable of the Householder in Luke (13.23–30)
but appears as the conclusion to the Parable of the Labourers in the
Vineyard in Matthew (20.1–16), as well as in non-parabolic material
(Matthew 19.30, Mark 10.31). - Bernard Brandon Scott, Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary
on the Parables of Jesus (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), p. - For surveys of the parables of Jesus in critical scholarship see
Dschulnigg, ‘Positionen des Gleichnisverständnisses’, pp. 335–351;
David B. Gowler, What Are They Saying About the Parables? (New
York: Paulist Press, 2000); Klyne Snodgrass, ‘From Allegorizing to
Allegorizing: a History of the Interpretation of the Parables of Jesus’,
in The Challenge of Jesus’ Parables, ed. by Richard Longenecker
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), pp. 3–29. - Indicated by such sayings as: “The time is fulfilled, and the king-
dom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news”
(Matthew 4.17 and Mark 1.15; see also Luke 4.43) and, “And he
said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will
not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with
power.’” (Mark 9.1; see also Matthew 16.28, Luke 9.27).