Studies in the Parables of Jesus
Introductory Study and Expositions
by Joe B. Hopper
Description:
A lengthy treatise on the parables written early in Joe's ministry. Part 1 provides an introductory study of the parables: "The Parables as a Literary Medium", "The Purpose of the Parables", "The Distribution of the Parables", "The Classification of the Parables", and "The Interpretation of the Parables". Part 2 contains expositions of ten of Jesus' parables.
Quote:
The central message of this parable then is this: The presence of tares among the wheat is a fact in the Church (as well as in the world at large). There will always be a certain admixture of evil along with the good. Our attitude toward those groups or individuals whom we feel are not the true sons of the kingdom must be marked by a spirit of true patience and forbearance, awaiting the full out-cropping of evil at which time the false and wicked will be destroyed and the true and righteous rewarded according to their merits. We are warned against stern intolerance and censoriousness. heresy hunting, and purges lest we harm the good while seeking to destroy the evil, or lest we mistake for evil something with may later reveal itself by its fruit to be the true wheat.