Ab. So. Lute. Ly. Amazing.

Outside of their Ancient Near-Eastern context, the meanings of the parables become a jumbled mess. Only by placing them within that cultural context do they suddenly spark to life the way they did originally, when Jesus first told them to his audiences. ( )

Synopsis: In this short book, Burge guides the reader to interpret Jesus as a storyteller - a teacher who uses allegory and hyperbole to make important points within his own social context. The book is filled with beautiful pictures and several examples of Jesus' use of hyperbole to teach an important point. Burge provides historical and cultural insight into what Jesus may have been talking about when telling his parables.

My thoughts: I was surprised at how fun this book was. Although it's quite short, and half of it was pictures, it made me look at Jesus from a interesting new perspective. Of course, I already knew that Jesus used parables and hyperbole to make points, but it was really interesting to read Burge's cultural analysis of those parables.

The story I found most enlightening was Burge's interpretation of the fig tree incident - the one where Jesus cursed the tree. Burge pointed out that the fig tree represented the Jewish state and religion. Throughout the New Testament Jesus repeatedly pointed out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who made a public spectacle of themselves fasting, praying, and giving alms; but who did not have the spirit of the religion in their hearts. They prayed for the approval of the people, not for the approval of God. Thus, they were not "bearing fruit."

Of course, I realize that this insight about the fig tree and the Pharisees is not uniquely Burge's. What's important is that Jesus, the Middle Eastern Storyteller introduced me to some interesting interpretations that I could look into in more detail later. In that way, this book was a valuable resource for me.

For my full review, go to my blog: Resistance is Futile ( )