Book Review: Short Stories by Jesus: Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

By Barbara McCall

Parables, the stories Jesus told, are the precious gems of our faith. Parables have many facets to discover and insights to light our way through life. We often return to the parables, turning them over in our minds, seeking to understand Jesus’ messages of love and faith.

Yes, we are comfortable with our time-tested interpretations of the parables. But now comes Professor Amy-Jill Levine, a scholar of the New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, who shakes things up!

“The parables, if we take them seriously not as answers but as invitations, can continue to inform our lives, even as our lives continue to open up the parables to new meanings.” By sharing her knowledge of the history and culture of Jesus’ 1st Century audience, she guides us to find new, personal challenges in the Parables.

Read this book because you want a fresh, personal understanding of the Parables. Read this book because you are curious about the Jewish faith and Jesus’ 1st Century audience. Read this book because you enjoy Bible study, led by a noted Professor. Read this book because you want to meet “a Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches in a predominantly Christian divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt.”