A Sting in the Tale/Introduction

Everyone loves a story. Stories are universal and timeless. They can bridge the gap between people of different ages, social backgrounds and cultures. They don't just inform the mind, they engage the heart. And though they can be immensely entertaining, stories can also sometimes be very profound too. Jesus loved to tell stories, or 'parables', as he called them. This book examines several of the most famous which are preserved for us in the gospel of Luke. Maybe a word or two about parables generally will be helpful before we begin to study some particular examples.

Jesus' parables fall into two broad categories. Some are simply extended similes. The kingdom of God is like a pearl of great value (Matthew 13:45-46) or a net cast in the sea (Matthew 13:47). Such parables are coded visual aids. They illustrate a particular spiritual truth that Jesus is trying to get across, but in a deliberately cryptic fashion. There's another sort of parable, though, in which Luke is particularly interested. This kind goes further than simply being an extended simile. It's much closer to being an allegorical story. In these 'parable tales' Jesus is not merely seeking to tantalize or educate his hearers; he's wanting to challenge them at a fundamental level. On the surface, such stories seem innocuous; charming little narratives full of familiar images that easily capture your attention. In reality they're a kind of Stealth bomber, specially designed to evade our psychological defences, insinuating themselves inside our mind in spite of every barricade we may seek to erect, and then dropping a highly explosive charge targeted at the most vulnerable point in our spiritual complacency.

One feature that is often characteristic of these story parables is that they have a sting in the tail; a punch-line that creeps up on you and then kicks you in the stomach when you're not expecting it. In some respects, that makes these parables peculiarly difficult to re-tell today. Some of them have become so well known that they're part of our cultural furniture, and as a result, have lost much of their original novelty value. The good Samaritan and the prodigal son, for instance, are so familiar that their punch-lines no longer convey the same shock. We're waiting for it; it doesn't take us by surprise. Worse still, perhaps, even the lack of surprise doesn't surprise us.

With a little bit of imagination, however, it is not impossible to recapture the original impact of these stories. It means that we have to project ourselves back into being one of Jesus' original audience. Then at least in measure we can rediscover just how subversive and radical these parables of his really were. That at any rate is our aim in this book. We are going to try to find 'the sting in the tale', if you'll forgive the pun. If we succeed—if Jesus' Stealth bombers find their target in us—then beware! We shall not be left the same after their attack. Each one carries a one-megaton charge guaranteed to blow your mind!

Originally these eight chapters were all sermons preached in various contexts. Some were given to the Keswick Convention, and I am grateful for permission to reproduce that material here. The remainder were delivered at Eden Chapel, Cambridge, in the course of normal Sunday services. Thanks are due to the staff of IVP who have performed the hard work of transcribing those addresses from tape recordings. In both cases the sermon text has been only lightly edited and the reader will often catch the flavour of oral style as a result. Maybe that is appropriate, for Jesus' parables were all originally spoken to a live audience, too.