Book Review~Parables

About the Book: "The Parables of Jesus are more than teaching tools. They are the secret keys to the mysteries of God's Kingdom. Many assume that Jesus told parables to make His teaching easy, accessible, and comfortable in order to reach the widest possible audience.

The reality is Jesus spoke in parables to unbelievers not to make the truth clear, but to hide it from them as judgement. The parables were symbols of our Lord's condemnation on those who had rejected His clear teaching."


Parables: The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed Through The Stories Jesus Told by John MacArthur is broken down into the following chapters:

Introduction (Sloppy Thinking About the Parables, Why Parables, and Some Definitions and Details)
1. One Ominous Day in Galilee
2. A Lesson About Receiving the Word
3. A Lesson About the Cost of Discipleship
4. A Lesson About Justice and Grace
5. A Lesson About Neighborly Love
6. A Lesson About Justification by Faith
7. A Lesson About Faithfulness
8. A Lesson About Serpentine Wisdom
9. A Lesson About Heaven and Hell
10. A Lesson About Persistence in Prayer
Acknowledgements
Appendix (Storied Truth, Objective Meaning in Narrative, Stories as Effective Vehicles for Truth, The Wealth of Truth in Jesus' Parables, Stories and Propositions)
Notes
Index
Scripture Index
About the Author

About the Author: 

John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, president of the Master's College and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry. In more than four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The MacArthur Study Bible, The Gospel According to Jesus, and Slave. He lives in Los Angeles.

What I Thought: 

I was excited to read this book because the parables have always interested me. I have always thought of them as short stories that help the reader understand a point.  I had never thought of parables the way the author explains, as hiding the truth from unbelievers. In Parables, author John MacArthur does an excellent job of breaking down and explaining each parable, and linking them to others. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to understand the parables more deeply, and I also think it would make an excellent gift.  There is also a workbook that you can purchase in addition to the book.You can find Parables at numerous online book stores, including Amazon. 

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed here are my own.