Salt and Light: The Parables in Modern Terms

In the New Testament, Jesus used parables—simple stories using everyday activities—to illustrate spiritual principles. Two thousand years later, some of them involve things we no longer do every day. For example, most Western farmers apply seed with big machines instead of scattering them by hand. We buy wine in bottles at the store instead of making it and putting it in wineskins. Consequently, it’s more important than ever to delve into the underlying symbolic meaning of these stories. As a kid and young adult I was so literal-minded that the parables held no higher meaning for me. I thought the story of the sower was about farming; the new wine in old wineskins baffled me completely. This study of the parables is my attempt to make them real for modern people, and to expose for my own sake the deeper metaphorical meanings inherent in them. Throughout the text, the interpretations are mine, those of an amateur Bible scholar. I’m not a preacher or a theologian; I just want to understand these things for myself and give others food for thought. The parables were originally told to the everyday people of the time, and we are their heirs. Use the space provided for your own notes, interpretation, and examples. Unless otherwise noted, Bible quotes are from the New International Version. I feel it keeps much of the poetry of the King James, without the confusing archaic language.