`For those Outside,Everything Comes in Parables': Recent Readings of the Parables from the Inside

Abstract

The recovery of the historical intention behind the parables of Jesus remains a contentious issue in recent parable research. Some commentators maintain a belief in the possibility of recovering something of the intention of Jesus, while others study the intention of the evangelists in their adaptation and interpretation of the parables. Also of interest are socio-scientific readings of the texts, which read the parables through the lens of various social theories; and feminist readings, which place less emphasis on the historical situation of the parables, and more on the response of modern readers to their surface structure or underlying message. Theological and homiletic concerns are also well represented in the literature of the past ten years.