- A rich and compelling portrait of Jesus as storyteller, set within a credible historical reconstruction of his aims and ministry. - Stephen Wright is an expert on the parables and respected internationally for his books on interpreting and preaching the New Testament. - Draws on the best in recent Jesus scholarship, as well as on contemporary literary, linguistic and sociological insights. (Publisher's notes.)

One of the most fascinating works of New Testament scholarship to appear in recent years. Stephen Wright begins with an overview of gospel, and in particular, parable interpretation from Reimarus's Fragments to the present day. His own approach is that of Narrative Criticism. In Part Two he considers how each of the three writers of the Synoptic Gospels present the parables. Then, in Part Three he looks at the Sitz im Leben of the parables divided into those told in Galilee, those while Jesus was travelling and, finally, the stories told in Jerusalem. The particular approach of this book lifts the veil which sometimes shrouds the parables and obscures their meaning. To read his analysis of difficult parables such as the Tenants in the vineyard is to see the stories in a new light with deeper and sometimes quite different meaning. The author uses all his scholarly skill in doing this yet manages to convey his ideas in highly readable and accessible prose. If you are only going to read one new book on New Testament theology this year then it should be this one.