The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God

Arranged with the assistance of the late author’s (1935–2013) daughter, Rebecca Willard Heatley, this work focuses primarily on a 13-week series of talks that philosopher Willard (Hearing God, Updated and Expanded) presented in 1983. He titled that series “The Parabolic Teaching About Christ’s Kingdom by Christ Himself.” The book also contains some of Willard’s unpublished works, along with material from his previous books. This title is intended to deepen understanding of the message of Christ. The book indicates that Jesus’s contemporaries may have found his ideas scandalous for departing from traditional Jewish teachings. He used parables (seemingly simple stories based on concepts from everyday life) to help them, nonetheless, grasp ideas regarding God’s kingdom. Willard asserts that parables are culturally relevant, related to daily life, easily remembered, logical, and increasingly meaningful as time passes. Among those he examines in great detail are the parables of the sower, mustard seed, talents, unjust steward, prodigal son, and workers in the vineyard. Quotes from various translations of the Bible are used to back up his insights.