Jared C. Wilson, The Storytelling God. Crossway, 2014. 187 pp., paper. ISBN 1-4335-3668-4
The heart of Jesus’ preaching in the New Testament is found in parables, and these power-packed stories provide the basis of much of our contemporary preaching in the gospels. In The Storytelling God, Jared Wilson draws us into the parables to help us understand how Jesus used them to reveal profound spiritual truths.
As Wilson notes, “When Jesus teaches a parable, he is not opening up Chicken Soup for the Soul or a fortune cookie but a window to the hidden heavenlies. He is revealing a glimpse of eternity crashing into time, a flash photo of his own wisdom brought to bear. The parables give us a direct portal to the kingdom of God being done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Wilson initially discusses Jesus’ emphasis on the kingdom of God, and then offers background into the nature and purpose of parables before launching into an interesting and insightful analysis of the life issues and spiritual truths so beautifully articulated by the parables of Jesus. He helps us see those parables with new eyes, recognizing they are not offering us brief morality tales about righteous living, but revealing an entirely new, grace-filled reality to which God invites us.
Wilson does a marvelous job of analyzing and applying the truths of the parables. Frankly, I can’t imagine preparing to preach from a parable without taking a glance at Wilson’s observations. This book has found a place on my bookshelf and deserves a place on yours.