SALT" Exercise: The Parables of Jesus Assignment
Mark G. Bradley
NBST515: New Testament Orientation
September 2025
Summary: Parables are simple stories used to illustrate a moral or
spiritual lesson. Jesus shared these stories with his disciples and used them in his sermons to
crowds in various cities. Another way to describe a parable is, “Parables are earthly stories with
heavenly meanings.”[1] These stories were designed to draw in the listener and then “hook”
them with the actual meaning. It was a way of talking about one thing in terms of something
else, because we use them to help grasp the real subject. Each author has a specific reason for
writing their Gospel; Luke wrote his to help us understand where God’s salvation was affected
and on Jesus being the Savior. Luke’s Gospel focuses on history as the place where God’s
salvation was affected and on Jesus as
God’s Savior.[2] So, the parables within the Gospel of Luke will point to that! Same thing with
John, each parable points to the focus that John has when writing his gospel. Each parable has a
hook in it! A hook is something that is out of place or considered unsettling, which makes you
think about it for a long time. Jesus used these to teach the crowd how to live a life for God.
Then, at times, he used them to show the people what they were doing wrong. We see that
with the Pharisees, the parable Jesus used was “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax
Collector.” These narratives conveyed both overt and underlying messages; they often began in
a gentle, instructive manner before delivering an unexpectedly powerful impact. In other
words, a parable would make you rethink what you thought you knew. They, at times, would hit
too close to home for some people. However, during this time, which is what was needed
because of how sinful Israel was, and nowadays we also need this type of teaching. Parables
encourage us to reconsider our understanding of the lesson, influencing how we engage with
the central theme or key message of the parable.
Application: One of the greatest parables in the bible is that of the Prodigal Son in Luke
15:11-32. This is one of those parables that has been taught in many Christian universities and
has been the topic of many sermons amongst pastors and churches all across the country. The
prodigal son is one of those parables that has significant meaning both during Ancient
Jewish times and today in the 21st century. During the time of this parable, Jesus was speaking
to the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law were muttering about how Jesus allowed sinners
and tax collectors around him. Jesus goes through multiple parables but then gets to the
prodigal son. The parable goes that the son wanted to leave home and demanded his father
give him his inheritance, and after going back and forth, the father finally gave in, and his son
left to go to another country, and he squandered all his wealth. "And not many days later, the
younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and
there he squandered his estate with loose living.[3] (Luke 15:13 NASB).
The prodigal son then became poor and had to settle for a job feeding the pigs, and he
realized that it would be better to go to work for his father instead of sitting in the pig muck.
Eventually, he went back home, and his father was so excited to see him that he forgave him
and threw a party for him! During this time, honor and shame played crucial roles in families.
Every action was vital, and every choice you made mattered. No one wanted to bring shame
and dishonor to their family. However, Jesus was emphasizing the concept of forgiveness. The
prodigal son was once lost to the world, but when he came back to his father, he was found!
This is the very thing that Jesus was portraying to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Sinners
and tax collectors were once lost, but because they came to Jesus and listened to his teachings,
they began the journey to salvation. The hook is found in the middle of Luke 15. "And the son
said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy of
being called your son.' "But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill
it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was
lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.” [4] (Luke 15:21-24 NASB). The unsettling
or something out of the ordinary was the fact that the father celebrated the return of his
youngest son! During this time, he should have disowned him for how he dishonored him and
shamed the family. Yet, the father rejoiced that his son came home!
We see a lot of similarities today in this parable! However, we rejoice when the “prodigal
son” in our life comes to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In the 21st century, we seem to
have lost the concept of honor as the ancient Jews once had. Yet, we still celebrate the return of
those who were lost to the world but now are found in Christ! In this century, this parable is all
about three things: Repentance, Grace, and Forgiveness. In Churches, we preach this parable,
and we see that what the father did for the prodigal son is exactly what our Heavenly Father
does for us. When we return to him from the world, broken, spiritually “poor,” and wanting to
come home, God welcomes us with open arms! He forgives us when we repent, gives us grace
when we ask to come home, and celebrates us coming to him by giving us the Holy Spirit to
guide our lives. The Hook for the 21st century is that no matter how far “gone” you are, God will
always welcome you back once you return and repent, and then he forgives and gives you grace
and says welcome home.
Bibliography
[1] “The Parables of Jesus.” 2025. Liberty.edu. 2025.
https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/977773/pages/watch-the-parables-ofjesus?
module_item_id=91631364.
[2] Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough, Encountering the New
Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey, ed. Walter A. Elwell, Fourth Edition,
Encountering Biblical Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022), 91.
[3] “Luke 15 - NAS - Bible Study Tools.” 2025. Bible Study Tools. 2025.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/luke/15.html.
[4] “Luke 15 - NAS - Bible Study Tools.” 2025. Bible Study Tools. 2025.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/luke/15.html.
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