Abstract:
The parables of Jesus recorded in the Gospels are profoundly challenging, not only
as far as their original audience is concerned, but equally so as far as present day readers, hoping
to fully grasp their meaning, are concerned. Renewed efforts to interpret these parables were made
by a number of first-rate scholars, who published their research results in a book entitled "The
challenge of Jesus parables", which forms part of the McMaster New Testament Studies Series. This
review essay focuses on some of the book's main characteristics, in particular the resurgence of
allegory, the Gospel contextualization of the parables and their application to contemporary issues
of life.
