Parables of Parenthood. Andrew Taylor-Troutman

Parables of Parenthood - Andrew Taylor-Troutman


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a breathless, almost frantic pace, his Gospel is not unsophisticated. It is composed like a series of front page headlines: “Extra, extra! Read all about it!” Jesus begins his ministry by announcing that the time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near (Mark 1:14–15). From Mark 1:21 through 2:12, the healings and exorcisms that he performs witness to the power that God has unleashed on the world–boom! In Jesus, God is doing something fantastic, something new. This is especially relevant because our parable is prompted by a question about the traditional practice of fasting.

      Mark employs the parables about new cloth and new wine to play on this irony. An “old garment” is ruined by the patch, not repaired. The contrast between “new and old” pieces of clothing is explicit (Mark 2:21). Likewise new wine “bursts” and destroys old wineskins because the new wine ferments and gives off gases that break the brittle fabric of the containers (Mark 2:22).

      In his explosive style of writing, Mark uses these parables to lay down the boom! Even cherished expressions of piety and traditional religious practices must be questioned in light of the reality of God’s reign in the person of Jesus Christ. The old guard is more than put off-guard by this new, bombastic understanding: they are threatened. Within the first three chapters of this Gospel, the religious leaders move from questioning Jesus about the habits of his disciples to conspiring with their political officials in order to kill him (Mark 3:6). Extra, extra! Read all about it!

      Luke

      Luke’s version shares many similarities with Mark’s account. Both Gospels narrate the same events in roughly the same sequence that lead up to Jesus’ statements about the new and old: the call of the first disciples (Mark 1:16; Luke 5:1), the cleansing of a leper (Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12), the healing of a paralytic (Mark 2:1; Luke 5:17), and the call of Levi (Mark 2:13; Luke 5:27). By building on the narrative framework in Mark, Luke ratchets up the contrast between old and new.

      Matthew

      While likewise building upon Mark’s Gospel, Matthew’s version serves as a counterpoint to Luke’s emphasis. Like wine connoisseurs, careful readers of this Gospel will detect subtle variations in flavor. The root of such distinctions can primarily be understood by differences in their original audiences. There is consensus among scholars that the first recipients of Matthew’s Gospel were primarily Jews who began following Jesus as the Messiah, while Luke wrote to a largely Gentile audience. With this hypothesis in mind, we would expect Matthew to exhibit more continuity and connection with the past than either Luke or Mark.


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