Fascinating Bible Studies on Every Parable by Dr William H Marty

There are many parables in the Bible and some are difficult to understand. Marty has done a good job of giving us historical and cultural information as well as possible meanings. He includes two parables from the Old Testament as well as those Jesus told. The New Testament parables are divided into two categories, those describing the nature of the Kingdom and those revealing the ethics of the Kingdom.

I have studied the Bible for decades yet received new insight from this book. A good example is Marty's comments on the story of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:10-15). I had never considered that the reduction in debt might have been the debt collector's commission and not the principle. While there is absolutely no evidence that this is certainly the case, it does explain why the man is commended for an otherwise example of theft. (97)

Marty also includes good spiritual lessons. An example is from his teaching on the unforgiving servant. “...Jesus' point is that no true believer should ever be so unloving and hard-hearted that they are unwilling to forgive others.” (108-109)

Marty has included good questions for reflection and discussion as well as a suggested Scripture passage to memorize. Each chapter is short, just a few pages. That means this book would be a good one for daily devotional use as well as for group study.

You can read an excerpt here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Dr. William H Marty taught at Moody Bible Institute for 37 years and is the author of several previous books. He and his wife live in Colorado.

Bethany House Publishers, 240 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)