R. Steven Notley is co-author with Ze’ev Safrai of Parables of the Sages (Jerusalem: Carta, 2011).
Jerusalem Perspective is excited to announce that in the coming months Dr. R. Steven Notley will be sharing a series of blogs on Jesus’ parables with our readers. In anticipation of these blogs, and as a preview of what we might expect from Dr. Notley, we are sharing two sermons on the parables that Dr. Notley delivered to the Narkis Street Congregation in Jerusalem. Enjoy!
Matthew 18:21-35: The Unforgiving Servant (16-Jan.-2016)
In this sermon Dr. Notley discusses how the concept of creation in the image of God came into its own in the Second Temple period and how this concept gave rise to new ways of thinking about human relationships to God and neighbor. On the one hand, human beings are to emulate God’s attribute of mercy in our relations to one another. On the other hand, God will relate to us the way we relate to one another.
Luke 15:11-32: The Generous Father (1-Feb.-2010)
This sermon is a new take on the Prodigal Son parable, in which Dr. Notley points out that neither son understood their father’s unconditional love.
Domenico Fetti, Parable of the Wicked Servant, oil on canvas (ca. 1620). Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
