Exploring the Financial Parables of Jesus: The Economy of Grace and the Generosity of God
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Storytelling is a powerful and effective means of communication, a truth Jesus knew and used to great advantage in his parables. Many of the plots in these parables involve financial matters. They teach about God’s perspective on money, resources, and their use, but further, they teach profound spiritual truths about the kingdom of God. This kingdom operates according to a different kind of economy, wherein relationships, love, and serving others take precedence over accumulating wealth and possessions.
Taken together, the parables examined in this book paint a picture of divine generosity and grace in both the financial and spiritual realms. This in turn challenges readers to reexamine their priorities and how money and possessions can be used for the kingdom.
The author brings his expertise in literature and biblical studies to bear in a fresh examination of the nature of parables and their interpretation in general and of a number of Jesus’s prominent parables with financial themes, all with an eye toward contemporary application. He does so without scholarly jargon, making this accessible book ideal for both undergraduate courses on the Gospels and for church leaders and groups.
From the Back Cover
”A concise yet compelling interpretation of some of Jesus’s most stirring and even confusing parables"
This book offers a fresh examination of Jesus’s financial parables with an eye toward contemporary application. Bible and literature scholar Keith Bodner shows how these parables teach us not only about God’s perspective on money and resources but also about the kingdom of God. This kingdom operates according to a different kind of economy, one in which relationships, love, and serving others take precedence over accumulating wealth and possessions.
“Bodner has written a concise yet compelling interpretation of some of Jesus’s most stirring and even confusing parables. He appeals to a mix of Old Testament narratives, famous literature, cultural anecdotes, and even movies to show us how the parables work and how they continue to challenge us today. It is a book that shows us, very cleverly, how the parables teach the grift of sin and the gains of grace."
--Michael F. Bird, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia
"Full of insight and written in a wonderfully engaging style, Bodner’s book demonstrates how Jesus’s financial parables provide a coherent message about God, God’s kingdom, and the upside-down / right-side-up nature of faithful life before God. Practically every page challenges contemporary perspectives and calls readers to reflect on and embody God’s economy of grace. The way Bodner weaves Old Testament material into his work adds real depth to the message of the book. Pastors, students of the Bible, and even those who struggle with what to make of Jesus’s parables will find themselves enriched by this study."
--Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological Seminary
"Bodner is a perceptive interpreter and an excellent communicator. Exploring the Financial Parables of Jesus abounds in stimulating exegesis and fresh insight. Every reader will find it satisfying and rewarding."
--Craig A. Evans, The Bible Seminary, Katy, Texas
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Preface: Hidden Treasure
1. The World Wide Web of Parables
2. An Oil Baron and an Embezzler
3. A Solicitor and a Samaritan
4. A Billionaire and a Beggar
5. Bankruptcy, Bitterness, and the Banquet
6. A Widow and the Workers
7. Taxes, Towers, and Bags of Gold
Conclusion: Debtor’s Prison
Index
Keith Bodner has written a concise yet compelling interpretation of some of Jesus’s most stirring and even confusing parables. He appeals to a mix of Old Testament narratives, famous literature, cultural anecdotes, and even movies to show us how the parables work and how they continue to challenge us today. It is a book that shows us, very cleverly, how the parables teach the grift of sin and the gains of grace.
—Michael F. Bird, deputy principal, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia
Full of insight and written in a wonderfully engaging style, Keith Bodner’s book demonstrates how Jesus’s financial parables provide a coherent message about God, God’s kingdom, and the upside-down / right-side-up nature of faithful life before God. Practically every page challenges contemporary perspectives and calls readers to reflect on and embody God’s economy of grace. The way Bodner weaves Old Testament material into his work adds real depth to the message of the book. Pastors, students of the Bible, and even those who struggle with what to make of Jesus’s parables will find themselves enriched by this study.
—Joel B. Green, senior professor of New Testament interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary
Keith Bodner is a perceptive interpreter and an excellent communicator. Exploring the Financial Parables of Jesus abounds in stimulating exegesis and fresh insight. Every reader will find it satisfying and rewarding.
—Craig A. Evans, distinguished research professor, The Bible Seminary, Katy, Texas
- Title: Exploring the Financial Parables of Jesus: The Economy of Grace and the Generosity of God
- Author: Keith Bodner
- Publisher: Baker Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2025
- Logos Release Date: 2025
- Pages: 200
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- ISBNs: 9781493451609, 9781540969323, 1540969320, 149345160X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781493451609
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-09-30T22:15:23Z
Keith Bodner (PhD, University of Manchester; PhD, University of Aberdeen) is Professor of Religious Studies at Crandall University in New Brunswick and previously taught for several years at Tyndale University College & Seminary in Toronto. He holds doctoral degrees in Biblical Studies from the University of Aberdeen and in English Literature from the University of Manchester.
He serves on the editorial board of the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament and is a former section chair for “Bakhtin and the Biblical Imagination” with the Society of Biblical Literature. His 2008 volume, 1 Samuel: A Narrative Commentary, received the R. B. Y. Scott Award from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, and he has lectured extensively to both scholarly and general audiences.
Dr. Bodner’s publications include The Rebellion of Absalom (Routledge) and The Artistic Dimension (LHBOTS), as well as several recent works with Oxford University Press, such as Jeroboam’s Royal Drama, Elisha’s Profile in the Book of Kings, After the Invasion: A Reading of Jeremiah 40–44, and An Ark on the Nile: The Beginning of the Book of Exodus.
In addition to his academic work, he preaches weekly, is married with three children, and humorously notes that he cares for several particularly troublesome cats.