The Parables of the Kingdom

by Robert Farrar Capon

The first volume of Capon's trilogy on Jesus' parables, The Parables of the Kingdom covers the short, almost one-sentence parables that occur in the Gospels before the feeding of the five thousand. Offering a fresh look at these parables in the light of their entire gospel and biblical context, Capon elucidates Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Christianity, Religion

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Robert Farrar Capon was a lifelong New Yorker and served for almost 30 years as a parish priest in the Episcopal Church. His first book, Bed and Board, was published in 1965 and by 1977 left full-time ministry to devote more time to writing books, though he continued to serve the church in various capacities such as assisting priest and Canon Theologian. He has written twenty books on theology, cooking and family life.

His lifelong interest in food intersected with his writing and led to his becoming food columnist for Newsday and The New York Times and also teaching cooking classes.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Capon's better books. First read in 1993, and read more than once since then.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever read an author whose writing makes you one moment want to clasp the book to your heart and ecstatically exclaim, "Yes! Finally! THIS! He/she GETS it! This is so awesome -- the best! This is so startlingly fresh and new, and, yet, at the same time, resonates as exactly how I always knew and hoped it should be!", and, in the very next moment, makes you want to sling the book across the room, halfway hoping it lands in something icky in the corner, so you'd be forced to throw the book away, but you'd be sorry if it did and relieved when it didn't, because you know you'd end up lying awake nights, wistful to finish it? Robert Farrar Capon is that author for me. Both maddening and delicious.

Is he a universalist? I don't know, but he sure does sound like it sometimes. Yet, how can he be when he exudes such delight in, and savoring of, and relish for the Word AS the Word? The last few pages of his epilogue are a joyful rhapsody on the wonders and enchantment believers experience as they dig into the inexhaustible treasures found in all the Scriptures.

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just a few thoughts:

Awful writing
Guessing no editing
Repetitive
Too much speculation
At some points it feels like he has a grudge against the church

[Don Harton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a wonderful walk thru Matthew 13. Capon has a great ear for the little details about the Kingdom Jesus describes. Seems God has established a Kingdom of Left-Handed Power, “power that looks for all the world like weakness, intervention that seems indistinguishable from nonintervention.”

One of the sections that really challenges me observes Jesus telling the story of the Weeds sown by the enemy. Starting on page 105, Capon examines the Greek verb the farmer uses to instruct his servants: ‘aphiemi’. Jesus has the farmer say ‘Leave the weeds or you’ll pull up the wheat as well.’ It’s also the verb Jesus uses from the cross: ‘aphes’, with the second meaning - to forgive. Not only do we leave the weeds, the evil, to spare the tender shoots of the weeds, but we forgive them.

You may not agree w everything Capon says, but it’s well worth your time to read it.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

My goodness! what a tremendous writer. His voice alone is worth reading the book. I laughed and cried throughout. As for the meat of the book—I was looking for something that could help me study the parables in some real depth since I've never done that before. The way he used exegesis to pick apart the cultural context in these parables did just that. And the way he organized his thesis over and over using catholicity and so on and so forth really made clear the resonant themes in Jesus teaching. It's clear just how universally inclusive and nonjudgmental the "Kingdom" truly is and why mankind (and SO many Christians) are still unable to see and accept the power of Grace.

[Good · Rating 1 out of 5]

Heresy. The author is so sarcastic throughout and assumes and talks that Jesus was very sarcastic—“dog bone theory” is just one of many major examples. The author is a pacifist and multiple times uses the parables and his book to promote his beliefs. He proposes that all are saved/redeemed and judgement/separating is only for those who reject their state—this theory means a Holy God is casting off Holy people which would be against His very Holiness and Righteousness. This book would be very confusing to someone not well-grounded in all of Scripture and not educated in theological eschatology. Don’t waste your time with this book.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recent conversation reminded me that I had Capon's trilogy on the parables of Jesus on my shelf, regretfully unread. I loved every sentence. He brings to life one sentence parables and elucidates the rest. I came away with a fresh perspective and a new understanding.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book two stars because I felt that it was far wordier than was needed to get the point. For some, this may be what they are looking for as an in-depth analysis of the context, but it was not for me.

[Brian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting take on the kingdom parables from Matthew 13. I am using this in a class this winter and I look forward to the discussion it might generate. Thought provoking.

[Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Therefore, I come back once again to my insistence that, in high seriousness and with equally high glee, we should play with scripture."

[Connor Longaphie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the theology, wasn't a fan of the writing

[Spencer Nix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 of required reading for the recovering modern evangelical.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really love Capon’s matter-of-fact style of writing. He’s like the embodiment of if “I’m walkin here” was a book. Good thoughts on difficult to understand passages.

[Angela Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis: Robert Farrar Capon is taking a fresh look at the parables of Jesus because it’s always a good thing to look at an old favorite with new eyes.

I am all in when it comes to books that help you see the Bible differently. In that respect, Parables of the Kingdom had a lot to recommend itself. It started out strong, challenging and breaking down common perceptions and misinterpretations of Jesus parables regarding the Kingdom of God/Heaven, and clearly demonstrating how Jesus was an example of creative, intuitive power (left-handed) versus strong-armed power (right-handed). Although at times it seemed like Capon was having to stretch a bit to defend his conclusions, I appreciated his observations and, overall, felt I could follow his train of thought and I was 100% on board. But after the initial ascent, the book took a nosedive into some rough waters.

Eventually, Capon just makes one too many assumptions to maintain credibility. Reading into the mindset of Jesus, the reactions of the listeners, and even at times the content of the parables themselves is all well and good as long as you freely admit that, in the end, you don’t really know if any of this is real! But this reads like a book of theology (even though Capon seems to want to shy away from such a designation) so assumptions have to be kept in their proper and well-marked space.

This is not an uncommon problem in theology books. When you have a certain perspective (and, let’s face it, most everyone does) you will want to defend that perspective, and you may have to go to great lengths, or completely off the rails, to do so. And the Bible can be taken so many different ways, almost as many as there are theologians. There will never be just one way to take the whole Bible. So, on the one hand, it’s important to see other perspectives. On the other, it is also important to remember that everyone comes from their own point of view and it all needs to be read critically.

Though that’s true of anything, I suppose.

[Jeremy Rios · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great beginning where Capon discusses the "left-handed" power of God, followed by a meandering, strange, and odd set of interpretations. Humorous but without focus, Capon shows a strange ability to talk about almost everything but the parables themselves... Go ahead and read to enjoy his style, but I'd look elsewhere for interpretation.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capon is one of my favorite authors. I learn so much from his study of the parables. Sometimes I have to reread a portion to understand what he is trying to say. He has such a unique way of getting his point across. I can't wait to get started on his parables of Grace and Judgement. I like the way he challenges me to think through scripture.

[A. Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capon has a very interesting, and sometimes hard to follow, writing style, but I enjoyed his books and they definitely gave me a new perspective on the Parables and the Gospels in general. Just be prepared to put your thinking cap on and reread certain passages a few times to understand them. Doesn't hurt to have a dictionary or Google handy for certain words, either!

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read part of this and didn't have the time to finish it, but definitely good stuff!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of three volumes on the Parables of the Gospel of Matthew.

Excellent.

[Bill Pitcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capon says Jesus does things completely different than anyone else. Excellent Theology