McLaughlin seeks to bring together the horizons of Jesus and the Gospel writers with the horizon of the modern reader. Through careful attention to the context in which the parables were produced, he ably demonstrates and brings out their enduring value in the present. – Jonathan Bernier, Director, Lonergan Research Institute, Regis College, University of Toronto Jesus taught by means of parables–casting alongside a point he was making a graphic image with a twist, piquing intrigue–expanding people’s understandings of God’s kingdom. In this short book, John McLaughlin opens our eyes to what the most memorable parables of Jesus meant to audiences in his day, and more importantly, how they might yet speak to us today. – Paul N. Anderson, Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies, George Fox University