#7 The Teachings of Jesus Parables and Discourses

welcome class to video lecture number seven Jesus's teachings in which we're going to look at The Parables and discourses let's start with The Parables apart from personal experience stories are the quickest way for most people to learn we learn most easily in the concrete but because we cannot easily remember hundreds of concrete details our brains store most easily in the abstract in teaching and preaching the shortcut is to repeat the abstract idea we already know forgetting that others will still need to learn the concrete details in that story we do better at least frequently to

clothe the abstract in concrete experience and story just as Jesus did stories pull us into a narrative world one where there is development plot resolution however the parable is not merely just a story such analogies first and formost for most are comparisons or contrasts used to explain or convince Parables uh by their very nature seek to make rhetorical points the parable is not a story but it's an expanded analy for the purpose of explaining or convincing the intent of the parable is five-fold number one to entertain number two to convey truth number three to con

convince number four to motivate and in some cases number five to convict someone Jesus's intent must be the goal of our interpretation of his Parables the intent of the teller Jesus himself with all the power and creativity of his teaching must be the goal of our interpretive work when we look at Parables these are stories with intent the communicative intent of Jesus anything else is rewriting Jesus's Parable for our intent this is the key Jesus's intent is the key to interpret The Parables the parable compels us to to stop and think about the story itself

about resisting and live out the message that's inside the story in effect this is what we call speech act Theory and it's part of the presupposition of the approach of telling a parable communication is not about abstract meaning it acts and seeks to change things let's look briefly at speech act Theory it consists of locution elocution and perlocution these are fancy terms that mean these different things locution appears at several levels and it has the idea of the actual words that are uttered to other people the text is more than just dialogue there's the intent

of the narrator there's the action that takes place there's the words of the people in the story this is what we call low ution is the words of the parable elocution is defined by defined by the function of the words that play such as questioning examining exclaiming declaring they are giving some meaning of understanding beyond the specific words in the parable and they're helping us to rightly understand the purpose of the parable in a individual speech act uh within a dialogue uh can function in a certain way uh within the text regardless of the overall

message of the text and that leads us to perlocution I know these are new terms for some of you but these are words in speech act theory perlocution is generally intended to mean what the response of the text elicits uh what's the result on the hearer of the message one such level is a result of this of an elocutionary statement uh of of what it has with the text itself what is the context of the story how does a speech Act affect the characters in The Meta Nar ative um what happens at the super textual

level what's the intended response for the reader as we are engaging the parable in the cases of Jesus's Parables perlocution may happen at multiple levels there may be the responsive action of the characters in the story the desired response of the hearers of the parables in the context of Jesus telling the story that we see in the gospels and then our response as a reader these are all the perlocution the responses that we have when when we hear the story that Jesus tells so in short locution is what is said what was said in the

story illocution is the function or impact of what is said is it answering a question is it dealing with an issue and perlocution is the response that's desired as a result of what is said when looking at the perlocution in Jesus's Parables we see that there's a response of the character in the parable a response of the hearer of Jesus's parable and a response of the reader of the Gospel let's talk a little bit about allegory the tendency of most interpreters until the end of the 19th century was to allegorize Jesus's Parable allegorizing is the

interpretive practice of turning into allegory which was not that which was not intended as allegory allegorizing of the church was based on the assumption that scripture could yield a four-fold meaning there's the literal meaning there's the allegorical meaning the theological meaning and the ethical meaning uh and then of course there was a Heavenly meaning as well uh that was a little bit ATT tune to some interpretations allegorizing is more meditation on the text than it is interpreting the text and it's not a legitimate means of interpreting in my opinion Adolf uler was a German Theologian

he was a new testament scholar who completely rejected both allegorizing and the entire genre of allegory Jesus's stories to him were simple comparisons which were self-evident in their meaning and did not need hard interpretation he thought the parables are expanded similes whereas allegories are expanded metaphors he viewed simile and met Parable as similar but slightly different things as a part of speech uh they were literary literal if you will whereas metaphors were to be understood in a nonliteral sense two German words he used he examined the contrast between the image in the parable which he

called the build German or for image and the object the S which is what is portrayed by the image and so the the parable tells a story but it's portraying a different meaning he insisted that there could be no question of multiple points of contact between the image and the object uh therefore a parable since it is simple should only have one contact point and that meaning is simple and to be understood as having one meaning uh even and this he determined should be a general meaning so he proposed proposed the idea that a parable

should have one meaning and it should be the easiest to understand meaning from the text Jesus's Parable should only have one meaning as a as a as a result I think uler made a mistake and that was that he oversimplified what a parable is Parables are not necessarily simple and no literature is self- interpretating allegorizing is the problem not allegory itself the key question then and always is how much of the parable is significant for understanding parables are vulnerable they were used for all kinds of theological political social and per personal purposes yet they are

powerful and stubbornly demand new attention from every new audience that looks at it let's look a little more closely at what is a parable then every Parable must be approached in its own right and not assumed to look or function like another Parable C Dodd defined Parables with the following definition at its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought a parable has been viewed as

fictitious saying as picturing truth so it's not true but this gives a picture of true IM it's also been referred to as an imaginary garden with real toads in them so it's got real things that tell a madeup story for a real purpose if you will it's also been seen as a form of indirect communication to deceive the hearer into truth is how one author wrote it parables are indirect communication people offer defenses against direct communication if you say something negative to me I get very defensive and they learn to conform to the image of

their defenses already existing as a channel to understand or not understand what the person is saying indirect narration finds a back window and confronts what someone thinks in reality parables are therefore indirect communication that allow us to see what we would not otherwise see and they presume we should look at things in a specific reality in a way that we're not comfortable or normal to think about parables are often stories with two levels of meanings The observed action and The observed truth an observed action describes the meaning of the story what happened in the story

The observed truth though describes the truth reality being portrayed in the story what why did this happen what does this mean to me the immediate aim of a parable is to be compellingly interesting and in being interesting it diverts attention and disarms the reader or the hearer a parable ultimately aims to awaken insight and stimulate the conscious and move someone to action that's the main purpose of a parable is to move someone into action a parable is not meant to be informative but it's meant to stimulate thought and response Jesus told Parables to prompt thinking

and stimulate response and reaction action to God and His holy work in our lives in most cases in a parable is an expanded analogy used to convince and persuade someone there are multiple classifications of Parables so let's look at those the word Parable has at least three different uses in the New Testament the word Parable can be used of almost any comparative statement intended to stimulate thought they could be short or very long stories a parable can also be used in a more restricted sense to refer to any analogy whether a story with a double

meaning or not a definition that would exclude Proverbs riddles and non-narrative forms and even more restricted meaning of Parables drives from Euler's work and distinguishes a parable from similitudes with an example of stories or allegories direct communication addresses the hearer about the subject at hand indirect communication uses another hearer to express an idea double indirect communication is that in which the speaker uses another person and another subject to address the hearer indirectly this creates a different types of of Parables or different types of indirect communication such as aphoristic sayings which are simple comparisons not really

Parables if you will similitudes which are uh a marker of a similitude is is that it's an extended analogy but it lacks a plot development for example when Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a woman who uh took leaven and hid it in three measures of dough until the hole was leavened and that's it he just makes a statement it's a similitude this is not a full story right uh Parables can be found in forms of interrogative Parables those with double indirect and interrogative parable are those like similitudes except that they are formed

differently they are often introduced with the question such as to what shall I liken this generation or what do you think or who from you thinks or acts in a certain way unfortunately the who from you questions are often Lost in Translation for example in English in the NIV or the nrsv translations instead of saying who from you it's often translated suppose one of you so it takes away the E the the essence of the question which then begs an answer so I think it takes away from the parable a little bit interrogative parables are

not far from judical Parables we'll talk about those in a moment for they set up hypothetical situations that Force the hearer and reader to answer a question and obligate one to transfer the question to another Arena the one for us for example the reader that we are and narrative parables are those that are what we might call a true Parable narrative parables are metaphor extended into narrative analogies with a plot it's a story if you will narrative Parables of all types have plot development something happens in The Narrative that creates a problem or a possibility

and then other acts happened that bring or potentially bring resolution or closure now there are different kinds of of narrative Parables there's the double indirect narrative Parable uh that's a kind of parable that that uh is one in which a fictitious story which narrates a particular event which is usually told in the past tense uh and which is intended to convey a moral spiritual truth there's double and Rich meaning in that it does not speak of the hearer or the reader uh or the subject at hand directly this kind of parable uses what another person

sees and another person's uh subject addresses in order for the hearer to understand a truth that's present in their situation so Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees he talks about a farmer that's casting seed so the Pharisees have nothing to do with a farmer casting seed but they understand the meaning that Jesus is trying to express jicaleta of Parables of the best known and most forceful Parables of Jesus in a gical par Parable the hearer is forced to be the judge of the circumstances of the parable and then the ly drops in one in which

one realizes that he or she has judged himself or herself so Jesus will tell a parable that causes you to judge the actions of the people and then he'll turn the story around and say well you're the person in this story really it's very similar to what Nathan does with David when David Nathan has him judge the person stealing the Sheep after David had the affair with Beth Sheba single indirect narrative Parables have traditionally been called example Stories the usual explanation is that the primary purpose of these Parables is to present a positive or negative

character or both who serves as example to be imitated and demonstrates actions that are to be avoided typically only four gospel parables are found in Luke uh uh found in the gospels and are in Luke uh that these are that are the example story Parables I'm talking about the Good Samaritan the rich fool the rich man and Lazarus and the Pharisee and the tax collector the single indirect narrative Parable um has no transfer required to another Arena therefore we're justified in speaking of their relative peculiarity the story itself is not in Jesus is not intending

to tell a story that then we we become the actor in the story it's just a story and now we make a judgment based on that story they teach indirectly but function directly by teaching the subject at hand there there's also the Parables that are the how much more Parables the category of Parables is not determined by the form but its function uh most of them explicitly or implicitly contrast Human Action with God's action let's look at the characteristics of Jesus's Parables number one Jesus's parables are first of all brief and tur they don't use

any more words than are necessary he has descriptions of people that are thin descriptions uh not a lot of description number two Parables of Jesus are marked by Simplicity and symmetry the descriptions of the characters and actions in The Parables often make use of balanced structures contrasts repetitions and parallels so that there are patterns of symmetry that are obvious number three Jesus's Parables Focus mostly on humans the main response is to get into human response so it's not usually about animals or weather it's usually about people number four Jesus's parables are fictional descriptions taken from

everyday life but they do not necessarily portray everyday events they do not depict true stories if you will for example the story of the 10,000 talents of debt nobody really had that amount of debt but this is a real amount of money and it would seem like an extraordinary amount to the hearers so Jesus used real life events to depict something that's not a reality in most people's circumstances number five Jesus's parables are engaging they were told to create interest and various schemes are used to draw a compelling issue at hand um he uses a

lot of different elements to to accomplish this Parables of Jesus frequently seek to reorient thought and behavior therefore Parables often contain elements of reversal a surprise that happens they can be very powerful instruments for change the Cru crucial matter uh number seven The crucial matter of Parables is usually at the end of the story The End functions something like the punchline of a joke we'd say in English number eight parables are told in a specific context one of the most significant and debated points about Parable interpretation is to what degree is the context given by

the Evangelist the proper framework for interpretation and for I would say that it's an extremely important thing it's important to know what was the context of this Parable so that we can interpret it and the context of the when the parable was told by Jesus by the gospel writers so we can understand it even better number nine Jesus's parables are theocentric they are told to create a new reality about God that is being established here on Earth number 10 Jesus's Parables frequently allude to Old Testament texts though not exegetical per se some of them adapt

Old Testament themes and many more are recognized as addressing specific Old Testament texts and ideas number 11 most Parables of Jesus appear in larger collections of Parables he doesn't tell one story and then move on to something else he tells a parable and then offers a similar Parable and then another Parable that's of a similar nature they will not be found next to they will be found next to each other uh in Parables of the same kind of meaning the same type of Passage many times they contain this similar message such as salt and light

specifically found in Matthew Chapter 5 number 12 Jesus's parables are often a good Parable that creates distance and provokes and appeals the appeal brings the hearer to a new decision to be made how should we interpret Parables there have been those who said Parables need not be interpreted they cannot be interpreted there's a simple meaning I of course disagree with that but how should we interpret them let the parable speak and how do we do this through a handful of ways number one how we interpret a parable number one they need to be described and

felt parables are not meant to be head knowledge only they're heart knowledge as well number two they need to elicit response there needs to be willingness to hear and respond accordingly by the reader number three they need to be approached objectively this means that they're also understood with the intent inherent in them they are not just stories they are stories with intent number four narrative uh that their narrative world needs to be understood stories create Worlds by reading a story at least temporarily we inhabit that World Regular practices for good interpretation of the narratives of

The Parables excuse me include number one analyze each Parable thoroughly do comparative analysis of various accounts if they they appear more than once number two listen to the parable without presumption as to its form or meaning number three remember that Jesus's Parables were oral instruments in an oral culture they're not meant to be understood literally they're meant to be read understood orally and so that may affect our thinking a little bit number four if we are after the intent of Jesus the the meaning of Jesus we must seek to hear a parable as Jesus's Palestinian

hearers would have understood St it any interpretation that does not breathed the air of the first century cannot be correct in my opinion number five determine specifically the function of the story in the teaching of Jesus we must interpret each Parable as a whole to determine how the analogy Works number six assess the main point there may be some minor points but there's typically one main point that's intended in a parable uh what does it stand for uh what other what's the main point in that particular Parable number seven note how each Parable and its

redactional of redactional shaping fit with the purpose and plan of the Evangelist by that I mean this understand how the gospel writer is using the parable the parables are stories used twice once by Jesus when he told his audience and again by the Evangelist when they included it in their text number eight interpret what is given not what is omitted an attempt to interpret a parable based on what is not there is almost always certainly wrong I've heard stories about the parable of the prodical son which they talk about who the pigs are or what

was the son doing or things like that that aren't in the text that's not a proper way to interpret a parable number nine do not impose real time in a parable time consider the wedding feast in Matthew 22 to ask about events outside of the storyline such as what did the Pearl merchant do after he sold everything he owned is not the point of the parable we're not concerned with that I see people try to use that as a means of interpretation number 10 pay particular attention to the rule of the end stress what happens

at the end often times helps us understand the rest of the parable number 11 note where the teaching of The Parables interet with the teachings of Jesus in other passages of the scriptures what he's teaching somewhere else outside the parable will bring bring insight into the parable especially if they're right by each other if Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God and then he says and the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that will give us interpretation of that Parable number 12 determine the theological intent and the significance of the parable this

does not reduce the parable to literal speech or lose any sense of the cognitive contact affecting its Force but it does help us to understand uh the effective referential and theological teaching within the parable parables are indeed the shest place we have access to Jesus's teachings as indicated earlier as far as we can tell in the early church there were hardly ever Parables used by the early fathers they just did the teachings of Jesus when they wrote so parables are probably our linked to Jesus's direct teaching Parables to jesus' prophetic stance and the teaching of

The Parables can be corroborated in nonp parab parabolical material Jesus's Parable served as a larger prophetic purpose for the conference of narrative scheme to engage the people of God into God's kingdom it's important to read The Parables The Parables aren't the only teachings of Jesus in the New Testament however we also have the discourses of Jesus in the gospels let's shift Focus from Parables to discourses this portion of the lecture will focus on those discourses the ones that Jesus has in the gospel these extended teachings often embed are embedded in narrative contexts and are Central

to understanding Jesus's message and the theological emphasis of of of each of the gospels let's explore their key discourses examining their content their structure and Theological significance as well as how they contribute to of how Jesus was portrayed in the gospels let's look at the definition and significance of a discourse of Jesus discourses are extended teachings in the gospels discourses are extended speeches or teachings delivered by Jesus often in response to specific situations or questions these discourses differ from Parables or shorter sayings in that they present a more comprehensive exposition of Jesus's message let's look

at the theological importance of discourses the discourse of Jesus are vital for understanding his teachings of the kingdom of God ethics the nature of the discipleship and his identity as the Son of God they are also key to the dactic purpose of the gospels as they instruct both the original audience and contemporary readers in the ways of the kingdom of God let's look at how they were used in the gospels in the synoptic gospels uh Jesus's discourses are presented as part of his public Ministry often addressing in crowds or his disciples or religious leaders the

key themes include the kingdom of God the Fulfillment of the law and ethical teaching in the Gospel of John it's a little bit different John's gospel includes longer more theologically Rich discourses that are often centered on Jesus's in personal identity and his relationship with the father these discourses are integral to John's portrayal of Jesus as the logos and the Divine word made flesh and in the Gospel of John Jesus teachings these discourse sections are quite often private just for the disciples not for the crowds let's look at some of the major discourses we find in

the gospels starting with The Sermon on the Mount which is found in Matthew 5-7 The Sermon on the Mount is the first and most extensive discourse in the gospel of Matthew delivered on a mountain side to Jesus's disciples with a broader audience listening as well it sets the tone for Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as the new Moses and teacher of divine wisdom The Sermon on the Mount covers a wide range of topics including the Beatitudes the Fulfillment of the law ethical teachings on anger adultery divorce Oaths and retaliation as well as instructions on prayer fasting

and almsgiving the theological themes of The Sermon on the Mount are Kingdom ethics first of all the sermon emphasizes the ethical demands of the kingdom of God which go beyond the letter of the law and his Spirit Jesus calls for radical righteous and holy living another theme in The Sermon on the Mount is the Fulfillment of the law Jesus presents himself as the Fulfillment of the law and the prophets not abolishing them but bringing them to their intended completion this is a crucial portrayal of in Matthew of Jesus as the authoritative interpreter of the Torah

The Sermon on the Mount outlines the characteristics of True Discipleship as well another important thing and commitment to Justice the closing parable of the wise and foolish Builders underscores the importance of putting Jesus's practice teachings into practice another important discourse we find in the synoptic gospels are is found in uh Matthew 24 and 25 Mark 13 and Luke 21 we often refer to that as the olette discourse the Olivette discourse is also known as a little apocalypse by some people is delivered by Jesus on the Mount of Olives uh overlooking Jerusalem it's prompted by the

disciples questions about the destruction of the temple at the End of the Age the discourse addresses the coming destruction of Jerusalem the signs of the end times and the final judgment it is characterized by apocalyptic imagery and prophetic writings the theological themes of the olette discourse includes eschatology this discourse is one that has the key eschatological passages in the gospels including the end of age comments and the coming of the son of man Jesus warns of Wars natural disasters and persecution encouraging his followers to remain Vigilant and faithful other themes that include are judgment and

Readiness The Parables that conclude this discourse in for example the parable of the 10 virgins or the parable of the talents or of the sheep and the goats emphasize The Importance of Being prepared for the coming kingdom of God and living in a manner that reflects the values of that Kingdom om another theme is Hope and preservation despite the foretelling of tribulation and suffering the discourse offers hope assuring Believers that when Jesus comes back he will bring judgment and Vindication for the faithful the missionary discourse found in Matthew chapter 10 is another discourse that's important

this discourse is delivered as Jesus sends out the TW Apostles on their mission to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven as the lost sheep of Israel the discourse provides instruction on how the disciples should conduct their mission including guidance on how to respond to rejection persecution and challenges of discipleship let's look at a few of the discourses in the Gospel of John we're going to start with the bread of life discourse which we will look at again later in the Judean Ministry of Jesus this is a discourse found following the feeding of the 5000 Jesus delivers

the bread of life discourse in a synagogue in Capernaum addressing the crowd that followed him across the Sea of Galilee Jesus declares himself to be the bread of life emphasizing the necessity of believing in him for eternal life he speaks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood which many listeners find difficult to accept the theological theme of the bread of life discourse is the centrality of John's High christology presenting Jesus as the Divine sustainer of Life the imagery of bread from Heaven recalls the man in the wilderness positioning Jesus as the Fulfillment of God's

provision for his people there are Eucharistic overtones the language of eating Jesus's flesh and drinking his blood is seen by many scholars as foreshadowing the Eucharist or the Lord supper or communion whatever your church tradition calls it though the discourse also has a broader symbolic meaning related to the internalizing of Jesus's teachings that we take in what Jesus teaches us there's the theme of faith and eternal life the discourse emphasizes the importance of faith in Jesus as the source of eternal life uh this theme of belief is recurring Motif throughout John's gospel which presents Faith

as a response to the revelation of God in Christ John also has the farewell discourse and it's a long passage this discourse takes place from John 14 through John 17 so it's four chapters 14 15 16 and 17 the farewell discourse takes place during the Last Supper where Jesus prepares his disciples for his IM imminent departure and the coming of the holy spirit this discourse is a series of teachings and prayers in which Jesus addresses his relationship with the Father the role of the Holy Spirit the Commandment to love one another and his prayer for

Unity among his followers the theological themes of this last discourse is Jesus is the holy spirit first and foremost Jesus promises the coming of the paraclet the Holy Spirit Spirit who will guide the disciples into all truth and continue Jesus's work after his departure the holy spirit is described as The Advocate and the comforter playing a crucial role in the life of the early church another important theme is Union with Christ this discourse emphasizes the intimate Union between Jesus the father and the disciples the imagery of the vine and branches in John 15 illustrates the

importance of remaining in Christ in order to bear fruit another important theme is that of love and unity Jesus commands his disciples to love one another as he has loved them this love is to be the defining Mark of his followers and the basis for their Unity Jesus's High Priestly prayer in John 17 further emphasizes the theme of unity as he prays for the disciples and all future Believers to be one just as he is one with the father there are more teachings as well that that we're going to examine when we get to the

Judean Ministry of Jesus uh these include the Good Shepherd discourse in John 10 the light of the world discourse in John 8 and the bread of life again we'll look again in John chapter 6 let's look at how each of the gospels addresses the structure of the discourses may be similarly or differently Matthew's discourses are carefully structured to highlight Jesus as the authoritative teacher and interpreter of the law the five major discourses in Matthew which include The Sermon on the Mount the missionary discourse The Parables of the Kingdom discourse on the church and the olette

discourse parallel the five books of the Torah reinforcing the theme of Jesus as the new Moses Matthew organizes Jesus's teaching in the five major discources each one concluding with a formulaic statement when Jesus had finished saying these things dot dot dot indicating the end of the teaching section the main theological studies that we see out of these teachings from Matthew is that that of the kingdom of God Matthew emphasizes the kingdom of God as Central to Jesus's teaching the Fulfillment of the law Jesus's discourses often address how he fulfills the Mosaic law uh Matthew portrays

Jesus as the new Moses giving this new Torah to his followers and stressing a deeper spiritual significance of the law Matthew addresses ecclesiology as well including teachings on the nature of the church offering practical guidance on the community uh of the community life of the church the other gospels don't do that in Mark we see short and Urgent discourses Mark's gospel known for its brevity and immediacy contains fewer extended discourses than Matthew instead is punctuated by short powerful sayings of Jesus interspersed with action his theological analysis he emphasizes heavily the Messianic secret the key theological

theme that Jesus hides his identity or tells his followers to not reveal who he is and he conceals it instead to you know it's going to be revealed in due time when he's resurrected Mark's discourses focus on discipleship and suffering the suffering of the disciples but more importantly suffering of Jesus and it's action oriented sometimes apocalyptic in tone Luke's focus on the discourse sections is usually contains a universal and compassionate appeal Luke's gospels Fe feature a number of unique discourses that reveal Jesus is concerned for the marginalized the poor The Outsiders with teaching sections that

reflect this Universal concern Luke is very concerned with salvation for all his theology emphasis is on the universal offer of Salvation it does not mean all people are saved but it means all people have access to Salvation using terms from Isaiah for example of a prophetic release of the oppressed and sight for the blind setting the stone the tone for the gospel's inclusivity Luke focuses on command uh compassion and justice for those who are broken he teaches uh with Parables of reversals that one thing you see happening changes for example with the Lazarus and Rich

Man uh Parable where the rich man seems like he's getting away with things but in the end it's Lazarus who ends up blessed by God uh the sermon on the plane is Luke's response to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount which is shorter and has more direct emphasiz emphasis on a social justice poverty and ethical living so it's Luke's version of the sermon on the mountain but it's on the plane and it's got more direct impact John's approach to the discourse sections is a little different like I said earlier it's distinct from the synoptics there are

much longer discourse sections in John than you find in the synoptic gospels Matthew Mark and Luke and they typically revolve around Jesus's identity and his relationship with the father and they're more private In Their audience there's a high level of christology in the theological approach to the discourses in John John's discourses emphasize the Divinity of Jesus and his relationship with the father for example he uses many times the I am statements in which Jesus reveals the Fulfillment of Israel's hopes and the source of eternal life in himself John focuses a lot more on the Holy

Spirit than the other gospels do the farewell discourse introduces the role of the Holy Spirit referred to as the pericet who will continue Jesus's mission by by guiding comforting and teaching the disciples uh generally speaking John often uses dialogical discourses U they the synoptic gospels have Jesus teaching from a location to a crowd of people whereas John oftentimes has these dialogues like with the Nicodemus or the woman at the well and they become discourses but in dialogue John uses more symbolism than Matthew Mark and Luke rich in themes of light life bread truth permeate Jesus's

teachings reflecting on the cosmic scope of his mission in conclusion the discourses of Jesus in the gospels are rich with theological significance and presented in a variety of literary forms from structured collections of teachings to dramatic dialogues and symbolic imagery each gospel writer presents Jesus's words in ways that serve the broader theologic and pastoral aims of their texts offering a multifaceted portrayal of Jesus as the teacher savior Son of God and King together they invite the readers to explore the kingdom of his teaching to explore the depth of his teachings and respond to his message

of invitation into the kingdom of God may God bless you all