By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan has become one of the most famous stories among all of Jesus’ teachings. Indeed, many people now only know the name of the Samaritans because of Jesus’ story from the Gospel of Luke; the parable even inspired the name of a charity in the United Kingdom, aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. This is known simply as the Samaritans.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Three of the four Evangelists – Matthew, Mark, and John – describe the miracle of Jesus walking on water, and it’s one of the most famous miracles recounted in the New Testament. The ‘walking on water’ miracle tells of how Jesus walks across the Sea of Galilee during a storm, to aid his disciple, Peter.
But what is the significance of this event? Let’s take a closer look at what the Gospels say.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the Romans by identifying him in public so they could seize Jesus and arrest him. Judas pointed out Jesus to the authorities by kissing him in greeting.
But there is more to this story than meets the eye, so let’s take a closer look at the character of Judas Iscariot and his betrayal of Jesus – for which, famously, he was paid thirty pieces of silver.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most famous parables from the New Testament. But what is less well-known is that it concludes a trio of similar parables which can be found in chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke. What does the parable of the Prodigal Son symbolise? And what happened to these other two parables?
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
In order to save its life, a mother puts her illegitimate baby boy into a boat made of reeds and sets him adrift on the local river, until he is discovered by somebody who rescues the boy and raises him. That boy grows up to be an important ruler of his people.
Moses? Well, it can’t be, because Moses was a legitimate rather than illegitimate child. And although the other details in the above paragraph relate to Moses, they also relate to somebody who is thought to have lived over a millennium before the time of Moses.