Jesus Storyteller: The Illustrated Parables from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

By Michael Amadio

“Jesus Storyteller” is a compilation of 34 parables, each illustrated with appropriate artwork from master artists and other illustrations.
When the parables appear in more than one Gospel, each version is reported with a clear reference to the particular Gospel in which it is recorded.
Beside a brief note on the where, when, and what of each parable, the eBook does not add interpretations, comments, or opinions of any kind. The words of Jesus are presented as recorded in the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Paraphrasing a slogan from the news, “the evangelists wrote and the reader decides,” guided by the Holy Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Amadio
• Release date: Jun 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005772352

Michael Amadio

Michael Amadio has worked in a number of executive marketing positions and has been a professionalfree-lance translator for 30 years. He lives in Los Angeles.

Book preview

Cover, introduction, compilation, and layout © 2021 Michael Amadio

Text edited and formatted by Michael Amadio

Cover illustration: Jesus Speaks Near the Treasury

watercolor by James Tissot

sized and adjusted by Michael Amadio

All illustrations sized and adjusted by Michael Amadio

All rights reserved

This eBook is sold DRM-free and is licensed for personal use only.

This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.

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Published by Michael Amadio at Smashwords

Produced in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Copyright

INTRODUCTION

The Barren Fig Tree

The Cloak / New Wine

The Fig Tree

The Foolish Rich Man

The Good Samaritan

The Good Shepherd

The Great Feast

The Laborers in the Vineyard

The Lamp

The Lost Sheep

The Lost Coin

The Master's Return

The Mustard Seed

A Net Cast into the Sea

A Pearl of Great Price

The Persistent Widow

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The Prodigal Son

The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Scribes

The Seed Cast into the Earth

The Sheep and the Goats

The Sower

The Talents

The Ten Gold Coins

The Ten Virgins

The Tenant Farmers

A Treasure Hidden in a Field

The Two Sons

The Ungrateful Servant

The Unjust Steward

The Wedding Feast

The Weeds Among the Wheat

The Yeast

INTRODUCTION

Jesus loved to teach by telling stories. We refer to them as parables. A parable is a short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson. Jesus would commonly speak, teach, and reply in parables. It is by telling stories that Jesus communicated with both his disciples and the public at large in a manner in which His message could be understood (And he taught them at length in parables..., Mark 4:2). Several Scripture passages discuss and explain Jesus’ use of parables. Here are the main such passages:

Matthew 13:10-15: The disciples approached him and said, Why do you speak to them in parables? He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.’

Matthew 13:34-35: All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation (of the world).

Mark 4:10-12: And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that ‘they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’

Mark 4:33-34: With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Luke 8:10: He answered, Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’

The parables may be called by different names and may be worded in a slightly different manner in