Book excerpt: Giving clear messages, Jesus taught pragmatically about lifes situations as he saw them through metaphorical parables. In Parables on Point, author Gary Arthur Thomson delves into the mind of Jesus and analyzes the meanings and ideas behind the parables. Parables on Point discovers the real Jesus of Nazareth from the inside out. It peeks through the keyhole of the parables to meet the mind of Jesus utilizing tradition-historical criticism, which studies the textual layers of oral and written traditions of the parables, and archaeology, which digs up the settings in life of the parable. Thomson examines the parable of the good Samaritan, a story that has symbolized tender loving care down through the ages. He reviews the parable of the sower, in which Jesus implants the idea that the influence of God is like a farmer scattering good seed. He discusses how life is like the parable of the weeds in the wheatamong the grain and the flowers, there are always a few weeds. Based on thorough research, Parables on Point provide an in-depth examination of the timeless teaching stories of Jesus.