Sting in the
Tail: The Parables as Oriental Stories
(1998) by Dr. Kim Tan
The Gospel stories are
eternal and Jesus’ parables are timeless, speaking to all people in all ages
and cultures. But one thing is important, very important to understand that: Jesus
was Jewish, born in the land of Israel, and bound to Middle Eastern cultures. What
Dr Kim writes here is a superb introduction to the parables of Jesus which can
be greatly understood (or make much sense) when we read it in their oriental
setting.
Because most of my
personal reading on commentaries on the Bible are mainly written by Western
scholars and theologians, I noticed sometime that the examples and the way the
parables were interpreted are a bit off from the oriental background. I’m an
Iban and Dr. Kim is Chinese, so the background was somewhat quite familiar to
us Asians. This book “is an oriental
interpretation with many fresh insights into the social background against
which they were originally told,” writes David Pawson. “Kim Tan has succeeded in sharpening the
point of these stories with a sting in the tale, making them real and relevant
to East and West today.” I agree! I gained new insights especially on Luke 11
and Luke 16.
Contents:
Preface
Introduction
1. The Two Debtors (Luke 7)
2. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10)
3. The Friend at Midnight (Luke 11)
4. The Banquet (Luke 14)
5. The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin (Luke 15)
6. The Lost Sons (Luke 15)
7. The Prudent Steward (Luke 16)
8. The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16)
9. The Judge and the Widow (Luke 18)
10. The Talents (Luke 19)
11. Zacchaeus (Luke 19)
Dr Kim Tan grew up in
Malaysia but lives in the UK. He is a biochemist, writer and Bible teacher [I
met him once at SIB KL during his preaching as guest speaker]. I also like his
interview in a book by John Ng and Alvin Foo’s Heart to Heart with Asian Leaders (2016) entitled The Failed Again Leader (page 130). He
is a humble man. I recommend this book.
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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