Some of Jesus' parables have a very specific message, highlighting a particular aspect of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Others take a broader view, enlightening us about some of the processes going on in the workings of the kingdom in our world. The parables I have chosen are of the second kind: providing light on an ongoing process in the world with the kingdom working with us today. EP Sanders (Jesus and Judaism 1985, London, SCM Press) speaks of the kingdom in terms of "present time" and "future time". He tells us that Jesus used a deliberately ambiguous expression to make his listeners think. He also suggests that the authors of the Gospel have emphasized the different characteristics of the kingdom on different occasions. As we read the gospels we see that the kingdom is present with Jesus and his disciples in their words and actions. We can sense this growing excitement in the first chapters of the synoptic gospels it spreads rapidly; large crowds come to see it and people are amazed. The time is right; there is a sense of the kingdom as a present reality. Mt 6,31-33), at the same time, the kingdom is not yet fully realized. It is also 'future time' and in the process of being realized God, though they are slow to understand – Luke 12:54-56. When they accept God's ways and act in accordance with them, then the kingdom will be realized – Luke 12:35-36. Jesus told his disciples that not everyone would understand his parables. “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that you see...... middle of paper......listen with faith and humility then each of us will understand what Jesus wants to say to each of our hearts about the Kingdom by God.Works CitedBarclay W, The Gospel of Matthew: Chapters 11-28, (Scotland, St Andrews Press, 2001)Biblical quotations are from the New Revised Standard VersionEldon Ladd G, Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God ( Michigan, WMB Eerdmans Publishing, 1990) Sanders EP Jesus and Judaism (London, SCM Press, 1985) Spurgeon CH Sown Among Thorns, The Spurgeon Archive, A Sermon (No. 2040) (Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, 1888) available online at http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2040.htm (last accessed 15.03.14) The Gift of Scripture, Catholic Bishops' Conferences of England and Wales and Scotland, The Catholic Truth Society. 2005 Parables and Kingdom Teaching (topic of Moodle course material 4)