Lesson series

The Riddles of the Kingdom: Rereading the Parables of Jesus

The Riddles of the Kingdom invites students into the unsettling, imaginative world of Jesus' parables, approached not as moral illustrations or doctrinal shortcuts but as riddles—provocations that disturb as much as they disclose. This course is grounded in the conviction that parables do not primarily offer answers; they pose questions that demand reflection, discernment, and response.

Like all good teaching, the parables of Jesus conceal before they reveal. They resist easy interpretation, disrupt settled assumptions, and invite hearers to a deeper reorientation of perception, desire, and allegiance. Through close reading, historical and literary exploration, and theological reflection, students will learn to dwell patiently with ambiguity, attending to how parables form moral imagination and call hearers into the surprising, upside-down life of the Kingdom of God.

Rather than mastering the parables, students will be shaped by them—learning to listen, to wonder, and to be questioned by stories that continue to speak precisely because they refuse to be solved too quickly.

What's included?

  • 10 Chapters
  • 1 Certificate of Completion
  • 9 Videos

Skill Mastery

Develop an understanding of what parables are and how to interpret scripture using other passages from the gospels or the Old Testament.

Reflection

Practice engaging with parables as originally intended, through reading, re-reading, and asking questions.
Patrick Jones - Course author

Dr. Robby Waddell

Professor of New Testament
Robby Waddell teaches biblical studies at Southeastern University. He loves teaching and writing, and he especially enjoys sharing his passion for the scriptures with students. His research interests include apocalyptic literature, college pedagogy, film criticism, hermeneutics, ecology, spirituality, and Pentecostal theology. Waddell has written or edited six books and numerous book chapters and articles. His current projects include a book on Pentecostals and the Bible (Oxford University Press), a commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Brill Publishing), and a commentary on the Book of Revelation (Sheffield Phoenix Press). Dr. Waddell also serves as the director of the Global Pentecostalism Center at Southeastern.

In addition to his work at Southeastern, Waddell is a research fellow at the Centre of Pentecostal Theology in Cleveland, TN, a member of the editorial committee of Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and an associate editor of the Journal of Pentecostal Theology. He is on staff at Bangor Universitys Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies in Wales where he supervises PhD students; he's a member of the Sheffield Institute of Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies, and he is the representative of the Society for Pentecostal Studies on the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches.

Waddell is the lead pastor of a local church and regularly speaks in churches and conferences on a variety of topics, including Pentecostal spirituality and worship, biblical foundations for peace and justice, equality of men and women from a biblical perspective, the Lord’s Prayer, 1 Corinthians, and the book of Revelation. He has taught or lectured internationally in Israel, England, Puerto Rico, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, and Egypt.