Peter Rhea Jones was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Decatur, GA. The service begins with a word of prayer, and the speaker gives announcements (00:00-01:40). Peter Rhea Jones is introduced as the Spring lecturer (01:41-05:41). Jones begins his lecture by giving a word of appreciation to Ray Brown and John Carlton (05:42-07:50). He speaks about the interpretation of Jesus’ parables given by the German theologians Joachim Jeremias and Adolf Julicher, and he believe that these theologians put forwards great methods for interpreting the parables, but they ultimately fell short (07:51-18:38). Jones looks at the new hermeneutic of parables that has come out of the school of Rudolf Bultmann, and he believes that this interpretation falls short because the parables become a mere stimulus to the hearer (18:39-23:23). He then looks at the new criticism of parable interpretation, and though it has its limits, he believes that this interpretation has homiletical value (23:24-26:12). Jones then looks at the interpretation of parables as metaphors, and he believes that this interpretation leaves parables open ended (26:13-31:32). He finally looks at other notable approaches such as structuralism, sociological, and comparative midrash (31:33-37:24). Jones concludes his lecture by turning to his own interpretation of the parables, and he believes the prominent feature of the parables is direct discourse (37:25-56:17). The service ends with a benediction (56:18-56:53).
