suffering servant songs

The “suffering servant songs” are found in Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–7; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. All these songs describe someone who brings hope and salvation. In their original context, they describe a nation rather than an individual. This is because the society was collectivistic, with an emphasis on family and groups, as opposed to READ MORE

parable

The Greek word parable comes from para – alongside and bole – to cast. A parable is something (like an image or metaphor) “cast alongside” something else. Scholar C.H. Dodd says the definition of a parable is “a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or everyday life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, READ MORE