Do you particularly enjoy the parables of Jesus – or do you wish you understood them better? Either way our new book is for you! 

This new book is a practical but carefully researched commentary on all the parables. It gives many insights into the stories and their meanings through historical facts and other information that can enrich and transform your understanding of them. But this book is not just a commentary – it focuses on the living lessons of the parables themselves.

The City on a Hill is available in different formats (including PDF so you can read it on any electronic device). The book  is written from a non-denominational perspective, is completely free and free of advertising. You do not need to give an email address or any other information to download the book (just click on the download link on our "Downloads" page and enjoy).  If you enjoy the book and find it profitable, feel free to make a copy of the file and pass it, or the URL, along to your friends and others you know who may find the book helpful.

The City on A Hill: Lessons from the Parables of Jesus  is the first of a series of free e-Books we hope to produce this year – enjoy this one and look out for new titles as we go through 2015!

The story of Polycarp (AD 80 – 167) is a fascinating one.  Because he was probably the last surviving person to have known an apostle, the life of Polycarp forms a historically documented link between the Church of the New Testament and later Christianity. According to the early Church Father  Irenaeus, who knew him, Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John (the last surviving member of the twelve disciples), and other Church Fathers confirmed this, recording also that he was ordained by John as Bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor (the city of Izmir in modern Turkey). 

Polycarp’s life and teaching is well documented in a number of sources, and a letter written by him to the Christians at Philippi has also survived.  These historical documents all show Polycarp to have been a believer of great faith and a defender of the faith “once delivered.”

According to Irenaeus, Polycarp actively resisted many ideas that had already entered parts of Christianity by the second century.  In the 150s or 160s, Ireneaus tells us, Polycarp visited Rome to discuss a number of differences that already existed between the churches in Asia and Rome.  Many of these differences were resolved, though some were not. For example, Polycarp and his followers celebrated the “Christian Passover” on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Jewish Passover, whatever day this fell on, while the Roman church followed the practice of celebrating Easter always on a Sunday around that same time of year.

But it is because of his martyrdom that Polycarp is now best remembered. The story is preserved in The Martyrdom of Polycarp which is a letter sent from the church of Smyrna, after his death, to surrounding churches. The Martyrdom is considered to be one of the earliest actual accounts of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament and records eye witness accounts of Polycarp’s execution.

The account also gives us many details regarding Polycarp and his faith.  It recounts that Polycarp was betrayed by a young man and that around the time of the evening meal on a Friday the police and other armed men came to arrest Polycarp – an old man of at least 86 –  for refusal to worship the emperor. Polycarp is said to have affirmed “God’s will be done,” and called for a meal for those who had come to arrest him. He asked to be allowed to pray a while and was then led away. The document states that as Polycarp was being taken into the arena where he would be executed, a voice spoke the words, “Be strong, Polycarp and act the man!” The Martyrdom continues to say that no one saw who had spoken, but “our brothers who were there heard the voice.”

Polycarp was given an opportunity to recant his beliefs. He was told to repent and instructed to say, “Down with the Atheists!” (meaning those who did not believe in the Roman gods) at which Polycarp looked at the crowd in the stadium, and gesturing towards them, said, “Down with the Atheists!”  Refusing a final opportunity to deny his faith, Polycarp was burned at the stake, though the Martyrdom insists he finally was killed with a sword as the flames did not seem to burn him.

But Polycarp’s tenacity to the beliefs he had learned from the apostles was of great importance in establishing Christianity before the persecutions against Christians finally subsided.   In his letter to them, he had urged the Philippians to hang on to their faith despite everything, reminding them: “Stand fast, therefore … and follow the example of the Lord, being firm and unchangeable in the faith.”

We all remember the story of the teacher of the law who asked Jesus, “Who is my Neighbor?”  This was the question that prompted Jesus to reply with the Parable of the Good Samaritan – showing that even our enemies are neighbors when it comes to the law of God.

But what if the teacher had asked the question in a slightly different way, saying, “Who is my Friend?”  Could the answer to that question also impact our understanding of the Way of Christianity?  We don’t have any indication in the New Testament of that question being asked of Jesus, but we do have Jesus’ answer to it, nevertheless.

In his Gospel, Matthew tells the story of Jesus’ betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas Iscariot, the disciple turned traitor, had led a group of soldiers and other armed men to where he knew Christ would be in order to betray him for a cash reward.  As Judas approached Jesus in the dark of night and greeted him with a kiss in order to identify him to those who were to arrest him, Matthew records Jesus’ surprising  words:  “ ‘Do what you came for, friend.’ Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him” (Matthew 26:50).

Think about this. Jesus was not one to soften the truth. He was the one who called the Pharisees “whitened sepulchers” and a “brood of vipers” – to their faces.  But at the very moment of his betrayal , Jesus did not call Judas all the things we probably would have done. He did not call Judas “Traitor!” “Enemy!” “Back-Stabber!” – he did not even call him “False Friend!”  Amazingly, he just called him “friend.”

Now if we want to get technical, the word the Bible uses to record what Jesus called Judas was not philos, the Greek word usually translated “friend” and meaning “dear” in the sense of a close friend.  It uses the word hetairos meaning “friend” in the sense of a comrade, one who is a friend without necessarily having any affectionate relationship.  But he did call Judas by a word that means “friend” in the general sense (Matthew also uses the word in this sense in Matthew 20:13 and Matthew 22:12).

How do we apply his example?   The Old Testament gives us some clues.  Hebrew has a word, merea, which is very similar in meaning to the Greek hetairos – it also means friend in the sense of companion or comrade and it is found in Job’s words: “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14). It is the same word that is used to tell us that after Job prayed for his friends (the individuals who had been haranguing him), God forgave them (Job 42:10).  

When we pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44), do we pray grudgingly, with reservations, or do we pray for them as friends, even if comrades and not affectionate friends?  If Christ called Judas “friend” in this sense, can we pray for our enemies as we would for any similar   “friend”?

From the classic Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, Harper Collins, 2009 Edition.


“The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic … Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods” and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him – for we can prevent Him, if we choose – He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said.”    ~ C. S. Lewis

It is interesting that while all the gospels record Jesus exhorting people to listen to his message (for example, Matthew 15:10: “Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.”), Luke is almost the only gospel writer who remarks about whether people were, in fact, listening to what Jesus said. If we use the NIV as a basis to count, we see Luke mentions listening seven times in his Gospel and also five times in Acts – a total of 12 times – while apart from these instances, only Mark comments on Jesus’  audience listening to him, and then only a single time (Mark 12:37).  We can only wonder if Luke’s background as a physician (Colossians 4:14) influenced his awareness of people in terms of if they were listening or not, but in any case, Luke’s mention of listening is instructive.

Take, for example,  how Luke doesn’t just mention Jesus talking, but refers specifically to whether people were listening to what was said: “When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening…” (Luke 7:1), and a little earlier he records how Jesus himself commented on this point: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). This clearly shows that Jesus was aware that some people were listening to what he said, while others were probably just in the crowd out of curiosity to see what was going on. 

In fact, Luke seems to indicate that Jesus paced his teaching according to whether people were really paying attention. He tells us that “While they were listening … he went on to tell them a parable…” (Luke 19:11).  It was precisely because people were paying attention – really listening – that Jesus extended his teaching to give them more understanding.

We can apply this understanding in at least two areas of our relationship with God. First, in our study of God’s word it is imperative that we do in fact listen and not just read. Despite the best of intentions, it is possible to sit and read several chapters of the Bible without really listening to what is being said, just as our minds may drift during an actual conversation with a person in the same room. The safeguards against reading and not hearing are to take frequent pauses to analyze or summarize what we read and to review it when finished. This isn’t always necessary in Bible reading, of course, but the more we can do it, the more it can help us to truly listen.

The same principle can actually apply to prayer. If our prayer is to be closer to a conversation than a monologue, we should be willing to pause occasionally and think over what we have said, let our minds be receptive to thoughts and ideas that may be placed there.  I know many pastors and other sincere Christians who will not pray without a notepad – not just to list things they wish to pray about, but also to record things that come to mind as they do pray.  

It is not that we cannot study or pray without using such hearing-aid strategies, but if we are truly desirous to hear God in our lives we have to be willing to focus on listening. It is interesting that in the parable of the Good Shepherd recorded in John 10, Jesus repeatedly describes his “flock” as those that listen to him.  And we might remember, in this regard, the striking words of Christ which are only recorded – as we might guess – by Luke:  “Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them” (Luke 8:18).  We have all been given much, and it is as we listen that we are given more.

Scripture: Psalm 119:104-105: "I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path."

Something to Think About: Are there areas of my life where I do not take the light – where I am reluctant to light my path? What are those areas and how will my life be different if I allow the light of God to shine there?  Once the light shines into a darkened area of our lives, it is amazing how different things can seem.  As the psalmist wrote, we begin to "... hate every wrong path."   Where shall I take the light today?

The Bible makes it clear that the calling of Christians is to eventually become “kings and priests” in the Kingdom of God (Revelation 1:6 KJV, alternately in some other translations: “a kingdom and priests”).  In ancient Israel both kings and priests (Exodus 28: 36) wore crowns, and the New Testament discusses the crowns it says will be given to believers in more specific terms than we might often realize.  

The Christian scriptures use two different terms for the word “crown” – stephanos  which refers to a crown of leaves or flowers and which was given for great accomplishments such as athletic and military victories, and  diadema which was primarily used of the crown of royalty.  When speaking of the crowns to be given to believers, the New Testament scriptures always speak of the first kind – the stephanos – which was given as a reward for accomplishments rather than the royal crown handed down merely by descent. They also speak of different types of the stephanos crown of accomplishment in discussing the reward of the faithful. 

Some of the references to crowns simply speak of conditions pertaining to them. For example, Paul tells us that the crown of leaves sought by athletic exertion: “…will not last, but we … get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:25). This does not seem to be listing an “imperishable” type crown, it is just a statement that our crown is imperishable. There are, however, three different types of crown mentioned in the New Testament which seem to be linked to different rewards. In all three cases, each type of crown is said to be a reward for a particular accomplishment and a related spiritual trait:

1. The Crown of Righteousness (associated with obedient faith): 2 Timothy 4:8-9 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me ...” Here Paul associates this crown with faithful accomplishment. 

2. The Crown of Life (associated with persistent hope): James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” Revelation 2:10 “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer…. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

3. The Crown of Glory (associated with serving love): 1 Peter 5:1-4  “…Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them –not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve … And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”  

Whether these crowns are meant to be understood literally or metaphorically (see, for example, 1 Thessalonians 2:19) is beside the point. What is important and of great encouragement to every Christian is to see that the very things the believer must struggle to master in this life – obedient faith, persistent hope, serving love – are the very rewards that we are promised. It is as if the crowns are the perfect future manifestation of the things for which we now strive. But we need not be concerned as to what the exact reality of the promised crowns of scripture may be.  The lesson of the verses that speak of the three crowns  clearly relates to their value and how we need to continue to the point they are given to us. It is a message clearly summarized by the apostle John: “… Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (Revelation 3:11B).

For the ancient Romans, being “two faced” was not a negative thing suggesting hypocrisy as in our culture. The pagan Romans had their two-faced god Janus who presided over beginnings and transitions, endings and time. Janus was particularly associated with beginnings such as the new year (though there is indication the month of January was not named after him, as popularly believed, but rather after the goddess Juno).  

Janus’ two faces looked back and forward – both over what had happened in the past as well as toward what lay ahead.  It seems that there is something in human nature that tends to do this – to look back whenever we seriously look forward. 

After all, what we will be and do is so often the product of what we have been and have done. 
Yet this is the very attitude that the apostle Paul argues against in telling us “ … I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of [salvation]. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13).  There is physical evidence that this is a good idea. Despite the fact that many regard New Year’s as a time of celebration and partying, it is also, tragically, a time of many suicides each year.  The reason for a great many of those suicides – where it is known – is usually not because of fear of the future, but because of discouragement and sorrow over the past.

There is certainly nothing wrong with remembering lessons learned in the past and in reminiscing on times with loved ones and good things such as blessings we have received. However, both the Bible and modern psychology make it clear that there is nothing to be gained by staring at the negatives of our past, and this is especially true at this time of year.  Focusing two ways – looking as much backward as forward – is just another way of being “double minded,” which we know the Bible also tells us not to be (James 1:8).

We know the old clichés: “Focusing on the past is like driving your car with your eyes on the rearview mirror,” “If the past calls, don’t answer – it has nothing new to say,” and so on, but they really are true. While Christians, hopefully, are not at as high a risk of situational depression as many less fortunate individuals, remembering the problems of our past – all the way up to yesterday – can distract us from where we should be going.  Those old Janus statues illustrate this. The face that looks back cannot see the future, and the face that looks forward cannot see the past. It’s a useful analogy to remember as we go into a new year.