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The parable of the talents in Matt 25:14–30 has been often interpreted using either the lens of social identity or virtue ethics, respectively. However, a careful integrative analysis indicates the intrinsic interrelation of social identity and virtue in four aspects. Through such an integration of social identity and the notions of virtue and the good life, Matthew redefines social identity for the Matthean in-group from a social status to a virtue status, from the quantity of one's giftings to the quality of one's character, and from a mere sense of belonging to a pursuit of human flourishing through virtue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an unresolved tension between the parable of the Talent's Matthean literary arrangement and readings proposed by modern scholars using socio-historical research to assess the parable's reception by a first century audience. Drawing on metaphor theory and incorporating insights from the main interpretive trajectories found in modern scholarship on this parable, the author here proposes a new literary-critical reading that resolves this tension. He argues the parable's rhetorical function within the Matthean narrative is to prepare the Matthean disciples to lead the universal expansion of the mission of the Matthean Jesus in the post-Easter period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpretation of the parables of the mustard seed and leaven have often focused on what these parables tell us about the kingdom of God, rather than why or how they are employed in a specific Gospel for the benefit of the Gospel's audience. This article explores the meaning and function of the parables of the mustard seed and leaven in Luke's Gospel in light of their unique narrative co-text and metaphorical context. Such analysis reveals that Luke employs these parables as metaphors of transformation, exhorting the hearer to choose the kingdom of God or risk the consequences of rejecting it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]