This book gives an analysis of the parables as metaphor, locates the parables in the context of Jesus' preaching of the kingdom, reconstructs the original form of the parable, and then interprets the parables with the aid of Heidegger's understanding of time. The author is a member of the controversial 'Jesus Seminar'. Capturing much press coverage, the Jesus Seminar and it's members do not hold to traditional, orthodox beliefs concerning the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.