Jesus' parables were often told in progressive sets that built on one another. This week we look at three of his most famous parables, here renamed "The Man Who Like To Party," "The Woman Who Liked To Party," and "The Son Who Did Not Like To Party."

Jesus is again going to respond to his detractors, the Pharisees and lawyers, as to why he keeps some pretty nefarious and corrupt company, and why his political/religious movement isn't endangered by his networking strategies and priorities.

As we explore Jesus' response, we will see that Jesus' most famous parable, often called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," is not about what we usually think it is about as modern Christians. That is to say, we often think the Pharisees would have been surprised by the father's "prodigal love" for his reckless son and that this love - an image of God's love - is Jesus' main point.

However, as we'll see, the Pharisees were not surprised in the least that Jesus depicted a loving God who accepts repentant sinners by grace through faith. In fact, they probably would have been concerned if Jesus depicted God as otherwise.

Instead, there is a deeper, more relevant, more practical, and more challenging question Jesus has for the Pharisees, and for us, if we have ears to hear.