The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God

4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars | 56 ratings

Price: 22.04

Last update: 12-16-2024


About this item

A major new work by Dallas Willard, the highly anticipated follow-up to his seminal work The Divine Conspiracy. In this groundbreaking book based on teachings he delivered to a church community, Willard delves into the transformative power of Jesus's parables, revealing how they show us how to live right now in the kingdom of God.

Drawing from his extensive teachings on spiritual formation, Willard illuminates the timeless wisdom contained within each parable, revealing their profound relevance to contemporary life. With clarity and depth, he guides readers through the subversive messages embedded within these seemingly simple stories, urging us to break free from the grip of worldly values and embrace the radical teachings of Jesus.

The Scandal of the Kingdom is not just a book—it's a call to action. Willard challenges listeners to move beyond passive acceptance of comfortable dogmas and instead to actively engage with the values of the kingdom of God. He reminds us that the kingdom is not some distant future destination but a present reality, beckoning us, as the parables of Jesus did, to live with a new purpose and intentionality in the here and now.

Through insightful analysis and practical wisdom, Willard empowers readers to transform their lives and communities by embodying the radical love, compassion, and justice exemplified in Jesus's parables. This book is a beacon of hope for Christians seeking to deepen their faith and live more authentically in accordance with the teachings of Christ. Willard empowers us to:

  • Become more passionate about living the gospel in the full scope of Jesus's vision for us
  • Better share the faith of Jesus with those disillusioned with Christianity
  • Unlock the excitement of living in the upside-down kingdom of God
  • Share the gospel of Jesus in the way he did

A significant new resource for Christians worldwide, this book offers a road map for spiritual growth and renewal in an increasingly complex and challenging world. With its profound insights and transformative message, it is destined to leave a lasting impact on the hearts and minds of believers everywhere.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Amy Beth
    5.0 out of 5 stars NOT DALLAS WILLARD LEFTOVERS!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2024
    In “The Scandal of the Kingdom”, Dallas Willard shines great light not only on the parables of Jesus, but Jesus himself, as He ‘came up with’ these ancient stories for the very first time. Why did He say things the way He did? What was His strategy, in conveying to us the reality of the Kingdom of God? What were the things He valued the most, the things He most longed to impart?

    Willard has such a high regard for Jesus, in the most practical kind of way. He understood Him as someone who teaches us eagerly, creatively, with all of his love and care, and with all the resources of his own mind. In “The Scandal of the Kingdom”, Dallas emphasizes Jesus’ role as teacher, yet never at the expense of everything else that He is to us. Jesus is always exalted in his place within the Trinity, always the One who reigns as our Way, Truth, and Life. The reader comes away with in awe of Him, with a changed expectation of what He wants to show them and how He is ready to work in their life.

    As for me, I have always found that the books that were written more ‘indirectly’ (such As Life Without Lack, or Allure of Gentleness) have never felt like ‘less’ than his other books. The characteristic clarity, directness, warmth, and original pattern of thought are immediately present. The family and friends of DW have done a beautiful job.

    “The Scandal of the Kingdom” is a wonderful, wonderful gift to us. Not Dallas Willard leftovers! But choice gold!
  • Mary Dictson
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Kingdom of God Is Accessible
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2024
    It was in reading Dallas Willard's words In his other books that the "Upside Down Kingdom" first became real to me, especially in my thinking about the Beatitudes and great respect for Jesus in ways I had not thought of before even though I had been going to church all my life. The book The Scandal of the Kingdom gently brings the parables of Jesus into a deeper understanding and clarity. Chapter 14 "Persistence as the Prerequisite to Growth" was one of my favorite chapters. I had the word "Persist" on my heart one morning after a restless night of prayer shortly before the book arrived in the mail. Chapter 11 "The Miracle of Forgiveness" is another one of my favorite chapters in the book as it refreshes that we need God's help to forgive and what forgiveness is and what it is not. I also love the dedication to Jane. What beautiful lives Jane and Dallas's love of God together created and his love for them blessed us with so much help in figuring out how to persist. This book is just another testimony to their good lives in the Kingdom of God.
  • JEFF K. BRADBURY
    5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Dallas Willard
    Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2024
    No matter what I am reading, if a new Dallas Willard book is published, I set all my other books to the side. I eagerly anticipated this book and so far it has not disappointed. I have often struggled to understand and articulate clearly the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In this book Dallas very clearly lays out what is the Kingdom of God and what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. I have found myself savoring each sentence. For example, Willard encourages his readers go mature from merely having faith in Christ to having the Faith of Christ. I have meditated on this and read it over and over. This is a book to be treasured.
  • Darrell M Blaine
    5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus still speaks through His parables and His faithful teachers
    Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2024
    The words of Jesus brought to us through Dallas Willard open the parables to me as never before. Already a lover of Dallas's style of teaching, I was excited to get this new book. His blend of the whole of Scriptures and practical illustrations as he explains the parables makes them come alive to me again today. Dallas is throwing the truths down alongside my life in a way that I can understand. I am just a few chapters in and I already want to re-read parts I have already read. I am pairing this reading with the workbook by Jan Johnson so I can soak in the insights more deeply. I highly recommend this this to you!
  • Careful Reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Deeply Moving Experience
    Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024
    Having read nearly every book that Willard wrote, I was eager to read this one as well. Although to be honest, I wondered what his 1983 series on the parables could add to what he has said elsewhere. What I encountered was not so much another teaching, but actually a rich immersion in a beautiful vision of the abundant life Jesus wants for all of us. There were of course various gems scattered throughout the book. But beyond that, the more I read, the more my heart ached for this amazing way of life that Dallas portrays so well. Rarely have I seen such a compelling vision of life with God.
  • Kyle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful culmination of Dallas Willard's work
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2024
    I ordered this product as a pre-order as soon as I heard it was coming out. I am about half-way through and have loved this "natural next step to Divine Conspiracy". Dallas is still helping followers of Jesus pursue the Kingdom long after he has passed.
  • Park B. Smith Jr.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Gentle and Invitational Exposition of Jesus’ use of Parables
    Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2024
    In Dallas’ inimitable way of opening the Scriptures, he leads us into an in-depth look at how Jesus uses parables in his teaching and conversation, and how/why they speak to us today. A treasure!
  • Sam P
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh words from a master disciple of Christ
    Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2024
    Like a space nerd learning a new Star Wars movie is being released, my heart lept at the prospect of unpublished material from Dallas Willard 'coming soon' to print. When I found my copy had been delivered to my porch, I grabbed my reading glasses and dug in, eager to hear Dallas's voice again. It doesn't disappoint; in fact, it surprised me in the way only Willard can, with mind-opening observations that I don't know how I missed or lived without in the first fifty readings of the parables of the gospels. Enlightening and refreshing, and while not as dense as 'Conspiracy', it's likely worth a second and third read.

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