Jesus' use of parables of reversal cause challenge the understanding of the kingdom of God among his contemporaries by using a combination of the familiar and the unfamiliar to instruct and convince. The purpose of a metaphor, which Jesus often uses, is to connect something known with something unknown, therefore increasing knowledge of the known. In Jesus' case, the metaphors are special because they use the principal of reversal. In many of his parables, the character that seems to be most enviable is really the one who is not acting in way that coincides with God's kingdom. For example, Jesus recounts the story of a Pharisee and a common person in Luke 18:9-14. In the parable, the Pharisee thanks God for his many assets and attributes in public, while the common person simply begged God for Mercy. It was not the rich and high-status Pharisee that Jesus commended in this parable, but the common man. Thus, Jesus reversed his disciples' understanding of the Kingdom of heaven by claiming it does not value splendor, but rather, sincerity.
Few deny the existence of Jesus. Through historical records and scholarship, most believe that the man existed; they do not doubt this fact. It is accepting Jesus as the Son of God or even a spiritual figure that many cannot grasp. In this regard, history can be interpreted as too narrow for an understanding of Jesus. In fact, history is often interpreted as too narrow for religious or spiritual belief of any sort. These types of historical documents and data are labeled mythology. Because Jesus' arrival coincided with a great deal of relatively recent mythology such as Greek mythology, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and others, many students of history may find it easy to lump all of these spiritual beliefs together as myths. Similarly, that Jesus performed miracles is a second facet of Jesus' existence that many have a hard time grasping. Some, who believe in practicality and science above the spiritual, suggest that he was simply performing tricks that the uneducated population did not know any better than to accept. Thus, while most are willing to accept that Jesus existed, accepting his role as a savior and spiritual leader is not always as easy as history is often interpreted as too narrow for this approach.
