perhaps they don’t. Probably it was part of the folklore of Jesus’s day, and he has little interest in correcting minor issues in people’s theology.12 To illustrate the error of turning parabolic details into doctrine, how would you assess a claim that God will always send a Samaritan if we’re in trouble (Luke 10:33), or that we are always sure to find our lost possessions (Luke 15:9)? These are just details in stories. What about the talking trees in Jotham’s parable—are trees conscious (Judges 9:7-15)?