Part #1 - The Prodigal Son

Luke 15: 1112

And Jesus said, there was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to
his father, "Father give me the share of the property that falls to me." And he
divided his living between them.
Dr. Ken Bailey who lived and taught in the Middle East for over 40 years has never
found an example of a son requesting and receiving inheritance prior to his father's
death. For to do so, would be to wish his father dead.
Middle Eastern parables are intentionally packed with emotion. So to leave out the
intended emotion content is to miss the rich Middle Eastern context. Further Middle
Easterners would expect the father to explode with anger at the son's request.
Yes, unexpectedly, the father grants his son's request and divides his living--literally
meaning that he divided his life between them. In this decision, the father had
two main choices:
(1) He could choose to protect himself by rejecting his son and banishing him from
his thoughts, or
(2) He could choose, as he did, the way of suffering.
Part #2 - The Return of the Prodigal Son
Luke 15: 1319
Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into
a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he
had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in
want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent
him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the
swine ate [a detestable animal to Jews]: and no one gave him anything.
When he came to himself, he said, How many of my fathers hired servants have
bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my
father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I
am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your skilled
craftsman.
According to Dr. Ken Bailey, the sons reason for going home is to fill his empty
stomach, not to reconcile with his father. We often think that the parable says that
the son "came to his senses" but the original Greek text translates "the son
returned to himself" meaning that he was trying to find a way to save himself.
Had the son been repentant, the text would have pictured the great Hebrew word
"Shub" which means to "return to God."
Further the son crafts a speech that will give him the best chance of filling his
empty stomach, not to repent. Jesus' audience, the Pharisees, knew the scriptures
well and would have known that Pharaoh used a similar speech to placate Moses to

stop the plagues.

Moreover, the son is not asking to become a slave, he wants to become a
craftsman so that he can re-pay his own way. It is in this condition that the son
starts his journey back to the fatherwearing dirty rags and rehearsing a contrived
speech to persuade his father to feed him.

Part #3 - God Runs

Luke 15: 20 24
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father
saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the
son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no
longer worthy to be called your son.
But the father said to his servants, "Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him;
and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill
it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive; he was
lost, and is found." And they began to make merry.
As the son comes closer to his home, he would likely experience fear and shame. He
wished his father dead; left family and community; and now he has lost everything.
He expects to face his fathers and brothers rejection and anger. Further, the
community would reject and banish himas was the custom. Any Jew who lost his
money among foreigners would face the Kezazah (literally the cutting off.) The
Kezazah would be performed by breaking a clay pot at the feet of the prodigal as
visual symbol that the community rejected him forever.
In the Middle East, it was considered humiliating for men over age forty to run. As
the father ran, he would have had to lift his robeanother humiliation. As the father
drew closer, the son would see not angerbut joy. And when the father reached
him, the father kissed him over and over on the neck.
Experiencing the fathers visible, costly love for him, his contrived speech melts
away. All that is left is feeling that he is is not worthy to be the fathers son. The
grace is too overwhelming. Then the father restores the sonshowering him with
the best robe, providing shoes for his feet (slaves were bare-footed: sons wore
shoes), placing a ring on his finger (a signet ring would give him the power to
transact business).
The imagery here is that of the son returning with dirty rags on his back and a
contrived speech. Yet it was the fathers costly, unexpected outpouring of visible
love that turns the sons heart toward himperhaps for the first time. The sons
work (repentance) is simply accepting being found by the father. The
related parable of The Lost Sheep provides a beatiful image of this saving grace.
How we personally define repentance defines, in large part, how we interact with

God and others. When we feel responsible for our own repentance (like the
Pharisees), there is tremendous pressure to be good. The problem is that, when
we focus on being good, we forget the importance of the relationship with God
and endlessly oscillate between self-righteousness and guilt. We then project this
thinking onto others. Yet, when we realize that God takes the responsibility
(with joy) to find and restore us, we can release much of what controls us.

Part #4 - Analysis of the Older Son

Luke 15: 25-32
Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near the house, he
heard music and dancing. And he called one of the young boys and asked what this
meant. And he said to him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the
fatted calf, because he has received him with peace," But he was angry and refused
to go in. His father came out and entreated him.
But he answered his father, "Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never
disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry
with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living
with harlots, you killed the fatted calf!"
And he said to him, "Son you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It
was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive;
he was lost, and is found."
Early in the story, when the younger son causes strife with his request, the older
sonas was the Middle Eastern customwould mediate between the father and the
younger son. Unexpectedly, the older son remains quiet. And anger lurks
beneath the surface but doesn't become apparent until later in the story.
Now the fatted calf has been killed and it's time for the banquet. Customarily, it's
the responsibility of the older son to serve the guests. The guests are made to feel
special by the fathers oldest son who serves them. Unexpectedly the older son not
only does not accept this responsibility but he doesn't fulfill the minimal
requirement of greeting the guests. He remains in the courtyard.
Earlier in the day, the father demonstrated costly, unexpected love by running to
and embracing the younger son. Now the father shows costly love once again
by leaving the banqueta humiliating act in the Middle Eastto entreat
his older son.
Now the older son points out how he has served the father as a slave never
disobeying his commandments. Yet even in this moment, the older son is refusing
his responsibility at the celebration as he earlier refused to mediate when the

younger son was leaving for the far country...Anger blinds him.
In The Cross & the Prodigal, an insightful contrast is drawn between how the older
son and the father approach each situation. When the older son calls on one of the
boys after returning from the fields, the Greek preposition suggests that they were
facing one another, in an adversarial position. Yet, the father (as the
preposition suggests) asks the older son to "stand parallel to himnot in
an adversarial position, but asking the older son to see the situation from
the fathers perspective.
Furthermore, when the father addresses the older son, he does so with the Greek
word Teknon, a special word for son that indicates love and affection. It is the word
Mary uses when Jesus is found in the temple and she says, "Son, why have you
treated us so?" (Luke 2:48) The father goes on, gently to remind his son that the
prodigal is your brother." And the rest of the speech is a defense of joy.
To this defense of joy, there is no response by the older sonthe end of the story is
missing. This parable, like many of Jesus parables, uses inverted step parallelism
but, in this case, the last section is missing on purpose. (If you want to find out more
about Hebrew step parallelism, see Ken Baileys Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to
Luke 15. See resources.) The last missing section is to be written by the Pharisees.
How would the Pharisees complete this story? The father wishes that the two
brothers would embrace and enter into the celebration with joy.

Meaning in the Prodigal Son Parable

Repentance is the theme in the prodigal son. Yuck! Hold on. Grasp its meaning,
and its a better feeling than youd have winning the lottery. And youll feel as safe
as a baby in the most loving mothers arms.
First, know that Jesus redefines repentance. This statement comes from world
famous scholar
Dr. Ken Bailey who lived and taught in the Middle East for over
40 years. Now, in two sentences this is what repentance looked like prior to its
redefinition? In Jesus day, much like our own, repentance meant turning from sin
then returning to God. If the sinner would follow these three steps, the sinner could
return to God:
(1) Confess the sin,
(2) Repay, and
(3) Committing to not sinning again.
Next, heres how we know that repentance is indeed the theme. Remember, as one
parable Jesus tells the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons. At the end of
both the lost sheep and the lost coin, the text says, There will be more joy in
heaven over one sinner who repents Unexpectedly repentance is the theme. But
even more vexing is what did the sheep do that resembles repentance? What did
the coin do that resembles repentance? In the prodigal son, its not surprising this
same theme continues. So what did the sons do that resemble repentance?

Clearly, neither the sheep nor the coin plays any active role in their own restoration.
Its the saving action of the shepherd who finds and restores the sheep. Its the
saving action of the lady who finds the coin. And in the lost sons, its the fathers
costly demonstration of unexpected love that restores the relationship. Repentance
is therefore redefined as accepting being found, a response to the saving actions
of the father.
Repentance is defined as acceptance of being found. The sheep is lost and helpless
and yet it is a symbol of repentance. Repentance becomes a combination of the
shepherd's act of rescue and the sheep's acceptance of that act.
In other words, our repentance is one more act of the grace of God, not our hard
work in which we can take pride, but something God does for us which we gratefully
receive. In the later (and better-known) Parable of the Two Lost Sons (usually
miscalled the Parable of the Prodigal Son), the prodigal's repentance doesn't come
in the far countrythat's just a scheme to work his way back into favor; his
repentance comes in the village, when his heart breaks at his father's sacrifice for
him, and he accepts being found; he accepts being welcomed back into the family
without his having earned it.

Some see Jesus sacrifice on the cross as a necessary act to placate Gods anger.
For these, it may be helpful to reflect on the prodigal son parable. Where Jesus
costly demonstration of unexpected love, his long suffering, not only creates a
relationship bridge for usbut he crosses that bridge and joyfully carries us home.
Examples - Jesus Demonstration
When Jesus told the prodigal son parable he was on his way to Jerusalem where he
will be crucified. Now Jesus is in Jerusalem, where he demonstrates unexpected,
costly love.
A lady caught in the act of adultery is taken to Jesus to test him, (John 8: 1 - 11).
The Pharisees look to discredit Jesus and stone the lady. Further they have the law
on their sidegiven to Moses by Godwhich commands that adulterers must be
stoned to death.
So how does Jesus love the good and the bad? If he sides with the lady, he will
invalidate Moses and the law. If, on the contrary, he sides with the Pharisees, his
message of grace will be invalidated.
Jesus loves the Pharisees by not saying that they are wrong but by asking them to
examine themselves before condemning the lady. This act of kindness not only has
the potential to save the lady but also the Pharisees themselves. Jesus wants to
awaken in these powerful men a sense of guilt so that they can be
receptive to grace.
Jesus demonstrates unexpected, costly love to the lady as well. Unlike the powerful
Pharisees, this lady is crushed by the judgment of those around her as well as by

herself. She is silent because she is guilty. Jesus did not need to awaken guilt in her.
She condemns herself. The law is clear. Incredibly though, Jesus visibly shifts the
anger of the crowd from the lady to himself. He restores her and sets her on a new
path.
As with number of Jesus' parables, the ending is deliberately missing. How will the
ending be written for each Pharisees? For the lady? For you? Even an all powerful
God can't force someone to love. What God did, however, is demonstrate with the
most costly love how he loves us. Without this costly demonstration of unexpected
love, we would not see this love. We are blinded by our focus on measuring our
goodness and badness within ourselves. We think that our "goodness" will free
us. Rather, abiding in Jesus is what frees us.