EXPLORE IT! - Luke 15:1-2
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”
Luke 15:1-2
There are several examples within the Gospels where Jesus is seen reversing the binary oppositions (e.g., righteous, sinners) of the day as they were interpreted by the Pharisees. These verses in Luke’s Gospel have parallel passages in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. These parallel passages give us a little more insight into the context of the Pharisees’ statement.
In the story of the calling of Levi (aka Matthew), Jesus is seen eating at Levi’s house among the tax collectors and “sinners.” The Pharisees observe this and point out to his disciples the questionable company he is keeping (Mark 2:15-6). Jesus responds by saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v. 17).
In saying this, Jesus is reversing the binary opposition of “healthy over sick.” He instead places greater significance on the sick. This does not necessarily lower the importance of the healthy, however, since the obvious goal is to make the sick people into healthy people. It does say, though, that the sick people are just as important as the healthy people, and that God cares just as much about the sick as He does the healthy, or that He cares just as much about “sinners” as He does the righteous.
Jesus also reverses the binary oppositions of “first and last” a number of times within the Gospels. At another time, Jesus asks his disciples what they were arguing about on the road, but they keep silent because they had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus then says to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Jesus reverses the binary opposition from “first over last” to “last over first” and in doing so places the position of “servant” into a position of honor.
Jesus loves the sick and the sinners. The Pharisees just didn’t get that. They wouldn’t admit that they were just as sick and sinful as everyone else.
HOPE! - Look at all these Sinners!
Luke’s Gospel is very clear on the fact that Jesus loves sinners. Long before we get to the parables in chapter 15, we see Jesus creating controversy among the religious people of the day because he refused to thumb his nose at people who were in need of healing from sin. Just look at Peter for example. He was a rough fisherman who wasn’t a good enough student to study under the learned rabbis of the day. But Jesus goes up to him and says, “Follow me.”
Luke’s Gospel goes on to say that Jesus causes Peter to witness a miraculous catch of fish - so many fish at once that the boats almost sink. When Peter sees the miracle he realizes his own sinful state in the presence of the holy Jesus, and he says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
But Jesus doesn’t go anywhere. Instead he makes Peter his disciple. Others had given up on this sinful fisherman, but not Jesus – even when Peter later denied him, Jesus sought him out and restored him to fellowship.
Another example Luke gives is when Jesus is eating dinner at the house of a Pharisee named Simon and a “sinful” woman arrives with an expensive jar of perfume. She stands behind Jesus weeping and letting her tears drip on his feet. She then wipes off the tears with her hair, kisses his feet, and pours the perfume on them.
Jesus’ host sees this and mutters to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus then tells him a parable:
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
EXPLORE IT! - Luke 15:3-7
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
-- Luke 15: 3-7
Jesus uses shepherd imagery several times in the Gospels. This was language that people could relate to. People understood sheep. Sheep were everywhere in that culture.
And so in Luke 15 Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd who will seek out one lost sheep to bring them back into the fold. But this isn’t the only time that Jesus portrays himself as the good shepherd. He uses this kind of language in Matthew 18 and John 10 as well.
In John, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd who knows his sheep and lays down his life for them.
This imagery ties together several aspects of who Jesus is.
First of all, the leaders of God’s people were traditionally referred to as shepherds much of the time. Good leaders care for people like a good shepherd cares for the sheep, but bad leaders don’t just like a bad shepherd wouldn’t care about the sheep. We know that Jesus fits the bill of a good shepherd because he cares for others.
Also, the image of the good shepherd is also a messianic image. The Messiah would one day come and rule over God’s people as a righteous king. And by declaring himself to be the good shepherd, using the same messianic language from Ezekiel 34, Jesus is identifying himself as the one who will fulfill these promises – he is the Messiah!
And finally, in Ezekiel 34, God himself is identified as the good shepherd who goes in search of stray sheep. God is described as having “come to” his people. And so, when Jesus says he is the good shepherd, he is not only declaring himself to be a good leader and the promised Messiah, but he is saying he is God himself – God has come to his people in the flesh!
Ultimately, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. That’s what Jesus says the good shepherd does. He not only seeks out the lost in order to bring them back, but he dies for them as well. And that’s exactly what Jesus does.
HOPE! - What Did I Do with My Wedding Ring?
Jesus’ parable of the lost coin is unique to Luke’s Gospel and is positioned in between the parables of the lost sheep and the lost son.
In the parable, there’s a woman who has ten silver coins (Greek = drachmae), but at some point she realizes that she’s lost one of them.
She then goes and lights an oil lamp and goes all through her house, sweeping it clean, until she eventually finds it – and when she does, there is much rejoicing… in fact, she throws a party!
So what’s the big deal with the coin? Why does she get so excited when she finds it?
Well, you see, back in the first century when Jesus told this parable, many married women wore ten coins on a chain, in kind of a similar way that a woman in today’s culture might wear a wedding ring. Now these coins were really really important. They were so important, in fact, that they couldn’t ever be taken from her, not even to pay off a debt.
The fact that she lost the coin would have been considered to be a financial disaster! But it was even more symbolic than that. She would have been shamed for having been so careless as to lose something of such great value which was a symbol of her marriage. What would her husband think? What would her friends and family think? Why, while her husband was away, would she have taken this symbol of her marriage off in the first place?
The story is more than about coins. It’s about the value that God places on his people. Jesus says that God is like the woman searching for the coin. In the same way God searches for his lost children, not giving up until he finds them. Because what a tragedy and disaster it would be if he couldn’t find them!
God is not only the woman in the story, but he is also the light by which the woman finds the symbol of her marriage covenant. We are like the woman when we lose our way and we forget our marriage covenant with Christ. But God’s light shines through the Holy Spirit and shows us the way back.
And the party at the end of the story – it’s a wedding!
EXPLORE IT! - The Context of Luke 15
The Travel Narrative
In the center of the Luke’s Gospel is a section (9:51–18:14) known as “The Travel Narrative” or “The Journey to Jerusalem.” This travel narrative fits into the overall theme of Luke-Acts by the way it attempts to show the reader that Jesus came not only for the Jews and the law-keepers, but for the Gentiles and sinners as well. Luke appears to be a very Jewish work, but it deals with issues that the early Jewish Christians would have been facing, such as what to do with the Gentiles.
Unique Material
This travel narrative is unique in many ways to the four gospels, including the three synoptics. While other gospels show Jesus and His disciples making their way on up to Jerusalem, Luke’s presentation of this event contains much material not seen in any of the other gospels. It is thought that much of the material Luke incorporates into this section of his gospel came from a source or sources not used in any of the other gospel accounts. These sources are known as “L” among New Testament scholars. What does not come from the “L” source in this section is thought to be derived from the “Q” source and Mark’s Gospel.
Luke’s Purpose
In the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, the writer states that he intends to write an orderly account of the life of Jesus. However, when you get to “The Travel Narrative,” you can see that this portion of the story differs from the rest of the narrative. While much of Luke appears to be in chronological order, and interested in being as historically accurate as possible, this section deviates from this pattern, and the arrangement of the material is not according to chronology, but rather to theme.
The Fulfillment of The Law
At the beginning of “The Travel Narrative” it says that Jesus turned His face toward Jerusalem. This verse lays the foundation for all that is about to take place. From this point on, the story of Jesus is based for the most part upon His teachings, rather than upon the actual events, presumably that were given on His way to Jerusalem. Many think this portion of Luke is arranged according to certain themes presented in the book of Deuteronomy, and that each theme in Luke is presented in the same order as they are presented in Deuteronomy. For example, the event towards the beginning of “The Travel Narrative” where Jesus sends out the seventy (or seventy-two) is seen to parallel or correspond with the seventy who accompanied Moses when he went up the mountain, and so on. Luke pulls from Deuteronomy to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of The Law and the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles.
HOPE! - No Prodigals
So how much does our own culture and upbringing influence the way we understand and interpret the bible?
Here’s a fun little experiment you can try.
Gather a bunch of middle-class American Christians together and then divide them into groups and have them read Luke 15:11-32… Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son.
Then, have each group give a brief summary of the parable.
Pretty easy, right?
However, in most American groups, those retelling the story (to their own shock) will leave out a very important fact…
…the fact that there was a famine!
However, when this experiment was done in Russia, almost everyone mentioned the famine in their brief summary.
So why did the Americans leave out such an important fact?
Because famine is foreign to the experience of most Americans; whereas most Russians have experienced famine at some point in recent history.
Americans, who tend to think a lot about saving and spending money… blame the son’s starvation on his waste of his father’s inheritance… hence the title “prodigal” we’ve attached to him.
However, Russians point out that he was starving because there was a famine… and the people who first heard this parable would have thought the same way.
So why do we call the prodigal son… “The prodigal son”? What makes him a prodigal
Well… he wasted all his dad’s money on prostitutes and wild parties, right? That would make him a prodigal, no doubt.
But Jesus never calls him a prodigal. The word prodigal is never used in the story. It’s just a label that people gave the son later.
So why the label? Do we think we’re better than the son because we don’t spend all our money on prostitutes and wild parties?
The only reason we attach the prodigal label to him is because we value good finance and frugality in our culture. We value good use of good money. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does get in the way of our view of the son. We see him as someone who threw away privilege – who wasted his life… and we’re just a little bit ashamed of him for that.
But that’s not how Jesus sees the son. Jesus sees him as one who isolated himself from his community of support and lost his way because he thought he could handle life on his own terms and with his own wisdom… and he failed. When life got hard, he hit rock bottom.
But Jesus also shows us that God is the loving father who takes the son back despite his imperfections.
The father doesn’t say, “That prodigal son of mine who wasted all my money on prostitutes has returned to get more money from me.”
The father says, “My son who was lost has come home! Let’s celebrate!”
EXPLORE IT! - Luke 15:17-22
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.”
-- Luke 15:17-22
It’s a big deal that the father runs to his son in this parable. In the culture of Jesus day (an eastern culture, mind you), you would never see a father running. It would be seen by the culture as out of place or even undignified. This is especially true in the case of the father in this parable who goes out and runs towards his wicked and rebellious son.
Children must honor their parents. The son must come to the father – not the other way around.
And yet the father doesn’t wait for his son to arrive. He doesn’t even wait for his son to say he’s sorry and repentant.
The text says that while his son was still a long way off, the father ran out to meet him and embraced him and kissed him. His friends and neighbors were probably embarrassed on behalf of the father for acting without shame and welcoming his son. Indeed, his other son was certainly embarrassed – even angry.
But the father doesn’t care. He openly welcomes his lost son back and shares a feast with him.
This is just like Jesus. Remember how this chapter started? Jesus openly welcomed tax collectors “sinners” and he ate with them.
The Pharisees are like the older brother in the parable, who got angry that the father forgave his sinful son.
And just like the father in the story, Jesus comes to the defense of the sinner.
HOPE! - That's What God is Like!
The Parable of the Lost Son is unique to Luke’s Gospel and is really in response to a question that was burning in the hearts of the people.
Amidst all their questions, the people really wanted to know: What is God like?
Now there was a well-known traditional Jewish parable at the time that told the story of a lost son. And the father in the story represented the people’s understanding of what God was like. First, here is the traditional Jewish version of this well-known parable, and then we get to read Jesus’ version of this parable.
The traditional Jewish version:
A kid commits a terrible sin and thinks he can make it on his own, so he says, “Dad, give me my share of the inheritance,” and he goes off and lives riotously.
After feeding pigs (hitting rock bottom), he think to himself, “There’s a rabbinic law interpreting the passage ‘obey your parents’ which says ‘if you break community, for the sake of community you can’t go back as a community member, but you can come back as a slave or a servant.’” So the kid thinks, “I’d rather be a slave in my community than a free person where I can’t live for God.” So he comes home.
In the Jewish parable, as he approaches his home, he meets his father accidentally.
He says to his father, “I’ve sinned against you and against heaven. I can’t come back as your son; let me come back as your slave.”
The father began to cry, and said, “Son, when you left, you broke community. For the sake of community, you can never come home.” And he closed the door.
And the family gathered around the weeping old man, consoling him, and encouraging him for having done the righteous thing.
And now, Jesus’ version of this same parable:
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
And Jesus is saying… THAT’S WHAT GOD IS LIKE!!!
But Jesus also adds an addendum to the parable:
The older brother gets mad that the sinful brother has been welcomed by his father back into the community.
And Jesus says that the folks he’s talking to are not like either the loving father or the sinful son, but they are the angry, jealous, unforgiving older brother.
And so we must ask ourselves, which of the two children are we?
The forgiven son? Or the son that refuses to forgive?
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