The Prodigal Son free essay sample

In addition, they taught the value of being persistent regardless of what everyone else does. Each week, some parents may also share Bible stories; one can recall hearing about David and Goliath, Joseph the dreamer, and the parable of the Prodigal Son. Over the past few weeks, the reexamine/study the parable of the Prodigal Son has allowed an understanding that it is more than just the story which focuses on a lost son who found his way back home. In fact, it displays the overwhelming display of a father’s love more than the sins of a son or it can be stated his sons. The parable is located in the New Testament of the Bible in the gospel recorded by Luke. It can be found in chapter number fifteen beginning with verse number eleven through verse thirty-two. In this same chapter, Jesus spoke of two preceding parables, one which told of a lost sheep and a shepherd’s joy, located in Luke chapter number fifteen verses number one through seven. We will write a custom essay sample on The Prodigal Son or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Additionally, the gospel of Luke records another parable in which Jesus speaks of a coin that a woman lost and spent all day searching for it. She found her coin which was lost and rejoiced greatly after she found the coin. It seemed fitting to tell another story which would show the unconditional love a father has for his sons. Although, the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son speaks of three separate incidences they all share the same theme. They all illustrate lose and redemption and shows us that God’s love is greater than anything. Within its literary context the three parables figuratively speaks of God’s love. Additionally, within the three parables the writer uses simile and allegory to further express how God’s love is superior over all things, it triumphs the foolishness of man, it delivers us from the tempters voice, and He forgives us of our rebellious hearts. Luke Chapter number fifteen, verses eleven through thirty-two reads; there was man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me. So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, How many of my fathers hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up 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 like one of your hired hands. So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then 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 slaves, Quickly, bring out a robe-the best one-and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to celebrate. Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, Your brother h as come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound. Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him! Then the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found. Luke 15:11-32(NRSV) To fully comprehend Luke’s purpose and point of views by the ways in which he reveals Jesus throughout this gospel writings and specifically in this parable, a person would have to obtain a working knowledge of the literary style and characteristics of both the book and the passage. A good starting point for biblical research in regards to a particular book in the Bible is by first understanding its theme. When we read the gospels it is easy to notice each literary writer’s description or accounts of Jesus are unique to its own because God inspired men to write what their own personal accounts of the life of Jesus was. By doing so, God has allowed us to see Jesus from different perspectives; however, each personal account does not negate the other writer’s account of the life of Jesus. When it comes to the gospel of Luke or any other book in the bible a good starting point for study purpose should begin with finding out who’s the author of the book? This information could be helpful in understanding to whom it was written, the message and its purpose. Finally, we would need to know how relevant the message is and how to incorporate it into our daily lives. The Bible tells us that Luke was a Gentile, the only New Testament writer who was not a Jew. Colossians 4:14 says that he was a doctor by profession and maybe that very fact gave him the wide sympathy he possessed. It was once said that a minister sees man at the best, a lawyer sees men at their worse, and a doctor sees men as they are. Luke sees men and loves them all. The book was written to a man called Theophilu; specifically, he is called most excellent this was the title normally given to high officials in the Roman government. While reading Luke it is clear that he wrote mainly for Gentiles. Theophilus was not a Jew and neither was Luke. Unlike Matthew, who wrote from a Jewish perspective, Luke’s gospel does not focus on Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. An example of this can be seen in Luke’s gospel as he never uses the term Rabbi to address Jesus, instead he would always use a Greek word meaning master when he addressed Jesus. Furthermore, when he traces Jesus descent he does not end with Abraham, the founder of the Jewish race as Matthew does (Matthew Ch. 1:2) but he traces Jesus descent to Adam, the founder of the human race (Luke 3:38). However, it is easy to determine that one of the major themes of this book is salvation and Jesus saves, and this salvation is for all noted through Luke’s focuses on Gentiles, Samaritans, and marginalized people within Israel. The theme and literary style of God our savior is throughout Luke’s gospel and within the parable of the lost son. Additionally, the best way to obtain the cultural and historical background within this message is done by a careful exegetical approach. First, we have to note that although this story takes place in the New Testament the audience in which Jesus was speaking lived under the law. So the story would not be of relevance to those who were listening. Based upon the Mosaic law, within each family the firstborn son obtained the rights to a double share of the inheritance (Deut 21:17; keep us he must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife and the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of first born belongs to him). Thus, the younger son would receive a third. For the most part the property would be left within a will effective on the death of the father, or by way of a gift during the father’s lifetime. In the latter case, any interest on the property was only payable after the death of the father. In unique situations such as in the case of the young man in this parable, even though he has disposed of the property its buyer could not take possession of it until the death of the father. This is shown in this parable, because the father seems to retain possession of the property and the family’s support came by way of the estate. This can be seen in Luke 15: 31; when the father conversed with the older brother verse 31; my son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. The radical nature of the sons request is confirmed by Pohlmann, who analyzes the parable in terms of the Greek and Wisdom understanding of house. He shows that the father was not rich, nor was the farm a large estate, but rather one that provided basic support for the family. The sons request for the inheritance was, therefore, contrary to the basic ethos of the house. He thus plays the role of the rebellious fool in the Wisdom tradition. By asking for his share of the property while the father was still alive, the son is, in effect, saying that he is no longer able to live in the family house. Nevertheless, the father accedes to his sons wishes, thereby granting him the freedom to choose his own destiny and live with the implications of his decision. The audiences, completely astounded at this point, are in for a further shock. The boy converts the property into cash, thereby ignoring any moral claim that his father had on the property. He has now clearly violated Jewish law by failing to honor his parents and to sustain them in their old age Mark 7: 11-14; then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that. Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. The scriptures recorded in Mark 7:11-14 further reiterates the son’s selfish request breaks social norms of the times because such an act went against the culture of the house, thus this caused the young man to unknowingly played the role of a fool. It has not been determined as to the reasons why the younger son asked to receive his inheritance in the manner in which he does. Moreover, this parable seems to leave the door open to speculate whether or not there were possible family issues such as a strained relationship between the son and another family member. However, the validity to such a statement is unknown but, we can conclude or immediately draw from the story is that the younger of the two sons appeared as though he wanted to be alienated from his family. Such a statement is as though the son is actually saying he wished his father was dead so he could get his share of the inheritance. Despite such and odd request the story does not depict or showcase a father’s anger or disappointment towards the son. However, what we do see in the story is participation on the behalf of the father which would make it possible for this son to receive his inheritance earlier in life. Nevertheless, the father grants the request of his youngest son. The parable states after receiving his portion of the inheritance a few days later the son realizes what he had in terms of money, so he leaves to experience life in a foreign land. After arriving in the foreign land away from his father and brother, the son sought to seek pleasures and fulfillment; moreover, he lived a wasteful and extravagant life until he spent all his money. The parable was not designed to focus on or place emphasis on the type of lifestyle the son chose to live while in the absence of his father, but what we do know is it would not have been a lifestyle that his father would have approved. The father had an estate which means that the father must have been a good steward over his possession no matter how great or small his estate may have been. However, not after too long the son found himself without any money and no one would give him any assistance. With no help on his side, the young man falls on his natural desire to survive, so he joins himself as a citizen of the foreign country and finds a job feeding pigs. This within itself must have been an awful feeling, because at least at his father’s estate there were slaves and hired servant workers, so surely he would not need to feed pigs in order to fulfill the basic necessities of life. Furthermore, this type of employment for a Jew would be degrading and humiliating, because during the time of this parable the Jews were still living under the law and pigs were not looked upon favorably by Jews. They considered pigs as being unclean animals. Therefore, this job posed a conflict of interest for this young Jew; it caused him to violate his religious customs which was a huge smack to his self-worth. In addition, the job must not have paid very much. In this story, he seemed to be envious of the pigs because he was feeding them a meal while he was very hungry and no one would give him anything. Anyone reading this parable or listening to Jesus tell this story can realize this moment was much lower than a breaking point in this man’s life, but something happens and the story begins to take a turn. Verse seventeen of the parable says that when he came to his senses, he thought of home he said, how many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! He got up headed back to his father with desires to only want to work as a hired servant and not to be viewed as a son. This man’s fall in life caused him to realize the error of his ways, but it does not deter him from doing something about it. The best decision this man made was not his plans to serve his father as a hired worker; instead it was his decision to return to his father that made the difference. As the young man was heading home the parable states that while he was afar off the father saw him and had compassion for him ran hugged and kissed him. After the son ask for forgiveness, his father as in previous times showered him with fatherly love. The parable then states 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 was lost and is found. So they begin to celebrate. The father specifically asked for the best robe, a ring and sandals for his son and for good reason. The robe stands for honor, the ring for authority, and the shoes were a sign of freedom. Unfortunately, while they were celebrating the older brother heard singing and dancing while he was working in the field, and he asked one of the servants what was going on and he told him that his brother had returned home and their father killed the fattened calf because his brother had returned home safely. Sadly, instead of celebrating his brother’s return the older brother became angry and would not go inside to celebrate. Amazingly, the father still displayed unconditional love towards his son. In an attempt to remind him of how important he was, the father said that I have had you here with me and all I have is yours, but now your brother is back and we should celebrate but the brother remained on the outside he never went in to celebrate with his father. The story of the prodigal son has gone down in history as one of the best story ever told of a father’s love for his sons and it is still relevant today. Furthermore, the gospel writers Mathew, Mark, Luke and John wrote believing Jesus’s messages were relevant to their generation/cultures and it would remain that way for future generations. As it correlates to modern times, we can look at the story from the perspectives of a father and his two sons. The Father, who represents God, was a loving father who displayed an ability of long sufferings. God loves us despite our shortcomings. Regardless of what we have done the Lord does not want us to not talk with him. The parable says that he, the Prodigal Son came to his senses as though the light bulb went off, something within the man changed at that very moment. He realized that he was disconnected from the person that truly loved him and with that he knew he had to return from where he came. This speaks volume because there are many people who have fallen into tough times, but they never seem to realize they need God. Our heavenly father is represented in this parable, always willing to love, forgive and restore order in life, additionally, upon our return we should celebrate as done in this story. God is waiting to honor, restore order to the life of us, His children. It is good to know despite what anyone else may have to say about our past God is only looking to celebrate our return while freeing and securing our future. Just as the brother in this story was hesitate to celebrate the return of the prodigal son; we should be aware that there will be individual who will not want to forget our past sins. Spiritually, they stand on the outside not willing to celebrate others restored relationship with the Father. The story of the prodigal son is one that reminds us that in life there are some things that we must learn the hard way. The son was aware of the traditions and customs of his time, but the father allowed him to experience the hardships of the â€Å"real† world. This experience had a greater impact than any childhood story or teachable moment the father could have shared with the son. Although, the son learned the value of his father’s love the hard way, he realized that there is no place like home. Spiritually, being home is to know that God loves us regardless of our many sins and that if we confuse them, He will restore us to a right relationship with him. References: