And He said, A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to the father, Father give me that part of the inheritance falling to me. And he divided the inheritance between them. And not many days after, gathering up all things, the younger son went away to a distant country. And there he wasted his property, living dissolutely. But having spent all his things, a severe famine came throughout that country, and he began to be in need. And going, he was joined to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he longed to fill his stomach from the husks which the pigs ate, but no one gave to him. But coming to himself he said, How many servants of my father have plenty of loaves, and I am perishing with famine. Rising up, I will go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I sinned against Heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants. And rising up, he came to his father. But he yet being far away, his father saw him and was moved with pity and he ran and fell on his neck and fervently kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you, and no longer am I worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves, Bring out the best robe and clothe him, and give a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. And bring the fattened calf, slaughter and let us eat and rejoice; for this son of mine was dead, and lived again, and was lost, and was found. And they began to be merry.
But the older son was in the field. And having come, as he drew near to the house, he heard music and dances. And having called one of the children, he inquired what this may be. And he said to him, Your brother came, and your father killed the fattened calf, because he received him back in health. But he was angry and did not desire to go in. Then coming out, his father begged him. But answering, he said to the father, Behold, so many years I serve you, and I have never transgressed a command of you. And you never gave a goat to me, so that I might be merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, the one devouring your living with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him. But he said to him, Child, you are always with me, and all of my things are yours. But to be merry and to rejoice was right, for this brother of yours was dead, and lived again; he was lost and he was found.
(Luke 15:11-32)
I drew your attention yesterday, to the fact that there is no “suppose” in this story of the Prodigal. “Suppose” appears in the Lost Sheep story and again in the Lost Coin story but not this one. This story starts “a certain man had two sons”. Who is Jesus pointing to with this real life example? What is the real life example and who is in focus? I left you to ponder what or who is in focus here. When I do this I have a few of you respond and tell me it is driving you crazy that I don’t tell you, but rather I allude to things. I give you little hints but don’t tell you the answer. Why do you do that Ian?
Go back to Gem 1033 where I told you,to understand this parable, you have to pick up on the allusions. Jesus is making a deliberate link here to something that the Pharisees know well. He is making deliberate connections to an Old Testament portion, which sends a loud message to them. He intends them to pick up on the Old Testament portion and use it to interpret This Parable. There are significant parallels between the Old Testament passage and this parable. If you can find them, the meaning of the story becomes evident. Now there is a challenge for you. I will say no more at this point. Just a pointer, a clue to where you should dig.
I told you also that I would return to this allusion in a subsequent Gem. Now is the time. We will use this example of Midrashic interpretation to explore the parable of the Prodigal at a deeper level. Jesus has told the Pharisees there was man with two sons. Which man is this He is referring to? Jesus has given you clues. There are direct quotes from a specific Old Testament story and many parallels between that story and this parable. A Jew who knows the Old Testament couldn’t help but recognise the link. See if you can find the links. Once you have cracked the code, compare the stories for similarities. See how many you can find. I will tell you who the man with two sons is, along with some of the background to what Jesus is doing in the next Gem. Then I will leave you to find the similarities and quotes for yourself. We are right in the midst of Beth Midrash (the House of Allusion) here. Allusions to the left of us, allusions to the right of us, into the Valley of Midrash rode the 6,000. Do you know what I am doing here?
I am making an allusion to the poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Lord Alfred Tennyson in which he immortalized the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War, October 25, 1854.
- Half a league half a league, Half a league onward,
- Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred:
- ‘Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns’ he said:
- Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
- ‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’ Was there a man dismay’d ?
- Not tho’ the soldier knew Some one had blunder’d:
- Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why,
- Theirs but to do & die,
- Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
- Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them,
- Cannon in front of them Volley’d & thunder’d;
- Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well,
- Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell
- Rode the six hundred.. .
Hint: Jesus is doing the same thing but His reference is not Tennyson. See what links you can find and then how many similarities you can find. More in the next Gem.
Another frivolous question if I may. Why did I change Tennyson’s 600 to read 6,000? Yes, it was deliberate. There was another allusion there. Are you getting the idea now?
When you pray you don’t ever have to worry about God being in a bad mood.
Rick Godwin
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
Corrie Ten Boom
Many times we win the argument but hurt the relationship. Always try to win the relationship, not the argument.
Anon
The more you prepare yourself, the more opportunities God will give you.
Bob Gass