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Last Week’s Work

COMPARISONS

Here’s what the Spirit revealed through comparisons in this text:

• In vv15-17, I noticed the irony of the younger son wishing he could eat what his job demanded he feed the pigs. While they ate well, he had nothing. Even the servants back home had more than enough bread, but he was starving. He realized he couldn’t continue that way.
• In vv19-24, the prodigal returned, telling his father to treat him like a servant, but the father chose to bring him back into the family as a son, clothing and feeding him. In doing so, the father mentions the two contrasting conditions of the son: dead, then alive, and lost, then found (also mentioned in v32).
• In vv28-30, we learn the older son has a much different response to his brother’s return: he’s not welcoming like his father was (vv22-24); he’s angry. He complained the father was celebrating the younger son’s foolishness while he (father) didn’t provide any kind of party for him (the older son).
• By the conclusion of this story, the brothers both seem to morph into different men: the younger one started out like a selfish fool (vv12-13) but eventually shifted his focus to keeping himself alive, which led to humbling himself and going home ready to accept servitude (vv18-19). Meanwhile, the older son originally seemed like the golden child, obediently working hard in the home field, never disobeying his father or celebrating with his friends, etc. (vv25,29).   Yet he reacted with anger and self-righteous indignation (v28) to the welcome his brother received.

CAUSES/MOTIVATIONS

I found five cause connections in this text:

• The younger son hired himself to one of the citizens in the far away country (v15) because he began to be in need (v14) after the famine hit.
• In three different places, the celebration is justified:
  The father suggested they “eat and celebrate” because his son who was dead and lost is alive and found (vv23-24).
  In v27, the servant explained the father killed the fattened calf because the prodigal returned “safe and sound” and
  The father explained to the older son the homecoming celebration is appropriate because his brother was dead and lost and is now alive and found (v32).
• In v30, the older brother complained the father killed the fattened calf for the younger brother. I hear the serpent from Genesis 3:4 in his statement: in some sense, it could be argued they were celebrating the brother (though both the father and the servant testify otherwise), just like in some sense, Adam and Eve didn’t physically die (at least not immediately) when they disobeyed the one rule they’d been given. But both arguments are lies!

CONDITIONS/METHODS

At its base, I think this story is totally about the changes in condition summarized in my focus verses: from death to life and from being lost to being found. In the end, the father regained his younger son through a change of heart. I can’t help but think there is a chance the older son might now be the one who is dead and lost

Dig-In Challenges

This week, I’ll start refining my understanding of this passage:

1. PRAY. Of course!
2. REFINE by skimming the book of Luke to determine which of the following types of writing appears most often in it: instruction, law, letter, narrative, poetry, or prophecy. Then reread Luke 15:11-32 to see what (if any) other types are in use. Note all the types you find on your Scripture study sheet or in your journal. Recognizing writing types helps us determine whether the author intended the text to be interpreted literally or have an alternative meaning the original audience would probably have understood. 
3. REFINE: Next, research the book’s historical context by referencing an Introduction to the book of Luke. This can be found in most bound Bibles immediately before Luke 1, or by checking out the ESV online. Introductions are written by Bible publishers and provide historical details like who wrote the book, to whom, and when. They often also contain a summary of the book’s content. As you read the intro, note any relevant or interesting facts. Based on what you discover there, how will you interpret Luke 15:11-32?
4. REFINE: Last, look up the meaning of a few key words and/or phrases from your study using an interlinear Bible tool. I like Biblehub.com’s Greek tool for this research. To use: Click the blue arrow to the right of the verse citation (“Luke 15:11”) to scroll to the verse containing words you want to review, then click the number in the Strong’s column that corresponds to the English word or phrase you’re researching. Note anything the Spirit highlights in the information provided

This “refining” step is more involved than the “mining” we did earlier, but I encourage you to use these tools and dig as much as you can this week. I pray the Spirit will bless your efforts, my friend!

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