Parables within Luke serve a great purpose to the essential distinctions of Jesus’ teachings. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke. 15.11-32) is intertwined with a tension of grace vs. justice and how God’s grace rules all lives. The younger son’s first impression in the parable is him demanding his father to “give me the share of the property that will belong to me” (Luke. 15.12). The father splits the endowment and gives freely to his son knowing he is reckless as the reader can be sure from the title “The Prodigal Son”. When he loses it all the father invites him back into his home with a ring, a robe, and feast despite his dishonor/actions. The elder son hears the news of his brother and he becomes angry. He demands justice and the father offers both of his sons grace.
The tension immediately opens up when the younger son insists to receive “the share of the property” that he deserves from his father. In the same way, human nature insists upon it’s own ways and desires. While the inheritance is technically the sons and he had the right to ask for it, his implication is clear that he wished his father died, which is a sign of great dishonor.
Rather than the father rebuking his child as general parents would, he allows his son to choose his own ways just as God allows humans to choose their own ways and does not control their paths. His father displays justice by giving him what is meant to be his. There is evidence due to the taking of the inheritance that the younger son was familiar with being persistent about what he wants. However, when he received his share and fled his home and “squandered his property in dissolute living” (Luke. 15.13) he was given what he deserved from the nature of the world and was left with nothing because of a famine.
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The son began to realize his inability to function alone without his father’s support: “He would gladly have filled himself belly with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything” (Luke. 15.16). This displayed that society cannot be sustained without Jesus. When the younger son “came to himself” (Luke. 15.17) he arose in humility and returned home asking nothing less than to be his father’s servant, demonstrating great desperation. With expectation to justly be charged and be turned away or received to be a slave, the younger son begged his father to be received back in some capacity.
To his astonishment, “the father said to his slaves, Quickly bring out a rob—the best one—and put it on him…he was lost and is found!” (Luke. 15.22-24) This illustrated a picture of dignity, honor, and immense grace. It is a representation of how when individuals come to Christ, he will celebrate with them and gratify them with robes and rings. He, just as mankind, was saved from a state of failure to complete restoration. Luke is trying to illuminate that those who are not following Jesus and follow their own paths will be received back into his arms when they are ready.
The older son who had stayed by his father’s side and worked years on his land, never disobeying and remaining faithful became angry when he “was in the field” (Luke. 15.25), continuing to faithfully work, and heard the news of his brother and the actions that his father displayed upon his return. There is designed meaning that when followers of Jesus see those who have sinned and chosen their own paths become angry and want fairness for all of their hard work. He refused to celebrate until his father came out to meet him just as Jesus meets and listens to his followers. The son shows contempt saying “yet you have never even given me a young goat” (Luke. 15.29).
The son confronts his father hoping for a just punishment for his brother, yet the father follows through in his previous commands of a robe, a ring, and feast. While the elder son never disgraced his family, one of his continuing duties would be to reconcile with both his father and brother. By not being a part of the celebration, his father will be faced with great disgrace. Close followers who keep commandments and “have no fault” are commanded to come alongside those who have gone astray and celebrate with them. We see at the end the two sons are both in the wrong. The younger having disgraced his father by taking his inheritance and spending it all.
The elder son showing contempt in light of all that he already had. At the end of the parable, within the paradox of grace and justice, there is unification when grace prevails just as grace prevails in individuals lives. The parable is very apparent throughout Luke’s gospel in comparison to John’s. Luke relies more heavily on the parable style, where Jesus tells a story that is related to his mission on earth to convey his message to the public. However, John relies more on the the metaphor such as when he states Jesus is “the Word” (John. 1.14), or “the bread of life” (John 6.35). Moreover, in Luke, Jesus is a lot more present when telling his stories such as “The Prodigal Son.”
In John, Jesus is constantly going away from the masses and spending time alone. For example, Jesus leaves his disciples and “[goes] up, not publicly, but in private.” (John. 7.10) Also, in John, Jesus speaks much less frequently than in Luke. Furthermore, in Luke, Jesus is in theory a biological descendant of God and is born of Mary. In the divine sense, he is metaphorically associated as the Son of God. On the other hand, in John, Jesus is the manifestation of the Word into flesh with no direct ties to the earth or Mary as his mother. On a spiritual level, Jesus is divine as the true Son of God. Also, Jesus tells many to leave their families (Luke. 9.60-62) for “no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” In Genesis, however, the major theme that carries the text is generations and the importance of biological families.
Luke, on the other hand, deals exclusively with the bond between individuals and Jesus, and the new, spiritual family that is present with God as the father. Additionally, faith is of primary consideration in Luke rather than the idea of obedience, which is found in Genesis. While the two may appear to be equivalent, no physical action is necessary to prove one’s faith—only spiritual and emotional responses are considered. The idea of faith is prevalent throughout the text, particularly in the context of the miracles and the parables, where the faithful are blessed and the faithless criticized as in the parable of “The Prodigal Son.” However, in the midst of all this faith, there are instances of faithlessness: the actions of the disciples are good instances.
For example, the disciples are never truly convinced of Jesus’ divinity; they continually question him, and even when he has risen again, some still do not believe—and yet, they are chosen by Jesus to continue his work. All things considered, numerous parables deal almost exclusively with the idea of faith to God and the rewards that follow as described through “The Prodigal Son,” who let greed get the best of him, but ultimately realized his wrongdoings and became humble while professing his faith to God. The parables in Luke are a clear representation of the cycle of life, and how an individual learns and grows. Failure leads to a learning experience, which leads to progression, which hopefully leads to success. The knowledge gained from failure is key to the evolution of a human being as a person.
