Looking at Good Hermeneutical Principles from The Perspective of The Bible

Introduction

To read any biblical text accurately, proper hermeneutical principles must be employed during one’s time of study. Good hermeneutics examines the historical cultural context of a passage including information about the author, his audience, and the circumstances surrounding his writing; the literary context of the passage including the author’s flow of thought, the passage as it relates to the book as a whole, and the audience present during the particular discourse; and the meaning of the individual portions of the text. Once these things have been taken into consideration, the reader can determine the purpose and meaning behind a specific biblical text. In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus uses what has become known as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” to teach the Pharisees a lesson about God’s unmerited love for sinners and his joy that comes with their repentance.

Historical Cultural Context of Luke’s Gospel

According to Duvall and Hays, “historical-cultural context relates to just about anything outside the text that will help you understand the text itself.” It is important to examine the following three elements when discussing the text found in Luke 15:11-32: the author, Luke; the audience, early Christians in the late first century, specifically gentiles; and the purpose of Luke’s writing.

Though Luke does not identify himself as the author of his Gospel, Luke has been credited by the vast majority of scholars with writing not only the third Gospel, but also the book of Acts. Though he was not one of the original disciples or even an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry, Luke recorded the account passed down to him by those who were “eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (Luke 1:2).” Luke declares his own account to be orderly and well-researched, which is undoubtedly a trait that would belong to a man who was, according to tradition, a physician by trade. Luke’s gospel is the longest of the four which could also be due to his acute attention to detail in his desire to present the most accurate account of Jesus possible. Luke was a gentile and a companion of the apostle Paul. The fact that he was a gentile enabled him to write in a way that could be understood by a gentile audience.

According to Beth Kreitzer, “In discussions of Luke’s Gospel, it is frequently noted that Luke was a Greek speaker, writing to other Greeks, and although there is some debate about whether he was writing to a largely Jewish or to a Gentile community, there is a strong theme of acceptance of Gentiles as true believers running throughout the text.” Charles L. Childers also affirms that Luke’s Gospel was written for Gentiles based on the facts that it was addressed to Theophilus (a gentile); Jewish terms are avoided, explained, or redefined using a Greek equivalent; there are few Old Testament references; and dating is based on the Roman leadership of the time.

According to Childers, Luke is writing “primarily to give Theophilus more complete and more satisfactory knowledge concerning Jesus Christ. He had received rudimentary information, but Luke felt that he needed further instruction, and possibly Theophilus had asked Luke to furnish him a more adequate account.” This purpose is confirmed in Luke 1:1-4.

Literary Context of Luke

Whereas historical-cultural context refers to everything outside the text that can help the reader understand a specific passage, literary context deals directly with the passage itself. It examines the placement of the passage in the larger flow of the author’s thought, the placement of the passage in the work as a whole, and the audience present during the discourse of that specific passage.

Luke 15:11-32 is one of the parables of Jesus. The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines a parable as “stories, especially those of Jesus, told to provide a vision of life, especially life in God's kingdom. Parable means a putting alongside for purposes of comparison and new understanding. Parables utilize pictures such as metaphors or similes and frequently extend them into a brief story to make a point or disclosure.”

Luke 15:11-32 is one of three parables found in Luke 15 that Jesus uses as a response to the Pharisee’s accusation that he is a friend of sinners. Trent Butler writes,

Jesus had just described heaven as a banquet for the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. He had told the rich banquet hosts to invite such people to their feasts, not seeking repayment. Naturally, such people found Jesus and his teaching attractive. They wanted to hear more and to see what Jesus would do for them. Meanwhile, the religious experts also maintained their watch, hoping to trap Jesus. They continually chided him: Why do you associate with these kinds of people? Do you not know their reputation? They will ruin you.

Luke demonstrates how Jesus, rather than responding to the Pharisees with a direct statement, tells stories in an attempt to allow them to see the truth of their wrongdoing. There are three groups of people present as Jesus begins his discourse. “All three of these parties (the “found,” the “lost” and Jesus) appear in each of the three parables. Yet there is a noticeable progression to the accounts. The first story deals with animals. The second is about lifeless coins. But in the third story people walk on the stage and begin talking.” Perhaps Luke placed these parables in this specific order because they were the order in which Jesus told them. Perhaps the purpose of that order was so that Jesus’ main point to his audience would become abundantly clear by the time he was finished with his discourse.

Luke 15:11-32 In Relation to Luke as A Whole. Luke’s Gospel as a whole shows continuity between God's promises in the history of Israel with Jesus' ministry, emphasizes Jesus' compassion for the needy and unfortunate, shows the work of the Holy Spirit, and describes a gentler, more sensitive Jesus than the other three Gospels. Though Luke 15:11-32 could seem like a contrast to the compassion of Jesus and his gentile sensitivity, it is actually the opposite. It was because of Jesus’ compassion for the needy and unfortunate that he responded to such demeaning accusations from the Pharisees using the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

Luke 15:11-32: The Audience Present. Luke makes it clear in the beginning of chapter 15 that Jesus’ audience at the telling of this parable in Luke 15:11-32 was the Pharisees and teachers of the law. According to Green and McDonald, “the Pharisees are the primary opponents of Jesus and the early Christian movement.” They primarily argued with Jesus on issues of “external piety, such as tithing, fasting, purity, and keeping the Sabbath.” In the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus was opposing the law they held so sacred. Little did they know that Jesus was actually the fulfillment of that law (Matthew 17), and they had made themselves enemies of God.

Luke 15:11-24 The Father and His Younger Son 11-12 The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance. In the beginning of this parable, three characters are present: a man and his two sons. Trent Butler points out that “Jesus turned to the family setting for his concluding parable to illustrate why he associated with sinners.” The younger son, for a reason that is unknown to Luke’s audience, approaches his father and asks for his share of the family inheritance. This request is out of the ordinary since the father is still living when his youngest son approaches him. Stranger still is the fact that the father obliges to his son’s request so quickly.

13-16 The younger son wastes all his father has given him and finds himself feeding another man’s pigs, wishing for their food Not more than a few days later, it becomes apparent that the youngest son desires to distance himself as far as possible from his father and brother. Since the son shows no restraint and is given over to reckless living, he soon finds himself empty handed, far away from home. Not only is the youngest son out of monetary resources, he is also without food. Though he wishes for the food he feeds the pigs, he is denied even that because he is nothing more than a servant.

17-19 The younger son comes to his senses and decides to return home to his father. After an unidentified amount of time spent with the pigs, the younger son comes to his senses. He says to himself “How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise 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 as one of your hired servants (Luke 15:17-19).”’ The youngest son recognizes the fact that he is lost and trapped by his sin and makes the decision to repent and return home.

In verse 20, the primary focus of the story shifts from the youngest son onto the father. Between verse 19 and 20 it seems like the father will have a choice to make. Will the son be forgiven or turned away before he enters his father’s house? That question is immediately answered in verse 20. The father not only allows his son to come to him, but it turns out he was waiting for his son the whole time. For the father to see his son from a distance, he would have had to been looking for his return. Compassion, not anger, is the word used to describe the father’s feeling towards his youngest son.

21 The son repents to his father. Though the father gives his son no reason to believe he is angry, the youngest son is still ready with the “plea he had rehearsed” in verse 18. However, the original speech the son had planned never gets finished.

22-24 The father hosts a celebration for the return of his son. The father cuts off his son’s plea for forgiveness with a command to his servants. The father demands that the best robe be brought to his son, shoes be placed on his feet, and that a ring be placed on his finger. This outfit would be the attire appropriate for the party the father was about to throw. The father commands that the fattened calf be brought in and prepared and announces that a celebration was about to take place. Craddock comments that “grace seems to abrogate justice, and the parable, with the restraint vital to a parable, leaves the reader to struggle with the tension. The parable is consistent in its own frame of values: twice it is said that the younger son was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found (Luke 15:24, 32).”

25-27 The older brother hears that his brother has returned and that there is a preparation for celebration The oldest son, who has been hardly mentioned up to this point in the story, approaches the house after a day of work and is greeted with a sound that resembles music and dancing. The oldest son, caught off guard, calls a servant to ask what is happening. The servant reports that the fattened calf has been killed because the man’s younger brother has returned.

28-30 The older son becomes angry and takes up his complaint with his father. Michael Card points out that “whenever someone is pictured as repentant and receiving grace, Luke paints someone in the shadows who simply hates the fact that God acts in such ways. Mercy is the salvation of some and, inexplicably, the damnation of others. The older brother in the parable is a hater of hesed.” The older brother refuses to enter the party and his father is forced to come outside and speak with him. The older son complains that his father has never once celebrated him in the same way that his younger brother is being celebrated. He begins to tell his father of all his hard work in comparison to his younger brother’s foolishness, accusing his father of making a mistake in his generosity.

31-32 The father responds to the complaint of his oldest son. The father reminds his angry, eldest son that regardless of the party being thrown for the younger brother, everything the father has belongs to the eldest son. The father declares that there is a valid reason to celebrate. The younger brother was not called foolish by the father, but rather he was called “dead” and “lost.” It was the fact that he was “alive” and “found” that caused the father to celebrate.

Conclusion

Fred Craddock wraps up the story of the prodigal son when he writes, “the reader who expected (or wanted) the father to give the party for the son who stayed home and worked hard feels a jolt which the parable does not relieve with its simple declaration, "It was fitting to make merry and be glad." There is no doubt that the Pharisees, standing around listening to the original parable from the mouth of Jesus, felt that same jolt. Luke does not record the response of the original audience to Jesus’ story.

Did the Pharisees recognize themselves in the image of the older brother? Did they understand that it was really the joy of the heavenly father being described when the father in the story threw a party? Perhaps Jesus’ main point had little to do with the younger brother and everything to do with the response of the older. If they could learn to celebrate the repentance of those they deemed unworthy sinners, perhaps they could share in that joy.