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"The Prodigal Son - The Story of a Loving Father" by Dwight Pryor (an 
article from Return to God Magazine, Volume 1 Number 2, page 12). This 
article is adapted from a lecture Dwight A. Pryor delivered at a Bridges 
for Peace conference in Seattle. 

Dwight is a popular Bible teacher who draws upon Jewish sources and 
scholarship to illuminate the biblical text and to build up believers in 
Jesus. He is the President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies. A 
complete listing of his many teaching series can be requested from the 
Center, P.O. Box 293040, Dayton, Ohio 45429, (513) 434-4550.

In 1983, Dwight made a journey up to Jerusalem that forever changed his 
life as a Christian -- he encountered the Jewish Jesus. Today as the 
founder and president of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, he 
travels nationally and internationally as a conference speaker, seminar 
leader and Bible teacher, informing Christians about the rich Hebrew 
heritage of their faith and the Jewish background to the New Testament.
Dwight is a member of the Board of Governors of the Jerusalem School of 
Synoptic Research in Israel, in which respected Jewish and Christian 
scholars of various disciplines are cooperatively researching the life 
of Jesus documented in the Gospels. Dwight's undergraduate (University 
of Oklahoma) and graduate (University of Texas) schooling in Philosophy 
and Hebrew Studies, and his close association with scholars in Israel 
helps him shed important new light for Christians on an ancient Jewish 
book, the Bible.

The Center for Judaic-Christians Studies creates educational materials 
that assist Christians in understanding the Bible from a Judaic point of 
view. In addition to audio and video teaching tapes by Dwight, the 
Center has produced a 13-part television series, The Quest: The Jewish 
Jesus, and published several books, including the widely acclaimed, Our 
Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith (Wilson) and the 
award-winning, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible (Mazar). Dwight also 
leads educational study tours to Israel for pastors and lay persons.

Dwight lives in Dayton with his wife, Jeanette, and his son, Ben, who 
attends the University of Dayton.

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When we place a Bible passage back into its original Jewish context, it 
can come to life in a dramatic new way. A good example is Luke Chapter 
15, verses 11 through 32, often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. 
This memorable story is a favorite of Christians everywhere. Looking at 
it, however, through the Jewish eyes of Jesus' first-century audience, 
opens the parable to significant and illuminating new insights.(1)

This particular parable is especially important for us to rightly 
understand as Christians. Typically we labor under inadequate or 
inappropriate images of the God of Israel. We can be almost 
schizophrenic about Him at times. We know He is a loving Father, yet He 
seems so stern, demanding and distant. He's "Jehovah," the Law-giver -- 
a kind of IRS agent in the sky who is ever examining our conduct, 
looking for just one infraction so he can throw the book at us.

This kind of thinking is neither Hebraic nor Biblical. It is the product 
in part of an unfortunate schism between church and synagogue, and the 
resulting anti-Jewish sentiment that pervaded the Church from the 
earliest centuries. More importantly, it seriously impairs the very way 
you and I worship and relate to the God of Israel. Who wants to crawl up 
into the lap of an IRS agent? Who wants to practice the presence of a 
severe Judge who gives us an impossible law to live up to and then 
punishes us even for one infraction? Many Christians, I fear, suffer 
from this difficulty of being truly intimate with our Father in Heaven. 
We say the right words, but in our heart we are uncertain and 
uncomfortable. A faulty image of God can cause us to miss out on the 
fullness and the joy of our salvation in His presence and power.

Jesus' parable in Luke 15:11-32 can deliver us from this dilemma. It 
shows us an accurate portrait of the God of Israel -- of Yahweh (Lord), 
whom Jesus called "my Father." To His Jewish audience, this parable is 
an incredible saga of a father who at every turn surprises us by his 
grace. To us, it is a parable about the prodigal or lost son. We have 
looked at the story through twentieth-century Western eyes rather than 
first-century Jewish eyes. The principal player in Jesus' story is not 
the prodigal son. The parable is driving home a point about the father -
- the father who forgives, who is merciful and gracious. Let's examine 
the Jewish background to this beloved story.

Verse 11: Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The 
younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the 
estate.' So he divided his property between them."

These last two seemingly simple statements were absolute shockers to the 
Jewish ear. Jesus has grabbed his audience's attention and aroused their 
emotions by His provocative description of a father's two sons. Dr. 
Kenneth Bailey is the past chairman of the Biblical Department at the 
Near Eastern School of Theology in Beirut. During his many years in the 
Middle East, he often would ask people, "Have you ever known a son to 
come to his father and demand his inheritance?" He learned that such an 
act was unthinkable in that culture. It would represent an unspeakable 
offense and the grossest insult to a father. 

Dr. Bailey heard of only two instances of such a thing happening. In the 
first, the son was chased out of his home by an irate father. In the 
second, an Oriental father previously in good health, died within three 
months of his son's demand. The wife, who told Dr. Bailey the story, 
believed her husband died of a broken heart. She said, "He died that 
night!"(2) Jesus' listeners understood that to demand your inheritance 
from a living father was equivalent to saying, "Father, I wish you would 
drop dead!"

Jewish law permitted a father, under some circumstances, to settle his 
estate while still living. For instance, if his wife died and he 
remarried, he might choose to settle his children's estate right then. 
This was done only at a father's initiative, however, never at a son's 
request. Further, the actual disbursement of the property would not 
occur until the father's death, since he had the legal right to the 
land's income as long as he lived.

In Jesus' parable, therefore, the younger son has perpetrated an 
unconscionable double insult upon his father. He has shamed him by 
demanding his inheritance -- in other words, "Father, drop dead!". Then 
to add insult to injury, he insists upon the immediate disposition of 
his share of the settlement -- thereby putting his father's future at 
risk. In just two sentences, Jesus has set in motion a startling drama 
that grips every Jewish heart in his audience.

But what about the other brother in this story? By reading between the 
lines we can detect that he, too, has a "heart" problem. The elder 
brother, by Jewish standards, should have severely chastised his younger 
sibling for his disrespectful act, and then actively sought to reconcile 
him to the father and the family. Instead, we are told that he actually 
participates in the offense. He takes his portion of the inheritance! So 
he too has failed on two counts. Like his younger brother, he has deeply 
wounded his father.

Verse 13: "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, 
set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild 
living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that 
whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself 
out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed 
pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were 
eating, but no one gave him anything."

By his utterly shocking conduct, the younger son has alienated himself 
from his father, his family, and even his community. The townspeople 
would have been outraged by his behavior and fully prepared to exercise 
judgment upon him. Not surprisingly, then, we read that he quickly 
cashes in his settlement and separates himself from his people and his 
land -- something of supreme importance to people in Biblical times. The 
prodigal son has severed every relationship and all his roots, and now 
he descends into wasteful living.

Jesus interjects a powerful metaphor into the story at this point. He 
says, "A severe famine comes upon the land." To people dependent upon 
the soil for their very survival and sustenance, famine was a terrifying 
specter. What does the prodigal do? He goes to a gentile, a pagan, and 
asks for help. Again, the historical context illuminates the story for 
us. In the ancient world, if someone came to you and asked for a handout 
or a job, the polite way of refusing them was to tell them they could 
take care of your pigs. It was a way of saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." 
This young man is so desperate, however, that he actually takes the job!
The pigs in their hunger are eating carob pods. The type of carob spoken 
of here grows on a small shrub and has very bitter berries. They have no 
nutritional value and are so distasteful that not even the pigs will eat 
them, except in times of famine. The lost young man longs to fill his 
stomach with them.

The emotions of Jesus' audience must have been on a roller-coaster ride 
during this tale. From disgust and righteous indignation one moment, to 
anxiety and even pity the next. Surely now they were empathizing with 
this young man's terrible fate. No money, no food, no friends and no 
security, exiled from his father, his family, his home, his land and his 
people -- and even estranged from his spiritual impulses as a Jew. He is 
having table fellowship with unclean swine! Truly, in every respect the 
prodigal is lost.

Verse 17: "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's 
hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will 
set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned 
against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your 
son; make me like one of your hired men.'"

"When he came to his senses" is a rabbinic way of saying, "he repented." 
But a subtlety here might escape you: his repentance is not full or 
complete. It is a partial repentance (or return) motivated more by 
hunger and duress than by remorse and the resolve to do right. Notice 
his words, "Father, I want to become a hired servant." The prodigal is 
devising a face-saving plan.

In Biblical times, there were bondservants, who served important 
positions in managing a family's estate and could even become part of 
the family; lesser servants, under the direction of a bondsman; and 
hired servants. Hired servants typically were artisans or skilled 
tradesmen -- independent contractors, to put it in modern parlance. They 
would hire out for specific tasks, be paid wages and provided food and 
shelter. Unlike the other servants, they would not live under the 
landowner's roof and therefore not directly under his authority.

The prodigal has this latter scenario in mind. He wants to return in 
such a way that he can maintain some pride and independence. He is 
willing to work. Maybe he even intends to repay his father to help 
repair the family breach -- but on his terms. He will return, but as a 
hired servant; he will ask for his father's forgiveness but not for his 
authority. In other words, he will save himself, thank you. He does not 
need grace -- he has a plan.

Verse 20: "So he got up and went to his father."

Repentance is more than remorse. Repentance requires action. The rabbis 
taught three characteristics of authentic repentance: (1) recognition of 
wrongdoing, accompanied by confession; (2) the resolve or determination 
to stop doing wrong; (3) followed by an actual and appropriate response 
of doing the right thing. This young man does act on his resolve. He 
gets up and he returns.

Can you imagine the curiosity of Jesus' audience about what would happen 
next? They had been outraged by the impertinence of the younger son. 
They were stunned by the inaction and complicity of the elder brother. 
But the most surprising element in the story thus far has been the 
reaction of the father. He should have rejected his young son's improper 
request and even severely punished or banished him for his rank 
impertinence. But this father surprises us by his grace. Against all 
convention and contrary to every expectation, he shows love rather than 
judgment, compassion rather than condemnation. He accedes to his son's 
request and gives him his inheritance. This is no ordinary father.

Verse 20: "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and 
was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms 
around him and kissed him."

We must understand the social setting of life in the first century to 
appreciate how deeply Jesus has just touched the hearts of his 
listeners. Most of us, I suspect, visualize this story within our 
American frame of reference. We imagine a long, winding road leading up 
to a large house on a distant hill -- it's South Fork and the Ewing 
estate on Dallas! The father is sitting on the porch, maybe having his 
morning coffee. As he lays down his paper, in the distance he spots a 
solitary figure making his way up the dusty ranch road towards the 
house. He calls for his wife and his binoculars, he looks, and behold -- 
it's his son! He grabs his boots and runs to meet him.

The setting in Jesus' story was quite different really. Families did not 
live in isolated houses, not even farmers. They resided near one another 
in a cluster or complex of dwellings. Communal living was customary and 
socially comfortable in Bible times, but also necessary for security 
reasons. The fields they worked were away from the village itself. 
Workers would leave their homes in the morning and go out to the fields 
to labor. In the evening they would return.

The father in our story is part of such a community. Perhaps someone 
working in the fields sees the prodigal approaching and alerts the 
community. The report surely spreads quickly, and not only the insulted 
father, but likely a resentful and even angry crowd awaits the outcast's 
return.

But again, Jesus turns the tables on his listeners. This remarkable 
father does not wait for his wayward son's repentance, as one would 
expect. Compelled by love, he seizes the initiative. He rushes to 
welcome his son. In an unprecedented act of grace and mercy, the father 
humiliates himself before the community so his son will be spared their 
harsh judgment. It was considered demeaning and uncouth for an elderly 
person to run. But this father eagerly runs the gauntlet of the 
opposition, so his son will not have to pass through judgment. 

When he gets to him, he kisses his son repeatedly, the grammar here 
suggests. This calls to mind the social convention of sealing an 
agreement with a kiss between two disputing parties that had reconciled 
The father by his act of unmerited mercy and favor sends a clear signal 
to the community that reconciliation has occurred. The offending party 
has been forgiven and reunited.

Verse 21: "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven 
and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called you son.'"

When you read the Gospels, you must always listen carefully to what is 
said, but also to what is not said. Jesus has just revealed here a 
change of heart in the prodigal -- by what he does not say. Remember his 
plan? "I have sinned against heaven and against you. . . . Take me on as 
your hired servant." But when he witnesses his father's unprecedented 
love and grace toward him, he has a profound change of heart. His 
father's humiliation evokes the prodigal's humbling unto full 
repentance. He says, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son" and 
he leaves it there. He drops his plan and humbly submits to his father's 
authority.

Verse 22: "But 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; he was lost 
and is found.' So they began to celebrate."

The prodigal comes to a transforming experience of repentance. True 
repentance always issues into joy. The father takes his finest garment, 
worn only on special occasions or festivals, and puts it on his son -- a 
sure sign of acceptance to the community. The signet ring, a symbol of 
trust, and sandals, showing he's a free man, not a slave, are placed 
upon him. The father involves the whole community in the celebration by 
announcing, "Let's kill the fatted calf." A calf would feed at least 
one-hundred people. So everyone participates in the reconciliation. The 
son whose sin separated him is now reconciled by his father's grace. The 
one who wished his father dead is now made alive by his father's mercy. 
He was willing to return as a servant, but his father's great love 
restores him as a son. Truly, celebration is in order. But there's 
more...

Verse 25: "Meanwhile the older son was in the field. When he came near 
the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants 
and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 
'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back 
safe and sound.' The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So 
his father went out and pleaded with him."

Jesus now tells us "the rest of the story." He switches focus from the 
younger to the elder son. Rather than rejoicing, as expected, the elder 
brother becomes angry. We already knew he had a covert spiritual 
problem. Now we see its outworking. He refuses to go into his father's 
house, thereby deeply insulting his father in front of the whole 
community. In the end he does what the prodigal did at the beginning -- 
he rends the social fabric and his father's heart. 

Again, the listeners fully expect a stern reaction by the father. And 
again, this remarkable figure surprises us. Rather than ordering his son 
come to in and show respect, the father takes the initiative and, to the 
shock of the crowd, goes out to the elder son.

Verse 29: "But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been 
slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me 
even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this 
son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes 
home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'"

The seemingly responsible elder son again fails to do the right thing. 
He refuses to submit to his father and go in to his family. Instead he 
accuses his father of treating him like a slave and he humiliates him by 
quarreling in public. He distances himself from his own sonship by 
referring to the prodigal as "this son of yours," rather than "my 
brother." Anger and resentment issue from his heart rather than 
repentance. He seems blind to his father's extraordinary act of grace. 
In masterful irony, Jesus has turned the tables on his audience. The 
brother who deserved to be a slave, turns out to be truly a son; and the 
brother who seemed to be faithful shows himself to be utterly fickle. He 
has rigorously lived by the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law 
is far from his heart. In fact, his is a spirit of slavery, not a spirit 
of sonship. The prodigal was far from his father in space, but he 
returns an honest sinner and unites with his father in spirit. But the 
elder son, who physically remained with his father, all the time was 
distant in the spirit.

Verse 31: "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and 
everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because 
this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is 
found.'"

The father's great love tries to reconcile the elder brother to the 
family, calling the prodigal "this brother of yours." He assures his 
firstborn that his inheritance is fully protected, but pleads that this 
is a matter of rejoicing, not of rights. This is an issue of grace, not 
of law. The father shows his elder son the same surprising and 
unprecedented love that he extended to the prodigal.

How does the elder son respond to his father's final, compassionate 
entreaty? . . .You will have to tell me. Jesus, ever the masterful 
storyteller, deliberately leaves the conclusion in suspense. In effect, 
He says to His audience (including you and me): "You write the final 
chapter of this story. How are you going to respond to the Father's 
unprecedented act of love through Me." Only you can write the final act 
to this drama.

Dear friends, in this parable please hear the words of a loving Father, 
full of grace and truth, faithfulness and mercy. The God of Israel, our 
heavenly Father, has shown unprecedented grace and unmerited love 
towards you. In the face of Yeshua (Jesus), Yahweh (the Lord) has shown 
His true countenance and character. The revelation of Himself in the 
written word is animated in the living Word made flesh. By His grace, we 
who are separated and alienated from the family of God, can return and 
rejoice in the Father's presence. But the fullness of His fellowship is 
experienced only when our repentance is unstinting.

The message of this parable is that God, at every turn, surprises us by 
His grace. He truly is a merciful and loving Father. Beyond both logic 
and law, He loves us. His great salvation is more than a legal 
transaction; it is a loving relationship. Contrary to a distant and 
stern lawgiver, the God of Israel is a father willing to run the 
gauntlet, even to humiliate himself, for his children. Even in our 
imperfect repentance, He rushes to meet us, bless us and call us His 
sons. Surely it is not difficult to turn ourselves wholly over to such a 
loving father. God says, "My sons, present to me an opening of 
repentance no bigger than the eye of a needle, and I will open for you 
gates wide enough for wagons and carriages to enter!"(3) What will your 
response be to His initiative? May it be full of repentance and joy. In 
such you honor our Father in heaven.

REFERENCES
----------
1. The thoroughly rabbinic background to Jesus' parabolic teaching 
methods has been documented in Jesus and His Jewish Parables by Brad H. 
Young (Paulist Press, 1989).
2. Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey 
(Eerdmans, 1976), p. 162. His analysis of the parable of the prodigal 
(pp. 158-206) is the primary source for this article.
3. A Jewish midrash (commentary) on Song of Solomon 5:2 ("My lover is 
knocking. Open to me. . ."). See A Rabbinic Anthology, Montefiore & Lowe 
(Schocken Books, 1974), p.317.

Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.