Parable Nine Prodigal Son Analysis

Mariah Pranger

March 8, 2017

Response 1

Honor/Shame within Kinship and Marital Relationships

Thesis: Marital relationships require honor.

The two parables I chose to evaluate for this topic were parable three “Dishonest Steward” and parable nine “Prodigal Son”. I chose the “Dishonest Steward” for this topic because it deals with the relationship with the steward and his/her master, which could be interpreted as a god, relative, or spouse. Parable nine “Prodigal Son” I chose because the story dealt with kinship relationships between father and son, and the two brothers.

When evaluating the “Dishonest Steward” the red text in which Jesus spoke started off with a rich man. The rich man I thought could be thought of as a god, relative, or spouse

The end of the parable the eldest son questions the honor of his father when his father decides to celebrate the youngest son’s arrival back home. The eldest son and the father both had different reactions of when the youngest son returned, the reactions almost opposite of each other. These two different reactions may show the difference in the honor each one has for the youngest son and/or brother. The honor in the relationship between the eldest son and the father is a tricky one to decipher from this parable because the end does not explain the sons reaction to the fathers statement of “Son you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Funk). With the eldest son staying by his father’s side for the whole time the youngest brother was gone I believe this shows the level of honor that the eldest son has for his father. The eldest brother he may not understand his father’s reasoning for joyfully celebrating his younger brothers arrival, but he respect the honor of his

To see whether this parable was authentic words of Jesus using the “Marks of the Genuine Parables of Jesus” to help me discern this. This parable can be used as a metaphor for many things that Jesus was trying to explain to his disciples. This parable also provides relatable information, something that Jesus’s disciples may have encounter in their daily lives. The length of the parable brings me to question some of the authenticity because I feel that somethings could have been taken out, and the metaphor still would have made sense. As I mentioned before there was no conclusion to what the eldest brother’s response was to his father’s statement about being “glad” that his youngest son was alive, and had returned. The plot to this parable was easy to spot, but difficult to interpret what Jesus wanted us to learn from this story. The notes section for this parable examines more in depth of what scholars thought of this parable. The notes section further disputes some possibly unauthentic sections of this parable stating that “There are evidences, on the other hand, of Lukan composition and editing. Important Lukan themes appear, such as repentance, and Lukan stylistic features abound”