The parable of the prodigal son is an
apologetic told against the Pharisees and scribes.
The parable of the prodigal son is Jesus’ apologetic
statement to the Pharisees, justifying his style of table fellowship, i.e., “that
in his actions the love of God to the repentant sinner is made effectual.”
Luke’s introductory remarks in 15:1-2 clearly draw the lines between the tax
collectors/sinners and Pharisees/scribes, suggesting that in the third parable
of Luke 15, the prodigal son represents all repentant tax collectors and
sinners, and the older brother represents all unrepentant Jewish religious
authorities, particularly the Pharisees and scribes. The charges formulated
against Jesus sum up the opinion of Jesus’ opponents about his table fellowship
this far in the Gospel: “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, ‘This
man receives sinners and eats with them’” (15:2).
By singling out the Pharisees and scribes, Luke is
preparing for the charges against Jesus in his trial, and the summation of
those charges by the Emmaus disciples in 24:20. BY listing the Pharisees first
in 15:2, the only place where Luke makes this distinction, he signals their
leadership in bringing charges against Jesus because of his table fellowship.
Thus in Luke 15, the opponents of Jesus outside Jerusalem, the Pharisaic
party, first state charges against Jesus based on his table fellowship first
hand from the beginning of that fellowship in Luke 5. (Arthur A. Just, Jr., The
Ongoing Feast: Table Fellowship and Eschatology at Emmaus [Collegeville,
Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1993], 181)
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