translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: LUK

label: NET study note

text: See the note on tax collectors in 3:12 .


text: See the note on Pharisees in 5:17 .


text: Them means at the minimum the parable is for the leadership, but probably also for those people Jesus accepted, but the leaders regarded as outcasts.


text: This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.


text: Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18 .


text: A touch of drama may be present, as the term calls together can mean a formal celebration ( 1 Kgs 1:9-10 ).


text: There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The pursuit of the sinner is a priority in spite of the presence of others who are doing well (see also Luke 5:32; 19:10 ). The theme of repentance, a major Lukan theme, is again emphasized.


text: This silver coin is a drachma, equal to a denarius, that is, a day’s pay for the average laborer.


text: Rejoice. Besides the theme of pursuing the lost, the other theme of the parable is the joy of finding them.


text: The whole of heaven is said to rejoice. Joy in the presence of God’s angels is a way of referring to God’s joy as well without having to name him explicitly. Contemporary Judaism tended to refer to God indirectly where possible out of reverence or respect for the divine name.


text: He divided his assets between them. There was advice against doing this in the OT Apocrypha (Sir 33:20). The younger son would get half of what the older son received ( Deut 21:17 ).


text: To a Jew, being sent to the field to feed pigs would be an insult, since pigs were considered unclean animals ( Lev 11:7 ).


text: In the confession “ I have sinned ” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”


text: The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.


text: The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God. 1st century Judaism tended to minimize use of the divine name out of reverence.


text: The younger son launches into his confession just as he had planned. See vv. 18-19 .


text: With the instructions Hurry! Bring the best robe , there is a total acceptance of the younger son back into the home.


text: The need for sandals underlines the younger son’s previous destitution, because he was barefoot.


text: This statement links the parable to the theme of 15:6, 9 .


text: This would have been primarily instrumental music , but might include singing as well.


text: Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.


text: You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”


text: Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).


text: This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.


text: The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.


text: See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23 .


text: By referring to him as your brother , the father reminded the older brother that the younger brother was part of the family.


text: The theme he was lost and is found is repeated from v. 24 . The conclusion is open-ended. The reader is left to ponder with the older son (who pictures the scribes and Pharisees) what the response will be. The parable does not reveal the ultimate response of the older brother. Jesus argued that sinners should be pursued and received back warmly when they returned.