The Jewish Annotated New Testament (43 page)

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He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it?
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It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

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And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?
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It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with
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three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

²²
Jesus
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went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
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Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them,
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“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
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When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
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Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
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But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’
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There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.
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Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.
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Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

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At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
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He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me,
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‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.
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Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’
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Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
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See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when
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you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

14
On one occasion when Jesus
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was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
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Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy.
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And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?”
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But they were silent. So Jesus
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took him and healed him, and sent him away.
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Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child
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or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?”
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And they could not reply to this.

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When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.
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“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;
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and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.
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But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.
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For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

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He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.
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But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
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And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

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One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
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Then Jesus
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said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.
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At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’
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But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’
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Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’
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Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’
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So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
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And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’
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Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.
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For I tell you,
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none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

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Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them,
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“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
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Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
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For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?
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Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him,
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saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
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Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?
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If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
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So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

³⁴
“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
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It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

15
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
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And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

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So he told them this parable:
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“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
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When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.
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And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
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Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON (LK 15.11–32)

The juxtaposed parables of the lost sheep and lost coin that immediately precede this parable suggest that it is about something more or other than repenting (despite the assertion in 15.10), for neither sheep nor coins repent. The focus of the first two is on the
search
for the lost and the
joy
of the finding.

Jews would likely identify with the younger son (recalling Abel, Isaac, Jacob, and Ephraim). However, this younger son makes a rude, presumptuous request (see Sir 33.20–24) and then shames himself by dissolute practices. Listeners are thus shocked into the possibility of identifying with the elder son.

Although many interpreters see the younger son as repenting, the text does not make this point. The prodigal’s motive for returning to his father may be economic need rather than theological recognition. Other interpreters see the father as symbolizing God, the son’s comment in 15.18 suggests rather a distinction. Incorrect is the common view that the father’s generous response to the prodigal—whether the father is seen loving parent or representative of God—would be surprising to Jesus’ Jewish audience. Jewish tradition sees fathers as loving their children (see 8.42n.), and God as always reaching out to bring the sinner home.

A third common reading is the identification of the older brother as the recalcitrant Pharisee, who refuses to welcome sinners. However, if the father is seen as God and the elder as the Pharisee, then the parable necessarily sees the Pharisees as heirs to God’s promises (15.31).

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“Or what woman having ten silver coins,
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if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
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When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
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Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

¹¹
Then Jesus
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said, “There was a man who had two sons.
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The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.
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A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
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When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
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So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
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He would gladly have filled himself with
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the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
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But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
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I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
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I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ‘
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So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
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Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
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But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
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And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
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for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.