The difference between the worldly and materialist outlook versus that of the spiritual is a vast chasm. To those on the worldly side, there is no other side. What they see and perceive under their various philosophical assumptions is all there can be. Every bean counts, because there is no hope beyond this life. For the spiritually minded, there is no hope in this life except escaping to the other side.
The Pharisees were bean counters. For them, life was wrapped up in the concrete reality of what can be observed and measured. So deeply corrupted they had become, they could not envision the spiritual realm. For them, "heaven" was just the sky, and "paradise" would be a conquering Messiah, placing the Jews atop all humanity. All others would become their slaves, and all worldly wealth and resources would be under their control. They were utterly certain this was their divine destiny. While they did speak of Heaven and angels, it never occurred to them such concepts were the center of their religion. It was as if they denied the very existence of the spiritual realm the Lord had told them to seek, and had told them He called them as a nation to reveal.
Since this world was all they understood, the Pharisees operated on a very human standard. Seeing nothing of the spiritual dynamics of things, the whole discussion of sin and righteousness was a list of concrete human behaviors. While they did pay lip service to forgiveness, it came at a high price of compensatory conduct demanded of those seeking to rehabilitate their standing. It's not as if they really condemned folks for being greedy -- the Pharisees were probably even worse about material things -- but gaining wealth contrary to their rules was a sin in their eyes. In today's world, they would be the ultimate prissy middle class shrews, as phoney as they come. Even their mystics were hidebound rule keepers. So it was, those they called "sinners" were doomed, condemned eternally, and unworthy of any help in repenting.
During His ministry tour in Judea, Jesus spent time in fellowship with those the Pharisees labeled as irredeemable reprobates: tax collectors, prostitutes, anyone who compromised with Roman or Greek customs and dress, etc. These people gladly heard the message of Jesus, for it offered a path back to God the Person, not some false idol such as the Pharisees had raised. They hungered for a God who, while condemning their sins, longed to see them return to Him.
The Pharisees made their typical complaints, attempting to scandalize Jesus. As always, Jesus explained the mystical truth in parables.
First, Jesus spoke of a caring shepherd, the image of Israel's kings. Any decent shepherd would keep a count of his flock. Should one go missing, he might expend no little effort to find it. All of them were precious. The ones which behaved well could be left for a time while he hunted the one which had strayed. Since it could hardly find its way back, and might not follow if left free to do so, he carried it. So it is with our God; He is not willing to just let anyone go, to consign them to death. Each life is precious to Him. And when once a sinner has turned and received the Spirit of grace, God Himself rejoices.
Second was the woman with a dowry. We can haggle over the meaning of the Greek word drachma, but Jesus was no doubt speaking in His native Aramaic tongue, so the value of the coin misses the point. Silver coins of some value would make a dowry for the average peasant lass getting married. This was her personal treasure, and losing a portion of it would be embarrassing, not to mention a financial loss. It was worth any effort to search carefully to find it. So it is with our Father, who considers all the world His inheritance. The Son is no different. Particularly among His own nation, no one was beyond redemption. Each was a treasure, and their return was always an occasion for rejoicing.
The so-called Prodigal Son has become the quintessential parable of how God handles straying hearts who repent. While the father could have denied the younger son's request, we see he granted it, knowing how it would turn out. Auditing his entire estate, he gave this younger son one third the value of all property, and allowed him to depart. While trying to talk about how sinful living will destroy your life, that wasn't the point Jesus was making. Plenty of self-righteous Pharisees were quite wealthy, and were spiritually dead. The elder son was a bean counter, and all he thought about was the unfairness of it all in strictly material terms. He hardly missed his brother because there was no place in his life for love, only stuff. Nor did he love his father, but felt he had grounds to condemn something he didn't understand.
For the elder son, and for Pharisees, it was all about their own material comfort. They felt cheated by the idea they could keep the Law -- or at least thought they did -- and still had to repent the same as the rejects. Making this parable "walk on all fours" as a mere allegory based on the wayward son plays into the hands of modern Pharisees. Jesus strung them along with lavish detail of the sinner who left it all behind. The end of the story would have stunned them. This is about two sons dead in their sins, both in their own ways. Both are offered repentance, but only one receives it; only one will enter into Heaven. The point of the parable was the crabby elder son who gave only the pretense of obedience, and bore a heavy burden of self-righteousness, self-pity, and complete failure to understand.
For Luke's educated Roman reader, Theophilus, this points out the tragedy of the Jewish nation. They rejected the real Messiah because they were so sure they knew it was all about very fleshly comforts. Meanwhile, those who realized they had nothing to lose were those who entered the Kingdom of Heaven, far more and far above anything King David had achieved. What really mattered had nothing to do with what man could measure.
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By Ed Hurst
13 September 2008
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