RSV ~ Luke 15 Notes

Lk 15:2 | ISB Notes

eats with them: Since table-fellowship is an expression of friendship and acceptance, the Pharisees were scandalized that Jesus ate with disreputable men (5:30). The following parables indicate that God does not simply welcome penitent sinners, he seeks them out (15:4, 8, 20; 19:10) (CCC 545, 1443).

Lk 15:3-7 | ISB Notes

The parable of the Lost Sheep. In a pastoral culture every sheep of one’s flock was valuable, and shepherds would naturally rejoice when a stray was recovered (15:6). Jesus is the shepherd who restores us to friendship with God (Jn 10:1-10).

• Yahweh is depicted as a shepherd in the OT (Ps 23:1; Is 40:11), as is the Messiah (Mic 5:4; Zech 13:7). Ezekiel brings these two traditions together, promising that God himself will seek the scattered flock of his people (Ezek 34:1116) and send the Davidic Messiah to shepherd them (Ezek 34:22-24).

• Allegorically (St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Evan. 2): Jesus is the shepherd who recovers the lost sheep of mankind. Hoisting it upon his shoulders signifies how he takes upon himself both the nature of man and the heavy burden of man’s sins.

Lk 15:8 | ISB Notes

ten silver coins: Literally, “ten drachmas”. Each one was worth an entire day’s wage.

Lk 15:11-32 | ISB Notes

The parable of the Prodigal Son reveals the boundless mercy of God. Though our sins offend the Father, he is ever willing to show us compassion and restore us to family life. In many ways the parable narrates the continuing struggles of the spiritual life, where conversion and repentance are part of an ongoing process (CCC 1439, 2839).

• At another level, the parable narrates the exile and eventual homecoming of historical Israel. After the reign of King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, becoming like two brothers living side by side in northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) Palestine (1 Kings 12). By the eighth century B.C., the Assyrians had carried off the northern tribes of Israel into a far country, where they forsook God and worshiped idols—a sin the prophets called harlotry (15:30; Jer 3:6; Hos 4:15). In the New Covenant, God welcomes home his exiled son by lavishing him with mercy and restoring him to full sonship (Ezek 37:21-23; Hos 11:1-3, 11). This is especially brought out in Jer 31:18-20, where Ephraim (northern Israel), after a period of exile and disgrace, repents of his sin, is ashamed of his wrongdoing, and turns to God for mercy. It is important to remember that in the Genesis narratives, Ephraim was the nephew of Judah and the youngest brother in the tribal family of Israel (Gen 48:14). See note on 1:33.

Lk 15:12 | ISB Notes

share of property: It was unusual and even shameful for a son to demand his inheritance before his father’s death (Sir 33:23). Here the prodigal son compounded his father’s dishonor by squandering his inheritance in sin (15:13; Prov 28:7).

Lk 15:15 | ISB Notes

feed swine: Since Jews considered pigs unclean animals (Lev 11:7), only the most desperate conditions would force the son to take this disgraceful position. Working for a Gentile employer, he would be expected to violate the weekly Sabbath as well (Ex 20:8-11).

Lk 15:20 | ISB Notes

embraced him: Literally, “fell upon his neck”.

• The actions of the father recall the mercy shown to Jacob (Gen 33:4) and the joys of family reunion in the patriarchal narratives (Gen 45:14; 46:29).

Lk 15:22 | ISB Notes

robe … ring: Symbols of honor and authority (Gen 41:42; Esther 3:10; 1 Mac 6:15).

shoes: Household slaves normally went barefoot. The father refuses this for his son, restoring him instead to full family membership.

Lk 15:24 | ISB Notes

was dead … is alive: A transfer of covenant status from curse to blessing. It is a restoration from spiritual death to eternal life (Jn 5:24; Rom 6:13; Eph 2:1-5).

Lk 15:25 | ISB Notes

elder son: The older brother’s grumbling signified the bitterness of the Pharisees (15:2), who wrongly saw God’s acceptance of sinners as a violation of covenant justice. The father in the parable is innocent of such a charge; he is simply forgiving and loving to his son, who recognized his errors and turned to his father for mercy.