We have deciphered several passages of the Bible over the course of this semester, and each passage has laid a foundation in our understanding of God, creation, the mission of Jesus, and ultimately our own faith. Pedagogy was a term I was unfamiliar with before this course, but its definition became clear to me as I worked to discover God's plan for us, as well as how He reveals His very being through the Bible readings. Every single verse was written and included for a reason and the discovery of that reason is God's plan and a better understanding of what it means to be a faithful part of His holy church. If we take a specific look at the gospel of Luke, we see the parables used by Jesus to comment on those who oppose Him and to honor those who have chosen to follow His path of righteousness. The parable of the lost son is the last of the three parables about loss and redemption and provides an ideal illustration of God's mercy for those who are lost and choose to repent. Through a deeper reading of this parable and a study of other scholars' interpretations, we can proceed to answer questions about why this parable was included where it was, its meaning, and how, today, we can see it continue to have meaning. as a living and current word. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before I begin searching for answers to the questions that will reveal to me the extent of God's mercy for all creation, I must first analyze this parable to fully understand the diction used to convey His message of joy and celebrate the finding or rebirth of what was lost or dead. After reading this parable, we can understand that its teachings are divided into two distinct commentaries that Jesus must comment on due to the countless accusations of those who are confused by his welcoming of sinners, such as tax collectors. The first provides a sort of characterization of who these sinners really are, assuming the Pharisees and scribes are too hypocritical to see them as anything other than weak and faithless. We see the use of the son, who demands his inheritance from the father, “equivalent to wishing that his father were dead” (Hultgren) and squandering it “in a dissolute life” (CSB 1467). This portion explains the sinner that the Pharisees see, but the actions of the son when he comes to realize his unworthiness to be called his father's son reveals the repentance that Jesus saw in the sinners who came to him in reconciliation and chose to listen to His word . «These verses summarize the narrative theme established by 7.29-30 regarding the division of the people in response to the prophet. Tax agents and sinners represent the marginalized and poor who respond positively. Not only do they eat with Jesus, but they come closer to "listen" to the prophet. They are becoming part of the people. The Pharisees and scribes represent those who are powerful and “rich” who reject the prophet's call. We were shown just this in the previous story where they turned hospitality into hostile surveillance. In response, Jesus had told them the parable of rejection (14:1-35)” (Johnson 239). Given this explanation, we, as readers, are able to begin to capture the canonical exegesis of this parable and how the word of Jesus really followed a kind of pedagogy, since they were structured in such a way that without one it was not possible the other, as we see in Johnson's analysis. This framework of foundations allows us to better understand the mission of Jesus and the message He is conveying to those who reject Him orHis people right within this parable. The substance of this message lies in Jesus' perception of what it means to listen. For the Pharisees hearing and listening are the same thing; but for Jesus, when you choose to listen to His word, you choose repentance for the sins you admitted to having committed. Therefore, those who are poor and want and choose to listen have the Lord's mercy and forgiveness, unlike those who reject Him, as seen throughout chapter 14. The second part of this parable of the lost son gives a more precise look at the actions of the older brother. We come to understand that Jesus intends the older brother to represent those who reject him such as the Pharisees and scribes. The older brother sees his brother and father's return, excitement, and unconditional love as shameful and experiences feelings of jealousy over his brother's treatment. I will talk more about this analysis of Jesus' perception of each brother and who he represents later, but for now let's understand that the father represents God and his unconditional love. Given that so far this parable is primarily a two-pronged parable, the true central figure is the father. “The first part of the story fits perfectly into the pattern of the previous two: the son is lost and found; the father and family rejoice. What gives the story its particular depth is the way Luke invites us into the emotional drama of parent-child conflict” (Johnson 241). It is here in the parable that we see a shift in focus to the father. While we understand that he runs towards his lost son with open arms, it is also the way he responds to his older son, who is annoyed, that connects this parable to earlier pieces of his pedagogy that make it so special. The tragedy of this eldest son "lies not only in the fact that he did not recognize his constant position of privilege in relation to his father, who throughout the time they were together, 'shared the goods in common', but also that he is blind even now faced with the fact that his father gives him the same constant care and concern that he has for the prodigal son” (Johnson 242). We see here that this last passage of the parable "is a sad commentary on the Pharisaic refusal, out of envy and resentment, to welcome this good news extended to the marginalized" (242). His sadness is related to how his older brother didn't understand; the continuous faithful must not consider themselves slaves of the word while sinners can join "the people freely". Instead, they must see how their father intended; given that everything he has belongs to his eldest son, just as everything the Lord has has always belonged to the faithful. To fully understand the canonical exegesis of this parable we must thoroughly examine the character of the eldest son. The reason for this character's importance lies directly in who Jesus uses him to represent and specifically in why this parable needed to be told in the first place; thus revealing its canonical exegesis. Both Eugene Laverdière and Tom Wright pay particular attention to the eldest son's reaction and how the father responds to his son's troubled confusion. While Laverdière's work displays solid historical-critical erudition, Wright's study modernizes the parable somewhat. By combining these two works, we can really see how Jesus intended his listeners to perceive the elder son in the parable. Wright uses a short analogy at the beginning of his work that reminds him of this parable of the lost son. He talked about a poem he once read about a park keeper whose job was to pick up trash in the park. He remembered that the park keeper only saw the rubbish he was supposed to pick up and.