the role of the lukan parables in terms of the purpose of luke's gospel

Jesus to use women in his parables and teaching, but also it provokes a person to rethink
about the status and function of women.
The parable has the same essential point as the Lost Sheep as seen in the common themes
of ‘lost’, ‘seeking’, ‘finding’ and ‘rejoicing’, but nevertheless, the parable, unlike the risks
taken in the parable of the lost sheep, puts the emphasis on the woman’s diligence in seeking
for the lost coin, as well as on her persistence until she finds it. In the analogy of God and
Jesus, God is at work in Jesus’ ministry to rescue his people and to fulfill his promises to
restore Israel. Jesus’ association with tax collectors and sinners is part of that work. In this
respect, the parable functions as defense of Jesus’ table fellowship. Given the fact that the
parable puts weight on ‘rejoicing’ at conversion more than on the finding, with application to
the sinner, repentance is ultimately the goal, in relation to the Pharisee and Scribe, the
cessation of grumbling at Jesus’ table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners is surely the
aim. 70
6-4. The Parable of the Prodigal Son (11-32)
6-4-1. The Literary Context of the Parable
As far as the authenticity of the parable is concerned, Schottroff views the parable as a later
Christian polemic against the Pharisees, claiming that the themes of repentance and
71
forgiveness are characteristic of Lukan soteriology. On the same line, Drury argues, that
Luke constitutes the story as an allegory of salvation history, noting the rift between
traditional Judaism and Gentile Christianity. 72
The parable’s authenticity has however been
supported by the following reasons: First, early Christians would not describe the Pharisees
with the positive comments regarding the elder son. Second, the teaching of the parable
corresponds to Jesus’ teaching elsewhere. Third, the parable has artistry and power. It is
therefore desirable to accept the parable’s authenticity.
70. Kilgallen, The Twenty Parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, 102.
71. Schottroff, “Das Gleichnis vom verlorenen Sohn,” ZTK 68 (1971), 27-52. Heininger also rules out vv. 18-19,
21, 24a-b in the parable to reconstruct the original parable, viewing repentance as secondary addition to the
parable. But Carlston insists that the repentance presented here is not Lukan, since while the younger son in the
parable is simply accepted by his father, Luke has a moral emphasis entailing fruits of repentance. B. Heininger,
Metaphorik, Erzählstruktur und szenisch-dramatische Gestaltung in den Sondergutgleichnisse bei Lukas
(NTAbh, 24; Münster: Aschendorff, 1991), 146-53; C.E. Carlston, “Reminiscence and Redaction in Luke 15:11-
32,” JBL 94 (1975), 368-90.
72. Drury, The Parables in the Gospels, 141-47. See also Goulder, Luke: A New Paradigm, 609-18; Heikki
Räisänen, “The Prodigal Gentile and His Jewish Christian Brother, Lk 15:11-32,” in ed., F. Van Sebbroeck, C.M.
Tuckett, G. Van Belle, and J. Verheyden, The Four Gospels 1992: Festschrift Frans Neirynck. (Leuven:
University Press, 1992), 2:1617-36.
75