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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Luke 15
Verse Commentaries:
Chapter Level Commentary:
(Luk_15:1-32)
(Luk_15:1-22)
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS
A. Luk_14:25-35 sets the stage that many in the crowd, on hearing the cost of discipleship, ceased to follow Jesus. Luke 15 shows that the religious and social outcasts continued to come to Him.
B. These three parables have four foci:
1. the lostness of man
2. God's active love for all men (cf. 1Ti_2:4; 2Pe_3:9)
3. the Savior's mission of seeking and saving (cf. Mar_10:45)
4. the self-righteous reaction of the religious leaders (cf. Luk_15:2, typified in the older brother, 25-32)
C. Notice the main characters in the parables were people who were looked down on by the religious authorities: shepherds, women, and rebellious children.
D. Three parables, which are unique to Luke (Mat_18:12-14 uses the "lost sheep," but in a context referring to disciples, not Pharisees), disclose Jesus' understanding of God's seeking and saving character and purpose (the restoration of all fallen, sinful humanity to full fellowship with Himself, cf. Joh_4:23; Luk_19:10).
E. Luke 15, 16 have a series of five parables. Remember chapter divisions are not inspired.
F. There is one resource I have found especially helpful in the interpretation of the parables in Luke: Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes, Eerdmans, 1983. It is not so much the author's supposed chiasms as his knowledge of Near Eastern society and customs that has brought such insight to this eastern genre.
PRINCIPLES FOR INTERPRETING PARABLES
(for a full discussion, see hyperlink)
A. Look to the context that precedes and follows to determine the purpose of the parable.
B. Determine the major theme (occasionally themes).
C. Do not press minor details into theological interpretations.
D. Avoid allegorizing and spiritualizing unless something in the text demands it.
E. Do not build doctrine on parables.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. What is the major thrust of these three parables?
2. Which son represents you?
3. Why is there no conclusion to the last parable?