A Grumbling Scribe

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’

Scripture | Story | Prayer

A Grumbling Scribe

My honorable job as a scribe in the house of Israel was to keep the law. The word ‘scribe’ makes it sound as if we were secretaries but we were, in fact, scholars. Scribes were entrusted with holy scripture. We interpreted the law of Moses. When there was a question regarding the fine points of the law, we offered well-considered and learned answers. Jesus showed almost no respect for us. The subtle areas of the law mattered not to him and he took great liberties with the more substantial points. He committed blasphemy on more than one occasion and threatened to undermine the authority of scripture. We had to confront him. This was our life’s work and Jesus was seeking to demoralize us.

He had the audacity to warn people to stay away from us, accusing us of seeking the best seats in the Synagogue and the greatest places of honor at holy feasts. Well, why should we not have those seats? Should not those of us with certain venerable positions in the community command greater respect than others? What was he talking about?

I tell you, we had to keep an eye on him and we had to look for opportunities to discredit him because that is what he was doing to us. The law says,

He discredited us. We were obligated, therefore, by law to discredit him. And it was not difficult.

One day, Jesus was eating with sinners, a practice that was strictly forbidden. It is not lawful even to do business through a third party with a sinner. To sit at table with such an impure person is unthinkable. The law says:

In response to our accusations, Jesus talked about the lost being found and said, “there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.” Nonsense! I tell you there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who is rightly judged by God.3 All sinners will be held

You cannot spend your life outside of the law of God and then expect mercy. It is not right. It is not fair. It is certainly not written.

This idea of an all-merciful God? Jesus cut that out of green wood himself. You cannot build anything sturdy out of such an outlandish idea. And this parable which you call “The Prodigal Son” is ridiculous. Hear me out. To begin with, according to the law, the elder son must receive two-thirds of the inheritance and the younger son, one-third - not one-half. That is not a decision. That is the word of the Lord.5 To give the younger son half the money and before the appropriate time of inheritance is unequivocally wrong. No righteous father would do such a thing. No honorable father would let a son learn about finances, about life itself, in such a cruel manner.

Any law-abiding father who cared even a drachma6 about his son, would teach the young man how to care for property, how to handle money, how to live faithfully and righteously – at home. To let a child go off like that with so much? I tell you, it simply would not happen. And no self-respecting, God-fearing son would ask such a thing of his father. It was blasphemy for Jesus even to suggest such behavior. That son was treating his father as if he were dead. It was plainly iniquitous. It is written in the law:

Then, in the so-called parable, when the son squandered his money and was forced to find work, Jesus gave him a job feeding pigs. Sometimes, I think Jesus said things like that for the sole purpose of infuriating the Scribes. You must know it is written:

No son of Israel would feed pigs for a living. It would be better to die than to commit such a terrible sin. You see how ludicrous this tale truly is. It is a parable about something that would never happen. But the worst of what would never happen is yet to come. Jesus went on to say: “When the boy had come to his senses…” Let me stop right here and say that if this were any son of mine I would have thrashed him to his senses efore he ever left the house. I would certainly not let him come to his senses on his own. But as Jesus told it: “When the boy had come to his senses, he thought of returning home and pleading with his father to receive him as a hired servant, no longer one of the family but a hired servant.”

Of course, the boy wanted to go home, but as I have already told you the father would be constrained not to take him in because his son, for all intents and purposes, and under the law would be dead to him. But, in the strange and shocking world of Jesus, this foolish father flings his arms around the sinful boy’s neck, kisses him, and instructs the servants to find a ring for his finger, a robe for his back, shoes for his sorry feet, veal for his dinner, and let the festivities begin! Who, among the faithful of the earth, has ever heard of such a thing?

The only one in the story who makes any sense is the elder brother who is, obviously, the only one with an understanding of accountability and sound judgment. Jesus said the elder brother was enraged and refused to come in. Of course he was enraged and of course he refused to come in! To come in and sit at table with his prodigal brother under such circumstances would be akin to joining Jesus as he sat sharing a meal with those sinners he seemed to care about so much. Yes, the elder brother is the only one who sees things clearly, the only one who knows and respects the law.

When his younger brother left home with an undeserved inheritance, that should have been the end of the matter. What was left of the inheritance should have gone, by right, to the elder son who had already been partially swindled by his younger brother. It always fell, by law fell, to the older son to receive the ring. That ring was not simply a welcome-home trinket. That ring was a symbol of authority. For the father to give the ring to his younger and thoroughly corrupt son was like giving a thief the power of attorney in the family.11 It is an outrageous thought and I, for one, was outraged by it. This is not a parable. It is a travesty. It makes a mockery of God and a mockery of God’s law.

I ask you: Is this parable supposed to be about God? Is the father supposed to represent God? Would God ever allow us so much freedom? Would God let us roam the world wild and then say, “All’s forgiven” just because we put together a very convincing last minute repentance speech? I cannot believe that. If God were so unjustly generous with mercy what reason would we have to obey the law? Where would we find the impetus to obedience? What would be the incentive to faithfulness? Love? Is love supposed to motivate us? You see now how dangerous Jesus was. He turned the law upside-down.

And this obsession with forgiveness? We instructed him clearly on this matter. When he was out there among the people declaring their sins to be forgiven, we advised him that such talk was blasphemous. We told him, in no uncertain terms, that God alone can forgive sins, yet he walked around handing out forgiveness as if it were unleavened bread. Then, he dared to tell this fanatical parable of the foolish father and his prodigal son. Forgiveness, I tell you, must be earned. This business of forgiving your neighbor seventy times seven12 is not practical and we find no precedent for it in the law.

I ask you: What would happen if everybody ran around forgiving those who hurt them? Sure, there might be better cooperation, there could be more understanding, perhaps even greater peace, but what of justice? Do you want to live in a world where mercy supercedes righteousness, where forgiveness tramples on judgment, and where love is more important than the law?

1 Leviticus 24:19-20

2 Exodus 23:1

3 William Barclay, “The Gospel of Luke” (Westminster Press: 1975) p.200. Barclay suggests “obliterated” rather than “rightly judged.”

4 Ezekiel 18:4

5 Deuteronomy 21:17

6 Small silver coin.

7 Exodus 20:12

8 Exodus 21:15

9 Exodus 21:17

10 Reference?

11 William Barclay, “The Gospel of Luke” (WP:1975) p.205

12 Luke 17:4

You are welcome to use these narratives for worship or study but please give the author, Sarah M. Foulger, credit for the writing - and consider making a contribution to Seasons of Change, a non-profit mental health agency in Edgecomb, Maine. Send contributions of any amount to Seasons of Change/ P.O. Box 277/Edgecomb, Maine 04556.