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Suggested Reading Exercises:     ∗ With an ESV read Luke 15 in its entirety    ∗ Read the parable together in two different translations and two different  paraphrases as well as Keller’s translation (Suggested translations: ESV,  NASB; suggested paraphrases: NLT, and The Message). Discuss the  differences between them and which one you think captures the Parable’s  message best.      Questions from The People Around Jesus:    What does it mean to be a prodigal? Why do you think Keller choose to title his  book, The Prodigal God?    How have people traditionally read the parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15? What  alternative reading strategy does Tim Keller offer you as a reader?     How does appreciating the historical setting (Luke 15.1‐3) of the parable change  the way you read Luke 15.11‐32?    Which audience before Jesus is the parable directed toward (the tax collectors, or  the Pharisees)?    What about the ancient Near Eastern setting of Jesus helps us understand why the  Pharisees were so upset with Jesus practice of eating meals with sinners?    How did the original audience this parable was delivered to respond to it?    “No, the original listeners were not melted into tears by this story but rather they  were thunderstruck, offended, and infuriated. Jesus’ purpose is not to warm our  hearts but to shatter our categories.” (pg. 10) Do you think people in the church  today read this parable sentimentally or do you think when they read it they leave  infuriated, why? What was Jesus intent according to Keller?       4 
Keller says that this parable illustrates the real cause behind the culture wars, a  tension between elder brothers who are religious moralists and younger brothers  who are irreligious adventurist. He says that Christianity is perceived as an elder  brother in the secular square, but he says it wasn’t always so. The irony is that  Christianity is a tetrium quid. What is a tetrium quid?    Read Luke 7; John 3‐4; Luke 19; and Matthew 21.31. Who did Jesus attract with  his ministry?     “Jesus’ teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Biblebelieving, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do  not have this effect…If the preaching of our ministries and the practice of our  parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not  be declaring the same message that Jesus did.” (pgs. 15‐16) Do you think the  church has lost its way and forgotten its mission today? Do you think the church  has a firm and clear grasp on the gospel as a message for the religious as well as  the irreligious?    Exercises for Further Reflection:    “If our churches aren’t appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of  elder brothers than we’d like to think.” (pg. 16)     List the six most influential things that you believe is causing the church not  to reach out to the younger brothers of the world today?    Resources for Furthering Your Study:    On interpreting parables –  Interpreting the Parables by Craig L. Blomberg  Tell it Slant by Eugene Peterson  Stories with Intent by Klyne Snodgrass    On appreciating the Gospel of Luke and the Lost Son in its socio‐cultural setting –  NICNT: The Gospel of Luke by Joel Green  Finding the Lost Cultural Keys to Luke 15 by Kenneth E. Bailey    5 
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