Now that Luke's rendition of the parable of the "Prodigal Son" has become so well-known and well-loved by the church, it is hard for us to imagine the kind of shock waves this story would have sent through the "large crowds" (Luke 14:25) that were following Jesus and listening to him preach and teach. In fact, as Luke sets the scene for this parable, it seems Jesus may purposely be testing the boiling point of the increasingly disturbed scribes and Pharisees who were keeping a close eye on Jesus' growing popularity. The parable of the lost son and the welcoming father vigorously affirms the grousing of these legalistic, fundamentalist scribes and Pharisees when they complain, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them" (15:2).

The parable itself is exquisitely composed _ all Luke's s…