oldest son

May 2, 2019

You are always with me (Lk 15:31-15:31)

“Then the father

Said to him.

‘Son!

You are always

With me.

All that is mine

Is yours.’”

 

ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τέκνον, σὺ πάντοτε μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἶ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστιν·

 

This long parable story about the 2 sons can only be found in Luke, not in any of the other gospel stories.  Luke indicated that Jesus said that the father turned to his son, calling him son (Τέκνον).  He said to him (ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ) that he was always with him (σὺ πάντοτε μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἶ).  All that that belonged to the father belonged to him, this oldest son (καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστιν).  Who does the oldest son represent?  Is it the Pharisees, or the newly forming righteous followers of Jesus?  These are honest hard-working people trying to do God’s will.  What was the big deal about this sinning brother?  Why not just forget about him?  Which brother do you feel more like?

April 2, 2019

Divide the inheritance (Lk 12:13-12:13)

“Someone in the crowd

Said to Jesus.

‘Teacher!

Tell my brother

To divide

The family inheritance

With me!’”

 

Εἶπεν δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου αὐτῷ Διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου μερίσασθαι μετ’ ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν.

 

This is a unique saying in Luke, not found in the other synoptics.  Luke said that someone in the crowd yelled to Jesus (Εἶπεν δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου αὐτῷ), calling him respectfully teacher (Διδάσκαλε).  He wanted Jesus to tell his brother (εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου) to divide up the family inheritance with him (μερίσασθαι μετ’ ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν).  Apparently, the oldest son got twice as much as the other sons, according to Deuteronomy, chapter 21:17.  This man wanted Jesus to get involved with a family dispute.  This is the second time that someone in the crowd uniquely yelled out something here in Luke.  Have you ever been involved in a family inheritance dispute?

January 1, 2019

Common relatives in the Babylonian captivity (Lk 3:27-3:27)

“The son of Joanan,

The son of Rhesa,

The son of Zerubbabel,

The son of Shealtiel,

The son of Neri.”

 

τοῦ Ἰωανὰν τοῦ Ῥησὰ τοῦ Ζοροβάβελ τοῦ Σαλαθιὴλ τοῦ Νηρεὶ

 

Finally, we find 2 common names from Matthew, chapter 1:12, when he was describing people during the Babylonian captivity.  Here Matthew and Luke have an agreement on 2 people, Zerubbabel and Shealtiel.  These 2 individuals can be found in 1 Chronicles, chapter 3:10-20, after the Israelites from Judah and Jerusalem were deported to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Salathiel (Σαλαθιήλ).  Jechoniah was the son of King Jehoiakim and grandson of King Josiah who had ruled Judah in 598 BCE.  Jechoniah was exiled for 37 years as indicated in 2 Kings, chapter 25.  Salathiel or Shealtiel was his oldest son, but he had at least 5 other brothers.  According to 1 Chronicles, Salathiel had no children, so that his brother Pedaiah was the father of Zerubbabel (Ζοροβαβέλ), not him.  Zerubbabel was the leader of the tribe of Judah at the time of their return from captivity, as his name appears over 25 times in the scriptural writings.  The Persian king appointed Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, where he rebuilt the Jerusalem Temple.  He also had a Persian name of Sheshbazzar as described in 1 Esdras, chapters 1-3.  Here Luke said, without any comment, that the son of Joanan (τοῦ Ἰωανὰν), the son of Rhesa (τοῦ Ῥησὰ), the son of Zerubbabel (τοῦ Ζοροβάβελ), the son of Shealtiel (τοῦ Σαλαθιὴλ), the son of Neri (τοῦ Νηρεὶ).