Jacob & the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel's Story Kindle Edition

I have recently come to read and enjoy Kenneth Bailey's approach to understanding scripture in the light of middle-east culture, with which he has a personal as well as research-based relationship. This book is a distilling of some of his more lengthy academic work, and is written for an every-day readership. While his observations on the text of the Bible have a rigorous, analytical basis, he keeps a devotional frame of mind, which draws us into his thoughts and seeks to expand our view of God's grace and purposes through Jesus.This book looks specifically at the three closely-related parables of Luke 15, the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son(s), focusing mainly on the last of these. In doing so, Bailey challenges many of the commonly-held views of what it meant for the prodigal son to take his father's wealth, squander it among gentiles and then plan his return to try and redeem his disgrace. What is the significance of his father running to the edge of the village to meet him? What of the elder, law-abiding son? What part does the community play? There are fascinating insights to ponder. Bailey draws parallels between Jesus' story of the prodigal son and the OT history of the brothers Jacob and Esau, their parting and eventual reconciliation, a backdrop with which his hearers would have been very familiar. How convincing is his reasoning? Whether you end up agreeing or disagreeing with each strand of his thesis, the journey is very rewarding and will throw fresh light on over-familiar scripture, providing a deeper understanding of the depth of God's love and grace. Read it! If you are not too sure, start with the three central chapters which tease out the meaning of each of the three parables.

A very important book, with meticulous scholarship by one who knows Middle Eastern culture from having lived and worked in it for more than 40 years. He brings out things that the people of Jesus' time would have heard in what the parables were saying, and which the Western church has lost touch with. The book shows me how much deeper the love of God is than I'd realized, as it works through the events and struggles of the bible record, and how practical the self-sacrificing love of the father for his two sons in the parable is. Life changing in many ways.Perhaps the book is a little long and towards the end repetitive, probably because Bailey felt a need to dot i's and cross t's for fellow scholars. But stick with it.

The parable is so familiar that we miss its profound meaning. Bailey removes 'all the barnacles' that attached to the parable through the centuries. He brings the cultural context of the parable to the fore and gives it the freshness that one starts to see the unfathomable wisdom of Jesus Christ. the parable is no longer a puzzle to be solved but a living theologian, ie. Jesus, comes through. Grace is personified in the father of the parable. Highly recommended.

Ken Bailey gives insights from his many years of study and living in the Middle East which bring new understanding to these passages in the Bible. Lots of thought provoking asides and a compelling read. Buy it, you will not regret it.

So helpful for my sermon research

Brilliant book, everyone should read it.

Good, fast and fair service, thank you. Can't wait to read it as I have read Kenneth Bailey's other books and they are so informative,they have changed the way I view the parables. Jesus was/is amazing.

This book throws new light in plenty on the Prodigal Son! Read it.