How does the Prodigal Son relate to politics?
In Jesus’ situation, the Pharisees were a political pressure group that had been active, and variously powerful and influential, for well over a century. His kingdom-agenda radically clashed with theirs. Challenged by them, he told the story of the Prodigal Son, his father and his elder brother. The elder brother represents those who are criticizing Jesus’ actions (Luke 15:1). The parable expresses a vision for what God was doing then in Israel–a vision which many of Jesus’ hearers found politically unacceptable. Try going to Miami today and telling a story about a father who loved his son so much he went to a foreign country to seek him out and bring him triumphantly back home. Q3. Submitted by Cedric M. Klein: What did Jesus mean by “aionian fire”, “aionian punishment”, “Gehenna”, and “katrakrina–damnation”? “Aionian” relates to the Greek aion, which often roughly translates the Hebrew olam. Some Jews thought of there being two “ages”–ha`olam ha-zeh, the present age, and ha`olam h
