Philo

REFLECTION PAPER ON THE PARABLES OF JESUS
Submitted to:
DR. ALMARIO B. GARCIA
GRADUATE SCHOOL
College of the Immaculate Concepcion
Cabanatuan City
As Partial Fulfillment in the Requirements in
PHILOSOPHY OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION
(Phl 301)
KATRINA MARIE M. MANA
MBA Student
November 6, 2016

THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON (LUKE 15:11 – 32)
I. The Story
The parable of the prodigal son begins with the younger of two
sons asking his father to give him his share of the estate. The
father executes the sons request by dividing the property between
them and gives it to his youngest son. The youngest son then packs
together all of his belongings and leaves his father’s home to
live in a distant country.
During the son’s time, away from his father’s home, he lived his
life immaturely and spent his money living a wild life. The son
lived this way until a famine hit the country and he had no money
left from his inheritance. He does not go back to his dad because
he thought he had disowned him for his actions regarding his
inheritance and his departure. Therefore, the son is forced to
work as a swineherd feeding pigs. In the Jewish religion, pigs
are seen as filth and are never to be associated with. Although,
the young son had no other choice but to work with the pigs to
earn a very small amount of money. The amount of money was so
small that he barely had enough to feed himself, and he found
himself envying the pigs and thought of eating their repulsive
grub. Coming to the point of wanting to eat with the pigs the son
had hit rock bottom, and the he finally realized he needed his
father and started his journey back home.

Once the son came close to his father’s home, his father had seen
him coming and ran to his returning son with open arms. His father
was overjoyed that his son had come back home and barely let his
son get a word in. The son tried to explain his sorrows and was
asking for forgiveness, but his dad was too excited that he called
for his servants to prepare a celebration for his son with fine
clothing and a fattened calf. This response was nothing the son
had imagined when returning back home.
Eventually the ears of the elder brother picked up the chaos as he
returned to his father’s home after working in the fields all day,
and he was not impressed with the situation. The elder brother
actually became very angry that his father was celebrating the
return of his brother when his brother left on poor
circumstances. He felt his younger brother should have been
shunned like many others would have been if they approached their
fathers in the same manner his brother did. The elder brother
asked his father for the purpose of the festivities when his
younger brother disrespected their father and him, the older
brother, worked every day for his father and served him; he was
the good son, he thought. His father pleaded with him exclaiming
that he is still as valuable and loved like his younger brother,
but it is his younger brother that was lost and then found.

II. The Moral Lesson
The parable of the prodigal son is a good message for every person
whether they are believers or unbelievers in Lord Jesus Christ
because it shows the mercy of God and how willing He is to forgive
all who come to Him in repentance.
That no matter how badly we mess up, we are not beyond forgiveness
and redemption. Notice that the father when he saw the son coming
back ran out to meet him. In traditional middle eastern societies,
adult men--particularly not well-to-do gentlemen with grown sons,
don't run; it is not dignified. So not only was he willing to
take the boy back, but eager.
It also teaches us that a person can't be made to come back to the
fold; he has to be ready to come back. The father didn't seek the
son out and drag him home by one grubby ear. He waited, patiently,
until he was ready to come back on his own.
III. The Message Being Conveyed
Jesus Christ gave this parable to encourage families. God's great
plan of salvation is based on the family structure of a father and
mother and children born within the love of a relationship based
on His laws governing the family. And the basis of that law is
love—the love of a parent for a child.

This parable shows the deep love of a father for his lost son. I
can imagine him praying each day for his son's return, requesting
God to guard him from harm, asking God to help the son even when
the son's behavior didn't honor God. During these prayers, the
understanding that God wouldn't suspend the law of consequences
didn't keep him from asking for God's mercy and goodness on
the lad.
This parable is also about each of us. God the Father stands
waiting for the time when each of His children will at last realize
the need for a lasting and satisfying relationship with Him.
The image of family reconciliation and turning of hearts is quoted
in one of the great prophetic messages of the Old Testament
(Malachi 4:6). This parable of the lost son combined with this
prophecy helps us to understand God's deep desire to bring
reconciliation within His creation. Together these form a promise
that you can take to His throne of grace and claim in full faith.
When hearts turn to God, they will also return to those human
relationships that have been broken through the years. You can
count on it.

IV. The Challenge/s to become a Good Christian
We can all relate to the Prodigal Son with our own sinful wants
and desires. We may look for ourselves before that of another;
anything that may be pleasing to us is what we strive for. As the
prodigal lived a sinful life, he hurt his father in the
process. Just as we may hurt God, our Heavenly Father, with
choices that are sinful and that are not a blessing by God. He
loves us, just as the father loved his disrespectful son, and He
loves us more than we can imagine. “The Prodigal Son represents
a typical sinner who comes to repentance”, after hitting rock
bottom (MacArthur). And the best part is” the father’s patience,
love, generosity, and delight over the son’s return” portrays
divine grace (MacArthur). Although, the heart of the elder son
was the focal point of the story because his unbelief, like the
Pharisees and scribes that Jesus spoke to, used outside
righteousness as a cover for their unrighteous hearts. In other
words, the elder brother’s story is a warning to the hearts that
need awakened to the reality of their own sin and being redeemed
by Christ. Therefore, Jesus Christ earnestly looks for us, waiting
for us to believe and repent. When we do, it is a glorious day
and a celebration will be prepared.

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL (LUKE 12:16-21)
I. The Story
This parable of the rich fool is found by understanding what Jesus
means when he says, "So it is with those who store up treasures
for themselves but are not rich toward God." (Luke 12:21)
Wealth is essentially having an abundance of something that is
valuable. Depending on the society, certain metals or resources
might make a person wealthy because they are considered valuable,
such as: gold, silver, land, cattle, salt, etc.
Whether or not a person is considered wealthy is largely dependent
on if they have an abundance of a valued resource.
If a person owns a lot of dollars, euros, pesos, renminbi, or yen,
then they are wealthy in that currency. However, if you try to buy
something in one country with the currency of another country, you
would be rejected because other currencies are not valuable unless
first converted. A person would need to have their money converted
into that country's currency in order to use it.
In God's kingdom, gold is just a metal and diamonds are just a
rock and "paper money" is just cloth.

These metals, rocks, and currencies are not valuable in God's
kingdom, and when we die we cannot keep these things. Also, these
things won't even be valuable when we die.
The only thing that is valuable in God's kingdom is having a
relationship with him through our obedience to his expectations.
It also includes understanding God and having knowledge of him and
his kingdom, so that we can obey him.
Essentially, the only truly valuable thing in the entire world
is knowing God and being in a right relationship with God, who is
the very giver of life.
The only reason why certain metals or rocks are considered valuable
is because people view them as valuable.
The only reason why various currencies are valuable (when they are
just made of cloth or metal) is because the countries give them
value. If currencies were not valuable, then those countries would
not be considered wealthy, even if they had billions of their
currency.
Jesus taught great moral truths by using great human tragedies.
One such episode is His parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-
21. Like many of us, this man nobly earned an honest living through
hard work and toil, but unfortunately, like many of us, he failed

to realize that God was the source of his blessings (Acts 14:15-
17). Like many of us, this man was not openly involved in immoral
or unholy conduct, but unfortunately, like many of us, he failed
to realize that God expects not only abstinence from evil but
active involvement in doing good (Romans 2:7). Yes, like many of
us, this man enjoyed an abundance of wealth in this life, but who,
like too many of us, failed to use his great physical means for
great spiritual gain. Thankfully, the Savior uses this story to
teach us wise lessons from a foolish man. What do we learn from
this parable?
First, we learn the importance of giving God the due glory for our
physical blessings.
Secondly, we learn that God views our lives in terms of spiritual
increase, not physical increase.
Thirdly and most importantly, we learn of the grievous sin of
covetousness.
In Luke 12:13-21, a listener in the crowd surrounding Jesus asks
Him to instruct his brother to divide the inheritance due to him
equitably. Jesus declines, saying that life should not be based on
having many possessions. He uses this occasion to teach His
disciples that a godly life is more important than material things.

To explain this, He tells a parable about a rich man who builds
larger and larger barns to store all his crops and goods.
Since he had everything he could possibly want or need, the rich
man's focus was on living an easy life. God's response is that the
man was foolish because, when he died later that night, his goods
would do nothing for him. Someone else would inherit and enjoy
them. A person whose life is caught up in what he owns is not rich
toward God. The Parable of the Rich Fool illustrates Jesus'
teaching to guard against every kind of covetousness.
As Jesus says, "One's life does not consist in the abundance of
possessions." (Luke 12:15) And "So it is with those who store up
treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." (Luke 12:21)
Our lives are not made up of possessions, and having lots of
possessions does not make a life better, which is why some of the
happiest people on Earth are also not among the "most wealthy."
In addition, Jesus is saying that people who are only concerned
with becoming wealthy (with whatever they find valuable), instead
of becoming "rich" towards God are foolish, because only knowing
God is truly valuable.

The rich man is considered to be a fool because he had become
wealthy in all that he found valuable and he had failed to become
wealthy in the one area that actually mattered.
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN (LUKE 10:29-37)
I. The Story
In the first place, the name of the Parable of the Good Samaritan
is never mentioned by Jesus. Bible scholars and translators have
attached this name because they see man as being a “Good Samaritan”
who goes above and beyond where most people would go. A Good
Samaritan as opposed to most Samaritans in their minds…pagan,
idolaters.
What Jesus was telling this lawyer, who is an expert in the Laws
of God that the fulfilling of the Law is to Love God and to love
your neighbor just as you do yourself. But “he, desiring to
justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The priest represented the religious-acting people. They talk the
talk but rarely do the walk the walk. This priest went out of his
way to avoid the man because as a priest, and we can assume it was
a Jewish priest, he didn’t want to make himself unclean by
associating with someone who may have had blood on them. He was
likely on his way to perform his priestly duties and didn’t want
to soil himself which would require him to go through the ritual

washings again. Not only did the priest have to go around the
injured man he went to the trouble of passing “by on the other
side” indicating that he wanted nothing to do with the injured
man. Incidentally, the man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho so it was highly likely that this man was a fellow Jew.
Here was a Levite, an expert in the Law and sadly he ignored what
Jesus had just said that the fulfillment of the Law was; to love
God and then love your neighbor as yourself. The problem was that
the Levite didn’t consider the man as his neighbor, even though he
was probably a Jew. Even though he was quite literally his
neighbor being Jewish, he didn’t have compassion nor did he want
to stop and help. This may have been due to the fact that the
robbers who had beaten and stripped the man might still be in the
area and he didn’t want to risk it. The Law allows for a man to
rescue an animal from a pit on the Sabbath and perhaps this
occurred on the Sabbath and the Levite felt that it would be
breaking the Sabbath (which of course it would not!). The Levite
knew the Law yet refused to obey it which compelled the Jews to
help someone when they happened to come upon an injured person. He
surely knew that God is no respecter of persons and has regard for
the alien or stranger who desires to obey God and that God accepts
a person and that it’s not a matter race but as a matter of grace,
but here the Levite refused to even help his fellow Jewish brother
and he had the audacity to call himself a Levite.

The one that Jews would least expect to help a fellow Jew was a
Samaritan. In the first place, the Samaritan saw that the man had
just been beaten and robbed but he went anyway and at his own risk
he went to help this man…a Jew who was a natural enemy of the
Samaritans. The Samaritan went right up to him, cleaned and
bandaged his wounds pouring oil and wine on them for medicinal
purposes and this was at his own expense because oil and wine were
not cheap in those days. The oil may have represented the work of
the Holy Spirit and the wine may have symbolized the shedding of
blood, although Jesus never clarifies their meaning. Then, the
Samaritan puts this man onto his own animal which means that the
Samaritan has to walk some distance and then puts the man in an
inn and pays for the room and board and tells the innkeeper to
“take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you
when I come back.” So, the Samaritan spends his own money and he
also promises to come back, showing that he has compassion on this
Jewish man even though the Jews hated the Samaritans.
The moral of the story is that you should put aside your
differences and help those who are in need of help. The Samaritan
did not think about the race or the religion of the man; he just
saw a man who needed help. Stopping on the roadside and helping
the man could have put the Samaritan’s life in danger too, and

helping the wounded man did cost him money. Nevertheless, the
Samaritan did not hesitate to help the wounded man.
This story also teaches us that people who we think might help us
in need may not always be there for us. For example, we expect the
priest and the Levite to help the wounded man, but they turn a
blind eye to the man. It is the Samaritan who helped the man in
need. Therefore, the moral of the story is that you should put
aside your differences and help those who are in need of help.
The Samaritan was the only person who considered the wounded man
to be his neighbor, as seen by his actions. The Priest and Levite
did not love this stranger in need as the Samaritan did, so the
only one who was a neighbor to the wounded man was the Samaritan.
The message Jesus communicates is that the meaning of "Love your
neighbor as yourself" is to show mercy and kindness to everyone.
The Samaritan and wounded man were neighbors because they are both
human and created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
The fact that the priest and Levite did not stop, wouldn't have
been too surprising. It would be unlawful for the Priest and Levite
to touch a dead body, which may explain why they decided to not
even check to see if the man was dead. They also may have decided
they didn't have the time to check on the man because of the

inconvenience. After all, they needed to get to where they were
going.
However, even though there are a number of possibilities to explain
why these two spiritual leaders didn't stop to help, it isn't the
'why' that's important in this parable.
The point is just that they didn't stop and also that a position,
title, or social status doesn't fulfill God's commandment to "Love
your neighbor as yourself." The only thing that fulfills this
commandment is the action of showing mercy towards everyone we
come across in life. This is how we are to be a loving neighbor to
our neighbors.
The Good Samaritan parable is one of the most beloved gospel
stories for young and old alike. The story is told in Luke 10:29–
37: A man going from Jerusalem to Jericho is attacked by robbers
who strip him and beat him. A priest and a Levite pass by without
helping him. But a Samaritan stops and cares for him, taking him
to an inn where the Samaritan pays for his care.

THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN (LUKE 15:8-10)
I. The Story
When the woman in this parable lost one of her 10 coins, she cared
enough to make every effort in finding it. She would do anything
it took to find it. As Jesus said “what woman, having ten silver
coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the
house and seek diligently until she finds it” (Luke 15:8). Jesus
may be saying that there is value in even one lost coin and even
though she still had 9 silver coins left, she drops everything to
search “diligently until she finds it.” Here is evidence I believe
that it is God Who is the One Who seeks those who are lost. Her
lighting the lamp may be symbolic of Jesus being the light of the
world as He said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”
(John 8:12) and this life leads to eternal life.
When the woman finds the coin, what does she do? “And when she
has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying,
‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just
so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one
sinner who repents” (Luke 15:9-10). I have had the great
privilege of leading some to saving faith in Christ and after this
happens, I am walking on air. I can’t tell you what this feels
like because it is just too amazing to put into words. There is

no feeling in the world like that, I can assure you. I can
understand what this woman felt like because when she found the
coin, she couldn’t contain her joy. She had to tell someone so
she “calls together her friends and neighbors, saying ‘Rejoice
with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’” This is
exactly the type of joyous celebration that occurs in heaven every
single time “one sinner…repents.” That is why Jesus says that
“there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who
repents.” Notice it was joy not over one sinner who was saved or
over one who confessed Jesus as Lord but over the one who repented,
showing that repentance is absolutely necessary for salvation.
It’s a simple, straightforward situation presented in three
verses. What is there for us to learn?
All three parables in Luke 15 concern the restoration of lost
relationships—ultimately God seeking out human beings who were
lost to Him and bringing them back into a loving relationship with
Him. That is certainly the point here—and all must realize their
need to be found by Him. But we should also recognize that God
desires us to be like Him in seeing the importance of relationships
with other people and striving to reconcile and restore fellowship
with them.

The parable of the lost coin is the story about a woman who loses
one of her ten silver coins. She looks through her entire house
and rejoices when she finds the coin. After finding this coin, the
lady makes it seem like that one coin has become more valuable
than all of the other nine coins.
The significance of this story for me was the recurring theme in
these parables of judgment. After the woman, has found the one
coin she lost, it becomes more valuable than all of the other nine
coins even though they are of equal value in terms of money. This
is similar to the idea that if one were to be a sinner and become
lost from God, they would be preferred in the kingdom if they
change their ways than nine people who do not repent but claim to
be good. A person who has sinned but has begun repentance is much
more valued by God then a person who sins and repents but claims
not to.
This parable teaches us that God is a loving and forgiving person.
Although someone may have been lost, they can still be found and
repent and be let into the kingdom of heaven. God values those
people far more than those who refuse to admit that they have
sinned and claim to be followers of him. We learn from this parable
that because God is such a loving and forgiving person, it is never

too late to clean up our act. There is always an opportunity to
repent and become a better person through the eyes of God.
The old hymn Amazing Grace makes me think of the Parable of the
Lost Coin because I was once hopelessly lost and it would take the
supernatural work of God to find me because I was so blind and
groping in the dark at one time. It took the Holy Spirit to awaken
me to the grace of God and so I never found God…He found me. The
old hymn didn’t say that God was found but “I was lost but now am
found.” The truth is “no one understands; no one seeks for
God” (Rom 3:11). “God looks down from heaven on all mankind to
see if there are any who understand, any who seek God” (Psalm 53:2)
and none do and “All have turned away, they have together become
worthless; there is no one who does good, not even
one” (Rom 3:12). This may be part of what this parable is
saying. The coin didn’t find the woman nor did the coin seek the
woman but it was the woman who found the coin but not until she
swept and searched every nook and cranny of the house. This shows
that God is the One Who seeks those who are lost and that grace is
not a result of our own effort (Eph 2:8-9) but a result of God’s
blood being shed for us at Calvary.

THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT WIDOW (LUKE 18:1-8)
I. The Story
In the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), a poor,
powerless person (the widow) persists in nagging a corrupt,
powerful person (the judge) to do justice for her. The
parable assumes John the Baptist’s teaching that holding a position
of power and leadership obligates you to work justly, especially
on behalf of the poor and weak. But Jesus focuses the parable on
a different point, that we are “to pray always and to not lose
heart” (Luke 18:1). He identifies the hearers — us — with the
woman, and the prayed-to person — God — with the corrupt judge, a
strange combination. Assuming that Jesus doesn’t mean that God is
corrupt, the point must be that if persistence pays off with a
corrupt human of limited power, how much more will it pay off with
a just God of infinite power.
This parable teaches that the only legitimate reason to stop
praying for something is the return of Christ. (vs. 8) It says,
“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” The
demonstration of that faith is persistent prayer. When you stop
believing a prayer will be answered, you stop praying. You have
given up hope. You have no faith.

What items have dropped off your prayer list that you need to put
back on?
God is a loving father who wants His children to keep coming to
Him. If you are a parent, you should be able to identify with that.
A Comparison of events in Matthew and Luke show much similarity in
sequence and give a probable time when the parable was taught.
The purpose of the parable is to encourage Christians to persevere
in their faith against all odds. But it also has two applications
for those who work in positions of leadership. First, the
juxtaposition of a corrupt judge with a just God implies that God’s
will is at work even in a corrupt world. The judge’s job is to do
justice, and by God, he will do justice by the time the widow is
finished with him. Elsewhere, the Bible teaches that the civil
authorities serve by God’s authorization, whether they acknowledge
it or not (John 19:11; Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13). So, there is
hope that even in the midst of systemic injustice, justice may be
done. A Christian leader’s job is to work toward that hope at all
times. We cannot right every wrong in the world in our lifetimes.
But we must never give up hope, and never stop working for the
greater good [1]in the midst of the imperfect systems where our
work occurs. Legislators, for example, seldom have a choice of

voting for a good bill versus a bad bill. Usually the best they
can do is to vote for bills that do more good than bad. But they
must continually look for opportunities to bring bills to a vote
that do even less harm and even more good.
God can bring about justice in a corrupt world. That is why we
must pray and not give up in our work. God can bring miraculous
justice in a corrupt world, just as God can bring miraculous
healing in a sick world. Suddenly, the Berlin wall opens, the
apartheid regime crumbles, peace breaks out. In the parable of the
persistent widow, God does not intervene. The widow’s persistence
alone leads the judge to act justly. But Jesus indicates that God
is the unseen actor. “Will not God grant justice for his chosen
ones who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7).

Philo

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