Posted on 01/21/2023 6:03:55 AM PST by Hebrews 11:6
I'm influenced in that, I think, by the utter thickness of the Apostles. Despite three years with Jesus and then the coming of the Holy Spirit, they still could not imagine the Gentiles' welcome into the kingdom (forehead smack: "So, even the Gentiles!").
As if God, Who IS love, would confine His salvation to a tiny portion of humanity while consigning the rest to outer darkness. What hubris!
It reveals how profoundly the prideful hearts of the Jews were dead-set on not sharing their favored position with God. And it suggests why Jesus would address this problem in His parable: it seems more pervasive and troublesome than early believers' gripes about those scrambling in late--which, as you pointed out, Jesus addressed elsewhere.
Mary-Lou! Will traipse soon over to Jerusalem.
Thank you, Alba, for those mini-biographies.
When baseball started in the 1850s, none of the ballplayers had numbers on their uniforms. But teams were very local and the fans recognized all them.
As the game grew, by the 1920s uniform-numbers were introduced (but the uniforms did not have players’ names as they do today). So, vendors selling programs would shout, “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard!”
And we can’t tell the artists without our etabeta!
Thank you for your helpful post! I went back and looked at each Guercino, then found his ‘Persian Sybil’ also; it’s quite stunning.
The Guercino from 1654 (#11 above) is my favorite of the three, but yes, it’s style is different. The father’s expression says a great deal...
Good question regarding his changing styles; I know that etabeta could answer how styles change so much.
Grateful to all who raise questions, and those who teach!
etabeta, would you please speak to the How and Why an artist’s styles change so much over time, or even in the short term.
RE: the three Gercino’s herein (#9, #10 & #11)
Thank you -
It’s all about the artistic evolution of a painter. Who influences them, how their ideas change with studies, traveling, interacting with other artists, experimentation with other mediums, etc. In a way, it’s the exploration and the expression of an adventurous soul.
Guercino painted several versions of the Prodigal Son, each different and each for a different patron, be it church or aristocracy.
Look at Picasso, the artist of cubism, who started as a classical painter before exploring modernism.
Guercino painted the subject on seven different occasions, beginning in 1619. Like other late works by the artist, the one at #11, is characterized by its clarity and simplicity.
etabeta, that is so helpful. Thank you!
Great Baseball Story Dan; I knew none of this! Thank You!
I agree with what you say, but the man’s early work is classical; the last stinks.
* Consider the context of Chapter 15. Jesus addresses his parables to some Pharisees who were offended by His eating with sinners.
The first two parables are about the joy in Heaven when a sinner is returned. The Prodigal Son is the third parable with the same theme. So on one level, the Angry Son are the Pharisees (sitting with Jesus) who resent that God forgives sinners, rather than focusing on the Angry Son's self-satisfied righteousness.
One another level, the Prodigal Son are the lost tribes of Israel and apostate Jews. Note how this son went to live among gentiles (he worked on a pig farm) and spent his money on prostitutes (sinful Israel was often depicted that associating with harlots).
On a final level, the parable shows that God is always eager to forgive if a sinner is repentant. In that sense, all sinners are the Prodigal Son.
The richness of God's instruction for those like you who have the Spirit and let Him inspire them becomes its own reward.
Turning, then, to your exegesis: Pharisees...who resent that God forgives sinners.
This is the Jews' famous Stumbling Block, as Paul noted in 1Cor1. The irony, of course, is that the gift of God in choosing them became their excuse for refusing His grace. And, within that, how dare God favor unchosen Gentiles! That's not kosher, or according to Hoyle, or something.
Your study notes' adherence to the context blesses us not only with three sensible interpretations but also with a noble example for our own future studies.
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