Social context...

It's important to understand the social climate to fully appreciate the teachings of Jesus. All too often we read our Bible and don't get the full impact of Jesus' words because we haven't fully investigated the context in which those words were spoken. Let's look at one example, the parable of the lost (or prodigal) son. just reading the story today we see a son who asks for his inheritance early, and when granted, takes it, spends it, and ends up a homeless person eating pig slop. He realizes his father's servants live better than he, so he decides to head for home and ask for a job as a servant. As he heads for home, while still far off, the father (who watched the road daily) sees him and runs to greet him and welcome him home. He embraces him and honors him and escorts him home where they prepare a celebration feast...
But is this as deep as the story goes? If you were hearing this in Jesus' day several things would be immediately obvious, for they were cultural taboos. First, for a son to ask for his inheritance prior to his father's death was a great insult, paramount to disowning your family. This son, in his discontent and desire to get out from under his father's authority did what would have been considered irreversible in Jesus' day. Still, the father waited, and when the son found himself humbled, destitute, and lost the father ran to him, embraced him, forgave him, and welcomed him home.
Did you catch that, the other taboo? The father ran to him... In Jesus' day those of position, those of social stature never ran; as a matter of fact, the more prestigious you were the slower, and more stately your walk. This man, obviusly a man of wealth and position, forsook all social mores and ran to his son. Looking at this parable in light of the social context in which Jesus spoke it gives us a deeper, more profound sense of the heart of God, the Father. We are loved so much, so deeply, that despite the seemingly unforgivable things we do in the eyes of society it is not enough to seperate us from the love of our God. Wow. And our God doesn't care what anyone thinks of his unconditional love and forgiveness, he's ready to meet us when and where we are, no matter how undeserving we may feel we are. Wow.
Perhaps, if we really want to understand the depth of the message God is giving us, to gain a fuller understanding of His word, perhaps we need to study the contexts; the context of the thought in relation to the passage, and the social context of the day... Just a thought...