repentance” (v 7 NKJV, NRSV) refers to those who are safely within the community of faith. The parable of the lost son is the longest narrative fiction in Jesus’ teachings. It resides at the center of Luke’s Gospel both physically and theologically. It has been called the “heart of the third gospel” (Ramaroson 1979, 356, and others since). The parable is unlike any other parable of Jesus in its tone. The style has some resonance of the story of
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