Jesus' kingdom parables as metaphorical stories: A challenge to a conventional worldview

Abstract

Jesus' parables are to be read as metaphorical stories. Parable as metaphor demands that the parable remains open-ended and polyvalent, with the reader always involved in a participatory role. This article aims at showing that Jesus' kingdom parables are of a diaphoric, nature challenging the conventional worldview. It focuses on the parable 'A Man Had Two Sons' (Lk 15:11-22). This parable is interpreted from the Lucan perspective. It shows how the mytheme of the 'two-sons stories' is used as a tensive symbol in order to establish the Lucan notion of the all-inclusiveness of God's kingdom.