Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15

by Kenneth E. Bailey

This book explores the intended meaning, as well as the implications and applications, of the three parables in Luke 15 (The Good Shepherd and the Lost Sheep, The Good Woman and the Lost Coin, and The Good Father and His Two Lost Sons). It reflects the author's immersion in the language, religion, and culture of the Middle East, demonstrating how meaningful the biblical text becomes when a broad background of study and analysis is permitted to illuminate the text. Western readers will gain an array of new insights from this volume and will be fascinated by the author's nuances of interpretation. The author's analysis shows how the cultural background of Arabic and Muslim theology affects the interpretation of these parables.

Genres: Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction, New Testament

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

After undergraduate and seminary studies, Dr. Bailey completed degrees in Arabic Language and Literature, Systematic Theology and a doctorate in New Testament. Ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA), Dr. Bailey spent 40 years (1955-1995) living and teaching in seminaries and institutes in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus.

For 20 of those years Dr. Bailey was Professor of New Testament and Head of the Biblical Department of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut where he also founded and directed the Institute for Middle Eastern New Testament Studies. From September 1985 to June 1995, Dr. Bailey was on the faculty of "The Ecumenical Institute for Theological Research" in Jerusalem, with the title of Research Professor of Middle Eastern New Testament Studies.

In 1990 Dr. Bailey accepted the additional responsibility of Canon Theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, residing in Nicosia, Cyprus and returned a third of each year to Jerusalem to continue teaching at the Ecumenical Institute.

Dr. Bailey's area of specialty is the cultural background and literary forms of the New Testament. In addition to more than 150 articles in English and in Arabic, his writings include:

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008)
“Open Hearts in Bethlehem (A Christmas Musical)” (Louisville: W/JK, 2005)
The Cross and the Prodigal [Revised edition] (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2005)
Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2003 )
Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1992)
Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, l980)
God Is ... Dialogues on the Nature of God [Revised Edition] (Toronto: FFM, 2005)

Dr. Bailey has authored the scripts for two professionally produced feature length films and has also professionally recorded more than 100 video lectures on a variety of New Testament themes. He has taught at Columbia and Princeton and was for a time an adjunct professor at Dubuque, McCormick and Pittsburgh theological seminaries as well as at Fuller Seminary. Dr. Bailey has lectured in theological colleges and seminaries in England (Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol) Ireland, Canada, Egypt, Finland, Latvia, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia and Jerusalem. He is active as a Bible teacher for conferences and continuing education events in the Middle East, Europe and North America. His writings have been translated and published into more than 20 languages. He is a member of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas and is listed in Who's Who in Biblical Studies and Archeology (Washington: Biblical Archeology Society, 1992). In March 1995, at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Bailey was the Bible teacher for the triennial meeting of the Archbishops of the Anglican Communion. In 1999 he received the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary “Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Academics.” In 2003, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, he participated in a Muslim-Christian dialogue conference held in Doha, Qatar.

The Baileys now reside in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Dr. Bailey continues his ministry of lecturing, writing and recording in the field of New Testament. In June 1997, he was installed as Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church, USA.

Mrs. Ethel Bailey was a research assistant to Dr. Jonas Salk at the time he discovered the polio vaccine. She taught microbiology (in Arabic), raised a family, and typed a number of Dr. Bailey's manuscripts. In Beirut she was the recording secretary for the board of the American Community School. While in Jerusalem she was active in the leadership of daily worship at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute and in various other aspects of the life of the community. The Baileys have two children.

Reviews

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note, March 22, 2018: I just edited this review to delete a dittography (I'd written the word "and" twice where I'd meant to write it once).

Several discussions going on in the Christian Goodreaders group here on Goodreads piqued my interest in reviewing, as I have opportunity, some more of the many Biblical or theology-related nonfiction books I read in the decades before joining Goodreads. This is actually one I reviewed in the Nov. 1993 issue of The Christian Librarian, and this review is adapted from that one.

A veteran of 35 years of teaching and learning in the Middle East, Kenneth Bailey became known in the field of New Testament studies for his ground-breaking application of insights drawn from Middle Eastern village life (which he observed first hand) and the interpretive tradition of the Arab Christian churches to the study of Jesus' parables, as exemplified in his landmark books Poet and Peasant (Eerdmans, 1976) and Through Peasant Eyes (Eerdmans, 1980), which are published together in the omnibus edition Poet and Peasant, and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. A major contribution of no less importance was his recognition of the parables as not merely simple stories, but as serious theology that deliberately uses the suggestive power of narrative and metaphor to convey a depth and richness of meanings which isn't possible to do with similar succinctness in the form of exposition. (The discussion of that concept here is worth the price of the book by itself.) Both of these characteristic features of his work are to be found in this book, which is an in-depth study of three parables from Luke 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and "the good Father and his two lost sons."

Bailey spreads a rich feast of interpretive insights, intellectually rigorous enough to benefit his fellow scholars, but presented with the kind of highly readable prose style and non-technical vocabulary that makes it accessible to serious lay readers as well. His own deep appreciation of the life-changing significance of the texts he's expounding shines through every facet of his study. Among the many fresh insights here are the description of repentance as "acceptance of being found," and the examination of the rhetorical and thematic parallels between Luke 15 and Psalm 23. The timeless meaning of the three parables treated here is presented so clearly that their present-day application(s) to the disdain of religious "insiders" for "outsiders" suggest themselves naturally to the reader, with no need for explicit sermonizing.

Rather than footnotes, the author uses interspersed referencing, supplemented by minimal chapter endnotes. An excellent nine-page bibliography (mostly of books) is provided, with one page devoted to both published and unpublished Semitic Gospel manuscripts and translations. Most of the sources cited are in English. There are five indexes, including of authors and of biblical and other ancient references, but no subject index.

This is highly recommended for any readers interested, for whatever reason, in in-depth study of these parables. It's a book the value of which is absolutely unique!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grace springing more abundantly than ever imagined: that is what the reader will see upon reading "Finding the Lost." Ten years ago my theology professor recommended this book; having now read it, I see how deeply his own teaching and life were influenced by it--and with good reason. Taking the three parables of Luke 15 as a whole and expounding on them from his many years of serious research and life in the Middle Eastern culture, Kenneth Bailey presents an eye-opening explanation of the lost sheep, lost coin, and two lost sons (ie. "the prodigal son"). God's self-sacrificing love and the utter inability of the sinner to gain His favor blossom as Dr. Bailey lays out his case. Portions of this book, especially the introduction, are heavy with scholarship, but most is not beyond the grasp of the average reader. Some points seem belabored or questionable, but the discerning reader will not mind this, as the overarching insights are marvelous. Besides the rich grace presented, interesting demonstrations of an expanded Hebraic parallelism in a number of texts were fascinating to me. This book has the potential not just to change how one reads Luke 15, but also the Psalms, Isaiah, and other parables.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for the exegetical class on the Gospels here at seminary. Excellently done. This book would allow a pastor to explore, with his congregation, the interconnected trilogy of parables in Luke 15 for several weeks; possibly even a summer or Lenten midweek sermon series. The book is by a Reformed author in Dr Bailey, so the sacramental element isn't as strong as it could be.

[Adam Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much better than I hoped

I have wept for love while describing some of what I learned from this book to my wife.. please read it. Bailey will reveal a level of depth in this part of the bible you have almost certainly missed.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenneth E. Bailey’s Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15 is undoubtedly the most rigorous treatment of the parable of the two sons (the parable of the prodigal son) available. Bailey was a truly remarkable theologian, and this book is perhaps the definitive work for anyone interested in the subject.

[Bob Schindler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very valuable insights into the Middle Eastern culture. I don't agree with all of Bailey's interpretation of the parable, particularly about the younger son and his return to the father, but all in all a must read for understanding Luke 15.