A student, Maggie Church, notes the parallel between the situation in Philemon – a runaway slave returning to his master – and the story of the prodigal son.
If we plug in NT Wright’s interpretation of that parable, we get a deeper insight into the theology of Philemon. According to Wright, the Prodigal son is the story of Israel, exiled but now returning,. with the elder brother standing in for the surly scribes and Pharisees. The incident with Onesimus and Philemon has the same structure, and it too is a story of Israel’s return. The only question is whether Philemon will be a true brother to Onesimus, or whether he will grumble about the prodigal’s return.
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