The Pharisees' Behavior is Strange

The Pharisees' Behavior is Strange
Part One: Summary
The Pharisees' behavior is strange. "This man receives sinners and eats with them." The behavior or statement of the Pharisees reminds us of the relevance of Jesus Christ eating alongside sinners. These groups of people used Christ's deeds of eating with sinners as inappropriate due to His ministry and status on the planet. The Pharisees were among the Jewish individuals who governed Israelites during Christ's era. When Christ requested Levi, the taxi collector, to be among His disciples and eat together at Levi's house, the Pharisees considered the decision shocking. They utilized the action to question Christ's traits. The Pharisees' perception about Jesus' action is a reflection of hypocrisy. Jesus eating together with the tax collector shows love for people regardless of their status and actions and justifies our relevance. A humble sinner is always considered righteous before God despite their actions.[Durkin, Jeffrey. “A Cultural Reading of Luke 16:1-9,” 9.]
           Regarding the argument about the Parable's audience, According to Durkin, disciples were the major audience, Pharisees also played an important role and could undoubtedly be regarded as an essential part of these audiences in which Christ focused on the Parable. Durkin argues that verse one recognizes disciples as the major parable audience, yet Pharisees are partly the audience. According to him, they are audience all over the 15th chapter and shows that these individuals were present during the Dishonest Steward parable: "The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him." They are the audience as the Parable critically involves matters concerning money. Luke, concerned about the Parable, could be unsure about the Parable's meaning. As the Parable sets the stage, two main characters are introduced, a steward and a rich man. Recognizing the latter as 'rich' is dismissed because any individual with debtors and the steward is well-off. However, the master is depicted in the following verse as forgiving and, most importantly, generous. Therefore, Jesus did not expect the rich man to be a disgrace. It is merely symbolic of his wealth.[Durkin, Jeffrey. “A Cultural Reading of Luke 16:1-9,” 11.]
           According to Susan Durber in the Female Reader of the Parables of the Lost Text, a feminist approach to the Bible's texts exists, admitting that there are several aspects in which they are unjustifiably sexist. Various excerpts or quotes reveal the argument that the author tries to put across. Some feminists originating from France have followed a distinct approach. Remarkably, they gave attention to the means by which the symbolic language systems have contributed to repressing the term the feminine. According to the argument, these feminists are always keen on women as an indication within the male-controlled discourse, and they emphasize the impracticality of identifying a location outside patriarchy. The article's argument is based on Lacan's Psychoanalytic Theory, whereby the self is expressed within the representative order that is marked by what was referred to as the "Law of the F...