Judas or the Prodigal Son? - Josh Naqvi

    Silence ended close to how I expected. A lot of our class theories ringed true but of course some things ended differently than expected. I expected Rodrigues to die so that was a bit disappointing only because I hate being wrong. Enough said about this, I was intrigued by something far more surprising. Kichijiro came to ask for repentance! I did not see that coming. He was brave in the end, brave enough to endure being beat and yelled at just to see the Rodrigues. He risked his own skin for once to be pardoned for his sins. He confessed. Of course Rodrigues starts mumbling about Judas when this happens. He seems to still think lowly of Kichijiro even though he has humbled himself and risked everything to come confess. Is he really Judas?

    I would say no! Judas killed himself rather than confess. Rodrigues recalls Judas killing himself on page 175 and was trying to draw connections between Judas and Kichijiro. There are no connections to Judas because that is not who he is. Kichijiro reminds me of the prodigal son this is because he came back and confessed. Both men were haughty and sinned greatly. Kichijiro squandered his life for many years and was not how people would expect a christian to act. The prodigal son did this as well but he eventually realized his sins and came back to his father to repent. Kichijiro does the same thing. He travels far to meet with the "father" figure, Rodrigues, and repent. He is the prodigal son. He lost his way and yes he did some dastardly things. However, he confessed them and showed himself to be brave in the end. This was surprising to me and was my favorite part in the story. I would go as far to even argue that this was the greatest "work" Rodrigues did in the entire book. He allowed Kichijiro to confess and turn his life back on the right track. The sad part is that Rodrigues does not see it this way. He is not the kind father in the parable. In fact he is more like the angry older brother, bitter towards the prodigal son even after he willingly confesses. 

I commented on Emily Otts and Raygan Boster

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 17, 2022 at 6:23 PM

    Wow! I never realized that connection. Of course, the inconsistencies with Judas killing himself while Kichijiro is alive and repentant are clear, but I never thought about making a connection with the prodigal son and Kichijiro. Now that you pointed it out, I agree with you more.

    ~ Madalyn Dillard

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  2. Emma LandryApril 18, 2022 at 2:47 PM

    Wow Josh, this is a really great comparison! I did not see the interaction between Rodrigues and Kichijiro as being similar to the prodigal son when I first read it. I was also surprised by Kichijiro's call for repentance. However, as much as we as a class have not been fans of him, I think that we are all Kichijiros to some extent. No matter how far we may drift from God, He will always grant us forgiveness every time if we come to him with repentant hearts. Thank goodness the Lord we serve embraces us much more than Rodrigues does. It was frustrating to see the coldheartedness he still displays toward Kichijiro even after all he has experienced.
    -Emma Landry

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  3. Raygan BosterApril 18, 2022 at 4:48 PM

    I did not even think of it this way, but it is so true. I think a lot of us are like the prodigal son when it comes to our walk with Christ but like the older brother when it comes to other people's walk. We see people repenting over and over but keep doing the same sin, and we can sometimes get rather annoyed or skeptical of if they truly mean it. However, we should not have that attitude at all.

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  4. Emily OttsApril 19, 2022 at 9:26 AM

    This comparison works way better than the one to Judas. Judas never once repented. He was secretly working behind Jesus's back. The Prodigal Son, however, was clearly going against his father's wishes and repented once he realized what he had done. Kichijiro fits the role of the Prodigal Son much better.

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