“The Prodigal Son”

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Recorded in Luke 15:11-32, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most famous of all the parables. It is the third parable in this chapter, following the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin.

Luke 15 has been referred to as “the gospel in the gospel,” since it tells us of the love of our Heavenly Father for lost souls. It is a word picture describing the truth of John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son.”

A man had two sons and the younger one decided he didn’t want to live at home and follow his father’s rules any more. So he asked for his part of the inheritance, which was unusual, of course. Normally, one does not inherit something from anyone until that person had died. But the Father grants his request (perhaps this is symbolic of our free will and God’s willingness to allow us to make really foolish decisions).

The young man heads off to a far country (any place away from his father). This is a parabolic picture of sin. The consequences of his choice are significant and severe. He soon wastes all of his inheritance with wild and ungodly behavior. His friends, no doubt abundant when he had plenty of money, quickly desert him. Unable to survive for long, he gets a job feeding pigs. It would be difficult to imagine a lower state of being for a Jewish male. But sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you look up.

Brought to his senses by his memory of the things he had learned from his father, repents (“when he came to himself”), and walks home in shame and disgrace. His loving father sees him coming from afar and runs to meet him (something quite undignified for Jewish father). He welcomes him home and throws him a party.

The older brother, who has stayed at home and served and obeyed their Father, is not at all happy to see his younger sibling. He is jealous of the love the Father still has for his foolish and rebellious child. Jesus is driving the lesson home to the envious tax collectors and sinners (verses 1-2) who didn’t understand why Christ spent time with sinners.

This is usually called the parable of the prodigal son and he is an important character in the narrative. Some have rightly referred to this as the parable of the lost sons, emphasizing that the older brother was just as lost as the prodigal, although he had remained at home. But, in the final analysis, this is a parable about the loving Father.

There is no one that God does not love. Think of the worst people you have ever known. Think of those who have committed great crimes against society and their fellow man. Think of those who have hurt you the most and whose downfall or destruction would probably bring you great pleasure. By the way, while you are at it, you might think about your own sins, in rebellion to God and His love. God loves every soul.

--Roger Hillis

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