Luke 15

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’  ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭11‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We can learn something important from each of the main characters in this story.   1. The younger son (also known as the prodigal son) represents each of us before we came to know Christ.  He starts out being greedy, selfish, and reckless.  He clearly valued money and gratifying his fleshly desires more than his relationship with his father.  He showed disrespect for his father’s authority by demanding his share of the estate when he wanted it, instead of waiting until it was rightfully his.  He took his father’s money and chose to go far away so that he did not have to be accountable to anyone for his wild and irresponsible actions.  Sound familiar to anyone?  Most of us can relate to living this way during some period of our lives.  This time is usually characterized by feelings of thinking we know it all, being distant from God, and wanting to achieve everything on our own, with selfish ambition as our underlying motivation.  The turning point in this story is verse 17, where “he came to his senses.”  Hitting rock bottom forced him to repent and admit that he had sinned greatly against God and his earthly father.   He returned to his father a changed person: humble, begging for forgiveness, ready to admit that he needed his father’s help, and willing to be a servant to show his appreciation for his father’s love and acceptance.  So many times it takes a tragic event, great pain, suffering or severe loss before someone is willing to turn towards Jesus for help.  The wonderful truth is that God will receive anyone who decides to turn back to Him.   He is faithful and will forgive us every time.  “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).  We highly recommend listening to the song “Come Back Home” by the Christian band Kutless.  Here are the lyrics, which illustrate the point of The Parable of the Prodigal Son perfectly: “Come Back Home” by Kutless. How long till you come to the end of your reckless streak. How long till the freedom weighs you down. How long till your heart figures out that you need me. How long until you turn around. When you come back home. I’ll be running out to meet you. When you come back home. You’ll find that I’ve never left you. You’ll see every wrong turn every bridge you’ve burned. It’s all forgiven and gone. When you come back home. When you come back home. I wanna see that face that I’ve been missing so much. I want to wrap my arms around your neck. I want to welcome you back to the place where you belong. I want to show you love has never left. I’ve paid the price so have no fear. There’s nothing but mercy here yeah. Mercy is waiting. When you come back home.

2. The father in this story represents our heavenly Father.  He is portrayed as being loving, constant, and patient throughout the parable.  Even though he knew his son was being disrespectful in asking for his inheritance early, and he was aware that the money would not be spent wisely, he allowed his son the freedom to make his own mistakes.  He never stopped loving his son or wanting him to come back.  He did not go out in search of his lost son in order to discipline him and drag him back home, but instead he sat and waited patiently for him to return to him on his own.   He eagerly received him when he returned, and immediately had a huge party to celebrate the fact that his son was back.  The father’s grace completely overshadowed the sinfulness of his son.  “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him” (Psalms 10:10-11).  The same is true for each of us.  When we turn our backs on God, He is patiently waiting for us to return to Him.  As soon as we turn away from whatever sin we have been in, He is right there, waiting to be in a relationship with us and willing to bless us with His presence right away.  He will celebrate, just like the father in this parable, and “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).

3. The older brother in this parable represents the Pharisees and other religious leaders.  Outwardly, he lived a very obedient, respectable life.  On the inside his heart was filled with bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and self-righteousness.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:27-28).  Just as the older son was irritated and disapproving of his father celebrating his brother’s return home, so were the Pharisees in regards to allowing sinners into the kingdom of God.  But Jesus said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).  To put it in perspective, we are all sinners to start with and are all undeserving of God’s love and mercy.  Once we realize that we are in need of a Savior, our sins are forgiven and we are wholeheartedly welcomed into His Kingdom.   We are in no position to judge whenever we see a fellow sinner being forgiven and received into the Kingdom of God.  1 John 2:9 says: “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.”  No matter what the person has done in the past, for every lost soul that is saved we should celebrate and give glory to God.  So, remember to celebrate with others when they join God’s family.  The only thing that the older brother’s unforgiveness did was to keep him from enjoying the party.