Luke 15:11-32
The parable of the Lost Son is a very famous, and very deep parable told by Jesus. In this parable, we get the full effect of God’s love for us, our fallen state, and what must happen in our journey to reach him once again. In this parable, there is a stirring human element at work.
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
In Jewish law, the oldest son got what is called a double-portion, or a 2/3 portion of the inheritance. Also, as part of Jewish law, this inheritance could be taken before the death occurred. But we have to look at who is making this request. It is the younger son. Why this is significant is because he is looking for a 1/3 of the inheritance immediately. If the estate is $100,000, then he’s getting a measly $33,000, and that’s all he’ll ever get.
This is important because the request is not out of benevolence, but greed. In Luke 12:15, Jesus warns to be on the lookout for all kinds of greed. The younger son wants his money and wants it now. In essence he is saying “I wish you were dead.” He’s already left in his heart.
The father grants him his wish. As we move through this parable, we have to remember that a parable is not an historical story, but a story used to illustrate a deeper meaning. So characters in this story are representative of biblical characters or ideas. The young man in the story represents us, the impetuous and imperfect human. The father represents God.
So why does the father allow the son this? Why doesn’t he object? The reason is simple: God’s love allows rebellion. It is our choice whether we obey or don’t. If it were not our choice, then we would be God’s puppets. He wants us to make a choice for him.
13 “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. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
The son leaves and embarks in wild living. He lives a foolish life and as a famine rolls in, we realize that he has spent his money foolishly. He has no money to afford the higher prices and scarcity of food. He is the only one to blame for his actions, and he had to take a job. He accepts work feeding pigs, a highly offensive job for a Jewish person.
This is the lowest point fo this man. He is a Jewish man who has squandered his fortune, all the money his father will ever give him, and is feeding pigs. This part of the story is deceptively important. Our human experience proves to us something: often we have to get to the lowest point before we see God.
This is where God lives. When things are going great, we generally forget about God. But when things are at their toughest, we begin to realize something important about our journey: we can’t possibly do it alone. And we come to the realization, when life tightens and those things we depended on fall away, that depending on ourselves just doesn’t work.
17 “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! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
Verse 17 is key: When he came to his senses. His real self, his core being, is not the sinful, wild-living guy. It is the guy who must turn back to God. He didn’t blame others. He owned his sin and set his eyes back onto the father. In other words, he repented. The picture of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. We’re deeply sorry for our behavior. We need to repent, confess, and move forward with God, not ourselves. This is how we can tell the young man’s repentance is real:
‘I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
He isn’t returning to his house in the stature he left. He will return as a servant.
20“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.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “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. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
As the son is returning to his father’s home, the father, in the field, sees him and begins running toward him. The image is striking enough, but in this society older men do not run. And as we will see, the father doesn’t even listen to the entire speech. Instead, he hurriedly is calling for implements of honor for his returned son: Robe: Dignity; Ring:Authority; Sandals: Not being a servant; Fattened Calf: Celebration. The father has no interest in what happened, for the son has returned and that is all that matters. His joy is unmatched.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 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.’”
God’s joy at finding his lost son is contrasted by the older brother, who has dutifully been at the farm. As we can see, he is bitter over the son’s return. Outwardly he has done everything right, but inwardly he is hypocritical. He lives in the father’s house, does the things the father requires, but does not understand the father’s heart. He never received what he wanted, which gives an insight to he heart. He may have been working for an eventual reward, which doesn’t speak from the heart at all, but to his own selfish nature. Salvation is not based on merit, but on grace. He only sees the outward concept of sin and judges it only by his brother’s outward actions. Only by God’s grace are we truly saved, when we come back authentically.
The parable of the Lost Son is a very famous, and very deep parable told by Jesus. In this parable, we get the full effect of God’s love for us, our fallen state, and what must happen in our journey to reach him once again. In this parable, there is a stirring human element at work.
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
In Jewish law, the oldest son got what is called a double-portion, or a 2/3 portion of the inheritance. Also, as part of Jewish law, this inheritance could be taken before the death occurred. But we have to look at who is making this request. It is the younger son. Why this is significant is because he is looking for a 1/3 of the inheritance immediately. If the estate is $100,000, then he’s getting a measly $33,000, and that’s all he’ll ever get.
This is important because the request is not out of benevolence, but greed. In Luke 12:15, Jesus warns to be on the lookout for all kinds of greed. The younger son wants his money and wants it now. In essence he is saying “I wish you were dead.” He’s already left in his heart.
The father grants him his wish. As we move through this parable, we have to remember that a parable is not an historical story, but a story used to illustrate a deeper meaning. So characters in this story are representative of biblical characters or ideas. The young man in the story represents us, the impetuous and imperfect human. The father represents God.
So why does the father allow the son this? Why doesn’t he object? The reason is simple: God’s love allows rebellion. It is our choice whether we obey or don’t. If it were not our choice, then we would be God’s puppets. He wants us to make a choice for him.
13 “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. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
The son leaves and embarks in wild living. He lives a foolish life and as a famine rolls in, we realize that he has spent his money foolishly. He has no money to afford the higher prices and scarcity of food. He is the only one to blame for his actions, and he had to take a job. He accepts work feeding pigs, a highly offensive job for a Jewish person.
This is the lowest point fo this man. He is a Jewish man who has squandered his fortune, all the money his father will ever give him, and is feeding pigs. This part of the story is deceptively important. Our human experience proves to us something: often we have to get to the lowest point before we see God.
This is where God lives. When things are going great, we generally forget about God. But when things are at their toughest, we begin to realize something important about our journey: we can’t possibly do it alone. And we come to the realization, when life tightens and those things we depended on fall away, that depending on ourselves just doesn’t work.
17 “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! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
Verse 17 is key: When he came to his senses. His real self, his core being, is not the sinful, wild-living guy. It is the guy who must turn back to God. He didn’t blame others. He owned his sin and set his eyes back onto the father. In other words, he repented. The picture of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. We’re deeply sorry for our behavior. We need to repent, confess, and move forward with God, not ourselves. This is how we can tell the young man’s repentance is real:
‘I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
He isn’t returning to his house in the stature he left. He will return as a servant.
20“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.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “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. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
As the son is returning to his father’s home, the father, in the field, sees him and begins running toward him. The image is striking enough, but in this society older men do not run. And as we will see, the father doesn’t even listen to the entire speech. Instead, he hurriedly is calling for implements of honor for his returned son: Robe: Dignity; Ring:Authority; Sandals: Not being a servant; Fattened Calf: Celebration. The father has no interest in what happened, for the son has returned and that is all that matters. His joy is unmatched.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 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.’”
God’s joy at finding his lost son is contrasted by the older brother, who has dutifully been at the farm. As we can see, he is bitter over the son’s return. Outwardly he has done everything right, but inwardly he is hypocritical. He lives in the father’s house, does the things the father requires, but does not understand the father’s heart. He never received what he wanted, which gives an insight to he heart. He may have been working for an eventual reward, which doesn’t speak from the heart at all, but to his own selfish nature. Salvation is not based on merit, but on grace. He only sees the outward concept of sin and judges it only by his brother’s outward actions. Only by God’s grace are we truly saved, when we come back authentically.