Our Scripture reading to close out this fourth week of Lent is a very well-known parable from the Gospel of Luke, that of the Prodigal Son. Most of us are familiar with this parable that Jesus told the crowds, and especially the Pharisees and scribes who continued to try and discredit Him with the people, and trap Him in His words. Let’s take another look here, and see what new lessons the Lord could teach us.
In this parable that Jesus tells, we see a father and his two sons, who are probably young adults. As the story begins, the younger son demands of his father his share of the inheritance. He didn’t want to wait until his father died, he wanted it right then. This disrespectful son was basically telling his father to hurry up and die because he wanted his money, and if he wasn’t going to die then for his son’s convenience, then to give him his money right then. The son took his money and traveled far away, and began to live it up (vs. 11-13). He probably bought expensive clothes, fine wines, a shiny new chariot, threw extravagant parties, etc. The Greek word for “prodigal” means dissolute, and conveys the idea of an utterly debauched lifestyle. This young man wasn’t just spending recklessly, he was wild and unrestrained. He was decadent and depraved.
But that didn’t last forever. A famine came and the economy crashed. The son’s money quickly ran out and all of his sin-loving “friends” abandoned him. He had nowhere to turn, and eventually ended up feeding pigs. It got so bad for him, and he was so hungry, that he even envied the pigs for their slop (vs. 14-16).
This son symbolizes sinful, lost mankind, far away and estranged from God. They live their lives any way they desire, with no thought of God or their condition at all. This young man’s situation could not have been more desperate. He symbolizes the sinner, estranged from God, and who is spiritually helpless and in despair. After a while, this son came to his senses. He recognized and admitted that he was a sinner, and that despite his shameful conduct, he needed to return to his father (vs. 17-19).
Now we turn to take a look at the father. How had he felt when this son had basically told him he wished he was dead, and demanded his inheritance? Some parents might have written this child off as dead to them, but as we read that is not what this father did. He is a picture of God, eager to forgive, and desiring the returning sinner. As verse 20 indicates, this father was always on the look-out for his son, hoping and praying for his return. Periodically through the day he would scan the horizon for some sign of the boy, and one day his prayers were answered. When he saw a figure in the distance that looked like his son, this father took off in a run to greet and welcome the boy home. Despite the stench of the pigpen his boy had been living in, this father took him into his arms in a loving, forgiving embrace.
The Lord God is not indifferent or hostile to us in our sinful condition, like the false pagan gods are portrayed as. He is the Savior, longing to see sinners repent, and return to Him, even more than this father did. Jesus rejoices each time a sinner is saved (Luke 15:7, 10). God’s love is constant, patient, and welcoming. He will search for us, just as a shepherd does for the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). God will give us opportunities to respond to His love and forgiveness, but He will not force us to come to Him.
Finally, we see the other son, the one who did not run off with his share of the inheritance, but remained at home, working for the father. When he heard that his brother had returned, and that the father welcomed him back with love, giving him his status as son again, along with new clothes and a banquet, he became angry and resentful (vs. 25-28). This son is representative of self-righteous people who are indifferent and even hostile to repenting sinners. Many of these types of people say they want to see sinners get saved, but they certainly don’t want them to come into their church. They avoid them and won’t welcome them, for fear that the “stench of their sins” might come near them.
The father was not happy with this son’s attitude as he came out to plead with him to come in and rejoice (vs. 28-32), and neither is God happy when He sees a self-righteous attitude in us. Do we resent God’s gracious forgiveness of others whom we consider to be “far worse sinners” than ourselves? That would be acting like the Pharisees, for whom this parable was primarily directed. Don’t be self-righteous, but rather, rejoice when others, no matter their background, come to Jesus. If you are far away from God, living in the slop and sin of the world like the prodigal son, God is there longing and waiting for you to return. Do not hesitate one more day. Return to the Lord, as His loving arms are waiting to welcome you home.
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