Anyone can fall into sin and walk away form God, but when they come to their scenes they come back home.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
12“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray? 13If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. Matthew 18:12-13
In
Luke 15:12, the younger son asks his father for his share of his estate, which would have been half of what his older brother would receive (see
Deuteronomy 21:17). In other words, the younger son asked for 1/3 of the estate. Though it was perfectly within his rights to ask, it was not a loving thing to do, as it implied that he wished his father dead. Instead of rebuking his son, the father patiently grants him his request. This is a picture of God letting a sinner go his own way (
Deuteronomy 30:19).
Like the prodigal son, we all possess a foolish ambition to be independent, which is at the root of the sinner persisting in his sin (
Genesis 3:6;
Romans 1:28). A sinful state is a departure and distance from God (
Romans 1:21). A sinful state is also a place of constant discontent. In
Luke 12:15 Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” The younger son in the parable learned the hard way that covetousness leads to a life of dissatisfaction and disappointment. He also learned that the most valuable things in life are the things we cannot buy or replace.
In
Luke 15:13 the younger son travels to a distant country. It is evident from his previous actions that he had already made that journey in his heart, and the physical departure was a display of his willful disobedience to all the goodness his father had offered (
Proverbs 27:19;
Matthew 6:21;
12:34). In the foreign land, the prodigal squanders all his inheritance on selfish, shallow fulfillment, losing everything. His financial disaster is followed by a natural disaster in the form of a famine, which he failed to plan for. At this point he hires himself out to a Gentile and finds himself
feeding pigs, a detestable job to the Jewish people (
Leviticus 11:7). Needless to say, the prodigal must have been incredibly desperate to willingly take such a loathsome position. He was paid so little and grew so hungry that he longed to eat the pig’s food. To top it off, he could find no mercy among the people he had chosen as his own: “No one gave him anything” (verse 16). Apparently, once his wealth was gone, so were his friends. Even the unclean animals were better off than he was at that point.
The prodigal son toiling in the pig pen is a picture of the lost sinner or a rebellious Christian who has returned to a life of sin (
2 Peter 2:19–21). The results of sin are never pretty (
James 1:14–15).
The prodigal son begins to reflect on his miserable condition, and “he came to his senses” (
Luke 15:17). He realizes that even his father’s servants have it better. His painful circumstances help him to see his father in a new light. Hope begins to dawn in his heart (
Psalm 147:11;
Isaiah 40:30–31;
1 Timothy 4:10).
The prodigal’s realization is reflective of the sinner’s discovery that, apart from God, there is no hope (
Ephesians 2:12;
2 Timothy 2:25–26). When a sinner “comes to his senses,” repentance follows, along with a longing to return to fellowship with God.
The son devises a plan of action, and it shows that his repentance was genuine. He will admit his sin (
Luke 15:18), and he will give up his rights as a son and take on the position of a servant (verse 19). He realizes he has no right to a blessing from his father, and he has nothing to offer his father except a life of service. Returning home, the prodigal son is prepared to fall at his father’s feet and beg for mercy.
In the same way, a repentant sinner coming to God is keenly aware of his own spiritual poverty. Laying aside all pride and feelings of entitlement, he brings nothing of value with him. The sinner’s only thought is to cast himself at the
mercy of God and beg for a position of servitude (
1 John 1:9;
Romans 6:6–18;
12:1).
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son? Why did Jesus often speak using parables instead of teaching more clearly?
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