Luke 15: 11 – 32
11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.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.14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'20So 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.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.23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.26So 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.29But 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.30But 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.32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
A long time ago I was interviewed for a place at a Christian establishment and during the interview I was asked who was being represented by the father figure in this parable. At that time I was a young inexperienced Christian and I could not answer the question. I knew the parable but I had only heard people talk about the younger son (the Prodigal Son). I had never even thought about the father figure. There were two personal reasons for this. I grew up in a Christian family and went to ‘church’ every Sunday. Despite this, the bible played a minor role in my youth. Furthermore, because of my experiences as a young boy, I grew up having difficulties with father figures. Despite my inability to answer the question I was successful in gaining a place at this establishment. In turn this opening gave me the opportunity to read the bible more than I had ever done before and in time I came to understand not only who the father figure represents but how he is the central figure in the story.
To understand why Jesus told this parable we must focus on the father figure. For those who are not sure, I should first state that a parable is a fictitious story with a central message. Having said that, any passage of scripture can convey a number of messages and the Parable of the Prodigal Son is no exception. But, above all else I want us to come to an understanding of the main message in this story.
Bearing in mind my point that we must focus on the father figure, lets see if we can understand what Jesus is trying to say to us. In this story there are three characters that Jesus tells us about; the father and his two sons. So who are they? Well, firstly the father represents God. Then the two sons represent believers, or as we call them today, Christians. I need to stop at this point and explain what I’ve just said about the two sons because some people miss this point at the beginning of the parable. Jesus starts the parable with a family which consists of a father and two sons and the sons have the full rights of inheritance. When describing what it means to be a Christian, the Apostle Paul said to the Galatians, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father”. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has also made you an heir.” (Galatians 4:4-7) That is why I say that the two sons in the parable are Christians. Or to put it another way, the two sons have been saved.
In verse two the younger son asks his father for his share of the estate; in other words, his inheritance. And notice how the son asks his father. He doesn’t say please and he doesn’t beg. His request is blunt and straight to the point. Someone recently questioned in a bible study why in the so called ‘Lord’s Prayer’ did Jesus not instruct us to say please when asking for our daily bread, etc? I said that this was because Jesus wants us to approach the Father with confidence when we make our requests. When we pray we should do so with boldness and confidence knowing that the Father will receive our request with grace and generosity. There is no need to beg; we are God’s children with full rights. So the request made by the younger son in the parable is for us an example of prayer. Then, notice how the Father responds to the son. Without hesitation and without conditions, the Father gives the son exactly what he asks for. The generosity of God is not dependent on our worthiness; it comes from his unconditional, gracious love for his children. Now isn’t that Good News!
So the younger son receives his inheritance and like this younger son we as Christians are heirs of an inheritance. The inheritance we are entitled to as sons of God is not like the material inheritance we might receive from our natural parents or guardians. So what is our inheritance from our heavenly Father? Here are some clues: it can never perish, spoil or fade, the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing it and it is kept in heaven for us. In a nutshell, our inheritance is eternal life and everything associated with it. And like the younger son we can call upon the blessings of that inheritance now.
Having received what he had asked for, the younger son distances himself from his Father and wastes what he had on wild living. That’s what prodigal means; reckless, wasteful, extravagance. And it wasn’t long before the younger son was brought to his knees. Or to put it another way - to fall out of the blessings of God. And through the revelation of God, he saw that he had sinned against his Father and he became repentant. I could say more about what the son actual did but I’m not going to dwell on that because I want to move on to next part of the story where we find the main message of this parable.
The heart of this parable is found in verses 20 to 24 and oh how glorious it is. The younger son tries to approach his Father full of self-loathing for what he has done. He can’t see how his Father could still love him as a son. But, oh how wrong he is. Before, the son could say a word, we are told that the Father ran to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him. What a wonderful image this is. Almighty God running to us. Not the traditional image of a god is it. I suggest that most people think of God as aloof and above us; someone that we should approach with trepidation, fearful of his power. But not so of the true God. The God revealed to us through the Bible runs to us with arms outstretched. And notice how he does this before the son even says a word. And when the son tries to say what he had rehearsed, is the Father interested; not really. All that the Father cares about is that his son has returned. Now that is what we call grace; the unmerited favour of God. Did the son deserve such unconditional love? Of course not. But that’s what he got because that’s what God is like.
And it doesn’t end there. Not only does the Father welcome him back with ‘no strings attached’, he then showers him with gifts and puts on a party for him. So, why does he do this? Well, it’s because he wants to build up his son. Remember that his son has come back to his Father in a pitiful state and is in need of a lot of encouragement. And it’s also part of God’s nature to do this. As the Apostle John says in John 1:16, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” And what of those gifts, or blessings, that the Father gave to his son. Why did the Father give his son a robe, a ring and sandals for his feet? There has been a lot of speculation about what each of these items might symbolise but I’m not going to join in with such speculation because it’s not necessary. Together they represent the grace and generosity of God. With these gifts the son will be lifted up out of the pitiful state he had got himself into and he would become strong again, full of assurance and boldness.
In verse 24 the Father says, “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Now I think some people misunderstand what the Father is saying here. They interpret the words dead and lost to mean that the younger son lost his salvation for a while but that doesn’t make sense. The use of the word dead is just a figure of speech. Because the younger son had distanced himself from his Father it was as if he had died because they were no longer talking to each other or living a normal family life. Although the younger son thought that he could no longer be called a son after he had sinned, his Father did not agree. If one of my children left for another country and I never saw them again that wouldn’t mean that they are no longer my son or daughter. They have taken my name and my jeans and that will be part of them for the rest of their lives.
Finally the parable turns to the older son and his reaction to the homecoming. Remember the older son is a Christian just like his younger brother. He was saved and he had the same inheritance rights as his brother. The difference is that he had been loyal and diligent; unlike his younger brother who had been foolish. However, the older son was also judgemental and unforgiving. The irony is that the older son was just as much a sinner as the younger son, but he couldn’t see it. The older son didn’t go off to a distant land but he may as well have done. You would think that by living with his Father the older son would have learnt about love and grace from his Father but he hadn’t. Although he was saved by grace, the older son lived a self-righteous life. I’ve seen this happen many times with Christians. They so easily forget how they were saved and they start to live as if their salvation depended on their good works. They become religious and judgemental towards themselves and others. In my experience this comes about through a lack of understanding of the grace of God and a failure to see what God really wants from us. So what does God want from us? It’s simple really; he wants us to have a loving, intimate relationship with him and that’s it. Until we understand this simple truth, we will just go on striving.
As I said at the beginning, this parable is all about God the Father. Jesus told this parable to show us what the Father is really like. Above all else, God is gracious and loving towards us his children. Once we are in his hands he will never let us go. He is generous, merciful and patient and he always takes the initiative. No matter what we do, he never stops being our Father and we never stop being his sons. Take this parable, mediate on it, and ask the Lord to bring the message in it to you as a revelation. Then you will be truly free and strong in the Lord and you will be able to say, “Like Father like son”.