Text
Luke 15:11-24
[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.
[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.
[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! [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 men.' [20]
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.
[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.
Exposition
When I come to the Parable of
the Prodigal Son I am humbled and excited both. Humbled because there has been
so very much excellent preaching on this passage that I have nothing unique to
add. But excited because I have an opportunity with you to study in greater
detail one of the most beloved parables that Jesus ever taught.
Context
First off, it's important to
see the parable in its context:
| Parable |
Text |
Action |
Conclusion |
| Introduction |
15:1-2 |
Murmuring
by Pharisees and scribes about Jesus' association with "sinners"
and tax collectors. |
|
| Lost
Sheep |
15:3-7 |
Searching
for the lost sheep |
Celebration |
| Lost
Coin |
15:8-10 |
Searching
for the lost coin |
Celebration |
| Lost Son |
15:11-24 |
Waiting
eagerly for the lost son |
Celebration |
| Older
Son |
15:25-32 |
Complaints
of the older son |
Invitation
to celebrate |
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
follows two shorter parables in which something that was lost is searched for
and found, followed by a celebration. Each of them is intended to illustrate
that "There is rejoicing in the presence of God over one sinner who repents"
(15:10). The Pharisees had grumbled about Jesus' attention to the
"sinners" and tax collectors; Jesus' response is that God is delights
when these lost ones repents and turns to him.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
makes the same point -- God's joy at the repentance of a lost and wayward son.
But most often we look only at the first part of the parable that focuses on
the younger, wayward son, who represents the "sinners" and tax
collectors. The second part of the parable focuses on the older son's reaction
-- one of anger and jealousy -- and represents the Pharisees' own reaction to
Jesus seeking the sinners.
Now that we've looked at the
overall context, let's examine the details of the first part of the Parable of
the Prodigal Son. Next week we'll look at the second part of the parable.
Giving the Younger Son His
Share (15:11-12)
"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.' " (15:11-12)
The three characters are
introduced at once: a man with two sons -- a common enough occurrence. What was
very uncommon was the youngest's request to inherit his share of the estate
prior to his father's death -- and the father's willingness to grant his
request.
The father is depicted as a
wealthy farmer, with servants and lands, so that his sons would have enjoyed
privileged status in the community. But the youngest isn't satisfied with his
lot. He wants everything that will be his, and he wants it now. In some ways he
fits the Middle Eastern stereotype of a younger son, "lazy, irresponsible,
covetous, and greedy."[1]
Inheritance laws in Israel were
designed to favor the older son, giving him a double share (probably with the
purpose of keeping a family's land holdings together and preserving the family
farm intact; Numbers 27:8-11; 36:7-9; Deuteronomy 21:17). If there were four
sons, the older son would receive two shares, with each of the other three sons
one share apiece. Typically, the older son would be the executor and assume the
role as family head after his father's death. Sometimes an older son would
decide not to split up the family holdings between the brothers (Luke 12:13).
Dividing up a father's estate
before his death was known[2] but frowned upon.[3] In this case, the property
would pass to the sons, but the father would continue on enjoying the usufruct,
that is, "the right to utilize and enjoy the profits and advantages of
something belonging to another so long as the property is not damaged or
altered."
Squandering Wealth in Wild
Living (15:13)
"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." (15:13)
The younger son's share of the
estate may have been partly in land, but the phrase "got together all he
had" indicates that he sold what he need to and turned his share into
portable capital. The Greek word, sunago,
here has the sense "turn into cash" rather than its normal meaning
"gather together."[4]
With lots of money in his
pocket, the younger son sets out on a journey to a far-away land -- far away
from his father, far away from his older brother, and far away from any sense
of responsibility and moral restraint. So long as his father is alive, he has a
responsibility to support his father with his share of the family wealth, but
he ignores this and spends it all on himself.
He squanders his money. The
Greek word is diaskopizo,
"scatter, disperse" and in our passage "waste,
squander."[5] His focus is "riotous living" (KJV). The Greek
adjective is asotos,
"dissolutely, loosely," from the noun asotia, "debauchery,
dissipation"[6] (see Ephesians 5:18; Titus 1:6; 1 Peter 4:4). The English
word "prodigal," which we often use to name this parable, comes from
a Latin word prodigere,
"to drive away, squander."[7] His brother protests to the father that
the prodigal brother has wasted all his inheritance on prostitutes (15:30). No
doubt the Prodigal Son enjoys wine, women, and song until his funds run out.
Reduced to Feeding Swine
(15:14-16)
It probably takes him several
years to go through his third of a wealthy father's money. But it doesn't last
forever. Finally it is gone. His friends desert him, his Ferrari is
repossessed, he is evicted from his penthouse apartment, and he is destitute.
"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." (15:14-16)
Not only is he broke, but there
was a prolonged famine that puts everyone, even average farmers, on the edge of
survival. Where he might have gotten a job in normal times, now few are hiring.
Crops have failed, and in the agrarian economy of the First Century, the
landless are out of luck.
Remember, this is a story, a
parable that Jesus is telling. But he paints it well and his hearers can
imagine the man's desperate situation. They are waiting to see what happens.
But his situation gets even
worse. He finds a job, but the job requires him to feed carob pods (Ceratonia
siliqua, a Palestinian tree) to swine -- and he can't even eat the pods he
is feeding the pigs. Only the very poor would eat such food. Rabbi Acha (about
AD 320) remarks, "When the Israelites are reduced to carob pods, then they
repent."[8]
Not only is his food almost non-existent,
his job of feeding swine is considered unclean, since swine were unclean
animals for Jews. For a Jewish man, nothing could be lower! There isn't even
anyone to help him by giving alms. Jesus says, "no one gave him
anything" (14:16b). He is in a "far country" and "the
practice of almsgiving was little observed among the Greeks and
Romans."[9] The picture Jesus paints is of a man reduced to the lowest of
the low.
Rehearsing His Speech
(15:17-20a)
Perhaps you've been this low
and hopeless. Perhaps you know how it feels. The one advantage of this position
is that there is no direction to go but up.
"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! 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 men.' So he got up and went to his father."
(15:17-20a)
It's amazing how complex issues
can suddenly become crystal clear. The man compares his own condition with that
of his father's hired servants. He is starving and they have food to spare. And
he is probably aware that the famine doesn't extend to his home area. He begins
to compose a confession to say to his father.
You know, of course, how hard
this is for him. It is his father and his father's way of life that he is
rebelling against. He has snubbed his nose at his legal and moral obligations
to his father. He has asked for his inheritance so he doesn't have to grovel to
anyone. He went away rich and affluent, but must now come home with his tail
between his legs. The very person he was so conflicted with he must now
apologize to. There is no other way. How difficult this must be! How humbling!
His apology includes four
essential points:
- He confesses sin against God --
expressed in Jewish fashion as "against heaven" -- for his moral
failures and sinful lifestyle.
- He confesses sin against his father
for squandering property that legally and morally should have been
conserved to support his father.
- He renounces any legal claim to
sonship. Though he is a son by birth, his father would need to use his
older brother's resources to support him, since his father has already
divided the property. He recognizes that he has no legal claim to the
rights of sonship.
- He asks to be hired as a servant at
the estate. While his father no longer legally owns the estate, he is
still running it, and will do so as long as he is physically able.
The Prodigal has worked out
what he will say and how he should say it. When we have to eat crow, rehearsing
exactly what we need to say is important. So many apologies are not apologies
at all; they are half-measures designed to admit some culpability but keep
one's dignity and pride intact. To his credit, the Prodigal Son works out a
full apology.
The Father's Compassion
(15:20b-21)
"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.' "
(15:20b-21)
I love this verse: "But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him" (15:20b). The
father has been longing for his son's return for many years. His eyes often
turn to the road coming into the estate. And his afternoon he glances up to the
road as he has thousands of times before. Far down the road is the figure of a
man coming towards the house.
I don't know whether the son
was dragging himself slowly home, or walking more quickly as he saw the house.
But the father recognized his characteristic walk when he was far off. It is my
son! Compassion floods his heart, burying the pain and hurt of rejection. The
old man gets up and begins to run to his son.
On the one side is the son,
rehearsing his speech, coming with trepidation and fear that his father will
not receive him, moving at an uncertain pace toward the house. And on the other
side is the father running, running, his robes blowing behind him as he hurries
to his son whom he has longed for.
This is no stiff, awkward
meeting. The father throws his arms around his son in a happy embrace, and
kisses him as a sign of welcome and love. I can sense though in the son a kind
of stiffness. Things aren't the same as when he left. He has failed. He has
sinned. He has changed. Will his father accept him if he knows the extent of it
all?
And so he begins his rehearsed
speech about sin and lack of worthiness, but the father stops him. The father
has heard reports. The father knows what the son has done. The father doesn't
seek to salve his injured psyche. He is just glad his son is home. He is
overjoyed -- overflowing with joy.
Kill the Fatted Calf
(15:22-23)
The father breaks into the
apology and turns to the servants excitedly:
"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." (15:22-23)
The son may need to say his
speech, but for the father it is irrelevant. He has already accepted the boy
back. For years he has longed for this day -- hoped against hope -- and now it
has come. What is necessary now is a proper celebration of the father's joy.
- The best robe. He honors
the son who has dishonored himself.
- A ring. He lavishes
on the boy a sign of his love and wealth.[10]
- Sandals on his feet. His boy is
destitute, barefoot. The father is quick to clothe him and care for his
needs. Sandals were the sign of a freeman as opposed to a slave.
- The fatted calf. A man of the
father's station would have a calf that had been specially fed in order to
be ready for a special occasion such as this.
Dead and Alive Again (15:24)
He calls for a feast and a
celebration. It is only fitting considering the joy and magnitude of the
occasion:
" 'For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was
lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate." (15:24)
The father expresses his joy in
extravagant language. Dead, lost. That's the way it had seemed from the
father's perspective. But now his son for whom he had despaired of hope was now
alive and found!
What Does the Parable Teach
Disciples?
As we probe for meaning, we
need to be aware of a couple of caveats. (1) We've only looked at part one of a
two-part parable. The second part is designed to illustrate the indignation of
the elder son who represents the Pharisees and scribes. (2) We get into
difficulty when we try to press any parable. Parables are only illustrations
Jesus is using to make a point, but no illustration has complete correspondence
on every point, as would a full allegory. This parable isn't a real allegory,
but an analogy.
The father, of course,
represents God the Father. The Prodigal Son represents those who have rebelled
against God, who have repented, and return to God. Here's what I learn from
this parable:
- God does not prevent us from sinning
and rebelling. We havefreedom to
do so.
- Repentance is necessary for us to return to God.
Without repentance we act as if we have a right to something. Repentance
recognizes and confesses our moral bankruptcy and changes direction.
Repentance is a strong theme here, since Jesus mentions it in each of
these three parables (15:7, 10, 17-19).
- Even though he loves us immensely, God
waits patiently until we "come to our senses." We can't talk,
pursue, or persuade people into repenting. It is a conviction they must come to by themselves
with the help of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8). Of course, the Holy Spirit
can work strongly through anointed preaching and witnessing, but without
the Holy Spirit's work, such preaching can come across as judgmental.
- The sinner is morally bankrupt and has
absolutely no claim on the Father, only the Father's
love.
- God our Father is ready to show abundant mercy. The son
deserves nothing, but the father heaps upon him the accouterments of
sonship. It's not due to merit but to mercy. Part of the charm of this
story is the utter graciousness of the father contrasted with the
stinginess and jealousy of the older son.
If this is the way my Father in
heaven feels towards the wayward and sinful -- full of compassion and mercy --
so must I nurture his attitude toward the lost around me. As a disciple I must
not be proud or self-righteous, but boast only of the grace of God. It's not a
matter of fairness toward sinners, but of love.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
is a story, a wonderful story that Jesus told to illustrate the Father's joy at
the repentance of a lost sinner. But these are more than stories -- of a lost
sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Jesus lived out this seeking and rejoicing
day by day. He sought out those who were wandering and gave them hope. He
treated the lost and shunned of righteous society with respect and love. And at
the conversion of Zacchaeus, one of those real-life sinner tax collectors,
Jesus rejoices and sits down to a jubilant dinner with the man and his friends,
saying, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is
a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was
lost" (Luke 19:9-10)
Prayer
Father, this story touches me a
deep levels, probably because I can see myself in the Prodigal Son, I can see
you in the father, and I marvel at your love and willingness to forgive. I am
amazed at your eagerness to restore to sonship those of us who do not deserve
it. Father, you truly live beyond our own sense of right and righteousness, for
you move beyond judgment to forgiveness, full forgiveness that never looks
back. Help me to have your love and a willingness to show mercy rather than a
tendency to judgment that is Pharisee-like rather than God-like. In Jesus'
name, I humbly pray. Amen.
Key Verse
"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. " (15:20b-21)
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