Luke 15:11-32 – The Parable of the Repentant Prodigal and Of Reconciliation to the Father

Luke 15:11-32 The parable of the father with two sons, the younger of whom squandered his inheritance and returned in humiliation to his father, begging forgiveness and mercy to return as a servant, thereby escaping certain destruction (he was starving.)

First of all, the younger son chose to leave the father; he was not sent or driven away, nor did his father intend him to go. He demanded his portion of the inheritance before his father died; the father did not offer it to him, nor suggest that he could take it and take his leave. Once gone, the son’s “riotous living” was his own choice; nothing compelled him nor did Jesus give any indication that any motivating influence came from the man’s father to cause him to sin. Circumstances followed an anticipated course for anyone who lives in wanton abandon of either morals or common sense, and the son’s condition must be recognized as the logical outcome of his own bad choices.

At that point in Christ’s story: “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.’

And he arose, and came to his father.” (vv 17-20)

Very evidently, the dire circumstances of the young man’s life motivated him to reconsider his self-centred and rash decisions. Although the circumstances themselves were the motivating factor in his new awareness, the text is very clear that his change of attitude was an internal event, not caused by a force powerful enough to enjoin his response. Jesus stated that the man “… came to himself…” The young man’s own mind came to recognize what was wrong, and he changed his attitude about what he should expect from life and what he “deserved”. Contrary to Calvin’s insistence that such a man could never have arrived at that change of mind without the impulsion of God’s will upon him, Jesus stated plainly that the man himself came to a change of mind – a new awareness about himself – resulting in a change of attitude about his life, his actions, his father, and what he should or should not be doing. He admitted himself to have been wrong. He declared himself to be undeserving of any consideration by his father whatsoever. He set out on his own initiative to seek his father’s forgiveness, and he appealed to his father’s mercy to allow him the benefit of working as his servant, in the son’s anticipation that his father would take care of him as well as he already took care of his hired workers. The father’s response was far more generous that that requested by the son, but the request itself is clearly presented by Jesus as having come from the son, not some compulsion of the father, who in this parable represents the heavenly Father, as the son represents all who chose to rebel against Him.

Just as the original rebellion was entirely the product of the son’s sinful attitude, his return to his father to confess his sin and ask for mercy, originated in his own mind and heart. Yes, the father had to be willing to receive his son back, or the son’s repentance would have been wasted. Yes, the father had the jurisdiction to deny the son’s request outright, or to fulfill it as it was made: to receive him back as an hired servant. The offender was the son; the father had no obligation to restore the son to any benefit. But.

The father loved his son in such a manner that, upon seeing his son coming back to him, the father rejoiced and hurried to welcome him home, demonstrating his joy at seeing him and his desire to restore him to himself. He then “killed the fatted calf”, that they could rejoice over a son who was “lost and is found”, was “dead and is alive again.” Jesus by this parable illustrated God’s willingness to receive again all those lost to Him, who are dead in their sins, if they will “come to themselves” – repent – and return to their Father, believing that He is merciful, and submitting themselves exclusively to that mercy. In this parable, Jesus did not include the illustration of His death to cover the debts incurred by the rebel, nor did He emphasize the necessity of the son trusting that his father would have mercy on him, to portray the requirement of faith. But the fact that the son considered his father would agree to hire him as a servant, and set out to make the request, is the evidence of the faith he possessed that his father was a good man and would consider his son’s destitution and repentance in his consideration of the request for mercy. In restoring the son to his place in the family, and bestowing upon him wealth and honour, the father gives a glimpse of the marvelous riches we have in Christ, when we come humbly to Him for forgiveness and restoration to our heavenly Father.

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