Is there any greater parable of Jesus than that of the Prodigal Son?
The whole chapter of Luke 15 is a treasure. In it Jesus tells several parables on this same theme – of that which is lost and later found – the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and the Parable of the Lost Coin. Then we get to this one, also called the Parable of the Lost Son. Some have therefore, tongue-in-cheek, called Luke 15 the “Lost Chapter of Luke.”
Jesus actually speaks this parable against the Pharisees, who were upset that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors. That Jesus would receive such people and even go so far as to eat with them! It was a shock to the Pharisees, who wouldn’t give such sinners the time of day, let alone sit down with them for a meal, share fellowship, and treat them as equals. That might pollute their self-righteous sense of holiness. It might give the wrong impression that they condoned sin and tax collecting. And it might just maybe make them think a second time about their own supposed righteousness, about who is truly unclean and how, and whether they, too need God’s grace and mercy.
Nonetheless, we can profit from this parable even today. For we are all the prodigal son, and we are all the older brother at times.
A man had two sons. They are both of them, already in his family, in his house. They are, both of them, entitled to an inheritance. As we later learn, the Father says the older son could have benefitted from his father’s wealth all along – “what is mine is yours” he tells him. Likewise, the younger son also had access to all of his father’s wealth, such that he could even ask for his inheritance, boldly, and the father would give it.
Even in this small detail Jesus teaches us something of the generosity of his Father. That we are members of his household is notable enough, but that as such, we are rightful heirs of all that is his. And God the Father does give to us freely, richly, and generously. If we would only see it. And we pray that we would treasure the treasures, and not squander them.
That’s just what the younger son did. He took his inheritance and spent it, frittered it away in “loose living” as one translation puts it. And here we have a universal picture of sin, don’t we?
As a human we fit the bill. Adam had all of these riches of a perfect creation that God placed into his hands, and he squandered it by his sinful rebellion.
But the apple doesn’t fall far from that tree. Even as individual Christians, how many times to we turn away, run off, and squander the inheritance we have been given? We go rogue, off into the loose living of sin, even though we know better. We treat God’s grace, this precious treasure, as nothing. Cheap grace. Sinning now and planning to be forgiven later.
But like the younger son learned the hard way, sin doesn’t end well. Sooner or later you find yourself covered in mud, slumming it with the pigs, and longing for better days. That’s when the law of God knocks some sense into you, and that call to repentance rings clear. Repent. Turn from your sin. It’s only a road to destruction and death. Turn from your sin, and turn in faith to Christ your savior. Repent, dear Christian. Come home.
And each time we do, it’s the same story, over and over again. The loving Father is just waiting, watching, eager to receive us back without question or condition. There’s no hoop to jump through to get back in his graces. There’s no raking over the coals or letting us stew and fester in the mess we’ve made. Like the father in the story, he’s only interested in loving his dear child. Throw a party. Get some proper clothes on this one. Kill the fatted calf. This son of my was lost, but is found! He was dead, but is alive!
It’s like Jesus says with the first two parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin - when one sinner repents there is much rejoicing in heaven! The angels throw a party when the Gospel is applied to the sinner.
That means even here and now, today, when you confess your sins and receive the absolution, the party commences. When you hear the word of God proclaimed that your sins are covered by the precious blood of Christ – the angels rejoice even more. And when you come in contrition and faith and receive the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, heaven rocks the house as the party goes into overdrive. What a joyous commotion it must be!
And speaking of commotion, that’s what the older son heard, as he was out working in the field, like another hired hand. He didn’t consider himself a son anymore than his brother did when he told dad to drop dead. But his rebellion is more subtle. He rebels by rejecting dad’s grace, and making it all about his own works.
Older son is like the Pharisees, you see, jealous of God’s grace for the sinner, while not seeing that they too need that grace. And while this whole parable truly was told about them, or against them, we can also sympathize at times.
For we forget the grace of God is both for us, and for others. We slip into self-righteous indignation, and consider that WE and we alone deserve God’s grace, unlike those lousy sinners over there. But that is forgetting exactly what grace is – undeserved love. Such is the danger of comparing your sins to someone else’s, rather than taking a good look at the mud and filth in which you wallow.
The father so gently corrects the older son, who needed to hear the law. “This son of yours” the older son referred to his brother, but the father turns it back, “This, your brother, was dead but is alive, he was lost, but is found.” And maybe the older son needs to see that he, too is lost, and needs some finding.
This Lenten season, we do well to hear again the call to repentance. The confess and acknowledge that we have all gone astray, each to his own way. That every time we turn to sin we turn away from our gracious father. For the Christian, every turn toward sin is an escapade into a foreign land, where we squander the wealth of our inheritance. This lent, find the rock bottom pig sty of your sins and come to your senses again, confessing and being accepted again by the father who’s always eager to forgive and forget and celebrate your sonship.
And give thanks when you see others coming from the filth of sins to the cleansing waters of God’s grace, and the life-giving blessings of his Son, Jesus Christ. For you were just a lost as they, and you are just as much a recipient of his grace and mercy. They are, after all, in Christ, your brothers.
Christ has died for all. Sinner and tax collector, pharisee and scribe. Young and old, rich and poor, all the unrighteous children of Adam who bear the filth of sin. And his call to repentance is for all – come to your senses. Turn from your sin. Come home. Come to Jesus for grace and mercy. He’ll run it out to you every time.