I had the privilege of sharing this lesson in Sunday School yesterday so I thought I would share it here as well. I know the prodigal is a familiar story to many Christians but sometimes it helps to revisit old stories to see how they may impact us now.
In this parable, Jesus is responding the Pharisees complaints against him for being so welcoming and willing to eat with sinners. This parable was also following the story of the lost sheep out of 100, and the lost coin out of 10, then the lost son out of 2, which shows us how much he cared about the world as a large group, then smaller groups, all the way down to individuals.
There was a man who had two sons. The younger son came to the father one day and asked for his share of the estate now. The father granted the son's request and once the son received everything he was to have, he took off on a journey to a distant land. The son then proceeded to waste his fortune on wild and reckless living. As his money ran out, the land was faced with a severe famine making things even worse for the younger son. In an effort to survive, he was forced to take a job feeding pigs. Things continued to get so bad for the young man that he even started longing for the food the pigs were being fed.
The son finally begins to come to his senses and remembers that his father has hired servants back home who are living much better than he is here. In his humility, he decides to return home and ask his father for a job. As he is approaching home, the father sees him from far off and rushes out to meet him. He greets with him a hug and kiss as he runs up to his son. The father then proceeds to have his servants place a robe, rings, and sandals on the son while ordering them to kill the fattened calf in plans of a celebration.
Meanwhile, the older son is out working in the fields. He sees and hears the commotion at the house and asks one of the servants what is going on. Once they inform him that the younger son has returned and the father is having a celebration he becomes upset. The father tries to calm the older son down about things and assures him by telling him "all that is mine is yours."
- The younger son in the story symbolizes the lost and sinners. Typically the son would receive his inheritance upon the father's death, but by asking for it early he shows his selfishness and immaturity. Luke 12:15 warns us to protect ourselves from covetousness and that life is not made up of material possessions. Also, requesting his inheritance early was considered so disrespectful in that day that it was like saying he wished his father was dead.
- Once he received his inheritance, the younger son proceeded to travel to a far off land and put distance between himself and God. Sin is often defined as anything that separates us from God. The son, a Jew, winds up feeding unclean pigs and even longs for their food. That was as low as he could possibly go. Sometimes in our lives, we have to hit rock-bottom before we come to our senses and recognize our sin.
- The father represents our heavenly father, God. He didn't have to grant the son's request for his inheritance, but God has given us free will and allows sinners to go their own way. But even when we do, just like the father in the story, God is patiently and eagerly waiting for us to come back to him in humility and repentance. He is so excited that his son is back that he interrupts him and doesn't allow him to finish his apology. God is the same way, He just wants us back, and then He will erase all our previous wrongdoings and not hold them against us.
- The older son represents the Pharisees. They have lived blameless external lives for the world to see. But they have become so self-righteous that that they feel only they deserve the rewards and pleasure of the father. There is a bitterness in their hearts that runs so deep they are not even happy when a lost brother returns home. There is nothing wrong with living a holy life, we actually should be doing so. But living holy lives is not to set us apart from others, it is to be an example of Christ to the world.
So who do relate to in the story? There's no right or wrong answer, just something to think about. I can relate to both brothers at different times of my life. But I want now to be more like the father in the story. He was willing to run (shameful for an old man of that time to do) out to meet his lost son and welcome him home. He just wanted to love his lost son, no matter what he had done is his past. Are we as Christians, approaching a lost and dying world with that attitude today? Or are we still labeling people over their past transgressions?
The text of this story is in Luke 15:11-32 if you would like to read it there for yourself, this was just a summary version.
In this parable, Jesus is responding the Pharisees complaints against him for being so welcoming and willing to eat with sinners. This parable was also following the story of the lost sheep out of 100, and the lost coin out of 10, then the lost son out of 2, which shows us how much he cared about the world as a large group, then smaller groups, all the way down to individuals.
There was a man who had two sons. The younger son came to the father one day and asked for his share of the estate now. The father granted the son's request and once the son received everything he was to have, he took off on a journey to a distant land. The son then proceeded to waste his fortune on wild and reckless living. As his money ran out, the land was faced with a severe famine making things even worse for the younger son. In an effort to survive, he was forced to take a job feeding pigs. Things continued to get so bad for the young man that he even started longing for the food the pigs were being fed.
The son finally begins to come to his senses and remembers that his father has hired servants back home who are living much better than he is here. In his humility, he decides to return home and ask his father for a job. As he is approaching home, the father sees him from far off and rushes out to meet him. He greets with him a hug and kiss as he runs up to his son. The father then proceeds to have his servants place a robe, rings, and sandals on the son while ordering them to kill the fattened calf in plans of a celebration.
Meanwhile, the older son is out working in the fields. He sees and hears the commotion at the house and asks one of the servants what is going on. Once they inform him that the younger son has returned and the father is having a celebration he becomes upset. The father tries to calm the older son down about things and assures him by telling him "all that is mine is yours."
- The younger son in the story symbolizes the lost and sinners. Typically the son would receive his inheritance upon the father's death, but by asking for it early he shows his selfishness and immaturity. Luke 12:15 warns us to protect ourselves from covetousness and that life is not made up of material possessions. Also, requesting his inheritance early was considered so disrespectful in that day that it was like saying he wished his father was dead.
- Once he received his inheritance, the younger son proceeded to travel to a far off land and put distance between himself and God. Sin is often defined as anything that separates us from God. The son, a Jew, winds up feeding unclean pigs and even longs for their food. That was as low as he could possibly go. Sometimes in our lives, we have to hit rock-bottom before we come to our senses and recognize our sin.
- The father represents our heavenly father, God. He didn't have to grant the son's request for his inheritance, but God has given us free will and allows sinners to go their own way. But even when we do, just like the father in the story, God is patiently and eagerly waiting for us to come back to him in humility and repentance. He is so excited that his son is back that he interrupts him and doesn't allow him to finish his apology. God is the same way, He just wants us back, and then He will erase all our previous wrongdoings and not hold them against us.
- The older son represents the Pharisees. They have lived blameless external lives for the world to see. But they have become so self-righteous that that they feel only they deserve the rewards and pleasure of the father. There is a bitterness in their hearts that runs so deep they are not even happy when a lost brother returns home. There is nothing wrong with living a holy life, we actually should be doing so. But living holy lives is not to set us apart from others, it is to be an example of Christ to the world.
So who do relate to in the story? There's no right or wrong answer, just something to think about. I can relate to both brothers at different times of my life. But I want now to be more like the father in the story. He was willing to run (shameful for an old man of that time to do) out to meet his lost son and welcome him home. He just wanted to love his lost son, no matter what he had done is his past. Are we as Christians, approaching a lost and dying world with that attitude today? Or are we still labeling people over their past transgressions?
The text of this story is in Luke 15:11-32 if you would like to read it there for yourself, this was just a summary version.
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