“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."

Luke 15:20

If we call this the parable of the lost son, which son do we mean? Both are lost, estranged from the father in different ways. The younger asks for his inheritance; the older does nothing to prevent this—and he also benefits.

We could also call it the parable of the prodigal father. First, astonishingly, he grants the younger son the means to repudiate him; next he runs to welcome the wastrel home. With ring, robe, and calf, the father teaches us that we are to welcome, not despise, the younger son on his return (vv. 22–25). That’s what turns the self- interested calculation of verse 19 into the repentance that causes the returning prodigal to become a son again (v. 21).

The older son humiliates his father by demanding a public confrontation (v. 28). He denies their kinship (‘this son of yours,’ v. 30), exaggerates his brother’s crimes (‘prostitutes’), and cannot rejoice that his brother has come home (young goat vs fatted calf, vv. 29, 30). Once again, the father shows extraordinary grace in going out to ask him to be reconciled to them both (‘this brother of yours,’ v. 32).

In leaving the parable unfinished, Jesus invites the Pharisees to see themselves as older brothers, unable to rejoice at the return home of sinners. Celebration is the only right response, something Jesus stresses through all three parables spoken in defense of his attitude to sinners. Jesus is asking the Pharisees, ‘Will you also come home? Will you be reconciled to the Father who shows outrageous favor even to tax collectors and sinners?’

APPLY

Reflect on the Father who runs to embrace the returning son. How deep has his love sunk into you? Read Romans 8:15 and 16 aloud. Repeat it as though it’s written just for you (e.g., ‘by him I cry’). Ask the Spirit to embed these truths in you.

CLOSING PRAYER

Father, thank you that you will always welcome and forgive me when I come to you in repentance. Help me to have your heart to reach the lost ones.

(Edited from the book Encounter with God)