The Prodigal

“And he arose, and came to his father.  But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”  Luke 15:20

This is a story that is familiar to many folks and is usually referred to as the story of “the prodigal son”.  A prodigal is someone who “wastes his or her money; a spendthrift” according to Webster’s Dictionary.  Until now I always thought that a spendthrift was one who was thrifty and careful about the way he or she spends money, but again according Webster’s, a spendthrift is one who is wasteful or squanders his or her income.  So I learned something new today.  The term prodigal has come to refer to someone who wandered away from the comfort and protection of home into a life of uncertainty, hunger, cold, and loneliness, which is exactly what the young man in this story did.

There are different ways to look at this story.  The most familiar way that the three characters of this story are viewed is one who is away from God living for himself, one who acknowledges God and attempts to earn His approval, and God Himself.  As the story goes, the younger son asks for his inheritance from his father, who allows him to have it and leave home.  I am sure that the father didn’t want to accommodate his son in this way, but he knew that his younger son would never learn what is truly valuable in life in any other way.  As they say, sometimes experience is the best teacher.  The prodigal son takes his money, blows it likely on “wine, women and song” until he spends it all and ends up eating the slop that the pigs were fed.  He finally comes to his senses and goes back home, in an attitude of repentance and humility, seeking a position of servant to his father because his father’s servants certainly had it better than he did.  The father, overjoyed that his son had returned, makes a big party for him to celebrate his return.  The father had forgiven him completely.  The older son was upset because the father had never made a party for him.  After all, he had been the loyal and obedient son, working for the father.  The father spoke to the older son to assure him that he was just as important to him as the younger son, but it was right to be joyous over one who had been lost, but now was found.  Grace is certainly amazing.

If we go back and examine just who Jesus was talking to when He told this parable, we can see that He wasn’t just talking about a man and his two sons, one a wandering sinner, and one a “by the book” sort of fellow.  The prodigal son represented all the publicans (tax collectors), sinners, and Gentiles, folks who were not part of the Jewish nation.  The older son represented the Pharisees and other religious leaders, the “by the book” Israelites, who followed the law, yet, disregarded the spirit of the law, that is, the intent of the law to show man his sin and how to live holy before a righteous and holy God.  And, of course, the father in the story is God the Father of all mankind, the most important One in the story.

Jesus had been trying to reach not only the prodigals, but His own people with the gospel.  The religious leaders, who were not all that crazy about the Man from Galilee and the attention that He was receiving from the regular folks, were constantly criticizing Jesus for associating with, God forbid, sinners, because they never saw themselves as sinners, but only as the highly respected authorities of the law.  This story focuses on the love of the Father, but the message seems to be really more for the “older brother” types, the religious leaders than the prodigals.  The main difference between the sinners and the religious folks was the fact that the sinners came to see themselves as sinners and repented.  When they did, the Father joyfully received them into His family, an illustration of God’s grace.  He had been waiting all the time with open arms to welcome them home.  However, the religious folks were too proud to admit that they could possibly, even remotely, be sinful folks who needed a Savior.  After all, they had followed the law and crossed every T and dotted every I.  They saw no need to repent, illustrative of those to try to earn salvation by works.  Jesus loved His fellow Jews just as much as He loved the Gentiles, but they needed the gospel just as much as the sinners did.  Unfortunately, though, they were too proud to accept Him or His word.