Forgiving a Rebellious Son: Luke 15:11-32

In our journey through the gospels looking at Jesus’ parables, we come to one of Jesus’ longer parables, one of Jesus’ most famous parables, and the final parable in a set of three parables that Jesus shared emphasizing how God responds to sinners who repent. While this parable is often referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son and this son is the focus of the early portion of the parable, from the way Jesus begins this parable, I think He would want us to focus on a different character.

Let’s read what happened in this parable, and discover what God wants us to discover from it that we can apply into our lives and into our relationship with God.

Our passage and parable is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 15, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us that:

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ 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.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Let’s stop reading here for our episode, because the interaction between the younger son and the father is important for us to pay attention to. As I’m looking at the time, it may be best to save the last portion of this parable for our next episode. This is because I want to emphasize how Jesus opens this parable and how it sets the stage for the interaction between the father and his two sons.

Jesus begins the parable by saying, “There was a man who had two sons.” On the surface, this seems somewhat generic or perhaps even irrelevant, but the way this opening is framed is actually the biggest key to unpacking the meaning of this parable. Jesus emphasizes the father who had two sons, and not two brothers who have a father. The whole parable, while we might reference it by one of the two sons, is actually a parable about a loving father who had two very opposite sons.

This detail matters, because when we look at the context of this parable, and how it comes third in a series of parables that seem to emphasize celebrations when sinners return to God, we discover that the most logical character for the father to represent in this parable is God “the Father”. In this parable, God the Father has two opposite sons.

While those of us who are familiar with this parable don’t like the options of the two sons and we might wish for a third choice, the parable leaves us with only two distinct options. However, the parable also leaves us with the freedom of choice, and through the two sons, we discover something amazing about ourselves.

But I’m jumping ahead of myself here. So far, we’ve only read and paid attention to the younger, rebellious son, who insulted his father by demanding his inheritance early, who ran away, who wasted the money he had inherited, and who ultimately returned home humble, and wishing to simply be one of the father’s servants.

The response the father gives this son is nothing short of amazing. The father hears the apology in the son’s opening of his response, before simply ignoring the rest of it. The father throws a celebration for the younger son’s return. This celebration the father throws for his younger son reminds me of the celebration in heaven when a sinner who is a sheep repents and is found, and the celebration that takes place in heaven when a sinner who is a lost coin is found. When the rebellious son returns, God celebrates in heaven.

This detail brings out the amazing truth that God the Father forgives and accepts the rebellious younger son back even though the younger, rebellious son insulted Him in the worst possible way. When we insult God, when we reject Him, and when we run away, we discover that life without God isn’t as great as we might have imagined it to be. However, through this parable, we discover that God doesn’t give up on us and He doesn’t reject us when we genuinely repent and return to Him.

The first portion of this parable demonstrates for us what repentance looks like, and how repentance only is valuable when given with a humble, sorrowful spirit. When God challenges us to repent and return to Him, we should model the younger, rebellious son when we choose to repent and return to God. The younger son’s attitude when he chose to return is the best attitude we can have when repenting and returning to God.

It looks like we’ve run out of time for this episode, so for our next episode, let’s look at the last portion of this parable when the older son discovers how the father responded to his younger brother’s return.

However, as we come to the end of this episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always intentionally seek God first in your life and if you have rebelled away from God and are looking to return to Him, choose to model the example of the prodigal son in this parable. Don’t focus on how far you have fallen away from God; instead, come before God and ask for forgiveness with a humble, sorrowful attitude, and trust that God accepts you back. God celebrates when sinners return to Him, and He is willing to accept those who humbly return to Him.

Also, be sure to continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day! Through prayer and Bible study, we can grow closer to God and open our hearts to His, and it is through prayer and Bible study that we are able to discover what God wants for each of us. Don’t take my word, or anyone else’s word for it. Discover what God wants to teach you personally through His Word the Bible!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!