12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20And 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.
21And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”When we have spent all we have, home begins to look like a place where we should be! We can be sure that when we arrive home with the Lord, there will be rejoicing just as there is rejoicing over a sinner who comes home to Christ.
This is the Parable of the Man with Two Sons (often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son): Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and the Scribes about the Jews (Luke 15:2-3) and the Jews reaction to the fact that Gentiles were going to be included in the program of God. In the OT, Gentiles could be saved by being God-fearers and in sort of an incidental way. But now in the NT, Gentiles are grafted into God’s program (Rom. 11:17-24), and Israel is broken off. This is a temporary situation, and Israel will be grafted in again. But the Jews, who think Gentiles are dogs, are jealous and angry about the privileges of the Gentiles and think that Gentiles are horning in on their God.
So the most important character in the parable is not the younger son who went into the far country of sin and then returned and was loved and received by the father. Most important to the teaching of Jesus here is the older son who stayed at home and was always with the father. So the older son represents the Jews in the parable, and the younger son represents the Gentiles.
The OT indicates that when there are two brothers, the elder should receive two-thirds of the father’s estate and the younger should receive one-third (Deut. 21:17). It was not unusual for a father to divide his property while he yet lived.
The elder brother does not equate to our Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus. The parable’s elder brother is as sinful as the younger brother. He was proud and angry and hateful and without compassion. He was a joyless drudge! So he has nothing in common with Jesus, except that they are both elder brothers.
The Parable of the Man With Two Sons has been called “The best short story in the history of literature.” I think that it is an appropriate description. There are many lessons to be learned from it.