Luke 15:11

Starting in Luke chapter 15 and verse 11 Jesus taught a very long parable about a father who had two sons. This is the third of three parables in which Jesus taught us about something that was lost, but was then found, and of course in all three cases there was great joy when it was found. There was the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and now the parable of the lost son. The Bible says in Luke 15:11-24, “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me. And he divided unto them his living. And 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. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And 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! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 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 kissed him. And 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. But the father said to the servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again: he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

There are many lessons to be learned from the parable of the lost son. One of the most noticeable things is the attitude of the father to the young son who went and wasted his inheritance with a wild and wicked lifestyle. In this parable the father is symbolic of God the Father. The sinful young man is symbolic of you and me. The father was not condemning or critical of the son whom he loved so much. Instead, the father was compassionate, and gentle, and merciful. That certainly is like God, who will welcome any sinner who turns from a life of sin and turns back to God. This parable is symbolic of salvation. Salvation starts with the love of God, who is not willing that any should perish, because Jesus loves every soul. And then salvation is completed in the life of a person when a person does what this man did. He came to his senses about the terrible condition of his sin, and he returned to his father in humility and asking for forgiveness.

What caused this young man to get into problems in the first place? The first thing that we notice about the young man is that he was selfish. He said to his father, “give me.” We also notice that he was inconsiderate. He left his family for a far country, but evidently he did not care about the pain he was causing others who cared about him. The results from these bad attitudes are predictable. He wasted his finances, and he ended up in such a low condition that the only place he could find food was to eat with the swine.

But at least the young man finally came to his senses. While he still had time, he admitted his own failings and short-comings, and he returned to his father to ask forgiveness. This time he was not proud or selfish. He did not demand an inheritance. He politely requested only to be given a portion with the servants, recognizing more than once his own sinfulness. Anyone who has ever truly been saved has gone through what this young man went through. You may not have committed the same sins that he committed, but you have sinned. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Your only escape from the final consequences of your sins is to turn to Jesus and admit to him that you have sinned and then to ask Him to make a place for you. “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” You can be sure that the heavenly Father loves you and will welcome you back and will elevate you to a status that is the same as if you had not ever sinned. That’s the mercy and grace of God through Christ Jesus.

Another thing to notice about this parable is the relationship between the father and the son. The father never did punish the son for the son’s selfish actions. The son was punished, but he was not punished by the father. The son was punished by life. He was punished the way that we all are: by experiencing the consequences of our own actions. If you are a parent, remember that your primary responsibility is to instruct your child, not to punish them. Protect them from the dangers of life when you can, but do not shield them from learning the lessons of life. How much this father loved his son! The characteristics that we see in this father towards his son are compassion, gentleness, and mercy. He is not harsh, he is not strict, and he does not use corporal punishment.

In the first son, we see someone who committed some of the gross sins of the world, but who repented and was forgiven. In the second son we see someone who did not commit the gross sins of the world, but who did commit sins that were perhaps worse. He committed the sins of pride and self-righteousness. The second son should have been happy to see his brother return from a life a sin. The second son should have welcomed his brother in the same way that his father did. Religion has taken a dangerous and pitiful turn when it no longer is able to welcome home the sinner who repents.

The attitude of the self-righteous and hardhearted older son is told in Luke 15:25-32 where Jesus said, “Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of his servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And 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 gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It 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.”

In Luke chapter 16 Jesus taught several other parables. The parables in Luke chapter 15 taught us how greatly God is overjoyed when a lost soul is saved. This parable that is at the beginning of Luke chapter 16 refers a great deal to the forgiveness of sins. The Bible says in Luke 16:1-8, “And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for you might be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord takes away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much do you owe to my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much do you owe? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take your bill, and write eighty. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”

Everyone serves somebody. In a certain sense everyone is a servant. One of the best ways to find out what you are really responsible for doing is to recognize whom you serve, and understand what is expected of you. The day will come when you will give an account to your master or your boss. Of course, we should all be serving God. We have been given life and opportunity from God. We have been given gifts and responsibilities from God. Each of us have been made stewards of certain things for a certain period of time. We do not really own anything. God owns everything and each of us have been asked to watch over a little portion of His creation. Just as in this parable, we are stewards watching over part of our Master’s enterprise.

Because we are all sinners, there have been times and ways in which we also failed our Master. If He should make a strict accounting of everything that has been placed into our hands, what would we say? Our Master already knows where we have failed. He knows where we have wasted time or opportunity or resources. What would be our escape from the condemnation? Notice that in this parable, the steward understood the power of forgiveness. He knew that if he forgave people their debts, he would gain a relationship with them and an attachment to them that would be to his benefit. That’s the benefit and the power to forgiveness. Revenge begets more revenge, and the problems escalate. Without forgiveness there is little hope for our human relationships nor our relationship with God.

In this parable we see a master, a steward who has failed his master in certain respects, and we see the principle of forgiveness that is the final recourse relied upon by the unjust steward that results in his salvation. Each of us who wish to be servants of God also rely upon forgiveness. Our relationship with God is not due to our own goodness or faithfulness. It’s only because of God’s mercy through Christ that we have hope of an eternal relationship with Him. The judgment day is coming, but we will escape the judgment because of His mercy through Christ. We will enter into heaven, not because of how good we are, but because of how merciful God is to us.

In this parable Jesus especially noted the practical wisdom possessed by the unjust steward, who knew how to repair his relationships with human beings, and who knew the importance of good business relationships with his neighbors and associates. So often the people of the world have more common sense in such areas than do the people of God. Jesus said, “for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Without a doubt Jesus said this in order to remind his believers that even though they know the truth about salvation and spiritual things that the world does not know, often the people of the world know some valuable practical things that too many believers do not know.

God created this world the way it is: in which practical, common-sense methods are required to get anything done. Why do the people of the world often understand this better than believers? For one thing, the people of the world give little or no thought to the next life. Their only hope is in this life, and therefore, they spend more effort figuring out how the world really works. On the other hand, because believers really do understand the value of spiritual things, too often they under-value the importance of getting things done in this world. You can go too far in saying, "God will take care of it,” especially if in so saying you neglect the practical issues at hand. For example, when you are thirsty, hopefully you will look to God to provide your need as we all should do in all things. But if you do not also move your hand and pick up a glass, you will eventually die of thirst. God created a practical world in which it is required of human beings to actually do something in order to see results. It should only be the rarest of situations where you ask God to do something and then you do nothing.

A lesson similar to this was taught when Jesus was tempted by the devil in Matthew chapter 4 to cast Himself down from the temple, trusting God to send angels to protect Him. Jesus responded, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” God created gravity for a reason. Gravity is part of how this physical world works. A wise person does not defy or ignore how the world works, and then expects God to intervene and straighten things out. May God give us more spiritual wisdom and may God give us more practical wisdom. Both are a part of the universe that He has created.

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