Rejoicing or Complaining?

Principles from the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

Context of the Parable

The context for all of Luke 15 is found in the first two verses of the chapter. Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom and sharing the Good News of the Gospel. As He does so, He attracts a group of people who are interested in hearing this teaching. The text states, “they drew near unto Him.” a term that indicates their interest.

A classification for the this group of interested listeners would possibly “undesirables.” At least that’s how the second group of listeners would have classified them. This other group was comprised of the religious types: the Pharisees and the scribes. These guys were already righteous (at least in their own minds) and they certainly didn’t hang out with the first group. They could not understand why Jesus was willing to spend time with them. They were offended that Jesus was hanging with the sinners.

It is against this backdrop of self-righteous elitism that Jesus offers the following three parables. He tells the parable of the lost sheep (1 out of 99), then He tells of the lost coin (1 out of 10) and then He tells the Parable of the Lost Son (1 out of 2) [Alistair Begg calls it the Parable of the 2 lost boys]

It is important to note that each of the three parables involves the lost being found and the inclusion of rejoicing that is the result of the finding

Synopsis of the Parable

A wealthy man had 2 sons (we know he is well off because the younger son was able to live the high life on his half). The younger son was selfish and wanted his share of his inheritance. He was in a hurry and didn’t want to wait for his father to die. He demands his share and takes off. He wastes his money on wine, women, and the party life.

When the money is gone, a famine hits and his ‘friends’ disappear. He gets a job slopping hogs and is slowly starving. He comes to himself and repents of his action and heads home. His father is waiting for him and rejoices upon his return. The father is merciful and throws a big party. The older brother is resentful that his brother is received with joy instead of punishment

Principles from the Parable

All of us have rebelled against the Father and have lived in the “far country”

Sin will take us further than we intended to go; sin will keep us there longer than we planned; and sin will cost us more than we wanted to pay. [source unknown, but not original with me]

A crucial part of ‘coming to one’s self’ is repentance. As Alistair Begg points out, many people hit the bottom, but most of them do not repent and turn back to the Father. Our world is full of miserable people (rich and poor) who hate their life and are empty inside. Many of them continue on the path of destruction

The Father is merciful. He does not treat us as we deserve. If He did, we would all be without hope in this world.

The desired response is rejoicing when a lost person repents - not judging or resentment. The older brother represents the Pharisees & scribes in v.2 who were complaining about the sinners who were coming to Jesus.