Read or listen The Gospel of Luke, chapter 15 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

The Prodigal Son, the seduction of riches: Luke 15 - 16

God's joy in finding the lost – Luke 15:1-2

We have already noticed several times that Jesus being with sinners had caused grumbling in the Pharisees and teachers of the law. The Pharisees and scribes’ complaint about Jesus’ actions leads us to the very heart of the gospel (verse 2):

“This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables about why he enjoyed being with sinners. God sent him to seek out and find sinners, not those who already thought they were righteous (verse 7).

The lost sheep and the lost money – Luke 15:3-10

Sheep have been called one of the most defenseless animals, which, moreover, easily gets separated from the flock and gets lost. We humans are also like that: the Enemy of the Soul easily leads us astray from the will of God. And we ourselves can no longer find our way back to the right path.

Even more "helpless" is the lost silver coin: it could not even attract the attention of its seeker. Our part in salvation is mainly that we resist God's work in us.

The Old Testament already spoke of God as a shepherd (Isaiah 40:11, Ezekiel 34:11-15 and above all Psalm 23). In the New Testament, Jesus is the good shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep (John 10:11-18).

"I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
(John 10:11)

If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, he must go out and look for the lost one. Because if he doesn't look for it, the next day there may only be 98 sheep, then 97, etc. Every sheep is equally valuable to its owner. Likewise, every person is equally valuable to God.

The woman’s ten silver coins may have been a piece of jewelry she had received as a bridal gift. The loss of one coin ruined the entire jewelry. This explains the feast, which was worth much more than money (verse 9). On the other hand, the silver coin may have been only a tenth of the woman’s money. Even then, it was important to her.

Who are the 99 sheep in the parable of the sheep (verse 7)? Either they represent Christians or self-righteous Jews who thought they did not need to repent. The latter option would seem more natural in the original situation (verses 1 and 2).

Two sons of a merciful father – Luke 15:11-32

The story of the Prodigal Son is probably one of the most famous episodes in the Bible. However, the main character of the story is not only the younger son, but also the older son and the father.

A son's claim to a prior inheritance was possible in both the Jewish and Roman worlds. But such a claim was rare. And it only concerned "movable property," for the house belonged to the eldest son, the firstborn. The firstborn received a double portion compared to the other children (Deuteronomy 21:17), so the younger son received one-third and the older two-thirds. The older brother was left to cultivate the land, which will be entirely his (verse 31).

The younger brother went to pagan lands to live a carefree life of waste and fun. There he noticed that when his money ran out, his friends also disappeared. The situation was made worse by the famine that had come to the country.

As a Jew, he would have had the right to ask for help from the synagogue, but perhaps the bad life he had just led made him not use that right. Instead, he ended up as a swineherd, the most despised profession for a Jew. The Talmud declared swineherds to be cursed, so the boy was excluded from God's chosen people.

And even the hunger did not disappear in the new job. Even the pigs had better conditions, they were given carob pods. A Jewish proverb teaches: "When the Israelites are forced to eat pods, they will turn to God." This is what happened to the prodigal son: hunger made him remember his father's home and he decided to try to get a job there as a servant.

"I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Treat me as one of your hired servants.”
(verse 19)

He knew that he had no right to be treated well, but perhaps his father would have mercy on him. Verse 19 is also a description of our right to enter heaven: we do not have it. We do not enter heaven on the basis of justice, but on the basis of mercy. The fact that the son wasted his father's property is a metaphor for how a sinful person wastes the gifts God has given him.

When the son returned home, the father took him completely by surprise. The father did not take him as a servant, but as a son. In the East, it is not customary to run. The only reasons for running are escape or fire. Running was especially not appropriate for an old, respected man.

The prodigal son does not grieve for his lost property, but for the fact that he had broken his father's will. Similarly, genuine guilt involves grief for breaking God's will; the most important thing is not the misfortune that sin brought to one's life.

Older brother

When the older son returned from work, he heard a celebration at home. When he heard that his brother had returned, he did not even want to enter the same house. Because of him, his father had to come out to meet him. The older brother felt that he had suffered injustice. He had served his father faithfully, but had not enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Perhaps he was even jealous that his younger brother had been able to live the "sweet life."

The older brother did not know his father's heart. Yes, the father would have let him rejoice and celebrate with his friends. Because the older brother did not know his father's heart, he did not know his father's will either. This is a good description of a legalistic Christian or a Pharisaic Jew: for them, God's will and following it takes the joy out of life. Genuine Christianity sees that following God's will brings joy to life.

The older brother did not even acknowledge the prodigal son as his brother, but spoke of "your (=father's) son" (verse 30). This easily happens among members of different Christian groups: people do not want to understand that we are brothers.
The father's kindness to the prodigal son angered the older brother (compare Matt. 20:10-16). Not even the fact that the house was his (verse 31) comforted him.

Jesus does not say what happened to the older son, whether he was left out of the feast or agreed to come along? Even today it is unclear how the Jews will respond to God's call. Paul predicted that in the end times they would swallow their pride and submit to God's grace (Romans 11:25-27). So the answer is still not received, the "older brother" is still thinking in the yard.

Of course, the older brother is also a metaphor for us Christians. How common it is that "true sinners" are not easily accepted as full members of the church. But for Jesus, they have always been good enough:

“This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
(verse 2)