Grace for You

This restless son was probably in his teens and obviously filled with shameless disrespect toward his father. His request for an early inheritance reveals how passionately deep-seated and shamefully hard-hearted his defiance was. Anyone acquainted with Middle Eastern culture would instantly see this. For a son in that culture to request his inheritance early was tantamount to saying, “Dad, I wish you were dead. You are in the way of my plans. You are a barrier. I want my freedom. I want my fulfillment. And I want out of this family now. I have other plans that don’t involve you; they don’t involve this family; they don’t involve this estate; they don’t even involve this village. I want nothing to do with any of you. Give me my inheritance now, and I am out of here.”

Jesus used an expression for “prodigal living” that conveys strong overtones of licentiousness, promiscuity, and moral debauchery.

It was therefore the repentant sinner’s duty to work hard to redeem himself and gain whatever degree of divine favor he could earn—mainly through long-term obedience to the ceremonial minutiae of Old Testament Law.

Almost no one in that society could conceive of God as reaching out to sinners. Most thought His only attitude toward sinners was stern disapproval

In such a context, the idea that God would freely accept and forgive repentant sinners (including the very worst of them) was a shocking and revolutionary concept.

It is a moving story of repentance, forgiveness, redemption, and joy, touching our deepest human feelings.

There’s another good reason this short story captures the imaginations of so many hearers. We recognize ourselves in it.

The parable of the prodigal son is not a warm and fuzzy feel-good message, but a powerful wake-up call with a very earnest warning for Pharisees (and all their spiritual cousins) about the deadly dangers of self-righteousness.

Of all Jesus’ stories, this one is the most richly detailed, powerfully dramatic, and intensely personal. It’s full of emotion—ranging from sadness, to triumph, to a sense of shock, and finally to an unsettling wish for more closure.