SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES
Probably in Peræa
Subdivision D
PARABLE OF THE LOST SON
LUKE 15:11-32
Luk 15:11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.
A man… had two sons; the contrast between his sons is the point of the parable. BKC
"And he divided unto them his living." -Luke 15:12
"Abraham so divided his estate in his lifetime (Gen. 25:1- 6); but the custom does not appear to have been general among the Jews. God, however, gives gifts and talents to us all, so the parable fits the facts of life--Ps. 145:9; Matt. 161 5:45; Acts 10:34." -Fourfold Gospel
"The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works." Psalm 145:9
"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34
The contrast between the younger brother's brokenness and the older brother's self-righteousness is at the core of this teaching:
"The son shows a manly spirit in adhering to his purpose to make a confession, notwithstanding the warmth of his father's welcome; in grieving for what he had done, and not for what he had lost; and in blaming no one but himself." -Fourfold Gospel
 |
| Rembrandt van Rijn, The Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1661–1669 |
"But he was angry, and would not go in..." Luke 15:28
" [he refused to be a party to such a proceeding] and his father came out, and entreated him. [In the entreating father Jesus pictures the desire and effort of God then and long afterwards put forth to win the proud, exclusive, self righteous spirits which filled the Pharisees and other Jews."-- Luke 13:34; Acts 13:44-46; 28:22-28.] -Fourfold Gospel
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" -Luke 13:24
"And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Acts 13:44-46
"The older brother was angry because he had never been honored with a feast even though, as he said, All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders (Luk_15:29). Those words betrayed the fact that the older brother thought he had a relationship with his father because of his work. He served his father not out of love but out of a desire for reward. He even thought of himself as being in bondage to his father."
Luk 15:31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
"The father pointed out that the older son had had the joy of being in the house all the time, and now he should rejoice with the father in his brother’s return. The words, You are always with me and everything I have is yours, suggest the religious leaders’ privileged position as members of God’s Chosen People. They were the recipients and guardians of the covenants and the Law (Rom_3:1-2; Rom_9:4). Rather than feeling angry, they should rejoice that others were joining them and would be a part of the kingdom."-BKC
"That he seeks a portion of his father’s goods, but not his father’s favour and blessing, represents to us the earthly minds of naturalists, who prefer the gifts of God to God Himself." -Bishop Cowper
From the Wikipedia entry on Rembrandt's painting comes this story:
"Dutch priest Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) was so taken by the painting that he eventually wrote a short book, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming (1992), using the parable and Rembrandt's painting as frameworks. He begins by describing his visit to the State Hermitage Museum in 1986, where he was able to contemplate the painting alone for hours. Considering the role of the father and sons in the parable in relation to Rembrandt's biography, he wrote:
Rembrandt is as much the elder son of the parable as he is the younger. When, during the last years of his life, he painted both sons in Return of the Prodigal Son, he had lived a life in which neither the lostness of the younger son nor the lostness of the elder son was alien to him. Both needed healing and forgiveness. Both needed to come home. Both needed the embrace of a forgiving father. But from the story itself, as well as from Rembrandt's painting, it is clear that the hardest conversion to go through is the conversion of the one who stayed home." '
So all at once, it is the story of God's great mercy to all---to the societal outcast and the self-righteous. It is also the story of the self-righteous shunning self-reflection and mercy.
All three of these parables are addressed to the grumbling Jews and seem to teach different facets of the same theme: God is passionate about those outside the camp seeking him in brokenness, AND He seeks after the religious legalist bound up in his own works too.
The problem is that the legalist does not see himself as in need to God apart from a desire to have God praise him too. He focused on his own merit particularly with regard to others. The evil intent of his heart is revealed in his petty refusal to attend the banquet, in him not being happy for his restored brother, in his self absorption. He can't get beyond the context of himself.
The occasion is great, and great is to be the exultation. “Let us eat and rejoice.” The father does not ask his household to be glad and he himself remain only a spectator of the universal delight. It is, “Let us eat and rejoice.” It is God’s own joy that He would have His creatures share and proclaim. (Bishop Alexander.)
THE MEETING. He was yet a great way off when the father saw him. Love is quicker than youth, loftier than pride, mightier than Satan. The love of God is compassion. It suffers with the penitent. It would even spare the recital of the sad history. (A. E. Dunning.)
III. THE SINNER’S APPREHENSIVE RECEPTION.
1. The father’s affection to his returning child.
2. Eyes of mercy: he saw him as from a mountain.
3. Bowels of mercy: he feels compassion.
4. Feet of mercy: “he ran,” while his son “came” only.
5. Arms of mercy: “he fell on his neck.”
6. Lips of mercy: “he kissed him.” -T.B. Baker, BI
"And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me [a privilege which the elder brother had counted as naught, or rather as slavery], and all that is mine is thine." Luke 15:31
"The younger brother had the shoes, etc., but the elder still had the inheritance." Fourfold Gospel
No comments:
Post a Comment