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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
This is a chapter that needs no explanation; it carries its key within itself, and the experience of every child of God is the best exposition of it. The three parables recorded here set forth the work of saving grace in different aspects.
Luk_15:1-2. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
The Pharisees and scribes formed the outside ring of Christ’s hearers, but the inner circle consisted of the guilty, the heavy-laden, and the lowly. They pressed as near to Christ as they could, that they might catch his every word; and besides, there was an attractiveness about his manner that drew them towards him. His mercy attracted their misery. They wanted him, and he desired them; they were thus well met. There will be an inner circle tonight when the gospel is preached, and it will not consist of the self-righteous. They that are full will not press to the table on which the gospel feast is spread, the hungry will be found nearest to the heavenly provision.
Luk_15:3. And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
There are three parables here; but, inasmuch as it is called “this parable”, it is really only one. It is a picture in three panels, representing the same scene from different points of view.
Luk_15:4. What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
It has a new importance in his eyes, for it is lost. Before, it was only one of a hundred in the fold; but now it is one distinct and separate from all the rest, and the shepherd’s thought is fixed upon it.
Luk_15:5-6. And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
No doubt he was glad that the other sheep were not lost; but that joy was, for a while, quite eclipsed in the more striking and vivid joy over the one which had been lost.
Luk_15:7. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
If such there be,¾and there are many who think that they belong to this class,¾they bring no joy to the great Shepherd; but you who have had to mourn over your lost estate set the bells of heaven ringing with a new melody when you are recovered by the great Redeemer. The first of these three parables may he said to represent salvation in reference to the work of the Son of God as the great Seeker and Saver of the souls of men. In the second, we have a representation of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church of God.
Luk_15:8. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
Her thoughts were all concerning that one lost piece. It had not more intrinsic value than the rest, but being lost it called off her attention from the other nine. She valued it, and for the hope of finding it she lighted a candle, swept the house, and sought diligently till she found it. This is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s work in seeking for lost souls. They bear the King’s impress, they are coins of the realm. This woman knew that the silver coin was not far away, so she swept the house, and sought diligently, using all her eyes, devoting all her time to this one object, quitting all other avocations until she found it.
Luk_15:9. And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
She might never have called them together to rejoice that she had ten pieces of silver, she might even have hidden them away; and the joy she had in them might have been only her own, a solitary joy; but now that one piece had been lost, and had been found again, she says, “Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.”
Luk_15:10. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Not joy among the angels, as some read it, though no doubt that is a truth; but “joy in the presence of the angels of God;” and what can that mean but that God himself rejoices, and rejoices so that angels perceive it; and no doubt they then join in the delight? But all this points out that it is the lost one that is the great object of consideration, that out of any congregation where the gospel is preached, it is the lost one who is the most important person in the whole place. In the next verses, we get the Father’s part in the work of the recovery of the wanderer.
Luk_15:11-13. And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth 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. His heart was far away when he asked his father to give him his portion; and now his body is far away as he goes into the outward wandering which follows after the inner wandering.
Luk_15:14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land;
There generally does arise” a mighty famine” in such cases. Famines and other miseries are God’s messengers, which he sends after his wandering children.
Luk_15:14. And he began to be in want.
This was a new sensation to him; he had never known it when he was at home. He did not know it in his first boisterous days away from his father’s house, but now “he began to be in want.”
Luk_15:16. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
Perhaps he did not want to employ him, but said that he would give him that occupation if he cared to accept it. It was small pay, very dishonouring work to a Jew, not fit employment for the son of a nobleman; yet “half a loaf is better than no bread,” so he took it, though even the half loaf must have been a very small one.
Luk_15:16. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
Such a thing as generosity was not known in that country. His companions could share his riches when he was living riotously, but they will not share their riches now that he is in his poverty.
Luk_15:17. 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!
“My father’s day-labourers have bread enough and to spare, yet I, his child, perish with hunger.”
Luk_15:18-19. 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.
You notice that this last part of the prayer he never did pray; for it was stopped by his father’s love. There was a legalism about it naturally suggested by his own despair, but it was not such as his father would tolerate.
Luk_15:20-21. 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 fell on his neck, 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.
There comes an interruption there; the kiss upon his lips stops the rest of the prayer, which he had prepared, and now the father declares his will concerning the wanderer.
Luk_15:22-24. But the father said to his 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.
I have never read that they left off being merry, for the conversion of a soul is enough to make eternal joy in the hearts of the righteous.
Luk_15:26; Luk_15:26. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
This was a new thing, and apparently a thing that he did not care much about. How had it come to pass that there was such noise, such joy?
Luk_15:27-28. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and treated him.
I hardly know which to admire most, the love of the father when he fell upon the neck of the prodigal, or the love of the father when he went out to talk with his elder son: “Therefore came his father out, and treated him.” Oh, our God is very good to us when we give way to naughty tempers! If we begin to think that we are very holy people, that we have been long the servants of God, and that there ought to he some little fuss made over us as well as over great sinners that come into the church, then our Father is very gentle, and he comes out and entreats us.
Luk_15:29. 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 gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
“I have had no banquets. I have kept at home, a patient worker, and have had no extraordinary joys.” I know some Christian workers who are very much in this condition. They keep on and on and on in holy service, and they do well; but they seldom have great entertainment’s of high joy and unspeakable delight. It is their own fault, and it is a thousand pities that they do not have them, for they might have them if they would. There is a tendency to grow so absorbed in service, like Martha, that we are cumbered by it; and we do not have the joy of Mary in communion at the Master’s feet. I am sure that this elder son was out of fellowship with his father, or else he would not have talked as he did. We are all apt to get into such a condition. See to it, ye who work for Jesus, that it is not so with you. Then the elder brother went on to say,¾
Luk_15:30. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
I do not read that the prodigal had devoured his father’s living with harlots; that is the elder brother’s version of it. I dare say that it was true, but it is always a pity to give the roughest interpretation to things. He had spent his substance “in riotous living.” When we are cross, we generally use the ugliest words we can; we may think that we are speaking forcibly, but indeed we are speaking naughtily, and not as our Father would have us speak.
Luk_15:31. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
Oh, what a word was that! How it reminds Christians of their privileges, if they would but appropriate them! It is yours, beloved, to live always with your God, and to know that all that he has is yours. You ought to live in a perpetual festival; for you there should be one joyful Christmastide that lasts from the beginning of the year to the end of it: “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”
Luk_15:32. 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.
It was the fit thing, and the proper thing, and the right thing, that there should be extraordinary joy over a returning sinner. There ought to he, there must be, there shall be, special music and dancing over sinners saved by the grace of God. The Lord give us some such tonight, and make us glad over them! Amen.
Luk_15:1. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
However sunken they might be, they knew their best Friend; they recognized their Benefactor, so they gathered around him. They knew who it was that smiled upon them, and who would fain uplift them; so they came clustering around him, like bees fly to the flowers: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.”
Luk_15:2. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
Where bees come, wasps often come, too. This murmuring of the Pharisees and scribes was after their nature; they were so proud, so wrapped up in themselves, they thought so contemptuously of everybody else, that they dared even to despise him whose shoe’s latchet they were not worthy to unloose. “This man,” said they, “receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”
Luk_15:3. And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
This is really a picture in three panels,¾a parable with three variations.
Luk_15:4-7. What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
There, no doubt, the Saviour looked at the Pharisees, who, though they did need repentance, yet thought they did not. Little or no joy did they ever bring to him; his heart never leaped with delight over them. Good as they thought themselves to be, they did not yield him so much joy as these poor publicans and sinners would when he had found them; and he was bent on doing that. Now, beloved, how much is a man better than a sheep? And if a shepherd will leave all his ease and comfort, to hunt after one stray sheep, how ought you and I, after the example of the Son of man, to be ready for any service, or any self-denial, by which we, too, in our poor measure may seek and save the lost! Now we have the second panel of the picture
Luk_15:8-10. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and search diligently till she find it And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, Saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Did the woman rejoice at finding her piece of silver, that she had lost, and shall not God much more rejoice over an inestimably precious human soul, which had been lost, but which, through grace, is found again? Ah, yes! there is joy in heaven, there is joy in all heavenly hearts, there is joy in all who are the friends of Christ, when lost ones are found! There was another quiet stroke at the Pharisees and scribes, who were proved not to be the friends of the soul-seeking Saviour, because they did not rejoice with him over those whom he had found. If they had been at all like the angels in heaven, as they thought they were, they would have been glad that the Lord Jesus Christ had come to seek and to find the lost. Then came the third most touching panel of the picture,¾perhaps the best beloved of all the parables,¾one which, like a key, fits the wards of the human heart, and many a time has opened the heart
Luk_15:11-13. And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that faileth 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.
It is clear that his heart had gone away from his father before he went away himself. He would not have wished to take from his father his portion of goods, or to be independent of his father, if he had not felt a spirit of alienation; and, therefore, what his father did developed the latent evil; just as, oftentimes, the loving mercy of God brings to the surface the concealed sin which is in man all the while; and then he sins the more openly. It is a grievous thing that even divine love should lead us to sin;¾not of itself, but because of our evil nature, just as the sun shines, not that he may make the weeds to grow, or that he may help to lift into the air noxious effluvia. With goodwill itself as its only motive, ill may come even of the pure sunlight.
Luk_15:14-15. 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.
A very degrading employment for him as a Jew;¾perhaps, however, the best that the citizen of that country could do for him, for there was a famine in the land; and when men are all pinched with hunger, it is not much that one can do for another. And what can one poor sinner do for another? Even though he be called a priest, and puts on flue apparel, yet what can he do for his fellow-sinner?
Luk_15:16-17. 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, his son, perish with hunger, when there is not only enough in my father’s house for his children, but for his hirelings, too; ay, and some to spare after that.” “Bread enough and to spare.” This was the thought, which drew the prodigal home, and it ought to draw sinners to Christ. There is, in the gospel, “bread enough’ and to spare.” You know how some would, if they could, contract the provisions of grace; and make it out that there is bread enough, but they say that if there is anything to spare, it will be a waste. Why, it is that “spare” bread that is God’s bait to catch poor souls with when they are cast down; “for,” say they, “if it is to spare, then, even if my father be angry with me, he will not deny me the spare bread for which there is no use, so I may well go, and ask for a portion of it.”
Luk_15:18-20. 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 fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Oh, the speed of divine love! There were delays with the son, but there were no delays with the father. At the first glance, the father’s heart is made up, and he runs to meet his returning child. And what a welcome he gives him! He “kissed him much,” is the right rendering. Truly, this was prodigal love for the prodigal son.
Luk_15:21-22. 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-Stopping him short, and for ever obliterating the rest of the prayer, so that he never had time to utter it, seeing that it was too legal to be permitted by his father’s love: “But the father”¾
Luk_15:22-25. Said to his 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. Now his elder son was in the field:
At work, like the good son that he was.
Luk_15:25. And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
Which he did not often hear, for he was of a gloomy spirit, and there had not been cause for much rejoicing lately.
Luk_15:26. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
“What are you all up to in making such a noise? What new thing has happened to our orderly household to make it thus full of roistering and noisy gladness?”
Luk_15:27-28. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry,
It did not seem to him right that one, who had acted so badly, should be thus honoured: “He was angry,”¾
Luk_15:28. And would not go in:
He did not believe in revivals, so he would not attend them; he did not believe in many being converted, especially if they had been great sinners; he would have nothing to do with them.
Luk_15:28. Therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
Oh, the goodness of the father, not only in receiving the returning prodigal, but in entreating this indignant and erring son, for he was greatly erring in this matter, and was not showing the true spirit of a son.
Luk_15:29-30. 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 gavest 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, thou hast killed/or him the fatted calf.
“I am a consistent Christian; I have maintained the excellence of my moral character. I have tried to be orthodox, and attentive to all religious duties. Thou knowest that it is so; yet I seldom have any joy in my religion. ‘Thou never gavest me a kid.’ I go trembling and mourning all my days. I get very little delight out of my religion; yet here is one just converted, and all this fuss is made over him; and he is rejoicing, too. Thou feastest him with the best fatted calf. He is as glad as glad can be, and everybody is glad about him; and nobody seems to take much notice of me. I go on my steady quiet course, and I have never caused thee such grief as this thy son has done.”
Luk_15:31. And he said unto him,¾
So beautifully,
Luk_15:31. Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
And that is what the Lord seems to say to the believer, when he gets into that naughty spirit of the elder brother, and does not like to hear of sinners of the deepest dye being brought to Christ, and who disapproves of the jubilation and excitement at revival times. The Lord says to him, “Suppose you have not had such enjoyments; you may have them if you like, for you are ever with me. There is joy enough in that fact; and all that I have is yours. You are joint-heir with me. I have given you everything; what more do you want?”
Luk_15:32. And it was meet¾
It was fitting, it was proper,¾
Luk_15:32. That we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother¾
“For he is thy brother. Notwithstanding thy richer experience, and thy deeper Christian knowledge, and thy high standing in the church, this poor prodigal, who is just saved, is thy brother; so it is meet that we should make merry, and be glad, for this thy brother”¾
Luk_15:32. Was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
We have read this chapter together many times; possibly some of us have read it hundreds of times; yet whenever we read it, we always find something fresh in it. It is ever bright and sparkling, full of diamonds and other precious gems of truth.
Luk_15:1-3. Then drew near unto him and the publicans and sinner, for to hear him, and the Pharisees, and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them,
The deepest feelings of our Saviour’s heart seem to have been brought out by the two classes of persons here mentioned, his pity and compassion towards the sinful, and his righteous anger at the perpetual objections of the hypocritical Pharisees and scribes. The one class caused his heart to overflow with love, the other excited his burning indignation, yet, even then, his soul was moved with pity and tenderness toward the wandering and erring. We ought to be grateful to the Pharisees for having led our Lord to utter the three wondering parables which we are about to read. Luke says, “He spake this parable unto them,” implying that the three are really one, a picture in three panels. The whole plan of salvation is not to be found in either of the parables by itself, but in all three combined. Some points omitted in any one of them will be found in one of the others. “He spake this parable unto them, saying,” —
Luk_15:3-7. Saying, what man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing: And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friend and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for have found my sheep which was lost. I say into you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
The shepherd had an extraordinary joy in his flock through the wandering and recovery of that one sheep. If they had all kept in the fold, and none of them had strayed away, he would have been glad, but there would have been a sort of tameness and sameness about his constant satisfaction with them; but that wandering sheep stirred up other emotions in his heart, and when he had found it, he experienced a new joy, a higher joy than he would otherwise have known. So, though sin is a great evil, yet it has been overruled by God in such a way as to introduce a new joy into the universe. Songs of praise, that would never have made the angels’ harps to ring, are now heard in Paradise. There would never have been any repentance if there had never been any sin, and the love of the great and good Shepherd towards wandering sheep would never have been revealed if no sheep had ever wandered from the fold. I suppose it was some such feeling as this that caused Augustine somewhat rashly to exclaim, concerning the fall, “O beata culpa!” — O happy fault, which has thus made manifest the abounding mercy of God! Looked at in one aspect all sin is an unutterable calamity; but as it has had the effect of displaying still more of the matchless mercy of God in the person of Jesus Christ, we see how God brings forth good out of evil. The chief point of the parable is the shepherd’s joy derived from the finding of the lost sheep. Our Saviour needed no other reason for looking after publicans and sinners than the fact that he would get far more joy out of them than he would out of the Pharisees and scribes, even if they were what they professed to be, “just persons, which need no repentance.” This first panel of the picture specially sets forth the work of the Son of God. Why was not the Father’s work put first, as the Trinity is “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost”? Why is it also that, in the Benediction, Paul writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.” Why, because the love of Christ is the first thing that the sinner apprehends. Our first Christian experience is not, as a rule, a knowledge of the Holy Spirit or the Father; but, to our consciousness, it is Jesus Christ who is first revealed to us. I think it is for this reason that the work of the Son of God is here first set forth.
Luk_15:8-10. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
As I have already said concerning the lost sheep, there was a new joy over the recovery of the lost silver. The woman always rejoiced over the pieces of silver, but that one particular piece had been the cause of new joy, the joy which is experienced whenever the sorrow of loss is outweighed by the joy of finding again that which was lost. Is this woman intended to represent the Church of Christ, and is she thus set before us because the Church is the great agent under the control of the Divine Spirit, in seeking the lost, carrying the lighted candle of the Word, sweeping with the besom of earnest, faithful preaching, applying the law of the Lord to the conscience of man, and turning everything upside down until, at last, the lost piece of silver is found? If so, this second panel of the picture sets forth the work of the Holy Spirit as wrought through the Church of Christ.
Luk_15:11-13. And he said, A certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after —
For sin is very rapid in its development, and sinners are often in great haste to get away from God. The young man’s heart was wrong already, or he would not have wanted to be his own master. He was already away in the far country so far as his heart was concerned, and it was not long before his body followed: “Not many days after” —
Luk_15:13-15. 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.
Probably, that was the best thing he could do for him; and, usually, when the world does the best it can for a sinner, it sets him feeding swine. It was the most degrading employment to which a Hebrew could be put; and, in like manner, sin, before it is finished, bringeth forth degradation on the way to bringing forth death.
Luk_15:16. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
“He would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat,” but he could not, for he was a man, and not one of the swine. Worldlings are happy in their own poor way, and I, for one, never grudge them their husks. One never craves the wash that is given to the pigs, we let them have their trough as full as they please, and never want so much as a taste of it; so, when sinners are full of worldly joys, we may not envy them, and we may scarcely blame them. Let the swine have their husks. Once, we too would fain have filled our belly with them; and if we did not, it was not because we would not, but because we could not.
Luk_15:17. And when he came to himself, —
For sin is insanity. He was out of his mind while he was acting so foolishly:
“When he came to himself,”
Luk_15:17-19. 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.
It was the knowledge that there was plenty in his father’s house that led him back; and you may depend upon it that the preaching of full salvation rich in blessing, is a strong inducement to a sinner to cry, “I will arise and go to my Father.” This prodigal son might never have gone back if his father had kept a miserly house with a scanty table; but he knew that even the servants in the kitchen had “bread enough and to spare,” his father never stinted them, they had what they needed, and there was always more than they could eat, so there was no need for his son to “perish with hunger.” In like manner, the extraordinary bounty of God in Christ Jesus the richness of his free redemption is, I doubt not, the means of bringing many a starving soul to Christ. The prodigal said that the servants had “bread enough and to spare.” There are some who seem to think that, in Christ, there is only just bread enough, but we believe that the largest possible idea of the value of his redemption may be indulged, and, oftentimes, the thought that first enters the sinner’s ear and heart is that there is “bread enough and to spare, so why should not he have some of the spare bread, at any rate? That was the way that the prodigal argued; he felt sure that his father could feed another hired servant, so he resolved that he would ask to be engaged in that capacity; yet you know that he never did ask that, his father stopped him before he could make that request.
Luk_15:20. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him,
Perhaps, before he saw his father: “his father saw him,”
Luk_15:20. And had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Matthew Henry’s comment on this verse is excellent: “’His father saw him.’ Here were eyes of mercy. ‘And had compassion.’ Here were bowels of mercy. ‘And ran.’ Here were feet of mercy. ‘And fell on his neck.’ Here were arms of mercy. ‘And kissed him.’ Here were lips of mercy.” It was all mercy from first to last.
Luk_15:21. And the son said unto him,
The father kissed his son before he had time to say anything; and divine compassion is swifter even than our prayers.
Luk_15:21-22. 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 his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him;
He did not let him finish his prayer with the request that he might be taken on as a hired servant; that part which was legal he stopped with a kiss on his mouth, and then he said to his servants, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him;”
Luk_15:22-24. 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.
This, again, was a new joy in that family circle. There was joy when the elder brother was born, and joy when the younger son came into the household; but this joy over his return was one that they never would have known if he had not gone away. So, there is joy to be got even out of sinners. Christ’s object was to show that, bad as the publicans and other gross sinners were, and despised as they were by the Pharisees and scribes, yet there was joy to be got out of them. By their salvation, the very heart of the great Father is rejoiced.
Luk_15:25. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
The elder brother in our day says, “I do not believe in these revival services. I like regular, orderly proceedings, and I do not approve of these crowds of people coming to hear the Word under such undue excitement as is sure to result.” That elder brother thought he knew a great many things. He did not get carried away by excitement, as other people did, he was too old for that, he was a man of very proper habits, and he liked everything done in a cold orthodox style.
Luk_15:26. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
“What are you all at? Have you gone out of your minds? Why are you all dancing? Who is to pay for that music? You had better have been along with me out in the fields at work. What is the meaning of all this merriment?”
Luk_15:27. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come: and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
These servants spoke as some of us have told to others what the Lord has done when souls have been saved, the unregenerate quickened, and those that were far off from God, by wicked works, have come back to him. We have told it all out, in the simplicity of our hearts, and have been so glad to tell the good tidings that we felt as if we could keep on dancing to the music while we were telling the story.
Luk_15:28. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
I never know which to admire the more, — the love of the father in going to meet the returning prodigal, or in going out to talk with this coldhearted elder brother. He was a son, but he had not the true spirit of his father, he had fallen into a very wrong state of mind, just like certain Christians that I know, who have always been very proper, and who have little sympathy with those who have been great sinners. They seem as if they do not want to see such people as these brought to the Saviour. “Why!” they exclaim, “there are girls from the street, and men that have been burglars, and all sorts of rabble being brought into the church.” I have heard such remarks, and I have seen the same sort of spirit displayed in the looks of others who have not liked to say what they thought. Yet they themselves were no better than others by nature, though grace has done much in restraining them from the sin into which others have fallen; and it was wrong for them to talk as if they were sheer legalists, as this Pharisaic elder brother did.
Luk_15:29. 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 gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
A Christian of this stamp seems to say to the Lord, “I have been thy child all these years, yet I am still full of doubts and fears. I have none of the high joys that I see these other people have. ‘Thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.’ I am chastened every morning, and I go sighing all the day long. I seem to get but little comfort; yet here are these young folk, who have not been saved a week, and they seem to be full of assurance, and they are as happy as ever they can be. Surely, they cannot belong to the tried family of God; how can they be sincere with all that music and dancing? I cannot endure it, for I never had such an experience.”
Luk_15:30-31. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
Think of that, you who are the Lord’s people, but who have fallen into a grumbling state of heart. Are you not ever with your Lord, and is not all that he has yours? If you have never had a kid to make merry with your friends, whose fault is that? Your Father never denied it to you. All in his house is yours, so take the good that he provides for you, and rejoice over it, for then you will be in a fit state to go to meet your poor returning prodigal brother, and to welcome him with a smiling face and a gladsome heart.
Luk_15:32. 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.
After that reply, there was nothing more that could be said, even by the grumbling elder brother.