The Prodigal Son: Jesus' Teaching on Salvation

Luke 15 is one of the most powerful passages of Scripture in terms of revealing God's heart regarding salvation. It begins by telling us that tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around Jesus too hear Him teach. The Pharisees and teachers of the law disapproved and criticized Him saying, 'this man welcomes sinners and eats with them'.

The Pharisees, who were the religious leaders of Israel, had an expression. "Do not let a man associate with the wicked, even to bring him to the Law". The reasoning behind this expression is that the wicked have made their choice, so don't allow yourself to be contaminated by them, stay away from them. They deserve the wrath of God. I have often found this 'us and them' attitude in churches. It is the attitude of the self-righteous person who considers themselves better than the sinner. It is an attitude that God hates. These three parables are told to two groups for two very different reasons. They are a rebuke to self-righteous hypocrites, and a message of hope to those who are willing to recognize they are sinners.

Please keep in mind that Jesus is speaking from the perspective of the old covenant and to people under that covenant, however there are lessons for all of us, and in the prodigal son parable, I believe Jesus is both speaking to His immediate audience and about the coming new covenant of new birth. In Luke 15 Jesus gives three parables.

In the parable of the lost sheep, Luke 15:3-7, Jesus' message is two-fold. Firstly, that Israel are God's people and the Pharisees are supposed to be their shepherds. As throughout all of Israel's history, the people often strayed away from the Lord. Rather than right them off and ostracize them, God's heart is that they come back to Him and that He is ever seeking those who have gone astray.

In the second parable, Luke 15:8-10, a woman loses her coin. In Jewish culture at this time, when a girl married she was given a necklace with ten coins, much like we give wedding rings today. To lose one meant that she had been very careless and in this sense, careless about her first love. She realizes her mistake and seeks the coin until she finds it, calls her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. For me, this parable represents those who have given their lives to Christ but lost their first love through careless living. In both of these parables God rejoices with His angels when the sinner repents.

In the third parable of the lost son, Luke 15:11-32, we are first told the father has two sons. This is important as it continues the theme of the three parables. One son represents the tax collectors and sinners, and the other the attitude of the Pharisees. But this parable is incredible as it has an immediate Jewish context for Jesus' listeners, and also a future context for what is required for new birth under the new covenant which will be established after Jesus' death and resurrection. I will run these two together as we go through the story. Keep in mind also that Jesus uses the term 'father' interchangeably, speaking of a human father, and God the Father.

There are two brothers. Both of these brothers are living with their father and therefore, under their father's rule and spiritual authority. A man was not considered to be independent until he was married, thus the Scripture, 'for this reason a man shall leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife'. It can be assumed from the text that neither brother is married. When the younger brother reaches an age of independence he demands his autonomy, he wants to rule his own life. In Jewish culture, to demand his share while the father is still alive is like saying that his father is already dead. This demand is a great insult to the father, but the father divides the estate between them.

The younger son cashes up his share, leaves home and goes into the world to live under his own control. Verse 13 tells us that he set off for a distant country. To Jesus' listeners this would mean he left Israel and went to live with Gentiles, therefore he was both shunning the God of Israel and his distinctiveness as a Jew, as God's chosen people. In our context, many young people who are brought up in a Christian home, reach an age of independence and leave home. In the context of the parable, they are going into the world and are no longer under the spiritual authority of their parents. Whilst growing up they may have been obedient children and even have been baptized and told they are born again, however, God already saw them as sanctified by their parent's faith and not independent of their parents. Please watch my video entitled 'are your children saved' on this important topic.

For many young people, the reality is that they have been fighting against the rules and regulations under their parent's authority, even if only secretly. Most have heard countless sermons about the evils of masturbation, the desires of the flesh which must be suppressed and mastered, the evil of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, forbidden to go to parties, a disco or nightclub, and this incredibly powerful force to be autonomous and find their own identity has been a constant war within them, especially since puberty. As teens, they have been constantly told they are 'christians' and have the power within them to control their thoughts and desires, but the reality is they do not, so they live in constant guilt and secret hypocrisy as they try to live as 'christians'. Many sincere teens live in a repetitive cycle of condemnation and repentance, pleading in prayer for their sexual desires and rebellious thoughts to be taken away, and becoming resentful and rebellious when it doesn't happen.

Like the prodigal son, they leave home. They may be heading to a campus for further education, have financial support from home or a student loan. Suddenly, and for the first time in their life, they are in control, and there is a sense of freedom. The world they have entered encourages, even demands that they find their own identity, that they elevate self in the center. Their new friends celebrate their sexuality, even flaunt it and encourage them to be who they are, to throw off the restraints and be themselves. Before long most have come to the conclusion that the concept of the Christian God was just a fabrication with a load of rules to keep people from living their true identity.

Recent ColdcaseChristianity statistics found that of children raised in Christian homes in America, and baptized before age 17, 81 % declare themselves as agnostic or atheist by age 25-30. Perhaps this percentage would be much lower if they had not been told they were born again, but rather prepared for being tested in the world.

From verses 13-16 we learn that the prodigal son used up his wealth, and when a famine hit, hired himself out to a pig farmer and was so hungry he contemplated eating the food of the pigs. To Jewish ears, this young man has now completely lost his Jewish identity and become a Gentile, he is unclean and tending unclean animals. The Pharisees listening to this parable were likely glad the guy was receiving his just deserts and justifying their expression to never associate with such a person. The tax collectors and sinners were likely identifying their own situation with this boy to one degree or other.

Verse 17 tells us that he 'came to his senses'. In the original language it is literally to come to himself, to wake up to the reality of his situation, a moment of revelation. This is a pivotal moment in the parable, the moment when he recognizes what he has done with his freedom, what his walking away from his father, both paternal and eternal, has wrought in his life.

This is the moment when the modern young adult from the former Christian home wakes up in a pool of their own vomit after last night's party, or realizes their lover has been cheating on them, or finds themselves pregnant and are not certain who the father is, or attend the funeral of a friend who overdosed on drugs. It is one of the many moments when God, through the Holy Spirit and circumstances is calling them to stop and consider what demanding to put self on the throne is costing them, and a moment to compare the world with the home they left.

In Jesus' parable the prodigal son compares his life with the one he left. He realizes that even the lowest hired servant has food to spare and he is starving to death. It is also a moment of true conviction as he sees himself as a lost sinner. He decides to act in faith, showing a heart of true repentance. He will go to his father and say, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me like one of your hired servants." He gets up and walks away from his sin, from the life he had adopted and he acts in faith.

There is a powerful message of godly sorrow here and an analogy of true repentance and faith. Under divine conviction, he sees his sin, admits he is lost and states he has sinned against heaven. By faith, he walks away from his sin and towards God, believing that if he throws himself on the mercy of the Father, committing his life as a voluntary servant, he will receive God's blessing.

Those who heretically teach that walking away from sin by faith is not necessary for salvation, are basically saying this young man was born again in the pig sty and could decide later to leave it. Jesus taught that this prodigal was convicted in the pig sty and set out to seek God, to walk away from his sin and go and throw himself on the mercy of God and embrace a new life. I see modern day 'evangelists' who meet an atheist, convince him there is a God, ask him to say a prayer and then tell the person they are born again. No conviction, no true repentance, no walking away from their sinful life, no act of faith, and in my opinion, no born again experience. How about calling the person to start seeking the kingdom of God, encouraging them to start praying and asking for revelation, taking them weekly through a bible study, teaching them about God's holiness, atonement, sacrifice and repentance, and giving the Lord time to convict them, to see their sin as He sees it so that they are ready to deny self, take up their cross and follow Christ. Stop playing God and giving people diluted Christianity. We wonder why churches are full of nominal self-serving and powerless people with little or no love for Jesus Christ? Because someone stood between them and the Lord, took His place and told the person they were born again for 'just believing' in Him, when even the demons believe and tremble.

I confront this form of evangelism and theology in my series refuting free-grace theology on my website and YouTube channel. 

Only Jesus Christ has the right to tell someone they belong to Him, and if they have experienced real new birth, they will know, and they will not need to be dragged to meetings, or commanded to read their bible and pray, and condemned for not loving Christ.

Verse 20 tells us that the prodigal son left the pig sty and headed home, ready to make his speech and become a hired servant. Jesus said that 'while he was still a long way off his father saw him, was filled with compassion for him, ran to him, threw his arms around him and kissed him'. This verse is loaded with meaning. Consider the following:

1. The father saw him from a distance. From a human perspective, the father had not written off his son as the Pharisees had, but was watching the road every day. He knew he couldn't drag his son home, but he was watching and no doubt praying for the Lord to bring him home.
2. He ran to his son. It was considered undignified for a man to pull up his robe, revealing his legs and to run. Why did he run and throw his arms around the young man. Perhaps for two reasons. Firstly, in his joy to see his repentant son coming home, and secondly to protect him. Those who had the attitude of the Pharisees would have had hatred for the prodigal, may have wanted to beat him for what he had done. But like Christ Himself who submitted to being impaled naked and broken of a cross, and protected the repentant woman caught in adultery, the father set aside his dignity, ran to his son, and put his arms of protection around him.
3. He kissed his son. This act was a display of love and trust and used to symbolize close unity and brotherhood. Remember that Jesus told Judas, you betray me with a kiss.

Verse 21 tells us that the young man started reciting his speech of repentance. He intended to say, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me like one of your hired servants." The father let him pronounce his confession of sin and his unworthiness, but interrupted him before he could say, 'make me like one of your hired servants'. When we surrender ourselves to Christ we do not become as hired servants, but rather we receive the adoption of sons, with all the rights of children of God and heirs with Christ. Yes, this is a form of total surrender as a slave to the Lordship of Christ, a desire to die to self, and it is this surrender which culminates in the death of that old self and eternal life as a new creation, an adopted child of God.

In verses 22-24, the father commands his servants to bring the best robe to clothe him, put a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet and prepare a feast. The father then says, 'for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found', and so they began to celebrate. Please note the following.

1. The prodigal has arrived filthy and undernourished from his life on the pig farm. For those listening to this parable, the robe replaced his filthy clothes, the ring symbolized his reinstatement as a son and authority in a similar way to Joseph wearing the ring of Potiphar in Egypt, and the sandals replace the filthy and worn footwear which has brought him home. All of this is portrayed in the words 'this son of mine', an expression of belonging. The words 'was dead and is alive again, was lost and found' take us back to the beginning where the son demanded his inheritance while his father was still alive, basically saying, you and yours are dead to me. To the immediate audience, the father was saying, you considered me dead but you were lost like the sheep and the coin, but are now reinstated to the highest place in the family.
2. Notice that twice in the parable Jesus says the son was dead and 'is alive again'. Those who teach that a person inherits the sin and guilt of Adam at conception and are spiritually dead at conception are contradicted by Jesus statement. The prodigal son was 'alive', died in his sins, and here he is alive 'again'. Paul makes the same claim in Romans 7:9. For a discussion on this please watch my video entitled 'Jesus Contradicts Calvinism'. 
3. The language used in these verses are loaded with new covenant symbols. Firstly, the most obvious in the expression was dead and is alive again. This is the language of new birth, of regeneration. We who were dead in sins have been made alive in Christ (verses). The old has passed away and we are new creations, adopted into the family of God. Secondly, Isaiah 61:10 speaks of 'garments of salvation' and a 'robe of righteousness'. For the Christian, we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ as His righteousness covers our sin. The ring represents the authority we have in Christ as His ambassadors and representatives and the sandals are the new shoes we wear on this new journey with Him, as we bring the gospel of peace.
4. It is also obvious that the narrative uses both paternal and eternal language for father. For the immediate listeners perhaps they also saw beyond the paternal references, but for us as Christians, only God the Father can give us this righteousness and make us alive in Christ.

For the tax collectors and sinners listening to this parable, many may have been convicted deeply and heard a powerful call to walk away from their sin and return to God as children of Israel, but they were not the only ones listening and Jesus circles back to the Pharisees, represented by the older brother. He is out in the fields, he never left home and when he hears the report of the feast, refuses to go inside. The father went out and pleaded with him, but the older son pointed to his own sense of righteousness saying he has never disobeyed and never been given a feast for he and his friends. And notice that he uses the phrase 'this son of yours' (v30) which is juxtaposed to the father calling the lost boy 'this son of mine'.

And his self-righteousness is on display when accuses the younger brother of squandering the father's property with prostitutes, comparing himself with his brother whom he refuses to recognize as a brother. The father calls him 'my son' and reminds him that everything he has was always the older sons, so he could have had a feast with his friends at any time, indeed, he had also received half of the inheritance.

The last verse, (v32) is a direct challenge to the Pharisees. 'We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; was lost and is found'. The play on words is powerful. The father called the prodigal 'this son of mine' and the older brother 'my son' and 'this brother of yours', whereas the older called the prodigal this 'son of yours' disowning him as a brother as the Pharisees had disowned the tax collectors and sinners.

In Summary.

There are powerful messages in these three parables. The narrative of the prodigal son gives us a clear progression of true repentance and salvation. The prodigal recognized his sin, he walked away from his sin in faith and went to God in absolute surrender, proving his repentance and acts of faith were genuine. He was not 'made alive again' in the pig sty but at the moment he was received by the Father.

There is also a power message to Christian parents. Let God be God. Rather that pressure your children into an independent relationship with God that he is not calling them to, and baptizing them to make you feel secure that they are saved, trust the Lord and the commands Scripture has for children and warn them that they will need to make a decision about giving their lives to Christ when their lives are fully theirs to give.

And to those who have a self-righteous 'us and them' mentality, understand that your self-righteous pride is utterly opposed by God. Repent of it, look to your own sin and God's mercy, and begin to have the same heart as the Lord in regards to the lost or you may discover too late, that you were also lost.

God bless.