“‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’” 15:32 NASB¹

Read Luke 15:11-32

I have spent the majority of my adult life working as a homemaker or holding volunteer positions. That means caring for my family and creating a peaceful sanctuary in my home has consumed much of my time. But I have had the privilege of using the remainder of my time to participate in a variety of activities that have had eternal and life-changing effects. But it has also meant that I haven’t received a paycheck.

Once, in the presence of my children, when I was sharing what I would do if I had some money I could call my own, my son responded, “Take your goat and have a party!” What he meant was, “Dad has adequate resources. In the eyes of God and the law, you two are one; what is his, is yours. He loves you, and he appreciates the work you do to contribute to the family and the community. I am sure he would be more than agreeable for you to spend some of the money he has made on that.” My son was serious; he didn’t mean to be funny, but we all burst out laughing.

“Take your goat and have a party” has since become a family saying. Whenever anyone in our home complains about a perceived lack in the presence of actual abundance, he or she will hear, “Take your goat and have a party!” We all know who came up with the saying, but the idea didn’t originate with my son. He got the idea from the following parable of Jesus.

The Case

“And [Jesus] said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.” And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So, he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.’”

“‘But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’” And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to celebrate.”

“‘Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.” But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found”’” (Luke 15:11-32).²

The Context

The Parable of the Prodigal Son just might be the most popular of all of Jesus’ parables. This parable has been referenced, repeated, written about, spoken of, and preached more times than only God knows. Because of the familiarity, you may be tempted to gloss over it thinking you know everything you need to know about this particular parable. But I challenge you to pour over this passage as much as you would any other. Remember, “the Word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). That means every time we read the Bible there is potential for something new to be revealed to us. Perhaps you will discover something in what you read here which you never saw before.

Jesus told this parable to a particular group of people for a specific reason. Luke, the one who recorded this allegorical story, told us Jesus’ reasoning behind the teaching of it. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So, He told them this parable” (Luke 15:1-3).

The Pharisees and scribes were upset about Jesus eating with tax-collectors and sinners because they felt these people were unclean and unworthy of the attention of highly religious men such as themselves. They concluded, if Jesus were a man of God, as He claimed, He would not be coming near such people.

This particular story is part of a three-parable series. Each parable in the series focuses on the loss and subsequent finding of something precious. The first is The Parable of the Lost Sheep. The second is The Parable of the Lost Coin. As these parables progress, the value of the thing which has been lost significantly increases, but the main point of each of these tales is the heavenly joy that accompanies a sinner coming to repentance and returning to God. (See Luke 15:7 & 10).

The Characters

Each of the persons mentioned in this story represents one of the types of people who were in Jesus’ audience that day. Jesus may have been addressing the religious leaders who were chastising Him, but the sinners with whom He was eating, as well as the disciples and those in the crowd who had gathered around Jesus, would have heard this parable. Jesus had something to say to each of them. Because this story is recorded in our Bibles, it also has something for us. So, let’s take a closer look at each of the characters.

The Younger Son

The younger son mentioned in Jesus’ parable represents the sinners and tax-collectors who were in Jesus’ audience that day. But the comparison doesn’t end there. The younger son is a picture of all humans in their sinful state before coming to know and follow Jesus.

The younger son demanded of his father, “‘“Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me”’” (Luke 15:12a). This was a highly unusual request, as an inheritance only passes to another upon the owner’s death. Essentially, this son was saying, “Dad I wish you were dead!” All sinners have chosen a path that is contrary to God’s will; “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In doing so, each of us has effectively said to God, “Get out of my life! I don’t want You to be my Boss!”

Sinners may wash their hands of God, but God does not immediately give up on them. In Jesus’ parable, a severe famine just happened to occur as soon as the younger son had spent all he had. Had the younger son the wisdom to consider the future, perhaps he would have been better prepared to face difficulty. As he did with the younger son in the parable, God orchestrates situations that are out of the knowledge and control of sinners in hopes that they to turn them back to Him.

But one who is determined to live his or her life in his or her own way, rarely responds to the first nudge of God to turn around and return to Him. One frequently has to hit rock bottom before he or she will look toward God. The younger son in this story refused to give up his pursuit to be in charge of his own life. He “‘hired himself out to’” (Luke 15:15a), of all people, a pig farmer! This would have been an even greater insult to his Jewish father than leaving in the beginning.

The word translated here as hired himself out to is the Greek word kollao. It is the same word translated cleave in the New Testament in reference to marriage. Kollao represents a deeper relationship than that of an employee to an employer; it implies a partnership. The young man in Jesus’ story created for himself a more permanent separation from his father. He made himself so unclean that he should have never been able to come back. At least that was his plan.

When we go out on our own and demand to be in control of our own lives, we don’t just leave God, we join Satan. And Satan is a really inconsiderate friend and a terrible boss. All of the companions the young man had bought with his money, deserted him when that ran out. And, though he had made a partnership with the pig farmer, it didn’t gain him a thing. In fact, he was so destitute, hungry, and rejected that “‘he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate.’” (Luke 15:16a).

As long as sin is pleasurable, the need for repentance is not realized. When the young man in Jesus’ story concluded that the best thing in his world was pig slop, he “came to his senses” (Luke 15:17a NASB), and realized how terribly he had sinned against both his father and God. It was only then that he was ready to return to his father.

He knew his father had no obligation to accept him upon his return. He only hoped, for his own survival, that his father would allow him to work for his keep. “‘“I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants”’” (Luke 15:18-19).

The Older Son

The older son in Jesus’ story represents the religious leaders who judged Him for spending time with those they considered unworthy of the attention of any man who claimed to speak for God. The older son is also a symbol of all who are self-focused and self-righteous. And the older son stands for those who believe they can gain acceptance from God on the basis of their good deeds or their ability to follow a set of rules.

Jesus didn’t explain why the younger son packed up and left home. It could be that he ran away because of the harassment he received from his judgmental older brother. Similarly, those that the religious leaders looked down upon may have chosen to adopt an ungodly lifestyle because they couldn’t stand the criticism they received when they couldn’t keep up with all the so-called spiritual ones’ legalistic regulations. It is sad but true that many people feel more at home in a bar than they do in a church because people in a bar are often kinder and more accepting than those in a church.

Interestingly, those who merely go through religious motions, thinking they are working for God, and trying to earn their salvation through their own efforts, don’t experience a lot of joy in the process. Notice, the “older son was in the field” (Luke 15:25a) when all the excitement began to take place. When his father invited him to the celebration, the older son angrily answered with the equivalent of: “You owe me!” There was no joy or love in his service; he was only putting in his time and concentrating on what he could get out of it.

The older son was working for but not joining his father in what was important to his father. The father was watching for the return of his younger son and likely wished his other son had the same desire. Because the older son was off doing what he thought his father required, he missed what was most important to his father. Anyone who is a religious rule-follower can get so busy doing things for God that he or she can miss what God requires.

No wonder Jesus warned, “‘Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven. On that day many will say to Me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

I have heard it said that it was actually the older son’s responsibility to go after, rescue, and bring back his brother. That would have taken some sacrifice of his possessions and his time, but it would have been what his father would have wanted him to do. Similarly, the religious leaders were supposed to be going after those who had strayed from the path of righteousness. They were supposed to be getting their hands a little dirty to bring people back to God. Instead, they stood pridefully at a distance and “‘[loaded] people down with burdens they [could] hardly carry, and … [would] not lift one finger to help them’” (Luke 11:46 NIV³).

The problem was that the older son thought he was better than the younger son. When the older son said to his father, “‘This son of yours … who has devoured your property with prostitutes” (Luke 15:30), he was refusing to acknowledge his connection with his younger brother and was oblivious to his own sins. Likewise, the religious leaders were too prideful to see that they were not all that different from those they labeled “sinners.” Jesus could see through their façade, though, and once He called them out saying, “‘You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So, you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness’” (Matthew 23:27-28).

The Father

In this story, the patriarch of the family represents God. In this parable, Jesus emphasized the gracious, merciful, loving, and forgiving nature of His Father—His Father who desires to be a Father to many sons and daughters. “‘I will make My dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people … and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty’” (2 Corinthians 6:16 & 18).

“God’s kindness is meant to lead [people] to repentance” (Romans 2:4b). Ultimately, it was in remembering the father’s care and kindness for those who worked for him that the younger son decided to return home. He had not experienced such faithful care from his counterfeit friends who partied with him until his resources were depleted and then abandoned him. And he certainly hadn’t received any lasting kindness from his chosen employer who made an alliance with him and then left him in a pig pen to fend for himself.

The mercy that would have allowed the father to let his younger son take his money and leave home, especially when this request was a direct rejection of everything for which the father stood, is hard to fathom. The undying love and unquenched hope that kept the father’s eyes directed toward the horizon longing for his son to return is praiseworthy. But the grace that drove the father to run to and embrace his filthy, emaciated, and sin-saturated son, ignoring that son’s request to be merely a hired man, and accepting him back as a son and adorning him with all the privileges of a son—that grace is no less than divine.

“God [showed] His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). When we make the slightest movement toward God, He comes the rest of the way. When sinners repent and return to their Heavenly Father, God “‘will be merciful toward their iniquities, and [He] will remember their sins no more’” (Hebrews 8:12). “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:11-13).

God doesn’t reserve His kindness for only those who have already returned to Him; He extends it to all He hopes will repent and follow Him. The father in this story pursued both of his sons. When the older son “‘was angry and refused to go [into the party]. His father came out and entreated him” (Luke 15:28). When the older son complained about the grace shown to his brother, the father compassionately replied, “‘“Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours”’” (Luke 15:28-30).

The older brother could have had a party anytime he wanted. The father would have been more than happy to celebrate with him. But the older son did not realize who he was to his father, nor did he have a grasp on all that was available to him as a son. He was not so different from his brother as he may have thought.

Both sons were lost; only one recognized it. Both sons were loved, but only one of them came to realize it. Both sons had always had access to all that was the father’s, only one appreciated it—and only after he lost everything.  Neither of the sons was worthy of his father’s love, but only one came to appreciate it.

There are two roads to hell. One is paved with obvious sin; the other is laid with righteous-looking deeds. Both exalt self over God; it is just more easily seen in one case than the other. Both cause extreme pain; one is just a greater shock in the end. Yet, Jesus came and died for both the self-sabotaging lawbreaker and the self-righteous law-keeper. And there is great joy in Heaven when either admit his or her sin and reach out toward God.

The Servants

This parable is often referenced in hopes that those who are in some way similar to the younger son will repent and make their wrongs right. Sometimes it is preached to cause conviction in those like the older son who have made their rights wrong. Whenever it is shared, God is praised for the abundant grace that He extends to all who turn from their sin and turn toward Him. But there are characters in this parable who are almost always overlooked—the faithful servants. These represent Christ and those who are completely devoted to Him.

Now, there are three words each translated servants in our English version of this parable. In Greek, the language in which this parable would have originally been recorded, the difference would have been much easier to recognize.

The first is translated hired servants in English. In Greek, it is misthios⁴ and means an employee or a hired hand. This kind of servant is mentioned in verses 17 and 19. When the younger son realized his sin, he wished to be this kind of servant for his father. An employee or hired hand does the work he is asked to do, gets paid, and goes to his own home. The father may have had several hired hands, but he had no interest in his son being one of them; the father was interested in a far more personal connection.

The second kind of servant mentioned in this passage is found in verse 22. In Greek, this word is doulos. This word is sometimes translated as slave or bondservant. This kind of servant is completely devoted to his or her master to the disregard of his or her interests. The third kind of servant is mentioned in verse 26. In Greek, this word is pais and means an attendant or a minister to a king.

Both a bondservant and an attendant are more like members of the family than a hired hand. They are completely dependent on their master. They have no home of their own; they live with their master and receive all that they need for their daily lives and their work directly from their master. Their greatest concern is that of their master; they are always available to the master’s beck and call.

Doulos is often used in the New Testament as a metaphor for one who gives up himself or herself to the will of Christ to be used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among humankind. Similarly, it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out how pias might apply to a Christian’s job description.

The bondservants and the attendants in this story were more like family to the father than his own flesh-and-blood sons. They chose to be with the father and willingly served him. They were with the father where he was. They felt his pain and his joy. They experienced his passion. They met his needs.

They didn’t question it when their master when told them to bring for his son the best clothing and the most significant piece of jewelry in his home. They didn’t balk when he told them to prepare an elaborate meal. They didn’t worry about whether the younger son deserved the attention. They didn’t care what the older brother thought. They weren’t wondering what would benefit them. They were all about what their master wanted. And they were more than happy to celebrate with him whatever might be the cause of the celebration.

Most definitely, God wants all, whether they are living a life steeped in sin or immersed in self-righteous, to repent. But even more, He wants sons and daughters. He wants family members who will be like douloses and piases who are devoted to Him, receive all they need from Him, join Him where He is working, and celebrate with Him. Because it is when we are all about God, that we actually have everything our hearts desire.

Christians should be the happiest people on Earth. We get to approach the throne room of God any time we want, and we are welcome there (see Hebrews 4:16). Our sins have been stripped away and we have been given robes of righteousness (see Isaiah 61:10 & 2 Corinthians 5:21). We have an abundant inheritance in Heaven and everything we need on Earth for life and godliness (see 1 Peter 1:3-4 & 2 Peter 1:3-4).

Every day, we should wake up absolutely giddy that we get to spend the day with God. And if anything should happen to us during the day that would remove us from this earth, we should be just as delighted that we will still be with God. We have unquenchable strength for this life. And we are unconquerable overcomers for the next.

Elsewhere, Jesus answered those who questioned why He did what He did, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing’” (John 5:19-20a). May we emulate the attitude of Jesus by watching for where God is working and joyfully join Him.

The Conclusion

“‘It [is] fitting to celebrate and be glad’” (Luke 15:32a)!

Maybe if Christians celebrated what they have and who they are in Christ, Christian would never be synonymous with self-righteous, hypocritical bigot. Maybe if Christ-followers were filled with ecstatic cheerfulness as they served and obeyed their Master, those who are searching for satisfaction would be drawn to Jesus, not the world. Maybe if the Faithful Ones faced everything that came their way in life with immovable joy, those who are facing difficulty themselves would realize the overcoming power of the Spirit. Maybe if Believers were thrilled to join Jesus in seeking and saving the lost and began partying as they do in Heaven when someone repents, more people would want to be part of such festivities.

The problem is most Christians are trying in their own power to rouse the joy of the Lord. You can’t in your own ability muster up the strength to be properly excited about the things of God, but if you are saved, you have the Spirit of God living in you. He is plenty eager, let Him be enthusiastic through you.

When we aren’t focusing on the things of the Lord but are looking to the world or gazing into the mirror, we miss the most excellent celebrations. The younger son left home to party when the best shindig was at home. The older son nearly missed the festivities because he wasn’t where his father would have him be. Even when he did make it to the party, he chose to fume and pout outside when he could have been singing and dancing inside.

What’s your excuse? What are you doing instead of rejoicing in Christ? What is keeping you from joining The Party? Why aren’t you making the most of all that is available to you in your relationship with God? Why aren’t you taking your goat and having a party?

Related articles: Search and Rescue and Reunited

 

¹ Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995.

² Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.

³ Scripture quotations marked with NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

⁴ All Greek words and their definitions have been taken from The Blue Letter Bible at https://www.blueletterbible.org/