For this boy’s father to have seen him “a great way off” would imply that the Father had been eagerly awaiting his son’s return. Certainly, in the spiritual application of this parable, our Heavenly Father is longing to cleanse and receive the sinner, if he will just repent and come to Him for forgiveness.

Jesus was using this parable to rebuke the Pharisees for their harsh, self-righteous, unforgiving attitude towards sinners. The older brother in this parable was symbolic of the Pharisees. Like this brother, the Pharisees had not lived an outward life of rebellion and they thought that others who didn’t measure up to their standards were surely hated by God. But, “God so loved the world” and “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

Just as this older brother was self-centered and jealous, the Pharisees were not operating in the love of God towards sinners because they were so in love with themselves. They resented Jesus giving the sinners what the Pharisees thought they deserved.

If relationship with his father had been the real desire of the older brother, he would have rejoiced to see his father’s joy at the return of his son. The repentant prodigal son had learned the vanity of things and he had come home to a relationship with his father that neither he nor his older brother had known before.

The scribes and Pharisees, like the older brother, had gotten caught up in serving self through their religious actions. The publicans and sinners who repented were supplying their Father with what He really wanted – relationship.

Relationship with the Father was always available to the scribes and Pharisees, but they chose the temporal praise of men rather than relationship with God.

This is a good example of true repentance. This son did not claim any goodness of his own or try to justify his actions, but he humbled himself and appealed to the mercy of his father. Likewise, we cannot approach God in self-righteousness, but we have to humble ourselves, put all of our faith in a Savior, and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr. 7:14). That is true repentance.

Repentance is a necessary part of salvation. Repentance may include godly sorrow, but sorrow does not always include repentance. Repentance is simply a change of mind accompanied by corresponding actions.

There is a godly type of sorrow and an ungodly type of sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. Ungodly sorrow, or the sorrow of this world, just kills.

Our culture has rejected all “negative” emotions. But God gave us the capacity for these negative emotions and there is a proper use of them.

People should feel bad about sin. There should be sorrow over our failures. However, this sorrow should lead to repentance, then when forgiveness is received, our sorrow should be cast upon the Lord (Isa. 53:4).

The sorrow experienced by those who do not turn to God produces only death.

They grieve over their situation because they don’t turn to God (that’s repentance). Christians should only have sorrow until they repent. Once repentance has come, we need to appropriate the forgiveness and cleansing that are already ours through Christ (1 Jn. 1:9). The positive change that our sorrows led us to, changes our attitude towards the things that caused us sorrow. Negatives become positives through Jesus.

God’s Word makes it clear that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Romans 1:18-20 reveals that even those who don’t know God’s Word have an intuitive knowledge of right and wrong and God’s judgment against sin.

Therefore, for anyone to live in sin, as depicted by this prodigal son, they have to be deceived. This is exactly what the Bible says is the case in 2 Corinthians 4:4. When Jesus said, “he came to himself,” He was referring to the deception being removed and the son’s spiritual eyes being opened.

Like this story of the prodigal, tragedy often brings people out of deception and back to their senses. It’s not that God sends the tragedy. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee” (Jer. 4:18). However, tragic situations do clearly illustrate that “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23), and they cause us to look somewhere else for help. Although turning to God is always beneficial, regardless of what provides the motivation, “hard knocks” are not the best teacher.

Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” God’s Word was given for reproof and correction and if we will submit to it, we can “be perfect, thoroughly furnished” without having to experience tragedy first.

The parable of the man building a tower is a continuation of the teaching regarding what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus. This parable stresses commitment. “Jailhouse religion,” where a person is only sorry he got caught and is trying to get out of a bad situation, will not produce true discipleship. It takes a forsaking of all to be Jesus’ disciple. Jesus is simply saying, “count the cost.”

Jesus’ teaching on discipleship emphasizes commitment. Just as a king wouldn’t engage in war without thoroughly considering all the possible outcomes, so no one should attempt to become a disciple of Jesus without counting the cost. It would be better not to start following Jesus than to start and then turn back.

When a person first comes to Jesus, it is impossible to know everything that following Jesus might entail. No one, however, should be fearful of making a total commitment because of some imagined problem that may never come to pass. There should be a willingness to forsake everything to follow Jesus.

Once we make that decision, then Christ begins to live through us (Gal. 2:20) and we find a strength that is not our own, equal to whatever test we may encounter.

The man who made the supper symbolizes God who has invited “whosoever will” to come to Him. The parable teaches that it is not God who fails to offer salvation to everyone, but rather it is the invited guests who reject God’s offer.

These people had feeble excuses just like the excuses of those today who don’t accept God’s offer of salvation. Therefore, the Lord’s Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be furnished with “undesirables” from the world’s point of view, not because God rejects the upper class, but because they reject Him.

Those who have an abundance of this world’s possessions don’t tend to recognize their need for God as much as those who are without.

Jesus’ parable could also be applied to the Jewish nation. God offered salvation to the Jews but they, as a whole, refused Him. Therefore, the Lord sent His servants to the Gentiles to fill His kingdom.

This very parable proves that the Lord is not advocating us using force to convert people to Christianity, because this man accepted the decision of those who rejected his invitation. Therefore, it must be understood that the Lord is admonishing us to compel them to come in by our persuasion or entreaty. The word “compel” denotes aggressiveness, even in persuading of people. The Church, as a whole, and all of us as individuals are not supposed to simply hang out our “shingle” and wait for the world to come to us. We are supposed to be aggressively going into all the world with the Good News. We have an urgent command to be a witness because the time before our Lord’s return is short.

Jesus said that many will seek to enter salvation and will not be able to. There are many reasons for this, but it is not because God refused salvation to anyone. “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men . . .” (Ti. 2:11) and God “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

There is effort involved in obtaining salvation. The effort is not for the purpose of earning salvation. That is a free gift (Rom. 5:15); but we do have to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Faith in Jesus’ goodness is what saves us – not our own goodness – and Satan is constantly trying to destroy our faith. We have to earnestly contend for the faith. True salvation is not just mental assent, but a real heart-felt commitment.

Many people today think that going to church and associating with Christians will provide them with salvation. Some people think that they are Christians because their parents were. But salvation is having a personal relationship with the Lord. You cannot inherit salvation through the natural birth process. “You must be born again.”

We can rest assured that all those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled (Mt. 5:6). “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This sickness was the work of Satan – not the work of God. Jesus said it had bound her – not blessed her – for eighteen years. The teaching that says that sickness is actually a blessing in disguise, because the Lord is working His plan in one’s life, is not found in scripture. As Acts 10:38 says, Jesus “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil,” not “oppressed of God.”

There are 17 times in the Gospels when Jesus healed all of the sick that were present. There are 47 other times when He healed one or two people at a time.

Nowhere do we find Jesus refusing to heal anyone. Jesus said that He could do nothing of Himself, but only what He saw the Father do. His actions are proof enough that it is always God’s will to heal!

Jesus provided for physical healing as well as forgiveness of sins. The very word “save” (Gk.-“sozo”) is translated “made whole” in reference to physical healing in Matthew 9:22, Mark 5:34, and Luke 8:48. James 5:15 says “the prayer of faith shall save (Gk.-“sozo”) the sick.” Many scriptures mention the healing of our bodies in conjunction with the forgiveness of our sins.

Healing is a part of our salvation, just as much as the forgiveness of our sins.

It is God’s will that no one should perish, but many do because of their unbelief. Likewise, it is God’s will that we all be healed, but not all are healed because of failure to believe. It is a mistake to assume that whatever God wills will automatically come to pass. We play a part in receiving from God. Believe His Word today.

Jesus had just spoken about relationships before He gave this parable of delivering ourselves from the judge. The warning is clear that we should do everything within our power to avoid strife (Rom. 12:18). However, the consequences of failing to settle the differences are more than just physical prison or punishment.

Strife can produce spiritual and emotional prisons. James 3:16 says, “where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” Depressions, fears, loneliness, bitterness, sicknesses, financial problems, and many other things can become prisons from which we will not be delivered until we reconcile.

The dictionary states that to reconcile means “to re-establish friendship between; to settle or resolve, as a dispute” (American Heritage). The key to reconciliation is effectively dealing with the enmity, ill will, hatred, or hostility that has caused the dispute. There are several approaches to reconciliation that may be applied. For instance, If we’ve offended someone by an unkind word that we’ve spoken, we can apologize. If we owe money to someone, we can pay the debt. If we’ve done something to someone we can make the necessary restitution. But in every case, reconciliation lies in dealing effectively with the root cause of the enmity.

The enmity between man and God was sin. God took the initiative to remove this barrier through the means and agency of Jesus Christ, thus leaving Him and man as friends once again. Thank God for His great love!