Luk 15:11-32, 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
This parable has 3 characters: the prodigal son, the loving father, and the hypocrite brother. Often the emphasis is placed on the prodigal son. After reading the first 2 preceding parables, I am convinced the message of the parable is not of the sons but the loving father.
The prodigal son took inheritance and went away. Inheritance was only extended after the demise of a father. By doing this, he demonstrates that he wished his father was dead. The son went a far off and squandered it all. And while living and eating filth, he remembered a loving father. Never, for a moment, had the father ceased to love and yearn for him. Upon returning and seeking to be made a servant, love was quicker than words. The welcome was met with the robe of righteousness, the ring of reconciliation, the kiss of love, the shoes of a holy walk, and the feast of fellowship.
The father is the main character in this movie; the sons are the supporting cast. Though the neighbors celebrated the return of the son, it was a greater amount of praise to an astounding father who got back a son that didn’t merit the welcome yet was restored to sonship. The supporting cast advanced the cause of the main character by shining brighter the spotlight already on Him, that is Christ.
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God” (1Jn 3:1)