The Parables of 4 Lost Prodigals      Luke 15:1-32

The Third and Fourth Prodigals: the Two Lost Sons. (continued)

“and kissed him.”

His father forgot the dignity of years ran to his son and throwing his arms around his neck, kissed him, not with cold kisses of courtesy, but warm kisses of love! He showered him with kisses all over his face! In the Bible a kiss is a token of love; and here is a token for everyone to see for mercy; here is a sign of reconciliation and fellowship! It shows in a way that no other symbol can; it is the admission of the son to the father, and the nearness of the father to his son! This is the kiss of grace!

Luke 15:21 “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.”

What is on open display here is nothing less than a storm of emotion of words spoken by the son in their mutual embrace! Now in my mind’s eye I see it happening this way. The father, who loves his son unconditionally, sees his son from afar, and runs to meet him just outside of town. Then they are standing before each other fact to face, and for a brief few seconds there is silence, then the silence is broken when the son, (very likely speaking through his tears,) says “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” To which the father embraces his sobbing son in his (unconditional) loving arms.

When the prodigal son had resolved to say these things it was under the stress of his poverty and physical situation; but now they are expressed with a deeper sense of grief and guilt, that is within his soul. What we have here is a perfect picture of what true repentance looks like! It’s as if he had just awakened from a long dark sleeping nightmare to a vivid consciousness, to the light of a new dawn. Now in the light he can clearly see his sin for the first time. Now he can see that it was his sin “against heaven, and in thy sight” that had thrown him into the darkness of “a far county” where he embittered the heart of his father and wasted years of loving fellowship with him in his house. His sin was first against heaven where God dwells, and then against his own father, and his whole family. There is no place for excuses, no attempt to gloss over it, but only for humble, penitent and obedient confession of his heart.

Let’s not overlook the fact that he has left out one part of his resolution, remember he said, “make me as one of thy hired servants.” He had resolved to say it but he didn’t. Why? Because he thought, and fully expected his father to say, “You’re not welcome here as a son.” To which he intended to plead that he be allowed to work as one of his hired hands.

Luke 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.”

In the far country the young prodigal son had resolved three things, he would say to his father:

• First, “I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,”
• Second, “And am no more worthy to be called thy son,”
• Third, “make me as one of thy hired servants.”

To which the father answers all three:

• First, “Bring forth the best robe,”
• Second, “put a ring on his hand”
• Third, to the unspoken he said “shoes on his feet.”

First, as to the robe, the question is what robe is it? It’s the “best robe!” And the “best robe” is the “robe” that is worn by the father! Thus the father is saying to his servants, “You go right now and get my best robe and put it on my son!”

Brothers and sisters the “best robe” that our heavenly Father has is the robe of the righteousness of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ! And He has imputed His righteousness unto and upon all of the objects of His love; on all of those that He has placed in His Son from before the foundation of the world! And they number more than all the grains of sand on all the sea shores and more than all the stars in the heavens!

Second, as to the “ring” that he put on his hand, it is the father’s own signet ring! It’s the “ring” which has the family insignia engraved on it that identifies him as a member of the family! It the “ring” that carries the authority of the father!

The ring is the Bible symbol of a covenant. It’s a circle with no beginning or ending; it represents that which is eternal. The Hebrew word for covenant is berit, which means to bind, bond things together. This is where we get the English word barrette to describe a decorative clasp that most women use to hold hair in place. It corresponds to the geek word sythete which means to bind and put together.

A covenant is made between to persons which creates a relationship that binds them together. A good example is the covenant of marriage which binds together one man and one woman as husband and wife “till death you part.”

A covenant is based upon an unchangeable relationship of commitment between persons, without any thought of ending, it only ends with the death of the one who establishes it; therefore the covenant of God is an everlasting covenant. It includes promises and obligations, and is sealed with a rite or oath. It requires sacrifice, and brings blessings and curses which makes it binding. Thus the ring that is placed on the son by the father signifies that the relationship with his son is fully restored!

And third, placing “shoes on his feet” means that he is not to be his hired servant! In that day most servants did not wear shoes! He placed shoes upon his sons dirty feet to show that this was His beloved son, and not just one of his hired hands! And he was to have the full blessing and authority afforded to a son!

In scripture we find that God made everlasting covenants with:

• Noah in Genesis 9:16-17 “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
• Abraham in Genesis 17:7 “And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”
• The children of Israel in Leviticus 24:8 “Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.”
• David the son of Jesse in 2 Samuel 23:5 “Although my house be not so with God; yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although He make it not to grow.”
• The people of God in Jeremiah 32:38-40 “And they shall be My people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.”
• The church in Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

We see the ring used this way in Genesis 41:41-44 when Pharaoh king of Egypt as he set Joseph “over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

“And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it.”

Notice that a sacrifice was to be made? This points us to the sacrifice that Jesus made for His people for their sin against God the Father! The picture comes to my here is in the temple where the calves were offered for a sin offering, and burnt offerings; as well as the sacrifice that was made on the Day of Atonement. Jesus offered Himself up freely, body and soul in our place as a sweet smelling saviour to God once and for all time and eternity for our justification. He fully fulfilled the demands of the law and justice and secured our peace and reconciliation having made full atonement and expiation or reparation for our guilt or wrongdoing.

• Matthew 26:64 “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
• Mark 14:62 “And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
• Mark 16:19 “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”
• Luke 22:69 “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
• Acts 2:33 “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”
• Acts 7:55-56 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
• Romans 8:34 “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
• Colossians 3:1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
• Hebrews 1:3-4 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
• Hebrews 8:1-2 “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
• Hebrews 10:12-13 “But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.”
• Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
• 1 Peter 3:22 “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.”
• Revelation 5:1, 7 “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals…And he came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.”

“And let us eat, and be merry.”

The horrendous scene of crucifixion, the death and burial of Christ is sad and hard for us to think about, but we are able rejoice in the fact that the high price of redemption and atonement had been paid in full!

Notice who is going to eat of the “fatted calf:”

• The father,
• The former prodigal, and now repentant son, and
• The servants in the father’s house.

The Father, to whom the salvation is sent to His people, by the death of Christ, is a glorious feast; His heart was set upon this event from before the foundation of the world; He was infinitely (without limit) well pleased with Christ as the surety of His chosen people from all eternity; He sent Him to this purpose with He said in John 6:38-39 “For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”

Also the apostle Paul takes pleasure in telling us in Romans 8:32 that God “spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.” Not only did He not spare Him, but He was even pleased to bruise Him. This is exactly what God revealed prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”

We sometimes miss what this all means because of the way our modern English is often watered down in meaning. When we hear the word “bruised” we think about a slight injury caused by a blow or an impact that discolours the skin. But the Hebrew word used in Isaiah for bruised is daw-kaw' which means literally to crumble, beat to pieces, crush, and destroy. Having this understanding of the word dramatically changes our image of what Christ underwent on our behalf doesn’t it?

And yet the Father was pleased and accepted His sacrifice with delight! And He takes great pleasure in seeing His people, His children feasting upon their crucified saviour! In fact Jesus Himself said in John 6:54-57 “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.”

But what exactly does all this mean? And this is important!! To begin with He did not mean it literally; it would be absurd to think that anyone would actually eat His flesh and drink His blood. This idea is expressed wonderfully in the communion supper in Matthew 26:26-28 which He instituted, He “took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” Now it is clear that the bread that He gave was not His literal body, but a representation of His body. And then “He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” And again we clearly can see that He does not intend that we believe that the wine is actually, or literally His blood but only a presentation of His blood and the reason or cause to which it is being shed…“for the remission of sons.”

God is well pleased when we feast upon the finished work of Christ for the remission or the cancellation of our debt, or penalty for sin, which is the actual forgiveness of sin, not just one sin, but for all of the sins of His people for all time.

Feasting on the flesh and blood of Christ is being in union with Christ! It means that we are walking and talking; sitting and standing and living our lives together with Him. This is something that the world can never understand, (in fact they actively hate it,) and it’s only enjoyed by true believers; by true disciples; and to them it’s the greatest of blessings on earth apart from actually being with Him in heaven.

This eating is by “faith,” which is the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23. The food that is served is the provision that is given by the Spirit through the gospel. Not to dead men, because they do not have an appetite; it is a spiritual food and is only for those who “do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

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