Parable of the prodigal son
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UNSATISFACTORY SONS
Poul Madsen
THE Lord Jesus told two parables which were introduced by the phrase, "A certain man had two sons", and in both of them He revealed the sad contradiction which featured the son who at first sight might have seemed exemplary. In the first case He described the son who answered, "I go, Sir" but never went (Matthew 21:30) and in the other He referred to the elder son who refused to respond to his father's entreaties to welcome the wrongdoer (Luke 15:28). We rejoice at the gospel implications of the other sons, the one who at first refused but then repented and obeyed (Matthew 21:29) and the pathetic prodigal who repented and was welcomed back home (Luke 15:21), but perhaps we ought to expose ourselves to the challenge provided by those brothers of theirs.
In the first of these two stories, the son who said, "No, I will not", afterwards repented and went into the vineyard to do the work which the father had asked him to do. The other son, however, was so glad that he had said 'Yes' and added 'Sir' to his Yes, that he never noticed how little his actions corresponded to his words. In fact he had more to repent of than the 'No-sayer' but he did not repent of anything for he had said his wonderful words which made him a 'Yes-sayer'.
Today 'Yes Lord' is said to a greater extent than perhaps ever before, since there are so many meetings, reported with accompanying photographs, which show large congregations, often with upraised arms, giving an enthusiastic 'Yes' to Jesus. It should not be overlooked that although it may seem wonderful that crowds of young and old say 'Yes' to Jesus, that in itself is not meritorious and not the end of the story. It is easy to say 'Yes, Lord', especially in an atmosphere where everybody else is doing it, but in everyday life it will be seen whether or not the words are borne out by actions. Those who have said, 'Yes, Lord', will have committed themselves to obey the Lord's commands. Anyone who says, 'Yes' ought to examine himself as to whether, although he has nothing to repent of as to his words , he may have as much to repent of as the man who said 'No', when it comes to works . A person can rest so confidently in being a 'Yes-sayer' that he drifts unconsciously into self-deception. We need to remember what Hannah said in her prayer: "By the Lord actions are weighed" (1 Samuel 2:3). [111/112]
The Lord Jesus said that no-one could understand His parables unless it were given to him (Matthew 13:11), so we must not lightly assume that we Christians can read the parable of the Prodigal Son and imagine that we understand it without difficulty. It is more fitting that we should approach the matter in fear and trembling so that in grace the Holy Spirit may give us to understand something of the Lord's meaning.
First of all we need to note the apparent stupidity of the father's behaviour. Would it not be irresponsible for a father to act as this one did with his wayward son? If your son had wasted your money and lost his morals in a depraved life and then, forced by circumstances, had come back home to you, you would naturally do your best for him but you would never give a ring and a best robe to him, nor would you issue invitations for a celebration in his honour. Rather you would probably say, 'My son, I am glad that you have come home, but you will understand that I cannot give you much pocket-money for the present in case you are tempted again and fail. You can certainly work with the others and if you make satisfactory progress -- which is my hearty desire -- I will give you greater responsibility and trust that you will not again succumb to the temptations which this world offers. Let us pray together and commit the future to God's hands.' That is how we would probably behave.
