Luke 15:22-24

Rachel Workman: ²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

If you can imagine this is exactly how Christ feels about every one of us.

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John Burnett:  ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.  This parable is really a bibliography for every person on the planet that has repented and put their trust in Jesus Christ.  We were all dead in our sins but granted eternal life and the angels in heaven celebrate like Luke 15:7 states.  This is why it is called amazing grace, because it is so amazing yet undeserved like the celebration in verse 22.  Thank you Jesus for your grace and mercy.

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Mike Grimm:  ²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

The sheep was lost because it may have foolishly wandered away (15:4); the coin was lost through no fault of its own (15:18); and the son left out of selfishness (15:12). God’s great love reaches out and finds sinners no matter why or how they got lost.

It’s important to remember that we are in a parable where a sinner is represented to us under the notion of a prodigal son; God, under the notion of an indulgent father; a repenting sinner, under the notion of a prodigal returning to his father, confessing his error, petitioning his father for mercy, acknowledging he deserves none, but casting himself upon his father’s goodness and mercy.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 15:25-30

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶ and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹ but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰ Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’