View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)
The Best Robe
As we saw, the son himself had to make the decision to return. There was no compulsion on his father’s part. God forces no one to be obedient; if He didn’t force Satan to be obedient in heaven, or Adam and Eve to be obedient in Eden, why do it now, long after the consequences of disobedience have wreaked havoc on humanity? (Rom. 5:12–20, 21).
Read Luke 15:20–24. How does the father react to the son’s confession? How much penance, how many works, how many acts of restitution was the son required to do before the father accepted him? What message is in there for us? See also Jer. 31:17–20.
The son did confess to his father, but you can get the impression from reading the text that the father almost didn’t hear it. Look at the order: the father ran to meet his son, fell on him, and kissed him. Sure, the confession was fine, and it probably did the son more good than the father, but at that point the son’s actions spoke louder than his words.
The father, too, told the servants to bring “the best robe” and place it on the son. The Greek word translated “best” there (from protos) often means “first” or “foremost.” The father was giving him the best he had to offer.
Think of the context, too: the son had been living in poverty for who knows how long. He probably didn’t come home dressed in the finest of apparel, to say the least. After all, he had been feeding pigs up until then. The contrast, no doubt, between what he was wearing when he was embraced by his father (notice, too, the father didn’t wait until he was cleaned up before throwing himself on him) and the robe that was placed on him couldn’t have been starker.
What this shows, among other things, is that the restoration, at least between the father and the son, was at that moment complete. If we see “the best robe” as the robe of Christ’s righteousness, then all that was needed was provided for right then and there. The prodigal had repented, confessed, and turned from his ways. The father supplied the rest. If that’s not a symbol of salvation, what is?
What’s fascinating here, too, is that there is no “I told you so” from the father. There wasn’t any need for it, was there? Sin reaps its own wages. When dealing with folks who come back to the Lord after falling away, how can we learn not to throw their sins up before them?
| WEDNESDAY | June 1 |
As we saw, the son himself had to make the decision to return. There was no compulsion on his father’s part. God forces no one to be obedient; if He didn’t force Satan to be obedient in heaven, or Adam and Eve to be obedient in Eden, why do it now, long after the consequences of disobedience have wreaked havoc on humanity? (Rom. 5:12–20, 21).
Read Luke 15:20–24. How does the father react to the son’s confession? How much penance, how many works, how many acts of restitution was the son required to do before the father accepted him? What message is in there for us? See also Jer. 31:17–20.
The son did confess to his father, but you can get the impression from reading the text that the father almost didn’t hear it. Look at the order: the father ran to meet his son, fell on him, and kissed him. Sure, the confession was fine, and it probably did the son more good than the father, but at that point the son’s actions spoke louder than his words.
The father, too, told the servants to bring “the best robe” and place it on the son. The Greek word translated “best” there (from protos) often means “first” or “foremost.” The father was giving him the best he had to offer.
Think of the context, too: the son had been living in poverty for who knows how long. He probably didn’t come home dressed in the finest of apparel, to say the least. After all, he had been feeding pigs up until then. The contrast, no doubt, between what he was wearing when he was embraced by his father (notice, too, the father didn’t wait until he was cleaned up before throwing himself on him) and the robe that was placed on him couldn’t have been starker.
What this shows, among other things, is that the restoration, at least between the father and the son, was at that moment complete. If we see “the best robe” as the robe of Christ’s righteousness, then all that was needed was provided for right then and there. The prodigal had repented, confessed, and turned from his ways. The father supplied the rest. If that’s not a symbol of salvation, what is?
What’s fascinating here, too, is that there is no “I told you so” from the father. There wasn’t any need for it, was there? Sin reaps its own wages. When dealing with folks who come back to the Lord after falling away, how can we learn not to throw their sins up before them?
No comments:
Post a Comment