Secrets Of The Prodigal Son

Without intending to be insulting to Mr. Giles, I find only a very "thin" intellectual argument here that ignores some very powerful possibilities about divine authority.

Jesus's parable of the Prodigal Son is one of my favorite because it clearly illustrates the single greatest divergence of His ministry vs. traditional Judaism of the period... forgiveness. Before Christ, Judaism required a blood sacrifice made under very prescribed conditions for the remission of sin. The Priesthood controlled these protocols (and often profited by them). No individual could just fall down on their knees and beg the Almighty for a pardon. In this sense, the message of the Messiah was not only revolutionary... it was incendiary. The "older brother" in this tale is a direct parallel for the litigious, "religious" follower of Judaism at the time... most likely representative of the Pharisees and Sadducees. These religious leaders were "clean"; men who wouldn't have dreamed of visiting a brothel, or working on the Sabbath... but they also turned a blind eye to the suffering of others, and extorted those they were charged with leading spiritually.

The "Prodigal Son" in this tale suffers for his arrogance, impatience, and impropriety. His loose ways cost him his inheritance, his freedom, and his dignity. He comes back to the "Father" broken, seeking the lowest position in the household, without any excuses. It's the older brother's self-righteousness... not the earthly consequences of immorality that Christ is preaching against here. He is not suggesting that the proper response to sin is, "you're ok... I'm ok". Instead, He's painting a picture of the mercy of the "Father" ( a clear surrogate for God). Only God has this power; to cleanse the repentant of their sins... their past failures, their regrets. Once given however, this mercy is irrefutable and indelible. It is not the place or right of other Christians to then "remind" the repentant sinner of their past, or judge them any less "worthy" to live the full Christian life because of it.

It is important to note however that the "Prodigal Son" came home... and stayed home. He did not return to what destroyed him. This parable is mirrored in the real world story of the woman Christ saves from being stoned for adultery under Jewish "law".

Embracing forgiveness does not invalidate God's just wrath for remaining unrepentant... or remove the logical consequences of perversion, dereliction, or immorality. For me personally (as I struggle daily against my own sins)... this is what is meant by, "work out your own salvation in fear and trembling". In short, we should fear and love God enough to revert from our sins, and seek a more holy life under His mercy.