Luke 15:11-32 NASB
[11] And He said, “A man had two sons. [12] The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. [13] And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. [14] Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. [15] So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. [16] And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. [17] But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! [18] I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; [19] I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”‘ [20] So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. [21] And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [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. [25] “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. [26] And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. [27] And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ [28] But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. [29] But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; [30] but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ [31] And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. [32] But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’” …
This is such a familiar story to every Christian, but I think we have titled it incorrectly. It is really not a story about a prodigal son as much as it is a story about the loving and merciful Father. Jesus told the story because He came to reveal the truth about the Father, and the truth is that our heavenly Father is not only good, but He longs to bless us. We will never be true worshipers who worship God in spirit and in truth if we don’t know the truth about the true nature of God. I’m going to commit a number of chapters to this story of the Merciful Father because our love for God will be determined by our understanding of not just how much He loves us but also what kind of love He has for us.
In this first segment of our journey through this amazing story, I want us to look at the revelation Jesus gives us about true repentance. When the wayward son had ultimately spent everything he had on loose living (the older brother in verse 30 says that the wayward son devoured the Father’s wealth with prostitutes, so I guess that’s what loose living is referencing), he found himself hired out to feed the pigs. He had reached the point of such desperation and hunger that he wanted to eat the food the pigs were eating, but no one would give it to him. At that bottom-of-the-barrel point, we are told that “he came to his senses.” The actual Greek word that is translated as “his senses” should be translated as “himself.” It is when he “came to himself” that he started home. Even though he didn’t fully understand yet the grace and the heart of his father, he did remember where home was.
Repentance isn’t about being shamed into condemnation and self-rejection. That certainly wasn’t how Jesus dealt with the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, or Matthew, the tax collector who was cheating his own people for his own selfish purposes. I have found that some Christians can’t own their stuff when they sin because they have lived with so much shame and condemnation all their life (because of a horrible home life when they were growing up, or whatever or whoever shamed them over the years) that they can’t bear to think of shouldering more weight from shame than they have already been carrying for years. It is important that we understand that repentance, for the Christian, is not about embracing condemnation and shame; it is about them “coming to themselves.” Repentance is about remembering who you actually are in Christ as a new creation. It’s about remembering your true identity as the righteousness of God in Christ. The nature of Christ is our new nature, and in Christ, we are holy and blameless before the Father. Repentance is about remembering who you really are and going home to your “life hidden with Christ in God.”
Sin is a result of the enemy successfully deceiving you into living as if you were still the independent “old self.” Repentance is when you remember who you actually are as the “new self” in union with the righteous life of Christ. Romans 11 says that if the root (Jesus) is holy, the branches are too. Holiness comes naturally to the believer because Christ is your life, and sin is the anomaly. Remembering who you are and acting on that truth is to believe what God believes about you. That is repentance.