Return of a Rebel
Devotions for Growing Christians
Return of a Rebel
Luke 15:17-20 - When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'" So he got up and went to his father.
Read the whole story in Luke 15:11-32.
Have you ever tried to run away? Probably most of us have had the desire to run away at one time or another. If we could just get away from our duties and responsibilities! If only we could leave some of our problems and tense personal relationships. If we could just get away from all those "superiors" who are always telling us what to do, and be free to do our own thing. Sound familiar?
The story of the runaway son in Luke 15 shows us that running away doesn’t pay. The life of the rebel is never really free. Running away from responsibilities and problems and authority brings short-lived freedom, but it invariably results in more frustration (v13-16). Real freedom only comes when we begin to deal with the root cause of our desire to run away (v17-18).
The root cause of our problem is always related to our relationship with God. We run because we’re unwilling to submit to the authority or handle the responsibilities that God has placed in our lives. We run because we refuse to admit that many of our "problems" are not the fault of others, but are the result of our own selfish desires. We must return in repentance and confess our rebellion to the Lord (v20-21). Paradoxically, it’s the returned and repentant rebel who finds the freedom and happiness and love he was looking for all along!
The story goes on (vs25-31) to show that it is not only open rebellious actions which bring unhappiness and frustration and separation. In the older son we see hidden rebellious attitudes. The older son did not run away, but he was a rebel at heart. His open bitterness and bad attitude were but surface symptoms of the restless and rebellious spirit within. There must be repentance of hidden attitudes, as well as of obvious actions, if we are to know and experience joy and communion with the Father.
We can learn much more from this story of the two sons. Like many of the other parables of our Lord Jesus, the story had a primary application to the people then, but contains valuable spiritual lessons for us today. Notice to whom the parable was given: tax collectors and sinners, and Pharisees and scribes (v1-2). The tax collectors and "sinners" openly recognized their short-comings, and they gladly heard the Lord. The Pharisees and scribes, on the other hand, were self righteous, religious people who resented the fact that Jesus was befriended unclean people like lepers and social outcasts - and even ate with them (v2)!
In Luke 15 the Lord Jesus gave three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, to show that the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees needed to admit that they were as lost as the obviously sinful people. Thus the primary teaching of the story of the two sons was directed at the self-righteous religious leaders. They are pictured in the older son: rebellious (v28), self righteous (v29), jealous (v30), and unthankful for the privileged position in which God had placed the Jewish nation (v31).
In the parable, the tax collectors and obvious sinners are pictured by the runaway son. Tax collectors were Jews who made their living by collecting taxes for Rome. They usually collected more than Rome demanded and pocketed the difference. Thus their own people considered them to be extortioners and collaborators with the enemy. Notice that the Lord didn’t condone their sinful behavior. Their lost and sinful condition is pictured as an empty and wasted life, far from God (v13-16). Nothing could be more repulsive for a Jew than to work for a foreign Gentile, caring for his pigs. But many of these rebels "came to their senses" when they heard the message of the Lord Jesus (v17). They willingly acknowledged their unworthiness and repented of their sins (vs18-19).
The amazing and wonderful truth that Jesus proclaimed to His listeners is that God does not take back returned rebels reluctantly - He welcomes them with open arms and celebration (vs20-24)! The cutting edge of the parable, of course, is that the repentant, traitorous tax collectors and the repentant, sinful common people were brought into an intimate and happy relationship with God, while the self righteous and religious scribes and Pharisees of respectable society were "left out in the cold"! The teaching of Jesus was clear and to the point. It is repentance that matters to God - not religion!
The story of the two sons certainly has some things to say to us today. We don’t have to look very far today to find the older brother of the story. He can even be found in the church! The older brother pictures the respectable, religious person who thinks he or she is chalking up points with God by his good behavior, and that for this, God owes him something. He has never involved himself in drugs or sex sin or robbery or wasted time, like others he is quick to point out and accuse (v30). He is angry and jealous when he finds out that others are actually enjoying a relationship with God (v25-28).
The older brother doesn't really care about his brother - or his father! Notice that he doesn’t say "my brother" in verse 30 - he says "your son.” The older brother's attitude is always, "Let them get what they deserve!" Grace and mercy and love are words a self-righteous person doesn’t understand. How could he? He has no real love for God - it's only "What's in it for me?" that matters. That's why the older brother in the story stuck around home - for the property, not out of love for the father! Notice that the older son never says "Father" in the story. Notice, also, how he accuses the father of favoritism because he hadn't given him a party for himself and his friends. He couldn't care less about a relationship with the father (v29)! The respectable, self-righteous religious person is also a rebel at heart.
In the runaway son we have a picture of ourselves before conversion, rebelling against God and running away from Him. God, our Creator, pictured here as the kind Father, gives us life and everything we need to live intelligently for His glory. Some of us are given more than others, but no one can say that he hasn't been given a "share of the estate" (v12). But we live for ourselves and squander the precious time and talents that God has given us (v13). We don't want to be subject to God. We'd rather "get what's ours" and enjoy ourselves in our own way in the “far country” - as far away from God as we can get. The far country can be quite close to home, because the distance is measured in motives, not miles.
There comes a time in the rebel's life when the running stops - when he comes to the end of his rope. With the knowledge of emptiness and hunger in our souls comes the realization of how wretched we really are (v14). It is hard to admit that we are not the independent “big spenders" we once thought we were. We’re living like dirty, smelly pigs (v15)! And the empty "husks" of the far country do not really fill the vacuum within us (v16). There is no real freedom or satisfaction for the soul of mankind apart from total surrender to God, and a right relationship with Him.
The return of every rebel begins with repentance. As rebels against God, we must realize that we are separated from Him, and dying because of our sin (v17). We are the "lost" and "dead" of verse 24. We must confess, "Oh God, I have sinned" (v18). We must admit that God owes us nothing, and that we have no claims on God (v19).
Up to this point God is seen as longing for our return, but not forcing Himself on us. But notice the action of the Father when, by an act of our will, we "get up" and begin our return (v20). The Lord has been watching and waiting for us all along, and now He actually runs to us and smothers us with affection! What a picture of the love God has for you and me!
Why is there no reprimand? Why is there no scolding? The father is so overjoyed that the son never even gets to finish his formal confession! (Compare verse 21 with verses 18-19). The repentant son is given the best robe (signifying a position of honor), and a ring (a sign of authority), and sandals (slaves were not given shoes). Not only is everything forgiven, but there is complete reconciliation between father and son. Why? Because it is a picture of God's tremendous love and unbelievable plan of salvation for us. When we turn to God in repentance and submission, our sins are completely forgiven and we are brought into a favored position in the family of God - with no strings attached! Our salvation is far more than a "ticket to heaven" or "fire insurance"! And the celebration has just begun (vs23-24)!
Although there are no strings attached for us, it cost God a great price to bring us back into fellowship with Himself. I cost God the Father the death of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. The return path to the Father must be through Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5). Through His death for us, our rebellious actions and attitudes are forgiven, our place in God's family restored, and a never-ending celebration and communion with God begins!
- Dave Reid