As Jesus poured Himself out to people during His earthly ministry, He saw some who were diligently obeying the call to death, the way of self-denial (at least on the outside), but not hearing the call to life. The Pharisees, the literal "elder brother" in His parable of the Prodigal Son, worked away in the Father's fields, secretly frustrated that they received no reward from Him.

If you look closely, you can see a great parallel: the prodigal son hugged by the Father just as the sinners were being healed and forgiven by Jesus; the prodigal given the robe of righteousness and the sandals of authority as the uneducated apostles were sent out by Jesus to preach the kingdom and heal the sick. And the climax, the fatted calf slaughtered for the prodigal just as Jesus Himself would be offered up for the sins of unrighteous people. In this parable, Jesus was simply relaying what He was already doing with the Prodigal world. And He was sad because He saw the Pharisees stubbornly staying out in the field, working away, trying to earn the Father's love. Surely His heart must have been breaking as He looked them in the eyes and finished the story: "Son, all that I have is yours! Come into the house!" Come into life, He was imploring.

Used with permission by:

FreshBread

Hayden Andrews