Luke 15:21

He now comes back to his Father and cries, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you." Every day in its prayer, the church testifies that the younger son has returned to his Father's house and is calling God his Father. [The church] prays, …

And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Now he begins, established in the Church, to confess his sins, and he does not say all he had promised …

Second, with respect to the reverence of the son accusing himself he adds: And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, namely through contempt of the Majesty presiding over all things: Job 11: "It is higher than heaven, and what will …

And the son said unto him, father,.... Or "my father", as the Syriac version reads; and the Persic version adds, "pardon me": sin lay heavy on him, and he wanted a view and application of pardoning grace, though he seems to be prevented making this request by the kiss he received from his father: I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight; this is what he determined to say, and was allowed to say, having a deep sense of his sin and vileness, and which was increased by the love and kindness his father had shown him.

They are sometimes ranked with harlots ( Matt. xxi. 32 ); here and elsewhere with sinners, such as were openly vicious, that traded with harlots, known rakes. Some think that the sinners here meant were heathen, and that Christ was now on the other side Jordan, or in Galilee of the Gentiles.

When he had received the kiss which sealed his pardon, yet he said, Father, I have sinned. Note, Even those that have received the pardon of their sins, and the comfortable sense of their pardon, must have in their hearts a sincere contrition for it, and with their mouths must make a penitent confession of it, even of those sins which they have reason to hope are pardoned.

It is strange that here is not one word of rebuke: "Why did you not stay with your harlots and your swine? You could never find the way home till beaten hither with your own rod." No, here is nothing like this; which intimates that, when God forgives the sins of true penitents, he forgets them, he remembers them no more, they shall not be mentioned against them, Ezek. xviii.

Make me as one of thy hired servants, is added here by several MSS. and versions; but it is evident this has been added, merely to make his conduct agree with his resolution, Luk 15:19. But by this a very great beauty is lost: for the design of the inspired penman is to show, not merely the depth of the profligate son’s repentance, and the sincerity of his conversion, but to show the great affection of the father, and his readiness to forgive his disobedient son.

Father, I have sinned, &c.--"This confession is uttered after the kiss of reconciliation" (Eze 16:63) [TRENCH].

The parable before us is commonly known as the parable of "the prodigal son." It may be truly called a mighty spiritual picture. Unlike some of our Lord's parables, it does not convey to us one great lesson only, but many. Every part of it is particularly rich in instruction. We see, firstly, in this parable — a man following the natural bent of his own heart. Our Lord shows us a "younger son" making haste to go far away from a kind father's house, and "wasting his substance in riotous living." We have in these words, a faithful portrait of the mind with which we are all born. This is our likeness. We are all naturally proud and self-willed. We have no pleasure in fellowship with God. We long to depart, and go afar away from Him. We spend our time, and strength, and faculties, and affections — on things that cannot profit. The covetous man does it in one way; the slave of lusts and passions in another way; and the lover of pleasure in another way. In one point alone are all agreed. Like sheep, we all naturally "go astray, and turn every one to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6.) In the younger son's initial conduct, we see the natural heart of every man. He who knows nothing of these things, has yet much to learn. He is spiritually blind. The eyes of his understanding need to be opened. The worst ignorance in the world, is not to know ourselves. Happy is he who has been delivered from the kingdom of darkness — and been made acquainted with himself! Of too many it may be said, "They know not, neither will they understand. They walk on in darkness." (Psalm 82:5.) We see, secondly, in this parable — man finding out by bitter experience, that the ways of sin are hard.

I THOUGHT I would hardly preach a set discourse from this familiar text, but just give you some odds and ends of thought upon these words. You know that there are many people who are in such a low state of mind—and who have such a humble opinion of themselves that if I bring them a loaf of bread, they will be afraid to eat it—so I have only brought a few crumbs, this time, and my hope is that they will say with the Syrophenician woman, "Truth, Lord: yet the little dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." May any such persons who are here feel able to pick up a stray thought which shall be spiritual food to them, even manna sent from Heaven and, perhaps, when they have eaten one morsel of it, they may then dare to eat more, and yet more, until their souls are satisfied and they learn to rejoice in the God of their salvation! I am going to take a roving commission and ramble about somewhat more than usual—and I shall do so because I know there are many here who are, themselves, rambling. Perhaps if I ramble, I may come across them. If I keep along the city road, some of the hedge birds that are out of the way may get missed, but if I go over hedge and ditch and say something unusual here and something startling there—it may be that they will wonder how I went just where they happened to be as much as I marvel how they have managed to go where they are! My one thought at this time is not concerning my subject, but my objective.

The parable before us is commonly known as the parable of "the prodigal son." It may be truly called a mighty spiritual picture. Unlike some of our Lord's parables, it does not convey to us one great lesson only, but many. Every part of it is particularly rich in instruction. We see, firstly, in this parable — a man following the natural bent of his own heart. Our Lord shows us a "younger son" making haste to go far away from a kind father's house, and "wasting his substance in riotous living."

I THOUGHT I would hardly preach a set discourse from this familiar text, but just give you some odds and ends of thought upon these words.