Luke 15:17

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 15:17

He came to himself - This is a very expressive phrase. It is commonly applied to one who has been “deranged,” and when he recovers we say he has “come to himself.” In this place it denotes that the folly of the young man was a kind of derangement - that he was insane. So it is of every sinner. Madness is in their hearts Ecclesiastes 9:3; they are estranged from God, and led, by the influence of evil passions, contrary to their better judgment and the decisions of a sound mind.Hired servants -... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Luke 15:17-18

Luke 15:17-18. And when he came to himself When the infamy and distress of his present condition began to lead him into serious consideration; and he so far recovered the use of his reason, which had before been dethroned and extinguished by the mad intoxication of sensual pleasure; when the great distress he was in brought him at length to think and reflect on his unhappy condition, and to retrace the steps that had brought him into it; he said Namely, in his heart; How many hired... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Luke 15:1-32

102. Lost sheep; lost coin; lost son (Luke 15:1-32)Jesus told these three short stories to answer the scribes and Pharisees, who had complained that he mixed with tax collectors and other low class people. The more respectable Jews considered such people unworthy of God’s blessings. They were angry that Jesus showed interest in them and that many of them responded to his message (Luke 15:1-2).The stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin show that God does more than welcome sinners; he... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Luke 15:17

came to himself . Compare "came to his father" (Luke 15:20 ). to. Greek. eis. App-104 . have bread enough and to spare , or abound in food. I perish = I (emph.) am perishing. with hunger = from the famine. The texts add hode = here. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 15:17

But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare and I perish here with hunger.The glory of this prodigal is that he told himself the truth. Instead of a false braggadocio by which he might have screwed up his courage to stick it out, he simply faced up to the facts of his hunger, loneliness, and hopelessness. The "life" which he no doubt expected when he left home had turned into "death" for him. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Luke 15:17-19

Luke 15:17-19. When he came to himself, &c.— That is, to a true sense, through grace, of his present state, and the right use of his reason, which had before been dethroned and extinguished by the mad intoxications of sensual pleasure. When he says, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, means, that God was, (speaking after the manner of men) injured or insulted by his sins; and injured also in the person of his earthly father; and certainly the common sentiment of mankind teaches... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Luke 15:17

17. came to himself—Before, he had been "beside himself" ( :-), in what sense will presently appear. How many hired, &c.—What a testimony to the nature of the home he had left! But did he not know all this ere he departed and every day of his voluntary exile? He did, and he did not. His heart being wholly estranged from home and steeped in selfish gratification, his father's house never came within the range of his vision, or but as another name for bondage and gloom. Now empty, desolate,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 15:11-24

The younger son 15:11-24 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 15:11-32

4. The parable of the lost son 15:11-32This third parable in the series again repeats the point of the former two that God gladly receives repentant sinners, but it stresses still other information. The joy of the father in the first part of the parable contrasts with the grumbling of the elder brother in the second part. The love of the father was equal for both his sons. Thus the parable teaches that God wants all people to experience salvation and to enter the kingdom."This parable is often... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 15:17-19

"He came to his senses" is an idiom that indicates repentance. [Note: Jeremias, The Parables . . ., p. 130. See also Greg Forbes, "Repentance and Conflict in the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32)," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42:2 (June 1999):211-229.] He changed his mind about his attitude and decided to make a change in his behavior. The young man used "heaven" as a euphemism for God (Luke 15:18; Luke 15:21). The Jews frequently did this to avoid using God’s name in... read more

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