Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Luke 15:25-27
Jesus pictured the older brother, symbolic of the Pharisees and scribes, as working hard for the father. The Jews as well as the Jewish religious leaders likewise enjoyed the privileged status of an older brother in the human family because God had chosen them for special blessing (Exodus 19:5-6). The older brother was outside the banquet having missed it apparently because of his preoccupation with work and his distant relationship with his father. For him, and for the Pharisees, all was based... read more
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