For hundreds of years churches have been teaching the parable of the lost son/prodigal son to mean that a back sliding son coming back to the Father. While at the surface this may seem to true but the hallmark of carnal man is to look at surface level without understanding the 'spirit' in the 'letter'. While carnal man acknowledges that parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings their derivation still are void of the 'spirit'.
While people would look at the context to interpret this parable the context would only fit well if we see the whole counsel of Alahim throughout his word. Let's see the context first and then the parable itself.
Lu 15:1 ¶ Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
The context: The publicans and sinners DREW NEAR UNTO HIM (Messiah) TO HEAR HIM while the Pharisees and scribes did not. Instead they stayed afar off complaining that Messiah receives sinners to draw near him. Messiah questions them as stated in verse 4: 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
So the context is the 'LOST SHEEP' whom Messiah goes to find and bring back. How were publicans and sinners 'LOST SHEEP'? Were they righteous before they were lost? When were they lost? These are the questions for which we must seek an answer for by looking at the entirety of Alahim's word.
Lu 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of Alahim over one sinner that repenteth.
The rejoicing of the angels over 'one sinner' must be understood in the spiritual with spiritual comparison and we will see this 'ONE SINNER' who repents and comes back to Alahim in the spiritual comparison. We will see how he was LOST and FOUND
Lu 15:11 ¶ And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Let's look at the parable closely. A man had TWO SONS. While those reading this parable would see themselves categorically identifying themselves with the prodigal son and testify that they are saved yet they would teach that the Prodigal Son stands for a sinner coming back to Alahim yet how they wouldn't be able to tell. How were they lost? they wouldn't be able to tell but Alahim's word tells us how the SON WAS LOST.
Isa 49:14 But Zion said, The YAHUAH hath forsaken me, and my Yahuah hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Isa 49:20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
22 Thus saith the Yahuah GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
When we read Isaiah 49 we read in verse 14 an imagery of Zion saying the Yahuah has forsaken her and forgotten her and Alahim assuring her that he can never forget his own. Alahim then tells her that there will come into her other children which are not her children (picture of false brethren) and they will tell her to give them place so that they dwell in her and she will say (verse 21) who has begotten me these children seeing that I have lost my children and the children she has lost (verse 20) Alahim tells her (Zion) that he will lift his hands to the Gentiles and set his standard to the people and they shall bring her sons in their arms and her daughters on their shoulders.
Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Yahuah GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Yahuah GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Yahuah GOD.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
Ps 119:176 ¶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.
When did Zion loose her children?
In the study 'The Purpose of Genealogies' on my blog www.dsouzashodan72.blogspot.in we saw Noah's three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth who after the flood procreated the whole world and Noah prophesying that Japheth would come into the tents of Shem.
Gen 9: 26 And he said, Blessed be the YAHUAH Alahim of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 Alahim shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
We then saw that the descendants of Shem were the Israelites and from Japheth came the Gentiles.
1 Chronicles 1:17-27 The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech. [18] And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. [19] And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother's name was Joktan. [20] And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, [21] Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, [22] And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, [23] And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. [24] Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, [25] Eber, Peleg, Reu, [26] Serug, Nahor, Terah, [27] Abram; the same is Abraham.
Genesis 10:2-5 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, andJavan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. [3] And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. [4] And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. [5] By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
In Sojourning when Japheth went out from his brother Shem he begat the Gentiles who in their journey forgot Alahim and adopted paganism worshiping false gods. Shem's descendants were not far away from the Gentiles, they had become spiritually bankrupt giving lip service to Alahim by an outward show/lip service but never saw the 'spirit' in the 'letter'. Alahim is telling Zion in Isaiah 49 that he will lift his hand to the Gentiles who will bring her children back to her in arms and her daughters on shoulders by raising up a STANDARD.
Isa 49:22 Thus saith the Yahuah GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
The Standard Alahim raised was Messiah.
Isa 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the YAHUAH from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the YAHUAH shall lift up a standard against him.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the YAHUAH.
The Hebrew words translated 'Standard' in Isaiah 49:22 and Isaiah 59:19 are different. The one in 49:22 means 'flag/banner' and the one in 59:19 means 'flight'. The one in Isaiah 49:22 shows Alahim gathering his lost sons by his banner and in Isaiah 59:19 Alahim is showing the scattering of the enemy coming in like a flood i.e the false prophets/false brethren by his standard.
Here in Luke 15 we see the 'STANDARD' of Alahim himself drawing the publicans and sinners-the lost sons and daughters of Zion (both of the Jews and Gentiles) and scattering the false brethren the Pharisees and scribes. With this perspective we need to read the parable of the lost son to see how Zion lost her children who were now coming back to her.
Mt 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Ro 15:8 Now I say that Yahusha Messiah was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of Alahim, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
9 And that the Gentiles might glorify Alahim for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
11 And again, Praise the Yahuah, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
Not all of Israel were saved and so it goes to say that not all of Gentiles were saved-only those whom the Yahuah Alahim called 'of his lost sons'
Ro 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Ro 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
The Israel who will be saved is the Israel of Alahim comprising of the Jews and Gentiles and not 'National Israel'.
Ro 11:2 Alahim hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to Alahim against Israel, saying,
The lost son in the parable went out with his father's inheritance which he squandered in his riotous living. The elder son accused his brother of 'HARLOTRY'
Lu 15:30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
The same thing the Pharisees, scribes & lawyers were doing.
The Father's love can be seen in his waiting for his 'lost son' to come back to him and killed a fatted calf for him (sacrifice of Messiah).
Lu 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
It's interesting to see that the elder son refused to enter in and told his father that he never killed a kid (of sheep/goat) for him but for a brother who wasted his inheritance in harlotry.
Lu 15:28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
One other interesting aspect to see here is the desire of the elder brother. He desired a kid from his father to make merry with his friends not with his father and those in his father's house which is a inward heart condition of wanting to do harlotry but being bound by law. He tells his father that these many years he served him and never transgressed his commandment yet his heart says he wants to make merry with friends.
On the other hand the lost son came to his sense to go back to his Fathers house to be his hired servant but found grace and a fatted calf killed for him, a best robe on him, a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet with great rejoicing over his repentance.
Lu 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of Alahim over one sinner that repenteth.
The rejoicing of the angels over 'one sinner' can now be understood in the spiritual with spiritual comparison and we see this 'ONE SINNER' who repents and comes back to Alahim in the spiritual comparison are all those of the children of Zion who were lost and now have come back through the STANDARD Alahim raised for her.
The elder son wouldn't enter even though his father intreated him
Lu 15:28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
The father tells the elder son that all that he has is his because the gifts and calling of Alahim is without repentance
Lu 15:31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
Ro 11:29 For the gifts and calling of Alahim are without repentance.
But many are called few chosen. The rest of the called are outside like this elder brother refusing to go in and make merry with the father and are there trampling the outer court being part of the pagans in harlotry.
The Father's love is seen in gathering us his lost sons into his house, the ones who were scattered when Japheth had left his brother Shem and Noah had prophesied that Japheth would come back into the tents of Shem.
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