Welcome to week 29 of Weekly Word!
I hope you’ve been blessed by The Parables of Jesus series! How might our hearts be stirred and refreshed as we listen to the words of our Savior? Let’s keep reading, listening, and learning!
This week, we’ll read and learn from the parable of The Prodigal Son.
Below, you’ll find your readings for this week, a short devotional to enjoy at the end of the week, along with discussion questions for your own reflection or community discussion.
Readings:
- Luke 15:11–32
- Romans 5:1–11
- Mark 10:35–45
Devotional:
Readings: Luke 15:11–32
In the parable of the prodigal son, we see the younger son at one of the lowest points of his life. He has spent all of his inheritance. He finds a job feeding pigs, and as he feeds them, he longs for their food because he’s so hungry—how desolate his life has become! In that moment, he essentially thinks, Though my father should have nothing to do with me, I will go back, and maybe he’ll at least let me be one of his hired workers.
What does he find when he goes back to the father?
While he was still a long way off, before he was even able to utter a word of any kind of rehearsed apology, the father runs to him. To him! The Scripture says that the father is filled with compassion towards his son—he wrapped his arms around him in a loving embrace, kissed him, and immediately called for the finest robe and jewelry to be placed on the son, then called for a celebration because his son had returned!
What a beautiful picture of God’s mercy for us when we repent of our sin and return to Him. He is not looking for a long list of duties that we have to complete before we are made right again. God is filled with compassion and offers us favor and forgiveness because that is His heart.
This is the beauty of our justification: we are made right with God through Christ alone! God sees us when we are still a long way off, and He wraps us in His love.
But this parable also speaks to those of us struggling with legalism or perfection like the older brother, thinking we might have to earn God’s merit and favor. We see God’s heart for us in how the father responds to the older son, telling him that all he has already belongs to the son. He points to what is truly being celebrated: One of his sons was dead and is alive again; one of his sons was lost and is found.
God does not merely tolerate our repentance when we fail; He eagerly runs to welcome us home. Our right standing with the Father is never earned by our perfect behavior and is not lost when we stray—it is securely rooted in His unmerited, covenant-keeping favor and based on the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus!
Discussion Questions:
- The father ran to restore his son before the son could even finish his rehearsed apology. How does this immediate grace change the way you approach God when you make a mistake?
- Is there an area in your life right now where you are trying to earn the Father’s love rather than simply receiving it?
Dig Deeper
In this sermon from Antioch’s 2024 sermon series, “Family Mess,” Pastor Andy takes a fresh look at the parable of the prodigal son.
We are praying for you as you dig into God’s Word this week!