The Prodigal Son Restored Q: You seemed to suggest the younger son was more like a backslider, a son to be restored, than like a "sinner" with no part in the family. How does that fit the intro to chapter 15?

Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel account is parabolic triad containing the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost Son. Each of these parables expresses a specific way in which God cares for the ‘lost,’ those who are living in sin. Theologian William Barclay writes this regarding the three parables of Luke 15:

          While the son ‘deliberately went lost,’ the position that he is a ‘backslider’ is the conflict that each of us has within themselves to either desire God, or pursue the desires of our flesh. In our created nature, our first desire is for God. We are then exposed to sin which presents us with false desires.

          Where the sheep was lost from it’s own foolishness, one could say that the sheep ‘chose’ to become lost by pursing it’s hunger, Jesus choosing a sheep in the parable suggests that it made the choice out of ignorance/foolishness, not malice or rebellion. The son made a conscious choice of rebellion.

          The grace of God meets both of these lost individuals so that they may be restored. The difference between the sheep and the son is that the sheep is rescued from it’s own ignorance and brought back into the flock. The son must acknowledge his rejection and then is welcomed and given back the ring of sonship.

          Understanding these parables within the Biblical narrative is to see all three parables as a story of restoration. All three, the sheep, coin, and son, originally belong to the shepherd, owner, and father. All three are restored back into their rightful place.

References:

1. William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, (Philadelphia PA: Westminster Press: 1975), 206.