NOTES for Luk 15:1-32
The parable of the prodigal son is built on a contrast. On one side is the son's despair; on the other, the father's joy. It is easy to see that these are two very important aspects of repentance. The Lord says that repentance cannot be a bargain (as if God forgives me and I promise to be good from now on). The son's break with his father looks more like a bargain: you give me my inheritance, and I will have no further claims on you. Nor is repentance like “turning oneself in” (as if repenting deserves praise and means getting off with a severe reprimand). It has nothing in common with indifference or any form of calculation. The son's thought that his father might take him on as a hired servant seems blasphemous—and he never actually voiced it.
What, then, is repentance like? One word occurs six times in this chapter: joy. God is overjoyed that we have come. What can we do but rejoice with Him?