Luke 15:32

It was meet. True, the younger son did not deserve the reception he had received, yet the father protests that it is fitting and proper to give boy a joyous welcome. The feast is not being given on the basis of merit; it is simply an expression of the father’s joy, and in this joy it was also “meet” that the older brother should participate. This, Jesus says, should be the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees toward sinners. The father’s affection for his long-lost younger son in no way diminished his love for the older son. His love included both of them in spite of their obvious failings. Fortunately the love of our heavenly Father is not based on how deserving we may be of it.

This thy brother. In answer to the expression of contempt used by the older brother, “this thy son” (v. 30), the father uses an expression of tender entreaty, “thy brother.” In the pleading of the father with the older boy, Jesus represents His own pleading with the scribes and the Pharisees. He loves them fully as well as He does the “publicans and sinners” (vs. 1, 2). They need not take offense at His attitude toward these unfortunate outcasts of society. They need not fear for their own rights and privileges. But it is “meet” that they should change their attitude toward God and their fellow men. Compare the parable of the Good Samaritan (ch. 10:25-37) and the experience of the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:16-22).

No hint is given as to whether the elder son amended his ways, or whether the younger son henceforth conducted himself honorably. Neither point was relevant to the lessons Jesus intended the parable to teach. In fact, the parable was still being enacted and the outcome rested on the hearers (see COL 209).