Luke 15:11-32 And he said, A certain man had two sons:… I. In the first place, we have brought before us THE TRUE CONDITION OF THE SINNER SO LONG AS HE IS AWAY FROM GOD. "When he came to himself": that implies that in some very real sense he had not been perfectly himself. Generally, commentators have supposed that the reference here is to insanity, and they tell us, with perfect truth, that the sinner is m some respects like a madman. He follows delusions as if they were realities, and he treats realities as if they were delusions. His moral nature is perverted, just as the lunatic's intellect is beclouded; and, in regard to duty, he makes mistakes similar to those which the maniac makes in ordinary matters. So he may well be styled mad; but there is this solemn difference between him and the ordinary lunatic, that while insanity cancels responsibility, the sinner is not only blameworthy for his moral perversity, but his responsibility continues in spite of it. Although, however, there are thus many interesting and striking points of resemblance between the condition of the maniac and that of the sinner, I am not sure that the "coming to himself," in the verse before me, suggests the being " beside himself," as the condition out of which he came. Equally it may imply that he was "beneath himself," or that there was in him a certain unconsciousness, out of which he required to be roused before he could be thoroughly himself. When, for example, one has fainted away and recovers, we say that "he has come to himself again," implying that his consciousness has returned. Now, in my view, this is the preferable way of looking at the analogy of my text. The moral nature of this poor youth was virtually dead. His conscience had become seared, so that he was, in a manner, unconscious that there was such a faculty within him. It was there, but it was asleep. It was there, but it was so precisely as the intellectual nature is in a man when he is in a faint: it was inoperative, it was not consciously possessed by him. At length, however, roused by a sense of his degradation, it awoke, and then he came to himself. Very much in the same way the sinner's higher nature is dormant in him. II. But we have here, secondly, THE CHANGE OF THIS CONDITION — "he came. to himself." A new light broke upon this youth in the midst of his darkness. He saw things as he had never before perceived them. Not till now did he discover the guilt and issue of the course which he had been pursuing; and never in his past experience had his father's house seemed to him so precious. For the first time since he left his home, he awoke from "the dream his life-long fever gave him," and things as they were stood unveiled before him. Now, so it is with the sinner. His conversion, too, is an awakening. New thoughts stir within his soul; new feelings vibrate in his bosom. He begins to see what before had been to him almost like a landscape to a man born blind. It is not that new things are called .into existence outside of him, for all things are there as they were before. It is rather that his eyes have been opened to see them, and the wonder of his whole subsequent life is that he never saw them till then. He perceives now the danger in which he stands, and recognizing the ability and willingness of God to help him, he cries, like Peter, sinking in the waters, "Lord, save me; I perish." III. But it is time now that we should consider THE PRODIGAL'S REFLECTIONS ON COMING TO HIMSELF. They were twofold — having regard, first, to himself, and, second, to his father's house. In reference to himself, he said, "I perish with hunger." Now, as I said in the outset, there was distinct progress here. Never before had this youth allowed himself to think that death by starvation was to be the issue if he remained in the far land, but so soon as that shaped itself to him clearly, he took his resolution to arise. It is the same with men and their return to God. I believe that if we could narrow down the choice of the sinner to one or other of these two alternatives — everlasting destruction, as the consequence of guilt, or eternal salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ — we should have no difficulty in impelling him to decide in the right direction; but because he persists in believing that there is some loophole left him through which he may escape, even if he should not accept salvation through Christ, he continues indifferent to the statements of the gospel. Awake, O sinner! to the danger in which you stand. If you continue as you are, there is nothing but destruction before you. But the prodigal's reflections had reference also to his father's house. He said, "How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare!" Bread! — once he thought of greatness and wealth, now, however, he will be content with bread — yea, if he could only have what many a time he had seen his father's servants lay aside as not required by them, he would be content. There was enough at home, if he were only there. Now, similarly, the sinner, in conversion, comes to the persuasion that there is plenty for him in God. If you ask how this is brought about in him, I answer, by his belief of the statements of the gospel, for it is here that we must bring in the doctrine of the Cross. IV. I dare not conclude without noticing, however briefly, THE RESOLUTION TO WHICH THOSE REFLECTIONS LED. "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants." This youth determined, there and then, to go back to his home, not, however, in a dogged, sullen spirit, but in a thoroughly penitent disposition. He blames no one but himself; he resolves to make a full and frank acknowledgment of his folly; and now, instead of claiming anything as a rightful portion, he is willing to be treated as a servant. Now, taking this as representing the sinner's repentance, one or two things need to be noted, as suggested by it. In the first place, there is an unreserved confession of sin: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee." He does not soften matters, and speak of his "faults" or his " failings." He does not say, in a self-extenuating way, "I have been a little wild"; but he puts the plain truth forth in all its hideousness, "I have sinned!" Neither, again, does he cast the blame on others. His language is, "I have sinned; the guilt is mine. I have no wish to evade it, or explain it away. I am ashamed of myself." Yet, once more, the enormity of his wickedness before heaven is that which most distresses him. He had brought many evils on himself. He had inflicted great injuries upon others; but that which most burdens him now is that he has sinned against God — the Father who has done so much for him, and has even, after all and above all, sent His Son into the world to make atonement for his guilt. This is painful to him in the extreme, and he can do nothing but weep over it, but his tears, in the estimation of God, are of more value than the glittering diamond, for they tell Him that He has found at last His long-lost child. This is true penitence. This is the contrite heart which the Lord will not despise. But, looking again at the resolution before us, we find in it a determination to personal exertion — "I will arise!" The prodigal did not wait till some one else should come and lift him and carry him to his home. Finally, here, this resolution was promptly acted upon — "He arose and went to his father." Just as he was, all tattered and filthy, he went back. He did not say, looking at his garments the while, "I cannot go this way; I must wash myself, and change my raiment, and then set out." Had he mused in that fashion, he would probably never have returned; but he went as he was. So, in conversion, the sinner gives himself back to God just as he is. He does not seek to make himself better. He delays not to work out for himself a robe of righteousness. He waits not even for deeper feelings, or for more intense conviction. He puts himself into God's hands, sure that, for Christ's sake, He will make him all that he should be. "Such as I am," he says, "take me and make me such as Thou wouldst have me to be." (W. M. Taylor, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said, A certain man had two sons: |
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