But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’
Show the surrounding paragraph
Luke 15:17-19 sits inside this longer paragraph.
He said, “A certain man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them. Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living. When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’
Parallel Translations
-
But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger!
I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.
I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’
-
Then he came to him selfe and sayde: how many hyred servauntes at my fathers have breed ynough and I dye for honger.
I will aryse and goo to my father and will saye vnto him: father I have synned agaynst heven and before the
and am no moare worthy to be called thy sonne make me as one of thy hyred servauntes.
Show all 3 translations
-
Then he came to him selfe, and said, Howe many hired seruaunts at my fathers haue bread ynough, and I die for hunger?
I wil rise and goe to my father, and say vnto him, Father, I haue sinned against heaue, and before thee,
And am no more worthy to be called thy sonne: make me as one of thy hired seruants.
Cross-references (60)
- Ezekiel 18:28 (v17) Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live. He shall not die.
- Ephesians 2:4-5 (v17) But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive…
- Lamentations 3:40 (v18) Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh.
- 1 John 1:8-10 (v18) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to…
- Luke 15:21 (v18) The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
Show all 60 cross-references
- Luke 15:18-19 (v17) I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be…
- Ephesians 5:14 (v17) Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Acts 16:29-30 (v17) He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
- Psalms 51:3-5 (v18) For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your…
- Jeremiah 50:4-5 (v18) “In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on…
- Luke 18:13 (v18) But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a…
- Job 42:6 (v19) Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
- Matthew 6:14 (v18) “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- Psalms 84:10 (v19) For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of…
- Acts 26:11-19 (v17) Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even…
- Psalms 32:3-5 (v18) When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was…
- Jeremiah 31:19 (v17) Surely after that I was turned. I repented. After that I was instructed. I struck my thigh. I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I…
- Hosea 2:6-7 (v18) Therefore behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, that she can’t find her way. She will follow…
- Luke 8:35 (v17) People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet,…
- Acts 2:37 (v17) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
- Psalms 25:11 (v18) For your name’s sake, Yahweh, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
- Psalms 73:20 (v17) As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
- Jeremiah 3:19 (v18) “But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’…
- Lamentations 1:7 (v17) Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that were from the days of old; when her…
- Titus 3:4-6 (v17) But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but…
- James 1:16-18 (v17) Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with…
- James 4:8-10 (v19) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament, mourn, and…
- 1 Peter 5:6 (v19) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
- Genesis 32:10 (v19) I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my…
- Joshua 9:24-25 (v19) They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were certainly told how Yahweh your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all…
- 2 Chronicles 33:12-13 (v18) When he was in distress, he begged Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him; and he was…
- 2 Chronicles 33:19 (v18) His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set…
- Job 33:27-28 (v18) He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me. He has redeemed my soul from…
- Proverbs 23:13 (v18) Don’t withhold correction from a child. If you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3 (v17) This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil,…
- Isaiah 63:16 (v18) For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, Yahweh, are our Father. Our Redeemer from…
- Jeremiah 31:20 (v18) Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I still earnestly remember him. therefore my heart…
- Matthew 3:6 (v18) They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
- Matthew 6:9 (v18) Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
- Luke 5:8 (v19) But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.”
- Leviticus 26:40-41 (v18) “ ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me; and also that…
- 1 Kings 8:47-48 (v18) yet if they repent in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who…
- 1 Kings 20:30-31 (v18) But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled, and came into the…
- 2 Kings 7:3-4 (v18) Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, ‘We…
- Job 36:8-10 (v18) If they are bound in fetters, and are taken in the cords of afflictions, then he shows them their work, and their transgressions, that they…
- Psalms 116:3-7 (v18) The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called on Yahweh’s name: “Yahweh,…
- Jeremiah 31:6-9 (v18) For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’ ” For Yahweh says,…
- Hosea 14:1-3 (v18) Israel, return to Yahweh your God; for you have fallen because of your sin. Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, “Forgive…
- Jonah 3:9 (v18) Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
- Matthew 7:11 (v18) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to…
- Luke 7:6-7 (v19) Jesus went with them. When he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, don’t trouble…
- Luke 16:23 (v17) In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
- 1 Corinthians 15:9 (v19) For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
- Lamentations 3:18-22 (v18) I said, “My strength has perished, along with my expectation from Yahweh.” Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the…
- Lamentations 3:29 (v18) Let him put his mouth in the dust, if it is so that there may be hope.
- Daniel 4:26 (v18) Whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom shall be sure to you, after that you will have known that…
- Jonah 2:4 (v18) I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
- Matthew 15:26-27 (v19) But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs…
- Luke 11:2 (v18) He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on…
- 1 Timothy 1:13-16 (v19) although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. The…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv17–18 The beginning of repentance is the acknowledging of the…
The beginning of repentance is the acknowledging of the mercy of God, which stirreth us to hope well.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–19 17 And when he came to himself, he said,…
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Ver. 17. And when he came to himself] For till then he had been beside himself, and not his own worthy. Nebulo rascal (saith one) cometh of Nabal; fool of φαυλος: ανοια et ανομια are of near affinity. Evil is Hebrew for a fool, &c. Wickedness is called the "foolishness of madness," Ecc 7:25.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Every sinner is beside himself; his reason lackeys to…
Every sinner is beside himself; his reason lackeys to his lust and passion, he is governed by appetite, and that rageth in him, while his understanding is blind, and cannot discern between good and evil; and when he hath in any measure discerned any thing, his will is stubborn, and chooseth the evil. Conversion is but the return of a soul to itself. The first thoughts of which conversion arise from a soul’s consideration, what a poor miserable creature it is, ready to perish for ever, while never a poor soul belonging to God, no, not the meanest servant in his family, wanteth any good thing that is necessary for him. These things increase in a soul thoughts of returning to his heavenly Father, through the operation of the Holy Spirit of God; for of ourselves we are not sufficient so much as to think one good thought.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv17–19 And when he came to himself,.... An unregenerate man,…
And when he came to himself,.... An unregenerate man, whether while a voluptuous man, or a self-righteous man, is not himself; he is beside himself; and is no other than a madman. The man that pursues his worldly lusts and pleasures, promises himself liberty, while he is a slave; he ruins himself, his soul, body, and estate, and chooses to do it rather than part with his lusts; he takes delight in doing mischief himself, and in seeing it done by others; he proclaims his folly publicly, declares his sin, and glories in it; all which a man in his right mind would never do. The self-righteous person trusts in his own heart, which is the greatest madness and folly in the world; he compasses himself about with sparks of his own kindling, and sacrifices to his own net; he dresses himself in his rags, and pleases and prides himself with them, when a robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, are provided; which no man in his senses would ever do. But when the Spirit of God comes to work upon a sinner's heart in conversion, he brings him to himself; which a man may be said to be, when he is brought to true evangelical repentance for sin; and that is, when he has a true sense of it, as committed against God, and a godly sorrow for it, and makes an hearty and ingenuous acknowledgment of it, and forsakes it; and when he is brought to a sense of the insufficiency of his own righteousness, and is made willing to part with it, and desires to be found in Christ, and in his righteousness alone, which he is encouraged to lay hold on, and receive by faith, trust to, and rejoice in; when he has his spiritual senses exercised on Christ, and to discern between good and evil; and is brought to the feet of Jesus, as to submit to his righteousness, so to serve him; when he is all this, then, like the man in the Gospel, he is clothed, and in his right mind:
he said, how many hired servants of my father's; who, according to some, were the Scribes and Pharisees, men of a servile disposition, and of mercenary views; and were, by profession, the servants of God, and had plenty of bread, because they had all the external means and ordinances: but these are designed by the elder brother in the parable; and besides, this man had endeavoured to live as they did in this far country. It may be queried, whether the ministers of the Gospel are not intended, since these are the servants of the most high God; are labourers hired by him, and are worthy of their hire, and abound with Gospel provisions for the service of others. But to this it may be objected, the desire of this man to be made as one of them, Luk 15:19 which petition expresses his humility; whereas to be a servant, in this sense, is to have the highest place and office in his father's house. Rather therefore the meanest of the saints, and household of God, are here meant, who have the least degree of evangelical light, whose faith is weak, and their consolation small; and who, though they are sons, yet by reason of that legality and mercenariness that appear in their frames and services, differ little from servants: and yet these, in comparison of him, who was in a hungry and starving condition,
Read full note →
have bread enough, and to spare; as the doctrines, promises, and ordinances of the Gospel, the fulness of grace that is in Christ, and Christ himself the bread of life; which are more than enough for them, and sufficient for the whole family in heaven, and in earth; and even the meanest and weakest believer may be said to have enough and to spare, because he has an interest in all these; though by reason of the weakness of his faith, it is but now and then he has a full and comfortable meal; but this is infinitely better than to be starving, as this man was:
and I perish with hunger. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions add, "here"; in this far country, in the citizen's fields, among his swine, and their husks: all mankind are in a lost and perishing condition; for having sinned against God, they have exposed themselves to the curses of the law, and are destitute of a justifying righteousness, and are in the way, to ruin and destruction; but all are not sensible of it, being ignorant of God, and his righteousness, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of the insufficiency of their own righteousness; but some are sensible of it, and in their own apprehensions are ready to perish: these see sin in its true light, without a view of pardon; an angry God without a smile; injured justice without a righteousness; and a broken law without a satisfaction for the violation of it; and such was this man's case. The Jewish writers (a) say,
"a sinner is like to a son that runs away from his father, and turns his back upon him, who yet afterwards repents, and has a mind to return to his father's house:''
so it was now with the publicans and sinners, signified by this man.
(a) R. Chayim in Lib. Chayim, par. 4. c. 6. apud Maii Jud. Theolog. loc 15. p. 243.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv17–18 And coming to himself - For till then he…
And coming to himself - For till then he was beside himself, as all men are, so long as they are without God in the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Verse 17. When he came to himself] A state…
Verse 17. When he came to himself] A state of sin is represented in the sacred writings as a course of folly and madness; and repentance is represented as a restoration to sound sense. See this fully explained on Mt 3:2.
I perish with hunger!] Or, I perish HERE. ωδε, here, is added by BDL, Syriac, all the Arabic and Persic, Coptic, AEthiopic, Gothic, Saxon, Vulgate, all the Itala, and several of the fathers.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v17 Luk 15:17-18. And when he came to himself —…
Luk 15:17-18. And when he came to himself — When the infamy and distress of his present condition began to lead him into serious consideration; and he so far recovered the use of his reason, which had before been dethroned and extinguished by the mad intoxication of sensual pleasure; when the great distress he was in brought him at length to think and reflect on his unhappy condition, and to retrace the steps that had brought him into it; he said — Namely, in his heart; How many hired servants of my father’s — The meanest in his family, the very day- labourers; have bread enough and to spare — Have more meat than they can use. Even the hired servants in God’s house are well provided for; the meanest that will but hire themselves into his family to do his work, and depend upon his reward, shall have all things and abound: the consideration of which should encourage sinners, that have gone astray from God, to think of returning to him: and I perish with hunger — I, his child, who have known so many better days, am even ready to die with want, not being thought worth my food by this unkind master, to whom I have hired myself. Observe, reader, 1st, All who have wandered from God, and endeavour to satisfy themselves with earthly things, whether riches, honours, or pleasures, with worldly pursuits and carnal gratifications, living without God in the world, may really be said to be beside themselves, for they act like persons deprived of their reason. Observe, 2d, Sinners will not come to Christ, and enter into his service, till they are brought to see themselves just ready to perish in the service of sin. And though we be thus driven to Christ, he will not therefore reject us, nor think himself dishonoured by our being forced to him, but rather honoured by his being applied to in a desperate case. I will arise and go to my father — Whatever be the consequence, I am resolved that I will no longer remain in this miserable condition, but will immediately set out on my way home, if all my little remaining strength can but bring me to the end of such a journey. And I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned, &c. — That I may be received again, I am resolved to go in all humility, and confess my crimes to my father, acknowledging that I am utterly unworthy to be owned as a son, and will pray to be taken into his house, only as a hired servant, and will be contented for the future to labour and fare as the servants do, so I may but live in his sight. In saying, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, he meant, that God was injured in the person of his earthly father. And certainly nature itself teaches this, that whoever is insolent or disrespectful to his parents, rebels against God; who, by making them the instruments of communicating life to their children, has imparted to them some of his own paternal honour. In saying, I am no more worthy to be called thy son, he shows, that the idea of his undutiful behaviour was strongly impressed on his mind, whereby he was sensible that he had no title to be treated at home as a son. At the same time he knew that it never would be well with him till he was in his father’s family again; so with joy he entertained the thought of occupying the meanest station in it. Thus, while the liberality of the great Parent of men makes them wantonly run away from his family, the miseries which they involve themselves in, often constrain them to return. By the natural consequences of sin, God sometimes makes sinners to feel, that there is no felicity to be found anywhere but in himself.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv17–19 He came to himself - This is a very…
He came to himself - This is a very expressive phrase. It is commonly applied to one who has been “deranged,” and when he recovers we say he has “come to himself.” In this place it denotes that the folly of the young man was a kind of derangement - that he was insane. So it is of every sinner. Madness is in their hearts Ecc 9:3; they are estranged from God, and led, by the influence of evil passions, contrary to their better judgment and the decisions of a sound mind.
Hired servants - Those in a low condition of life - those who were not born to wealth, and who had no friends to provide for them.
Read full note →
I perish - I, who had property and a kind father, and who might have been provided for and happy.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v18 How merciful is the Almighty, who, though so much…
How merciful is the Almighty, who, though so much offended, still does not disdain the name of father. --- I have sinned. These are the first words of a sinner’s confession to the author of nature. God knows all things; still does he expect to hear the voice of your confession. It is in vain to think of concealing your sins from the eyes of him whom nothing can escape; and there can be no danger of acknowledging to him what his infinite knowledge has already embraced. Confess then that Christ may intercede for you, the Church pray for you, the people pour forth their tears for you. Fear not that you cannot obtain pardon, for pardon is promised to you; grace, and a reconciliation with a most tender parent, are held out to you. (St. Ambrose) --- Before thee, &c. By this does our Redeemer shew, that the Almighty is here to be understood by the name of father: for the all-seeing eye of God only beholds all things, from whom even the secret machinations of the heart cannot be concealed. (St. John Chrysostom in St. Thomas Aquinas)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv17–18 came to himself--Before, he had been "beside himself" (Ecc…
came to himself--Before, he had been "beside himself" (Ecc 9:3), in what sense will presently appear.
How many hired, &c.--What a testimony to the nature of the home he had left! But did he not know all this ere he departed and every day of his voluntary exile? He did, and he did not. His heart being wholly estranged from home and steeped in selfish gratification, his father's house never came within the range of his vision, or but as another name for bondage and gloom. Now empty, desolate, withered, perishing, home, with all its peace, plenty, freedom, dignity, starts into view, fills all his visions as a warm and living reality, and breaks his heart.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv17–18 17. Came to himself—For all this time he has…
17. Came to himself—For all this time he has been in an insanity or a dream. Would it were so; for then he would have been unfortunate or irresponsible. Had he but waked in the morning from a troubled dream, he would have smiled over his own imaginary miseries, and have gone down in a sweet morning innocence to meet his father’s kiss, from lips that spoke of love but not of forgiveness.
He said—The he who says this is the God-given reason, the secret conscience; long silent or unheard, now awakened by suffering, and speaking.
Read full note →
Hired servants—He thinks of hired servants because that has been so long his own condition. His father had, it seems, no slaves. The Greek word here is μισθιος. See note on Luk_7:2. Commentators make a very needless difficulty of the explanations of this word hired servants in the true economy of grace. If it be true that all our salvation is of grace, it is equally true that the saved are rewarded according to their works. God pays man for his services. And this none the less from the fact that he provides for man all his power, and confers upon his works all their rewardable value. See note on Luk_19:16. We may note, first, That the hired servants in the father’s house, are the Church; second, they labor for him, and by him are rewarded with the true bread; third, they have no right, as from birth, in the house, and are only adopted members of the family. All these traits are plainly to be found in converted Gentiles; and thus here we have again the defence of our Lord for receiving sinners, that is, Gentiles, whose coming to him on the banks of the Jordan at these times had excited the murmurings of the scribes and Pharisees. (Luk_15:1-2.) Not only St. James but St. Paul in the right passage will say that men are justified by works. The son was a laborer as well as the hireling.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–18 17. And when he came to himself ] His…
17. And when he came to himself ] His previous state was that of his false self—a brief delusion and madness—‘the old man with his affections and lusts.’ Now he was once more beginning to be “in his right mind.” “The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live,” Ecc_9:3.
How many hired servants of my father’s] The hired servants correspond to any beings who stand in a lower or more distant relation to God, yet for whom His love provides.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–18 (17) And when he came to himself.—The phrase is…
(17) And when he came to himself.—The phrase is wonderfully suggestive. The man’s guilt was, that he had been self-indulgent; but he had been living to a self which was not his true self. The first step in his repentance is to wake as out of an evil dream, and to be conscious of his better nature, and then there comes the memory of happier days which is as “Sorrow’s crown of sorrow.” The “hired servants” are obviously those who serve God, not in the spirit of filial love, but from the hope of a reward. Even in that lower form of duty they find what satisfies their wants. They have not the craving of unsatisfied desire which the son feels who has cast away his sonship. He envies them, and would fain be as they are.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv17–18 And when he came to himself. This tardy repentance…
And when he came to himself. This tardy repentance in the famous parable has been the occasion of many a sneer from the world. Even satiety, even soul-hunger, did not bring the prodigal to penitence; nothing but absolute bodily suffering, cruel hunger, drove him to take the step which in the end saved him. There is no doubt it would have been far more noble on the young man"s part if, in the midst of his downhill career, he had suddenly paused, and, with a mighty and continued effort of self-control, had turned to purity, to duty, and to God. Certainly this had been hereto conduct a term no one would think of applying to anything belonging to the life of the younger son of our story. But though not heroic, is not the conduct of the prodigal just what is of daily occurrence in common life? The world may sneer; but is not such a repentance, after all, a blessed thing? It is a poor mean way, some would tell us, of creeping into heaven; but is it not better to enter into God"s city even thus, with bowed head, than not at all? Is it not better to consecrate a few months, or perhaps years, of a wasted life to God"s service, to noble generous deeds, to brave attempts to undo past mischief and neglect, than to go sinning on to the bitter end? There is something intensely sorrowful in this consecrating to the Master the end of a sin-worn life; but there is what is infinitely worse. What a deep well, too, of comfort has the Church-taught teacher here to draw from in his weary life-experiences! How many hired servants of my father"s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! Among the bitternesses of his present degradation, not the least was the memory of his happy childhood and boyhood in his old home. "For a sorrow"s crown of sorrows Is remembering happier things.
The family of the prodigal, as we have already remarked, was certainly possessed of wealth, and was probably one of high rank. In the old home there was nothing wanting.
Read full note →
Vers. 17-19. The soul"s return.
Out in the far country, living a life of guilty waste, of dreary want, of shameful degradation, the prodigal son was in truth a man "beside himself;" he was lost to himself; he had taken leave of his own better self, of his understanding, of his reason; from his own true self he was afar off. But now there is
I A RETURN TO HIMSELF.
1. He regains his wisdom as he gains a sense of his folly. He returns to his right mind; he loses his infatuation as he perceives how great is his foolishness to be in such a state of destitution when he might "have all things and abound." What insensate folly to be starving among the swine when he might be sitting down at his father"s table! The soul comes to itself and regains its wisdom when it perceives how foolish it is to be perishing with hunger in its separation from God when it might be "filled with all the fulness of God." Our reason returns to us when we refuse to be any longer misled by the infatuation, by "the deceitfulness of sin," and when we see that the pining and decay of our spiritual powers is a poor exchange indeed for the wealth and health of spiritual integrity.
2. He is restored to sanity of mind as he obtains a sense of his sinfulness. To be able to say, as he is now prepared to say, "I have sinned," is to come back into a right and sound spiritual condition. We are in a wholly unsound mental state when we can regard our disloyalty and disobedience to God with complacency and even with satisfaction. But when our ingratitude, our forgetfulness, our unfilial and rebellious behaviour towards God, is recognized by us as the "evil and bitter thing" it is, as the wrong and shameful thing it is, and when we are ready, with bowed head and humbled heart, to say," Father, J have slinked," then are we in our right mind; then have we returned to ourselves.
II A RESOLVE TO RETURN TO GOD. This return on the part of the prodigal:
1. Arose from a sense of the greatness of his need.
2. Was based on a sound confidence, viz. that the father, whose disposition he knew so well, would not reject but receive him.
3. Included a wise and right determination, viz. to make a frank confession of his sin and to accept the humblest position in the old home which the father might allot him.
(1) Out of the greatness and soreness of our need we come to the conclusion that we will return unto God. Our state of guilt and shame is no longer tolerable; we must turn our back on the guilty past and the evil present; there is no refuge for our soul but in God God, who is our home.
(2) We may hold fast the firm conviction that we shall be graciously received. Of this we have the strongest assurance we could have in the character and the promises of God, and in the experience of our brethren.
(3) Our resolution to return should include the wise and right determination:
(a) To make the fullest confession of our sin; meaning by that not the use of the strongest words we can employ against ourselves, but the full outpouring of all that is in our heart; for, above all things, God "desires truth in the inward parts.
(b) To accept whatever position in God"s service he may appoint us. Not that we are expecting that he will make us "as a hired servant;" we may be sure (see next homily) that he will place us and count us among his own children; but so humble should our spirit be, such should be our sense of undeservedness, that we should be ready to be anything and to do anything, of however lowly a character it may be, which the Divine Father may assign us in his household. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v18 Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
sinned
Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v17 came to himself
came to himself
This idiom means he realized what the truth was, that he had made a terrible mistake. AT: "clearly understood his situation" (See: Idiom)
Read full note →
How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough food
This is part of an exclamation, and not a question. AT: "All my father's hired servants have more than enough food to eat"
dying from hunger
This is probably not an exaggeration. The young man may really have been starving.
I have sinned against heaven
Jewish people sometimes avoided saying the word "God" and used the word "heaven" instead. AT: "I have sinned against God" (See: Metonymy)
I am no longer worthy to be called your son
"I am not worthy to be called your son." This can be stated in active form. AT: "I am not worthy for you to call me son" (See: Active or Passive)
make me as one of your hired servants
"hire me as an employee" or "hire me and I will become one of your servants." This is a request, not a command. It may be helpful to add "please" as the UDB does.
translationWords
servant
sin
heaven
worthy
son
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.