The Truth That Sets You Free

For too long, religious teaching has wrapped this parable in layers of performance-based theology that obscures its revolutionary message. We’ve been told we must work our way back to God, prove our worthiness, clean ourselves up before returning home. But that’s not what Jesus taught. That’s not what this parable reveals. It’s time to strip away every religious lie and see the pure, unadulterated truth that sets captives free.

This is the story of a GOOD Father whose very nature—His goodness itself—is what turns lost sons toward home. This is the story of humanity redeemed not by our worthiness but by His relentless, pursuing, celebrating love. This is the story of the jealous older brother who represents everything the first Adam brought into the world—selfishness, entitlement, performance, and rage at grace freely given.

Stripping Away Religion to Reveal Pure Truth

Let’s examine every character in this parable through the lens of Scripture interpreting Scripture, allowing the full counsel of God’s Word to illuminate what Jesus was revealing about the Father’s heart and humanity’s desperate need for His goodness.

The Father: God’s Relentless Goodness Revealed

The Father in this parable is God the Father Himself, and every action He takes reveals His character with stunning clarity. Look at how Jesus describes Him:

“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

The Father was watching. Waiting. Looking down the road. When He saw His son still far off, He didn’t wait for the son to complete the journey. He didn’t stand at the door with arms crossed, demanding an explanation. He RAN. In that culture, wealthy fathers did not run—it was considered undignified. But this Father abandoned dignity in His rush to reach His returning son.

He felt compassion. The Greek word here is *splagchnizomai*—it means to be moved in the deepest part of your being, a visceral, gut-level response of tender mercy. Before the son could finish his rehearsed confession, before any penance was performed, before any proof of changed behavior—the Father was already running, already embracing, already kissing him.

This is who God is. This is His nature. This is the GOODNESS that Paul wrote about: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

It’s not our shame that brings us home. It’s not our guilt. It’s not our performance or promises to do better. It’s the GOODNESS of God—the overwhelming, unearned, unconditional love of the Father—that draws us back. His goodness overpowers our shame. His love silences condemnation. His grace obliterates guilt.

Look at what the Father does next: “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:22-24)

He doesn’t give the son the servant’s robe he asked for. He gives him the BEST robe—the robe of honor, of sonship, of full restoration. He puts a ring on his finger—a signet ring representing authority and family identity. He puts sandals on his feet—slaves went barefoot, but sons wore shoes. Every symbol screams: YOU ARE FULLY RESTORED. YOU ARE MY SON. YOUR IDENTITY HAS NEVER CHANGED IN MY EYES.

The Father doesn’t make him earn his way back. He doesn’t put him on probation. He doesn’t require a year of good behavior before restoring his sonship. He celebrates IMMEDIATELY. He throws a party. He kills the fattened calf—the most expensive, lavish expression of joy possible.

This is the heart of God toward every returning sinner. This is grace in its purest form. This is the GOODNESS that leads to repentance.

The Younger Son: Redeemed Humanity’s Journey Home

The younger son—the second son, the prodigal—represents REDEEMED humanity. Notice that designation carefully: redeemed. Not just any humanity, but those whom the Father has always known as His own, those who belong to Him, those who will return home because they CAN return home because the Father never stopped being their Father.

Look at his journey. He demands his inheritance early, which in that culture was essentially saying to his father, “I wish you were dead.” He takes everything and leaves. He squanders it in wild living. He ends up in a pig pen, so desperate he wants to eat the pods the pigs are eating. This is humanity in sin—far from home, far from the Father, destitute, desperate, defiled.

But then comes the pivotal moment: “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’” (Luke 15:17)

He came to his senses. This is the gift of God—the ability to suddenly SEE clearly, to REMEMBER, to recognize truth. What did he remember? Not primarily his own sin and failure, though he acknowledges those. What turned his head was the MEMORY OF HIS FATHER’S GOODNESS.

“How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread…”

Even my father’s servants have it better than this. Even those who merely work for him are treated well, have enough to eat, and are cared for. My father is GOOD. My father is generous. My father takes care of people.

This is the revelation that changes everything. Not “I’m so terrible” but “My Father is so GOOD.” Not “I need to clean myself up first” but “I’ll go to my father.”

He rehearses a speech: “I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’” (Luke 15:18-19)

Notice the confession is real. The repentance is genuine. He doesn’t minimize his sin. But notice also that he doesn’t say, “I’ll make it up to you,” or “I’ll prove myself,” or “I’ll earn my way back.” He simply says, “I’ve sinned. I’m not worthy. But I’m coming home anyway.”

Why? Because he remembered his father’s goodness. The GOODNESS OF GOD is what gave him the courage to return unclean, covered in pig filth, with nothing to offer but confession. He didn’t wait until he felt worthy. He didn’t clean himself up first. He came as he was—broken, dirty, desperate—banking everything on his father’s character, not his own.

This is the pattern Scripture reveals about redeemed humanity. We are the sheep Jesus came to seek and save. Jesus said: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37) And later: “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:39)

The younger son represents those the Father has given to the Son. He WILL come home. Not because he’s strong enough or good enough, but because the Father’s goodness draws him irresistibly home. The Father will not lose a single one. Jesus doesn’t lose sheep. He finds them. He carries them. He keeps them.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)

The younger son’s return was never in doubt. He was always a son. His identity never changed in the Father’s eyes. What changed was his recognition of the Father’s goodness and his decision to return home where he belonged.

The Older Son: The First Adam’s Legacy of Selfishness and Rage

Now we come to the older son, and here Scripture interprets Scripture with devastating clarity. The older son represents the FIRST son—the pattern that began with the first Adam, continued through Cain, manifested in Esau, and appears wherever human beings trust in their own righteousness rather than God’s grace.

Look at his response when he discovers his brother has returned: “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’” (Luke 15:28-30)

He became ANGRY. This is the first Adam’s response to grace. This is Cain’s response when God accepted Abel’s offering. This is Esau’s response when Jacob received the blessing. This is the religious leaders’ response when Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them.

Look at every element of his complaint:

“For so many years I have been serving you…”

He sees his relationship with his father as SERVICE, not sonship. He’s been working, performing, earning. He’s kept score. He’s a slave in his own father’s house, not recognizing that everything already belonged to him as a son.

“I have never neglected a command of yours…”

Self-righteousness. Performance-based identity. “Look at how good I’ve been. Look at how I’ve obeyed. I deserve something for this.”

This is the first Adam’s fatal error. The first Adam believed the serpent’s lie that he could become like God through his own actions. He grasped for something he already possessed. He was made in God’s image, but he wanted to BE God. The older son already had everything as a son, but he wanted to EARN it, to DESERVE it, to make the Father OWE him something.

“You have never given me a young goat…”

Entitlement. “I deserve more than this. I’ve earned better treatment.” This is Cain’s complaint: “Why did you accept his offering and not mine?” This is Esau’s rage: “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” (Genesis 27:36)

The older son, like Cain, like Esau, like King Saul, is trapped in the performance trap. He’s trying to earn what can only be received as a gift. He’s working for wages instead of resting in sonship. He’s serving like a slave instead of reigning like an heir.

“This son of yours…”

Notice he doesn’t say “my brother.” He disowns the relationship. “This son of YOURS”—not mine, not part of my family, not my concern. This is Cain saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” This is jealousy, envy, hatred of grace given to another.

And notice what he’s REALLY angry about: his brother received celebration, restoration, and honor WITHOUT EARNING IT. The older son’s whole identity was built on being the good one, the obedient one, the one who deserved the Father’s favor. When the Father gave that favor freely to the undeserving younger brother, it shattered the older son’s entire worldview.

If grace is real, then all his performance was pointless. If sonship can’t be earned, then all his years of service meant nothing in terms of securing his position. If the Father’s love is unconditional, then all his conditions and calculations were wrong from the start.

This is why grace enrages the self-righteous. This is why Jesus’s ministry to sinners infuriated the Pharisees. This is why the gospel offends those who trust in their own goodness. Grace says, “You can’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. But I’m giving it to you anyway.” And to those who have built their whole identity on earning, deserving, and performing, that message is intolerable.

The Connection to Lucifer and the Fallen Angels

Scripture hints at an even deeper pattern here. The older son’s anger at his brother receiving unearned favor mirrors the rebellion that occurred in heaven before human history began.

Lucifer was the anointed cherub, the highest of created beings, positioned closest to God’s throne. Isaiah records his fall: “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isaiah 14:12-14)

Five times: “I will.” Self-promotion. Self-exaltation. Self-ambition. The same spirit that animates the older son.

When God created humanity in His own image—something He did NOT do for angels—and when God’s plan of redemption involved the Second Person of the Trinity taking on human flesh to redeem fallen humanity, Satan’s rage intensified. Humanity would receive what angels never could: adoption as sons and daughters, co-heirs with Christ, intimate union with God.

The older son’s rage at his brother’s restoration reflects this ancient jealousy. “How dare the Father show such favor to those who don’t deserve it! I’ve been faithful! I’ve been obedient! Where’s my celebration?”

But the Father’s response demolishes this entire mindset: “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.’” (Luke 15:31)

You ALREADY HAD EVERYTHING. You were ALWAYS with me. Everything I have was ALWAYS yours. You didn’t need to earn it. You didn’t need to perform for it. You had it by virtue of being my son. Your identity was never in question. Your inheritance was never in doubt. You’ve been living like a slave in your own father’s house, blind to the riches that were yours all along.

This is the tragedy of self-righteousness. It’s not that the self-righteous work too hard. It’s that they fail to receive the gift that’s already theirs. They labor for wages instead of enjoying their inheritance. They serve out of obligation instead of reigning out of love.

The Servants: Faithful Angels Rejoicing

The servants in this parable represent the faithful angels who serve in heaven. When the Father commands them to prepare the celebration, they obey immediately and joyfully. They participate in the Father’s joy over the returning son.

This connects directly to what Jesus said in the two parables immediately preceding this one in Luke 15. About the lost sheep: “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) About the lost coin: “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

The angels rejoice. The servants celebrate. Heaven throws a party every time a lost son comes home. Why? Because they share the Father’s heart. They delight in His goodness being magnified. They celebrate grace triumphing over judgment.

The faithful angels, unlike the fallen ones, don’t resent humanity’s redemption. They don’t begrudge the celebration. They don’t say, “But we’ve been serving faithfully all along!” They simply rejoice that the Father’s will is being accomplished, that lost sons are coming home, that the family is being reunited.

Peter writes about this angelic interest in our salvation: “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.” (1 Peter 1:10-12)

The angels long to look into the mysteries of redemption. They serve humanity’s salvation without resentment, celebrating every soul that comes home, participating in the Father’s joy without needing to be the center of attention themselves.

The Revolution of Remembering God’s Goodness

Here is the heart of the matter, the revolutionary truth that sets captives free: The younger son came home not because he became worthy, but because he REMEMBERED his Father’s goodness.

He didn’t clean himself up first. He couldn’t. He was covered in pig filth, destitute, with nothing to offer. He came home dirty, broken, and empty-handed. What gave him the courage to return? The memory of how GOOD his Father was.

This is what Paul wrote about: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

It’s not fear that brings us home. Fear might make us hide. It’s not shame that brings us home. Shame makes us feel we can’t come home until we’re cleaned up. It’s not guilt that brings us home. Guilt makes us think we need to earn our way back.

It’s the GOODNESS OF GOD—the overwhelming recognition that He is better than we imagined, kinder than we remembered, more gracious than we dared hope—that draws us irresistibly toward home.

The younger son forgot how bad he was and remembered how GOOD his Father is. The GOODNESS overpowered the shame. The Father’s character silenced condemnation. Grace obliterated guilt.

This is the pattern throughout Scripture. God reveals His goodness, and that revelation transforms everything.

Moses asked to see God’s glory. God responded: “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” (Exodus 33:19) When God passed by, He proclaimed: “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7)

David, after his devastating sin with Bathsheba, didn’t come to God saying, “I’ll never sin again” or “Let me make this up to you.” He came saying, “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1) He appealed to God’s character, not his own worthiness.

The prophet Jeremiah, in the midst of Jerusalem’s destruction and God’s judgment, suddenly remembers: “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23) In the darkest moment, remembering God’s goodness brings hope.

This is what changes everything. Not our performance, not our promises, not our ability to clean ourselves up. The GOODNESS of God—His nature, His character, His relentless love—is what draws us home and keeps us home.

Jesus: The Second Adam Who Succeeded Where the First Failed

The younger son’s return home points forward to the ultimate truth: Jesus Christ is the Second Adam who succeeded where the first Adam failed.

Paul writes: “So also it is written, ‘The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47)

The first Adam, like the older son, grasped for something he already had. He was made in God’s image but wanted to BE like God on his own terms. He disobeyed, brought sin and death into the world, and passed that legacy to all his descendants.

But Jesus, the Second Adam, came to undo what the first Adam did. Paul explains: “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

And Romans 5: “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)

Jesus did what no one could do. He lived the life we should have lived. He died the death we deserved to die. He rose from the dead, conquering sin, death, and Satan. He set humanity FREE from the bondage we inherited from the first Adam.

This is the gospel: not that we clean ourselves up and come to God, but that God came to us in Christ, lived among us, died for us, rose for us, and now calls us home to the Father.

Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) He is the WAY home. Not our performance, not our worthiness, not our ability to make ourselves acceptable. HIM. His finished work. His perfect life. His substitutionary death. His victorious resurrection.

The Assurance That He Will Not Lose a Single Sheep

This parable, understood in the full context of Scripture, proclaims a staggering truth: God will not lose a single one of His children. The Father doesn’t just wait passively for wandering sons to return. He actively seeks, pursues, and draws them home.

Jesus said: “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” (Luke 15:4-6)

The shepherd doesn’t wait for the sheep to find its way home. The shepherd GOES AFTER the lost sheep UNTIL HE FINDS IT. This is not a picture of human effort to reach God. This is God’s relentless pursuit of those who belong to Him.

Jesus creates and keeps everything: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)

He knows His own: “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)

He loves His own: “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

He rescued His own: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

And He WILL NOT LOSE a single one: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out… This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:37, 39)

The younger son’s return was certain not because he was strong enough to make it home, but because the Father was good enough to draw him home. The goodness of God—His nature, His character, His pursuing love—is what guarantees that every wandering child will eventually come to their senses, remember how good their Father is, and return home where they belong.

Stripping Away the Religious Lies

For too long, religion has perverted this parable into a morality tale about earning God’s approval. We’ve been told:

- Clean yourself up before you come to God

- Prove you’re serious about change

- Demonstrate sufficient sorrow for your sin

- Show evidence of reformation before restoration

- Earn your way back into God’s good graces

Every single one of these is a LIE from the pit of hell, designed to keep you in bondage, to make you live like the older son—serving like a slave in your Father’s house, never experiencing the joy of sonship, working for wages instead of receiving your inheritance.

The TRUTH is this:

You cannot clean yourself up. Only the blood of Jesus cleanses from sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

You cannot prove yourself worthy. You’re not accepted because you’re worthy; you’re accepted because Christ is worthy. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

You cannot earn God’s love. His love is the CAUSE of your salvation, not the RESULT of your performance. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

You cannot lose your sonship through sin. Your identity in Christ is secure, not because you hold onto Him, but because He holds onto you. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

The Father Is Running Toward You Right Now

If you’ve wandered far from home, if you’re sitting in the pig pen of your own sin and failure, if shame and guilt are crushing you, if condemnation is screaming that you can never go back—STOP LISTENING TO THOSE LIES.

Remember the GOODNESS of your Father. He hasn’t changed. He’s still good. He’s still kind. He’s still gracious. He’s still patient. He’s still waiting. And the moment you turn toward home, He will RUN to meet you.

You don’t need to clean up first. Come dirty. Come broken. Come empty-handed. Come with nothing but confession: “Father, I have sinned.” That’s enough. That’s all it takes. Because His goodness is enough. His grace is sufficient. His love is relentless.

The Father is not angry. He’s not disappointed. He’s not waiting to punish you. He’s watching the road. He’s looking for you. And when He sees you—even while you’re still far off—He will run. He will embrace you. He will kiss you. He will restore you FULLY. He will dress you as a son. He will celebrate your return with extravagant joy.

This is not about your worthiness. It was NEVER about your worthiness. It’s about HIS GOODNESS. His nature. His character. His relentless, pursuing, celebrating love.

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

It’s the GOODNESS of God. Not your badness overcome. Not your performance improved. Not your worthiness established. HIS GOODNESS. That’s what changes everything. That’s what leads you home. That’s what keeps you home. That’s what gives you joy and peace and rest.

Come Home

The Father is calling you home right now. Not because you’ve earned it. Not because you deserve it. But because you’re His child, and He loves His children with an everlasting love that cannot be shaken, cannot be diminished, cannot be lost.

Stop trying to be the older son, earning and performing and working for something you already have. Stop living like a slave in your Father’s house. You’re a SON. You’re a DAUGHTER. Everything the Father has is yours—not because you earned it, but because He gave it freely.

Jesus has done everything necessary for your complete salvation and eternal security. His work is FINISHED. Your acceptance is COMPLETE. Your identity is SECURE. Your inheritance is GUARANTEED.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

Come home. Remember His goodness. Let that goodness overpower your shame, silence your guilt, obliterate your condemnation. The Father is running toward you even now. Let Him embrace you. Let Him dress you as His child. Let Him celebrate your return.

This is the gospel. This is grace. This is TRUTH that sets you FREE.

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” (John 8:31-32)

You are FREE. Not because you made yourself free. Because JESUS made you free. And “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Welcome home.