Until recently, I’ve been able to read the parable of Luke 15 without grasping Jesus’ warnings in it, and, specifically in what is called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I saw that the father was quick to forgive his repentant son. I understood that the elder son was unrepentant, and his father was patient with him. But I was missing so much! What was Jesus saying, specifically, for the first-century Jews? And, what warning does it carry for twenty-first century Christians, both Jews and Gentiles?
