Luke 15:17

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! AND WHEN HE CAME TO HIMSELF - as if before he had been "beside himself." How truly does the wise man say, "Madness is in the heart of the sons of men while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (). But in what sense men far from God are beside themselves will presently appear more clearly. HE SAID, HOW MANY HIRED SERVANTS OF MY FATHER'S HAVE BREAD ENOUGH, AND TO SPARE, AND I PERISH WITH HUNGER! What a testimony to the nature of the home he had left! But did he not know all this before he departed, and every day of his voluntary exile? He did, he did not. His heart being wholly estranged from home and steeped in selfish gratifications, his father's house never came within the range of...

17._And when he came to himself. _Here is described to us the way in which God invites men to repentance. If of their own accord they were wise, and became submissive, he would draw them more gently; but as they never stoop to obedience, till they have been subdued by the rod, he chastises them severely. Accordingly, to this young man, whom abundance (534) rendered fierce and rebellious, hunger proved to be the best teacher. Instructed by this example, let us not imagine that God deals cruelly with us, if at any time he visits us with heavy afflictions; for in this manner those who were obstinate and intoxicated with mirth are taught by him to be obedient. In short, all the miseries which we endure are a profitable invitation to repentance. (535) But as we are slow, we scarcely ever regain _a sound mind_, unless when we are forced by extreme distress; for until we are p

17-24 Having viewed the prodigal in his abject state of misery, we are next to consider his recovery from it. This begins by his coming to himself. That is a turning point in the sinner's conversion. The Lord opens his eyes, and convinces him of sin; then he views himself and every object, in a different light from what he did before. Thus the convinced sinner perceives that the meanest servant of God is happier than he is. To look unto God as a Father, and our Father, will be of great use in our repentance and return to him. The prodigal arose, nor stopped till he reached his home. Thus the repenting sinner resolutely quits the bondage of Satan and his lusts, and returns to God by prayer, notwithstanding fears and discouragements. The Lord meets him with unexpected tokens of his forgiving love. Again; the reception of the humbled sinner is like that of the prodigal. He is clothed in th...

Verse Luke 15:17. _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 Matthew 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....

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 Ecclesiastes 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. I PERISH - I, who had property and a kind father, and who might have been provided for and happy....

EXPOSITION LUKE 15:1 The _Lord speaks his three parable-stories of the _"lost," _in which he explains his reason for loving and receiving the sinful._ LUKE 15:1, LUKE 15:2 THEN DREW NEAR UNTO HIM ALL THE PUBLICANS AND SINNERS FOR TO HEAR HIM. AND THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES MURMURED, SAYING, THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS, AND EATETH WITH THEM; more accurately rendered, _there were drawing near to him. _This was now, in the last stage of the final journey, the usual state of things. The great outside- class came in crowds to listen to Jesus. These were men and women who, through home and family associations,

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 salvat...

This is a chapter that needs no explanation; it carries its key within itself, and the experience of every child of God is the best exposition of it. The three parables recorded here set forth the work of saving grace in different aspects. Luke 15:1. _Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them._ The Pharisees and scribes formed the outside ring of Christ's hearers, but the inner circle consisted of the guilty, the heavy-laden, and the lowly. They pressed as near to Christ as they could, that they might catch his every word; and besides, there was an attractiveness about his manner that drew them towards him. His mercy attracted their misery. They wanted him, and he desired them; they were thus well met. There will be an inner circle tonight when the

CHAPTER 15 __ 1. The Murmuring Pharisees. (Luke 15:1) 2. The Parable of the Lost Sheep. (Luke 15:3) 3. The Parable of the Lost Coin. (Luke 15:8) 4. The Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother. (Luke 15:11 .) Luke 15:1 A blessed climax of the teaching of our Lord as the Saviour and the friend of sinners is reached with this chapter, a chapter which the Saints of God have always loved and will always love. Here we find the completest illustration of the key text of Luke “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save t

LUKE 25. THREE PARABLES SHOWING GOD'S LOVE FOR THE LOST, AND HIS JOY AT THEIR RESTORATION. The three parables in this chapter have no definite note of time or place. An introduction is supplied from Luke 5:29 f. (Mark 2:15 f.). Both the introduction (sinners crowding to hear Jesus) and the parables strike the new noto that Jesus came to sound the direct interest in and appeal to the outcast (_cf._ p. 622). This parable (Luke 15:3) must mean the parabolic discourse, embracing the three illustrations. The Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin form a pair, and represent the bewildered sinner and the unconscious sinner, while the story of the Prodigal Son forms an exquisite picture of the sinner who deliberately chooses his own path, an