But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand,

And shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry.

For this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost and is found.

Hey, listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and today's

podcast addresses the question, how does the parable of the prodigal son teach us about repentance?

As Jesus was teaching on one occasion, a large crowd followed him. A large part of this crowd

included publicans and sinners,

interested in hearing the gospel, which angered the Pharisees and Sadducees who were present

and led them to murmur among themselves and say,

This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. This comment drew out three parables from Jesus

about repentance and joy.

The final of the three often called the parable of the prodigal son,

clearly exemplifies the need that all people have for repentance

by demonstrating how two different sons of a loving father both needed and obtained his mercy.

According to this parable, a certain man had two sons,

and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth

to me, and he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered

all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his

substance with riotous living.

As John and Jeannie Welch have noted, this parable is a story about getting lost, really

lost.

Unlike the sheep that cluelessly wanders off and gets physically lost, and unlike the

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