(21) Father, I have sinned against heaven.—The iteration of the self-same words comes to us with a wonderful power and pathos. The contrite soul does not play with its contrition, or seek to vary its expression. But the change is as suggestive as the repetition. Now that he has seen his father, he cannot bring himself to say again, “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” That had been a natural and right wish before; it would savour of unreality and hypocrisy now. This also has its analogue in the history of true penitents. In the first stirrings of contrition they stand afar off, and as they confess their sins hardly dare to hope for restoration to the blessedness of sons; but when they have felt the Father’s kiss, though still confessing that they are unworthy to be called sons, they cannot be satisfied with anything less than sonship.

Luke 15:21. And the son said — The perturbation which the aged parent was in, with ecstasy of joy, hindered him from speaking; so the poor, ragged, meager creature, locked in his arms, began and made his acknowledgments with a tone of voice expressive of the deepest contrition. Father, I have sinned against heaven, &c. — As it commends the good father’s kindness, that he showed it before the prodigal expressed his repentance; so it commends the prodigal’s repentance, that he expressed it after his father had showed him so much love. When he had received the kiss, which sealed his pardon, yet he said, in a spirit of deep contrition, Father, I have sinned. Observe, reader, even those who have received the pardon of their sins, and the comfortable sense of their pardon, yet must have in their hearts a sincere sorrow for them, and with their mouths must make a penitent confession of them, even for those sins which they have reason to hope are pardoned. David wrote the fifty-first Psalm after Nathan had said, The Lord hath taken away thy sin: thou shalt not die. Nay, a comfortable sense of the pardon of sin should increase our sorrow for it; and that is ingenuous, evangelical sorrow, which is increased by such a consideration. Thus Ezekiel 16:61; Ezekiel 16:63, Thou shalt be ashamed and confounded when I am pacified toward thee. The more we see of God’s readiness to forgive us, the more difficult it should be to us to forgive ourselves. The son was going on with his confession and submission, but the father, grieved to see him in that miserable plight, interrupted him, and prevented his proceeding, by ordering his servants, some to bring out the best robe immediately, and a ring and shoes, that he might be clothed in a manner becoming his son; and others, to go and kill a fatted calf, that they might eat and rejoice, and all this without one word of rebuke. This kind treatment was far beyond what the prodigal did or could expect: he came home between hope and fear, fear of being rejected, and hope of being received; but his father was not only better to him than his fears, but better to him than his hopes; not only received him, but received him with respect. He came home in rags, and his father not only clothed but adorned him, putting on him, την στολην την πρωτην, the first, best, or principal robe, the garment laid by, and used only on festival occasions; and a ring on his hand — As a further token of his welcome reception into the family, and of his father’s love and regard. He returned barefoot, and with feet doubtless sore with travelling; but his father provided him with proper shoes, to render him easy and comfortable. He came faint and hungry; and his father not only fed but feasted him, and that with the best provision he had. Thus, for true penitents, who return to their duty, and cast themselves upon the divine mercy in Christ, God doth exceedingly above what they could have dared to ask or think. He clothes them when naked with the robe of righteousness, the garment of salvation, justifies their persons through faith in him who is the Lord their righteousness, and regenerates and sanctifies their nature by his saving grace, restoring them to his blessed image and likeness. And, as a token of their adoption into his family, sends into their hearts the Spirit of his Son, crying, Abba, Father, and sealing them to the day of redemption, signified by the ring put on the prodigal’s hand. Their feet also are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, that they may proceed forward with ease and comfort through the journey of life, however rough the road may be in which they have to travel: in other words, through faith in the gospel, and its encouraging declarations and promises, they obtain that peace and tranquillity of mind, that resignation, patience, and contentment, which enables them to persevere in the way of duty, whatever trials they may meet with therein: and they are fed with the bread of life, nay, feasted with the rich and abundant consolations of the gospel: while the whole family of God rejoices at their return to their heavenly Father’s house. Thus the father of the prodigal exhorts, Let us eat and be merry — Greek, και φαγοντες ευφρανθωμεν, eating, let us rejoice, or be cheerful. The English word, merry, both here and wherever else it occurs, whether in the Old or New Testament, implies nothing of levity, but a solid, serious, religious, heart-felt joy: indeed, this was the ordinary meaning of the word two hundred years ago, when our translation was made.

15:17-24 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 the robe of the Redeemer's righteousness, made partaker of the Spirit of adoption, prepared by peace of conscience and gospel grace to walk in the ways of holiness, and feasted with Divine consolations. Principles of grace and holiness are wrought in him, to do, as well as to will.He arose, and came - Was coming. But here is no indication of "haste." He did not "run," but came driven by his wants, and, as we may suppose, filled with shame, and even with some doubts whether his father would receive him.

A great way off - This is a beautiful description - the image of his father's happening to see him clad in rags, poor, and emaciated, and yet he recognized "his son," and all the feelings of a father prompted him to go and embrace him.

Had compassion - Pitied him. Saw his condition - his poverty and his wretched appearance - and was moved with compassion and love.

And ran - This is opposed to the manner in which the son came. The beauty of the picture is greatly heightened by these circumstances. The son came slowly - the father "ran." The love and joy of the old man were so great that he hastened to meet him and welcome him to his home.

Fell on his neck - Threw his arms around his neck and embraced him.

And kissed him - This was a sign at once of affection and reconciliation. This must at once have dissipated every doubt of the son about the willingness of his father to forgive and receive him. A kiss is a sign of affection, 1 Samuel 10:1; Genesis 29:13. This is evidently designed to denote the "readiness of God" to pity and pardon returning sinners. In this verse of inimitable beauty is contained the point of the parable, which was uttered by the Saviour to vindicate "his own conduct" in receiving sinners kindly. Who could "blame" this father for thus receiving his repenting son? Not even a Pharisee could blame him; and our Saviour thus showed them, so that "they" could not resist it, that "God" received returning sinners, and that it was right for "him" also to receive them and treat them with attention.

21. Father, I have sinned, &c.—"This confession is uttered after the kiss of reconciliation" (Eze 16:63) [Trench]. Now the good thoughts and resolutions of the sinner ripen into action, and the first of it is an expression of his convictions and humiliation by a humble confession of his sins, with their aggravations, as committed against God, and that in the sight of God, and this God his Father, his unworthiness so much as of the name of a son to such a Father. The petitionary part of what he resolved upon, Luke 15:19, is not here again repeated, but to be understood. Men may by the common grace of God, denied to no man, have some good thoughts, but they die away, and come to no maturity, unless the Holy Spirit of God breathes upon them, and maintains and upholdeth them in the soul; but where the Lord designs a thorough change in a soul, the Spirit of the Lord comes, and convinceth the soul of sin and of righteousness: and where he doth so, the resolution ripens into action, and produces in the soul a true and hearty contrition, and confession of its sin, with humble petitions and a resignation of itself to the Lord’s will, and a casting of itself upon God’s free grace and mercy.

And the son said unto him, father,.... Or "my father", as the Syriac version reads; and the Persic version adds, "pardon me": sin lay heavy on him, and he wanted a view and application of pardoning grace, though he seems to be prevented making this request by the kiss he received from his father:

I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight; this is what he determined to say, and was allowed to say, having a deep sense of his sin and vileness, and which was increased by the love and kindness his father had shown him. The phrase is Jewish; See Gill on Luke 15:18 to which may be added, what is elsewhere said (c),

"what is the sense of that passage, Psalm 12:4 "who have said, with our tongues we will prevail?" &c. it designs all the transgressions a man sins against earth; and if , "they sin against heaven", and earth; what is the sense of that in Psalm 73:9?''

and am no more worthy to be called thy son: so much he was suffered to say, which fully expresses his sense of his vileness and unworthiness: but he was not allowed to say, "make me as one of thy hired servants"; because this could not be granted; for a son is always a son, and cannot become a servant; see Galatians 4:6.

(c) T. Hieros Peah, fol. 16. 1.

{4} And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

(4) In true repentance there is a consciousness of our sins, joined with sorrow and shame, and from this springs a confession, after which follows forgiveness.