Luke 15:29

“And he answering, said to his father, etc.] Commending himself, and reflecting on his father: lo, these many years do I serve thee; for though he was called a son, yet differed little from a servant; he was of a servile disposition, and under a spirit of bondage; he served his father, not in the Gospel, but in the law, moral and ceremonial; in the letter of it, and not in the newness of the Spirit; externally, and not internally; from fear, and not from love; with mercenary views, and not freely; with trust in, and dependence on his service, seeking justification and eternal life by it, and not with a view to the glory of God; and this he had done “many years”; from his youth upwards, as the…”

“these many years . . . neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment--The words are not to be pressed too far. He is merely contrasting his constancy of love and service with the conduct of his brother; just as Job, resenting the charge of hypocrisy by his friends, speaks as if nothing could be laid to his charge (Job 23:10-12), and David too (Psa 18:20-24). The father attests the truth of all he says. never . . . a kid--I say not a calf, but not even a kid. that I might make merry with my friends--Here lay his misapprehension. It was no entertainment for the gratification of the prodigal: it was a father's expression of the joy he felt at his recovery. thy son . . . thy living--How…”

“A kid - A young goat. This was of less value than the calf; and he complains that while his father had never given “him” a thing of so little value as “a kid,” he had now given his other son the “fatted calf.” Make merry with - Entertain them give them a feast. This complaint was unreasonable, for his father had divided his property, and he “might” have had his portion, and his father had uniformly treated him with kindness. But it serves to illustrate the conduct of the scribes and Pharisees, and the folly of their complaint. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Lo, so many years do I serve thee - So he was one of the instances mentioned Luk 15:7. How admirably therefore does this parable confirm that assertion! Yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends - Perhaps God does not usually give much joy to those who never felt the sorrows of repentance. Luke 15:31”

“Lo: Luk 17:10, Luk 18:9, Luk 18:11, Luk 18:12, Luk 18:20, Luk 18:21; Sa1 15:13, Sa1 15:14; Isa 58:2, Isa 58:3, Isa 65:5; Zac 7:3; Mat 20:12; Rom 3:20, Rom 3:27, Rom 7:9, Rom 10:3; Phi 3:4-6; Jo1 1:8-10; Rev 3:17 yet: Luk 15:7, Luk 19:21; Mal 1:12, Mal 1:13, Mal 3:14; Rev 2:17 Luke 15:30”