The Prodigal's father was done horribly wrong. - Why wasn't that an issue?

[St. SteVen]

I don't think so, IMO, He had it all, but found out the ways of the world wasn't what he thought it would be...Hard times he had ,but he said I will return back to my Father.

I would posit that what happened after he left home was a reflection of the attitude that led him to leave home. (already lost)

Think it's showing with repentance ,we can all return home....

Did the father require repentance?

 

[Lambano]

Did the father require repentance?

Of course he did. Notice that the father didn't send a goon squad to the Far Country to drag his son's sorry ass back home? (Or for that matter, to kill him for his impudence. See Vladimir Ilyich Lenin v. Leon Trotsky and Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud v. Jamal Khashoggi for historical examples.) He waited. The son decided on his own to return to his father. THAT IS WHAT "REPENTANCE" IS.

 

[St. SteVen]

St. SteVen said:
Did the father require repentance?

Of course he did. Notice that the father didn't send a goon squad to the Far Country to drag his son's sorry ass back home? (Or for that matter, to kill him for his impudence.

I agree that repentance (in the sense of turning around) was necessary. But I would argue that the father did require a spoken repentance from the son. The son did repent (spoken) but the father didn't even acknowledge it. This is why I ask whether the father required it.

Luke 15:20-24 NIV
So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him;
he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
So they began to celebrate.

 

[Lambano]

One of my key takeaways from Methodist Disciple Bible Study is that the Hebrew word translated "repentance", תְּשׁוּבָה (teshuva) literally means "return".

The Greek word used in the NT is μετάνοια (metanoia), which literally means "a change of mind".

Of course, staying requires a change of mind also.

 

[Lambano]

I agree that repentance (in the sense of turning around) was necessary. But I would argue that the father did require a spoken repentance from the son. The son did repent (spoken) but the father didn't even acknowledge it. This is why I ask whether the father required it.

Which speaks louder, actions or words?

 

[St. SteVen]

Which speaks louder, actions or words?

Would it have mattered if the son failed to speak these words?

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

 

[Lambano]

Would it have mattered if the son failed to speak these words?

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

That's one of the great things about stories, isn't it?

 

[Lambano]

That's one of the great things about stories, isn't it?

And to think some people prefer cut-and-dried doctrine.

 

[St. SteVen]

That's one of the great things about stories, isn't it?

Yes. It's open-ended. That's my point.