something we have always heard about the prodigal son is the fact his brother was not exactly thrilled by the way he was welcomed back.
This story can be summed up into seven parts::
1) departure and sins
2) misery and chastisement
3) conviction and resolve - Luke15:17: "And when he came to himself"
4) return and welcome
5) confession & repentance - Luke 15:21 is the prodigal son's confession and repentance it says "and the son said >unto him, father, i have sinner against heaven, and in they sight, and am no worthy >to be called thy son"
6) reconciliation-rejoicing
7) jealousy and anger of the elder brother
This story also points out something, you do NOT feed people when they are in the "pig pen" per-se , if they stay comfortable in their condition God can not work with them and you prolong them in their place of despair and ultimately make it harder for them to come out of.
verse 21 is an interesting verse, the son admitted to sin again heaven (God) and against his father (man). When we sin lots of time there are TWO things to apologize for, however it's not to everyone and their brother, its to that specific people and not those on the side lines. Verse 21 shows true repentance!
Verse 25-32 shows how most church people react when some one reverse their backsliding, i have seen it plenty of times, they do not want to celebrate the return of their brother but they despise the killing of the fatted calf for his brother. V31 is interesting, he acknowledged while the prodigal son does not have an inheritance they should still be glad that their son has went from dead to life, from lost to found.
One that that bothers me is when some one returns to Christ with a true heart of repentance, we play the role that the brother played and demand they come back as a servant and stay there, not to become a saint like they were called. Its true they may never be where they were (in this example have the great inheritance) but at the same time, they are still a family! celebrate when one is lost and found, even if they have been found again!
