The record of the parables of watching in Luke 12:35-48 is an allusion to the parables in Matthew 24:42—25:13. Hence, the lord in Luke 12:36 and 43 is Christ, as the householder and the bridegroom in Matthew 24:42—25:13 are. He is our Lord who will come back to be with us in a pleasant way as one from the marriage feast, and will reward us whether pleasantly or unpleasantly according to how we take care of His appointment to us as His slaves. Therefore, we need to be watching.
Christ is the vinedresser in the parable of the unfruitful fig tree (Luke 13:6-9). This parable indicates that God as the owner of the vineyard came in the Son to the Jewish people as to a fig tree (Matt. 21:19; Jer. 24:2, 5, 8) planted in God’s promised land as the vineyard (Matt. 21:33) to seek fruit from them. He had been seeking for three years (Luke 13:7), and He did not find any. He wanted to cut them down, but the Son as the vinedresser prayed for them that God the Father would tolerate them until He died for them (dug the ground around the fig tree) and gave them fertilizer (threw on manure), hoping that they would then repent and produce fruit. Otherwise, they would be cut down. This is actually what took place. Because the Jews did not repent, even after the Lord Jesus died and resurrected and the Spirit came, the “fig tree” was “cut down.” This happened in A.D. 70 when Titus brought his Roman army to Jerusalem and destroyed the city.
In Luke 15:3-32 the Lord Jesus spoke three parables unveiling and depicting how the divine Trinity works to bring sinners back, through the Son and by the Spirit, to the Father. The Son is mentioned first because in God’s salvation the One who comes, practically speaking, is the Son. The Son comes to accomplish redemption, which is the first need, because redemption is the foundation of our salvation. The redemption accomplished by Christ’s death on the cross is the base of God’s salvation.
In the first parable (vv. 3-7) Christ is portrayed as a man seeking the lost sheep: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep and having lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (v. 4). The wilderness signifies the world. In the sight of God the world is a wild, desolate place where it is easy to get lost. The shepherd going into the wilderness to seek the lost sheep indicates that the Son has come into the world to be with men (John 1:14). The Son came in His humanity as the Shepherd to find the sinner as a lost sheep and bring it back home. Having found the sheep, “he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And coming into his house, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, the one that was lost!” (Luke 15:5-6). Here we see the Savior’s saving strength and His saving love.
As the Shepherd, the Son’s way to seek us out is to die for us. He is the good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11). If He did not die for us, He would not have a way to seek us out. The work of the Shepherd is to die for us.
In the parable of the Father receiving the prodigal (Luke 15:11-32) Christ is the best robe and the fattened calf. The prodigal son returned to his father and said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (v. 21). However, while he was still speaking, the father interrupted him and said to his slaves, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him” (v. 22). The definite article “the” used with “best robe” indicates that a particular robe had been prepared for this particular purpose, and the slaves knew that this robe was the best robe. Literally the Greek word translated “best” means first. When the son returned to his father, he was a poor beggar dressed in rags. But after the best robe was put on him, he was covered with a splendid garment prepared especially for him. With this best robe on, he was qualified to match his father. This robe signifies Christ the Son as the God-satisfying righteousness to cover the penitent sinner (Jer. 23:6; 1 Cor. 1:30). As the best robe, Christ is our righteousness in whom we are justified before God. Hence, putting the best robe on the returned prodigal signifies justification in Christ. As those who have Christ as the best robe, we are justified by God.
Although the prodigal was clothed with the best robe, he was still hungry. He must have been glad to hear his father say, “Bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry” (v. 23). The fattened calf signifies the rich Christ (Eph. 3:8) killed on the cross for the believers’ enjoyment. As we eat Christ as the fattened calf, taking Him into our being, we are filled with the divine life for our enjoyment.
In this parable God’s salvation is of two aspects: the outward objective aspect signified by the best robe, and the inward subjective aspect signified by the fattened calf. Christ as our righteousness is our outward salvation; Christ as our life and life supply for our enjoyment is our inward salvation. After coming back to his father, the prodigal son enjoyed all the riches of God’s provision in His salvation, a salvation that is not only a matter of wearing but also of eating. The best robe qualified the prodigal to match his father’s righteousness, and the fattened calf satisfied his hunger. Today we are enjoying Christ as our outward righteousness and as our inward life and life supply. Wearing Christ as our robe, we feed on Him as the fattened calf, digesting Him and assimilating Him into the very fibers of our being. As a result, we are sustained, satisfied, and strengthened, and we experience an inward, metabolic change.