When we read the story of the prodigal son, we are so impressed that the father ran to meet him and immediately gave him such blessings. Have you considered that when Jesus lived on this earth, He showed the same kind of love for the wayward? He was Immanuel, God with us, and to see Him was to see the Father (John 14:9).
Those in the first century had their own ideas about those who would be part of the kingdom. When Jesus talked about how it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for those who trusted riches to enter into the kingdom, His disciples asked, “Who then can be saved” (Matt. 19:25)? The disciples had the rich at the top of their list, but Jesus’ list was so different. He came to seek and save the lost, but like the father of the prodigal understood, prodigals would be part of the kingdom.
When He chose His apostles, He chose ignorant and unlearned fishermen (Acts 4:13). He chose a tax collector—the most despised occupation among the Jews (Luke 5:27). He chose a Zealot—a Jewish “terrorist” (Luke 6:15). He surrounded Himself with men whom He knew would all forsake Him in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:31, 56). Why? Because His heart was like the heart of the father of the prodigal. The prodigal turned completely away from the father and these apostles all fled from Jesus at His darkest hour. Yet, He longed for their return. He never rebuked them for this after His resurrection. He did not rebuke, He received. We must never overlook the message He gave to the women at the tomb, “Go tell My disciples to meet Me in Galilee” (Matt. 28:7).
Look at His life and see how He treated people so differently. He received and defended the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11). He accepted the thief on the cross, who at first blasphemed Him, and gave Him entrance that same hour to Paradise (Matt. 27:43-44; Luke 23:43). That thief had mocked Jesus by saying that Jesus was worthy of death and questioned that even God would not accept Jesus—yet Jesus, like the father of the prodigal, received Him.
Read the story of His life. He exemplified the heart of God who had said, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). Jesus was like His Father and always “ran” to prodigals who sought Him.
Can I add one other person to those who Jesus so readily received when they sought Him? We sometimes overlook this person in the list of those whom He received. You already know that person. That person is you! Think about this.