Ⅲ
The proclamation of the jubilee in Luke 4 governs the central thought of the whole Gospel of Luke, and the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is an excellent illustration of the jubilee (vv. 11-32):
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The prodigal son left his father's house, selling his possession and himself:
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The content of a vessel is its possession, and man is a vessel of God; hence, if man does not have God as his possession and enjoyment, he is empty and poor (Rom. 9:21-23; Eph. 2:12; Psa. 16:5; Rev. 3:17-18).
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Adam lost his portion of the enjoyment of God when he did not take the tree of life; all the unbelieving people of the world have lost God as their possession and enjoyment and have sold their members to sin in order to become slaves of sin (Eph. 2:12; Rom. 7:14; 6:19).
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Human life is nothing but labor and sorrow and will soon be gone; the true condition of human life is vanity of vanities, emptiness of emptinesses—a chasing after wind (Psa. 90:10; 73:14, 16-17, 25; Eccl. 1:2-11, 14).
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Fallen people have no real dwelling place; they are drifting about and wandering without a home, because God is man's real dwelling place (Psa. 90:1; Gen. 28:17-19; John 15:4; Matt. 11:28).
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One day the prodigal son returned to his possession and his father's house; that was a jubilee, a liberation, and everything became pleasant and satisfying (Luke 15:20, 24; cf. Lev. 25:11-12):
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In redemption God is our possession for our enjoyment; to be saved is to return to our inheritance, to return to God, to come back to God and enjoy Him anew as our possession (Eph. 1:13-14).
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To be saved is to gain God; when we have God, we have everything; without God, we have nothing (Col. 1:12; Hymns, 1080).
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God has become our blessed portion in Christ, but many Christians are unhappy and are like lights that do not shine, because they do not "turn on the switch" by taking God as their portion (Eph. 4:18; Phil. 2:12-16).
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The father's acceptance of the son and the son's returning to his father and his father's house were the year of jubilee to the son, the year of grace (Luke 15:20):
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God in Christ has become the fattened calf for the enjoyment of the repentant and returned prodigal sons (v. 23).
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This corresponds to Leviticus 25:11-12, which says that the people were neither to sow nor reap in the year of the jubilee but only to eat and enjoy; once we repent and return to God by receiving the Lord Jesus, we obtain God within, and this is the beginning of our jubilee.
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We are not the Father's hired servants but His enjoying sons, and we can continually enjoy God as our possession from now unto eternity.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 1:13 -14 In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.When we preach the gospel, we proclaim God's jubilee to others. In Luke 4:18-19 the Lord Jesus made a proclamation concerning the coming of the jubilee.The proclamation of the jubilee in Luke 4 governs the central thought of the whole Gospel of Luke, and the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is an excellent illustration of the jubilee....[In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul indicates that] to be saved is to return to our inheritance, to return to God, to come back to God and enjoy Him anew as our possession. God is our inheritance, and after we are saved, the Spirit of God is in us as the pledge, the guarantee, the proof, and the security of our inheritance. In Greek the word for pledge or guarantee also means "sample." A sample is a foretaste, guaranteeing the full taste in the future. Today the Holy Spirit is in us as the guarantee, the sample, of God as our enjoyment, giving us a foretaste and guaranteeing our full enjoyment of God in the future. Therefore, to be saved is to gain God. We have not only obtained salvation, but even more we have obtained God. When we have God, we have everything; without God, we have nothing....God is our inheritance. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, "The Jubilee," pp. 18-19)
Today's Reading
Colossians 1:12 says, "Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light." Today God has become our blessed portion in Christ. Apart from Christ, people live in the world, having no hope and being without God....Lights may be installed in a building, and the electricity may be connected, but if we do not use the switch to turn them on, the lights do not shine....Even though [many Christians] have God, they are like lights that do not shine because they do not "turn on the switch" by taking God as their portion.According to spiritual significance...[the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32] depicts a fallen man who completely lost his possession in the house of God the Father. He left his own possession and sold himself as a slave....[He later prepared to say to his father], "I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants" (15:18-19). Then he rose up and went to his father to speak according to what he had prepared. However,...the father interrupted him and told the servants, "Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry" (vv. 22-23). The fattened calf signifies Christ, who is God. God in Christ has become the fattened calf for the enjoyment of the repentant and returning prodigal sons. To us, this is the jubilee.
Therefore, Luke 15:11-32 is an illustration of the jubilee proclaimed in Luke 4:18-19. The prodigal son sold his possession and himself. One day he returned to his possession and his father's house. That was a jubilee, a liberation, and everything became pleasant and satisfying. In the father's house there was only enjoyment with eating and drinking; there was no labor. This corresponds to Leviticus 25:11, which says that the people were neither to sow nor reap in the year of the jubilee; they should only eat and enjoy. Furthermore, they could only eat of the produce directly from the field. This means that they ate what God supplied without the need of their own labor.
The jubilee in the Bible is the age of the gospel, which is this age. Once we repent and turn to God by receiving the Lord Jesus, we obtain God within. This is the beginning of our jubilee. From that day onward, our whole life is a jubilee, and we enjoy the jubilee forever. We can continually enjoy God as our possession. We thank and praise the Lord that our jubilee will be richer and richer from now unto eternity. This is the meaning of the possession of the jubilee. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, "The Jubilee," pp. 19, 21-22)
Further Reading: Life-study of Luke, msgs. 67-69