Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 15:11-13

"And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of [thy] substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living." — Luke 15:11-13 (ASV)

And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that faileth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

It is clear that his heart had gone away from his father before he himself went away. He would not have wished to take from his father his portion of goods, or to be independent of his father, if he had not felt a spirit of alienation. Therefore, what his father did developed the latent evil.

Just as, often, the loving mercy of God brings to the surface the concealed sin that is in man the whole time, and then he sins more openly. It is a grievous thing that even divine love should lead us to sin (not of itself, but because of our evil nature), just as the sun shines, not that it may make the weeds grow, or help to lift harmful fumes into the air. With goodwill itself as its only motive, harm may come even from the pure sunlight.

And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. (Luke 15:11–13)

It was an act of ingratitude to leave his father at all, an act of extreme folly to turn his father's goods to ill-account.

And he said, A certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after –

For sin is very rapid in its development, and sinners are often in great haste to get away from God. The young man's heart was wrong already, or he would not have wanted to be his own master.

He was already away in the far country so far as his heart was concerned, and it was not long before his body followed: Not many days after –

And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.

And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

His heart was far away when he asked his father to give him his portion; and now his body is far away as he goes into the outward wandering which follows after the inner wandering.