Of this beautiful parable, the great Dickens said very truly, "It is the most touching passage in all literature." Most people think of it and speak of it as the story of the prodigal son. It is really, however, the story of the forgiving Father. Jesus wanted the Jews to learn to know God as the Father of all men--great and small--and therefore interested in the welfare of all of them. Jesus knew only too well that sin held possession of the lives of the people of His day. He {79} saw plenty of evidence of it. Men were living corrupt lives. Corruption had defiled their minds as well as their bodies. They crowded about the Master to be healed of both mental and physical diseases, that, in many cases, had come upon them because of their sins. Jesus knew, too, that no hope was held out to the sinner in the perverted doctrines of the rabbis. These doctrines made it impossible for the sinner ever to return to the presence of God. But Jesus wanted men to think of God not as a stern, severe, and relentless being, but as a loving and forgiving Father to all men. So, when the younger son of the parable had recognized his sins, had sorrowfully repented of them, and had returned and had confessed them freely, the father forgave them freely, and received him again joyfully into the household. Of course, the prodigal son, though forgiven, would never be able wholly to efface from his soul the marks of his offenses, any more than you would be able to remove from a post the hole made by a nail you had driven in. You may be sorry and pull out the nail, but the hole remains; and even though you fill the hole with putty, and cover all with paint, yet in the post remains the mark made by that nail. However, that the Father will fully forgive the penitent sinner without upbraiding is indeed a consolation worth knowing. It was without doubt the desire of Jesus to illustrate God's intense love even for the sinner and His eagerness to reclaim him. [Sidenote: Condemnation of the self-righteous.] Now there were present, when Jesus related the parable of the forgiving father and other parables teaching the same comforting lesson, a number of the scribes {80} and Pharisees. These self-righteous men derided Him, and found fault with Him because He treated sinners as if they too were men with souls. To these self-righteous ones, Jesus spoke after this wise: You scribes and Pharisees, you justify yourselves before men. You think yourselves so righteous that you need no repentance. But God knows your hearts; and often that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination before the Lord. The great brotherhood of man are all children of God; when one who has sinned repents and returns to Father's home, there is more joy over his return, than over ninety and nine like you who think they need no repentance. To illustrate your case, I may tell you this parable: [Sidenote: The publican and the Pharisee.]