The strain of sympathy for others is a trait we must carry to eternity. And, correspondingly, if a brother goes into sin and truly repents, we should rejoice. Hebrews 12:1 tells us that “a cloud of witnesses,” the holy angels, are watching the consecrated. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
Verses 11-32 cover the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The father, who pictures God, had two sons, one of whom was the “prodigal son.”
In the primary application, the elder son represents the scribes and Pharisees; the younger son, publicans and sinners. There are two secondary applications: (1) The older son pictures the Jews, the nation of Israel, while the younger son portrays the Gentiles. (2) The elder son represents nominal spiritual Israel; the younger son, true spiritual Israel.