Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman government. People in Israel hated the tax collectors. The tax collector paid the Romans so they could collect taxes from other people. If they collected more taxes than they paid the Roman government, then they were allowed to keep it. Because of this, many tax collectors became rich. The Jews thought a Jewish tax collector betrayed the Jewish people because they took money from the Jews and gave it to the Romans. They thought tax collectors were evil because they took money from people who honored God and gave it to people who rejected God.
The sinners Luke wrote about were Jewish people who did not obey the Law of Moses.
The younger son said he “sinned against heaven.” This was a metaphor the ancient Jews used to talk about God without saying the word God. That is, the younger son sinned against God.
Jesus said the father was “moved with compassion.” Scholars think the father wanted to be compassionate to his son. That is, he had wanted to show mercy to his young, to forgive him, and to love him.
The father spoke about his son being dead. However, he was not dead. He believed his son was dead in some way. That is, he meant that his son was like someone who was dead, but now had come back to life. The father never expected to see his son again.
The father told the older son, “you are always with me.” This was because the older son lived with the father all the time. Therefore, there was no need to have a special feast to celebrate his return.
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