These few verses are so saturated with theological words like propitiation, righteousness, and redemption, that someone unfamiliar with either Romans or theology might find it unintelligible. Those of us who have heard it many times may still sometimes hear these verses without really appreciating them, because we think we already know what they mean, at least as much as we are able to understand them.
The profound truths expressed here probably do go beyond our understanding in many ways. But it is clear that becoming right with God is not something we can do for ourselves, and that God has already done it for us in Christ Jesus.
This familiar parable illustrates the wonderful reality of grace, as well as our frequent slowness to recognize it. Like the younger son, we do not expect to receive grace. Or like the older son, we do not want people to receive grace because they do not deserve it, forgetting that “not deserving it” is exactly what grace is about.
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