And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! Luke 15:17
In one of his most famous sermons, C.H. Spurgeon declared that the words ‘bread enough and to spare’ could well be a motto for the Gospel. What a wonderful message to present to starving and dying sinners that the Father’s house has everything that they require to satisfy their spiritual needs for time and for eternity! In our text, the prodigal reaches this realization, as he comes to himself. After experiencing the deprivation of the pig farmer’s pens, he realizes his own condition, and compares it with the abundance of the Father’s house. This is the very essence of Gospel preaching; if sinners can reach the realization of that prodigal, they will seek God’s salvation. But saints as well as sinners ought to ponder the abundance of bread in the Father’s house.
When we describe the abundance of the Father’s house as ‘bread enough and to spare’, we need to remember that our Lord Jesus identified Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:35), with the promise that ‘he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst’. His work on the Cross has satisfied every claim of God against us. His intercessionary work at the right hand of God dismisses all of the devil’s charges against us. His patient leading of His sheep provides us with sustenance, protection, guidance, and comfort every day. His promises give us encouragement and hope for every tomorrow. In the Lord Jesus, we lack nothing and never will.
The prodigal son contrasted his pitiful condition among the pigs to that of the most humble servant in his father’s house. With his deprived stomach in knots of starvation, he thought on the bread that he had probably treated with almost disdain as it was piled high on the table at home, bread that seemed inexhaustible as it was continuously replenished throughout the meal and from meal to meal. No servant, no matter how menial, was the least reluctant to put forth his hand and take another piece. It was to that table that the prodigal longed to return. And it is to the table of the boundless supply of the Lord Jesus that each child of God must long to return. It does not matter whether we are good or unprofitable servants, whether we are holders of high office or are the performers of lowly tasks, the invitation to enjoy the goodnesses of God is there for us.
Bread enough and to spare, what a wonderful provision and promise for us today! – Jim MacIntosh