Mike Focht 10/9/2026
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.’ In my last post, we saw that the father in Jesus’ parable would not have a relationship with his prodigal son as anything less than a son. This story reflects the joyful love of our Heavenly Father flowing down to us as His children.
What the father in the story does next reflects how our Heavenly Father also sees our identity and service as sons and daughters of the Most High God. The first thing the father of the prodigal says is: Bring out the best robe and put it on him.
Why is that important? No doubt, the returning prodigal son was either robeless or horribly robed. He shows up, quite literally, in filthy rags. He is the image of what we bring to God in our own righteousness. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isa. 64:6).
The best robe was most likely a reference to the best robe in the house, which would be one of the father’s own robes. For the son to wear the best robe in the house marked him as honorable to the father and everyone else who saw him. Biblically, robes are typically referenced in relation to honor or dishonor.
Esther 6:8-9: For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor.
Luke 23:11: Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.
The father’s command to get the best robe marked the prodigal as one in the highest level of honorable household standing. In like manner, our Heavenly Father has given us the best robe possible, Jesus’ robe of righteousness, to replace our soiled rags and cover the dust and dirt of sin. We put on Christ and walk in the Spirit.
What does this mean for us? It means that it is proper for us to take our place in our Father’s house and walk in honor, serving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are God’s son or daughter, we unashamedly belong in His house no matter what foreign muck we are coming from or what filthy robe we once wore. We were once like leaves taken up by the wind of our iniquities, but shame is no longer our identity. Acceptance is. Bring out the best robe and put it on him.