Luke
15:1-3,11-32 NIV
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering
around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two
sons. 12 The younger one said to his
father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his
property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son
got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his
wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent
everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be
in need. 15 So he went and hired himself
out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his
stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said,
‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back
to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and
against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be
called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his
father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms
around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called
your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the
best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on
his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and
celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he
was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came
near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the
servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he
replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back
safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in.
So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father,
‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your
orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my
friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your
property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for
him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and
everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother
of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
3 Sons and the Father
--- First let’s deal
with the common title given to this Parable of Jesus
“The Parable of the
Lost Son” --- Sometimes referred to the Prodigal Son
What does Prodigal
mean? – As a person – this is one who is wasteful of their money or possessions
… so that helps us to understand a bit
Looking at verses
1-2
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all
gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners
and eats with them.”
· Let’s consider the Audience --- Tax Collectors, Sinners,
Pharisees and Teachers of the Law (Scribes) --- and of course through the Word…
You and I as well
· In that day the Tax Collectors were sometimes referred to as
the Publicans by the Romans.
· The Tax Collectors and the Sinners would be the unholiest
people among the Jewish people – the Tax Collectors had deliberately left the
covenantal people of Israel to work for the Roman Govt. and themselves – they
were considered, now, outsiders
·
Then we have the Pharisees
and the Scribes … in their own eyes, they thought of themselves as being the
holiest of people
·
Here we see that Jesus welcomes
the Sinners and Tax Collectors – he eats with them
· Why? – Because Jesus came to set them
free from sin --- yes --- Jesus came to set the prisoners of sin free --- more
on that later
· Jesus welcomes the Tax Collectors and
the Sinners – Claiming the authority of God to do this – Jesus accepts sinners
and outcasts easily – He has shown this all throughout his ministry
· So --- In the eyes of the Pharisees
and Scribes – this easy acceptance is belittling the holiness of God – Jesus is
seen in danger of denying the righteousness of God --- Why? – Thes people are
NOT God’s Chosen people! --- In the eyes of the Pharisees and the Scribes
· You see --- this audience – Jesus came
to seek and save sinners… turn to Luke 19:10 --- in Jesus own words… “For the
Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
· Now let’s deal with Jesus eating with Tax
Collectors and Sinners…
· To eat with sinners --- is to choose
them as friends in a way… they are companions
· What is a companion? Break it down “com”
is association with and “panion” is bread --- think Panera
· Think of it this way – Jesus leaves
Church to go to the other side of the tracks to eat with folks who haven’t been
to church, maybe ever – He does this, instead of taking the Pastor out for
lunch
· Jesus sees promise in these strange
friends that he left church to be with and eat with… And Jesus prays for all these
folks on the other side of the tracks – Jesus sees their need and Jesus takes
those needs to the Father in prayer
· But… the Pharisees and the Scribes are
also lost – they just went down another road
· You see… Jesus goes where we sinners
are… all of us… Jesus goes to Sinners, Tax Collectors, Pharisees, and the
Teachers of the Law … all sinners
· Yes! God became flesh… seeking us in
our sinful lost flesh… God came to both sides of the tracks for the people He
loves
· Flip to John 1:14 --- the Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the
one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
· Whew! So, there is my notes on the
first 2 verses! --- What meaning and insight God gives us in His Word… Thanks!
Now… let’s dig into
the parable
This is a parable of
what most people think of as 2 sons --- some say 3 --- more on that later ---
and a father
The youngest son is
often compared to the Sinners and Tax Collectors --- looking for a Savior
The eldest son is
often compared to the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law --- don’t think they
have done anything wrong
Let’s look at verses
11-12
11 Jesus continued: “There was
a man who had two sons. 12 The
younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the
estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
· Traditionally the younger son received
1/3 of the inheritance after the father’s death – But it could be given earlier
if the father chose to do. This giving out the inheritance early was
discouraged by early scripture – especially as recorded in Sirach --- in the
Orthodox and Catholic Bibles
· You weren’t to give away your
inheritance before your death as recorded in Sirach 33:20-24 --- keep this in
mind while thinking about the actions of the father
· What’s the legal position? – Property
could be disposed of by a will or a gift during one’s lifetime
· If you look back to the book of
Deuteronomy 21:17 – You will find that the eldest son is entitled to 2/3 of the
inheritance as compared to the younger son receiving 1/3
Now verses 13-16
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he
had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild
living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in
that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went
and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields
to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs
were eating, but no one gave him anything.
· A distant country would have been
thought of as Italy, North Africa, Egypt or Babylonia
· The younger son was not thinking about
the father or his brother --- No! --- this was all about himself
· So, what about these pods? --- They
were pods of the carob tree – used for fodder for the animals and food for the
really, really poor. They looked like really big and long dried up green beans.
Even I wouldn’t want to eat these things!
· And pigs… they were viewed by Jewish
eyes as shameful and unclean creatures
· To feed pigs was to become like a
Gentile --- a nobody
OK--- Moving along
to verses 17-20
17 “When he came to his senses, he
said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to
my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against
you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be
called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up
and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was
filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him
and kissed him.
·
I love the beginning of verse 17 --- I highlighted that in my
Bible --- I can relate!
·
In Greek it means “Starting to think straight – logical
·
He came to himself when he realized how foolish he had been
·
The youngest son was re-thinking his self-centered plans
·
In this far country, he despised himself
·
He has turned away from God --- but he remembered
·
You see… as we looked at last week … God has plans for us as we
walk in the “wilderness” or “far countries” of our lives
·
In the “wilderness” or “far country” we come to our senses
·
AND God leads us – God has a purpose for the wilderness
·
In the wilderness we realize and cry that we are fools and sinners
·
BUT God cries back NO! You are a called Child of God!
·
In the wilderness we come to our senses and turn home to God
·
In the wilderness … come to yourself … turn to home to God!
·
Yes… in the wilderness … the youngest son and you and I… realize
that we have sinned against heaven before God
·
In the wilderness this youngest son spoke the truth out loud about
himself
·
He saw his sin and confessed to God
·
But look at verse 19 – It’s a cop out! – “I am no longer worthy to
be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” ---As we turn …
we are tempted to let someone else do our thinking and be a copy of the hired
servant. No! Own your sin and turn away
·
Look what happens… As the youngest son has taken that one step
towards home of sorts … conversion occurs
·
This is conversion – face your sinfulness in the mirror --- speak
the truth about yourself – stand up and turn to GO to face God
·
And God runs to greet us in a full welcome of love --- too good to
be true it seems
·
A father of that day that ran to meet the son would have been a
demeaning act for a parent… but this Father is different
·
The father recognized the son despite the rags, the dejection, the
shame, the tears and the sins.
·
God sees his own child and runs to you to meet you --- See how
it’s turned personal?
·
God sees his own child and runs to meet that child – God has
waited for us to choose to turn back to Him
·
Yes, the father kissed the son… this kissed has a deeper meaning …
it’s a tender kiss… a loving kiss… a joyful kiss
Now verses 21-24
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father,
I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his
servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his
finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the
fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son
of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they
began to celebrate.
·
The son confessed to the father
·
The father stops his son’s confession and rejoices!
·
Verse 22 “bring” --- means bring quickly --- the best robe- there
is no second best in the gift of the father’s or God’s pardon – the best robe
was reserved for distinguished guests on special occasions --- and the shoes or
sandals are meant to mean a token of sonship with the father
·
Oh! And the meat! The meat … the fattened calf-is a big deal- it’s
not often eaten
·
As we turn to God from our sinfulness --- God is gracious and
abundant in forgiveness and love – way so!
·
You see, the focus here is now not on the sons – rather – the
father – think of God the Father
·
It goes deep now – real death comes only when the soul is lost –
man is dead only when he has lost the love of God and the love of man withing
the love of God --- YET --- man is alive when his is found again BY God’s love
--- How? --- Man is found only by the Creator’s travel to us – As the father
ran to the son – So God runs to us throughout space and time to become flesh
and blood in Jesus
Now verses 25-32
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was
in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called
one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother
has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he
has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became
angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he
answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never
disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could
celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this
son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes
home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said,
‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to
celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.’”
·
The older brother was his own god
·
The older brother was unpopular in the parable BUT not in society
·
He may be an officer in the church --- a leader of reform --- a
“key” citizen --- he may believe others to be inferior or lazy
·
Notice how the elder son hears of the celebration going on for his
brother? – He hears of it from a slave – he didn’t check it out for himself
·
How is the grumbling of the elder son like the Pharisees and the
Scribes? – They distance themselves from forgiveness
·
How does the father respond? --- He embraces the elder son
·
In gentleness the father tells the son that all he has in his
·
Jesus embraces the Pharisees and Scribes as well
·
The father loves the elder son --- SO --- IF --- the elder son
does go to celebrate – he will see NEW relationships with the father and his
younger brother
·
So--- what’s the purpose of the Church in this parable? – The
Church exists to prosper that God’s love will find the lost
Wow! What to make of all this and what does any of this have to do
with Lent?
Well God has three sons really
·
2 on earth
·
1 in heaven
·
The younger son of earth forgot his true home
·
The elder son despised his brother and grew hard in pride
·
The son in heaven lived in His Father’s joy
·
But the Father and the Son in heaven felt sad when they thought of
the children on earth
·
SO --- The Son from heaven went to the sons on earth, in flesh and
blood and walked the paths of the earthly sons so that the Father may not be
sad
·
THEN --- the 2 earthly sons killed the Son of God – they killed
him on a cross
·
One son would return to God BUT he killed the Father’s Heavenly
Son
·
The second son didn’t know how loveless he was until he killed the
Father’s Heavenly Son
·
BUT THEN – Jesus rose from the grave
·
The grave was not His prison of death and His great love lived
·
NOW --- both the earthly sons knew that the Father’s Son would
always be with them
·
SO --- What now do the earthly sons now do?
·
That’s where we must choose
God cares for us when we go astray. Relive your baptism every day
– see your sin – confess your sin and God will raise you up, forgive you and
run to you in joy as you turn to God AND follow Jesus every day!
God runs to you in the waters of baptism … God runs to you in the
bread and the wine and the body and the blood … God runs to you in the Word as
you take and eat and internalize it … God runs to you in all those He gives to
you each day to love. Turn to God… before He runs you over.
