The God Who Seeks, The God Who Waits Series

The God Who Seeks, The God Who Waits

Luke 15

Good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 15.

The Context:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:

It’s interesting to me that right before Jesus tells these three parables, He has delivered some of His most challenging teaching on the way of the cross. In 14:26, He says that anyone who wants to come after Him who doesn’t “hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” In verse 27 He tells the crowd that if anyone doesn’t “bear his own cross” he can’t be a disciple. He tells them in verse 28 that if they are serious about following Jesus, they have to sit down and count the cost.

What’s amazing to me is that, lots of times, when we see a church that’s growing like crazy, where the parking lot is full and they are adding services and building new buildings, we tend to look down our noses and say, “Well, they must be watering down the gospel.” They must be getting into some kind of prosperity, feel good, name it / claim it, seeker sensitive dumbing down of the gospel for their church to be growing so fast.

But that’s not what’s happening in Luke 15. Despite the fact that Jesus paints just about as grim a picture of what it means to follow Him as he can in Luke 14, Luke 15 opens with great crowds of tax collectors and sinners all crowding in to hear him.

So the Pharisees can’t accuse Jesus of making the gospel too easy. Instead, they accuse Jesus of making the gospel too accessible. How dare He associate with tax collectors and sinners? See, in the Pharisees code of conduct, they taught that a good Jew shouldn’t even associate with the wicked, “even to bring them to the law.” In other words, a sinner couldn’t even get himself arrested in the more upstanding neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

And its in this setting that Jesus, tells three stories in a row.

A shepherd with 100 sheep leaves the ninety-nine to go after one that strays away.

A woman with ten silver coins turns her house upside down until she finds one coin that she’s lost.

And then the third parable, perhaps the most well known parable in the entire Bible. Let’s look at it together. This is Luke 15:11-32. Let’s read it together. If you are physically able, please stand to honmor the reading of God’s Word…

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to[b] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[c] 22 But the father said to his servants,[d] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”