It’s Not About The Prodigal Son

It’s Not About The Prodigal Son

The title of my message this morning is “It’s Not About the Prodigal Son.” This sermon title might not make sense to some of you but I promise you that by the end you will understand what the Spirit is saying to us through this title.

When the Bible was translated into the English language, the editors added subject labels, and chapter breaks in an effort to help readers understand the context of what they were about to read. While this might make it easier for the reader, it sometimes distorts the message Jesus was delivering. A great example of this is in Luke chapter fifteen. In this chapter Jesus tells three parables. The first was about a lost sheep; the second about a lost coin; and the third about a lost son. So, when the translators divided the chapter, the labels they gave to each parable would make sense if you were reading a normal book. But the Bible is far from a normal book! And the parable of the prodigal son, well, it was not about that son at all. Although Jesus told three parables, He was delivering one message. To understand the message that Jesus was delivering we must first understand God’s heart towards sinners versus the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes toward those they believed to be sinners.

The Bible tells us that God loves sinners and He has no desire that any of them should perish. Paul wrote this to Timothy in First Timothy 2:1-4 – “(1) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Paul told Timothy that we should be praying for all men because our Savior desires all men to be saved. This was also expressed in the thirty-third chapter of the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33:11 records God saying, “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” So, we see that God’s heart’s desire is that all men be saved. But this was not the case with the religious leaders, whose hearts should have been in alignment with God’s heart but was not.

The Pharisees and scribes did not care if a sinner repented and was saved. Because the Pharisees and scribes wanted nothing to do with sinners, they complained when Jesus willingly entered into their presence and ate with them. This is the opening scene of Luke chapter fifteen. Luke 15:1-2 records, “(1) Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. (2) And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’” Once again Jesus is in the presence of those He came to save. Jesus had already told them before what he was sent here to do. In the fifth chapter of Luke when this same group complained about Him hanging out with tax collectors the following is recorded in verses thirty through thirty-two, “(30) And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, ‘Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ (31) Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (32) I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” (Luke 5:30-32) Jesus had previously told them why He came – to save sinners – and yet they are still complaining. So, Jesus pauses and tells three parables to show these religious leaders their hearts as compared to God’s heart. We are going to see that the first two parables establish the foundation for the last parable, the one commonly known as the prodigal son. So, let’s begin with verse four of Luke chapter fifteen.

The first parable He told was about a lost sheep. He said beginning at verse four, “(4) What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? (5) And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ (7) I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:4-7) Can you see the Pharisees and scribes nodding their heads in agreement with Jesus when He talked about what they would do if they had a lost sheep and the steps they would take to find it?