Introduction
Today we will be studying a fairly familar passage of scripture, familar to most of us as the parable of the prodigal son but most aptly called in my opinion the parable of the good father.
Luke 15:11-12
And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
God the Father, here represented as a human father, and mankind is represented by his two sons.
-The younger here said to his father give me what is mine. In the OT the custom was that the eldest son got 2/3 of the estate and the remaining 1/3 was divided amongst his other children.
-Notice the attitude, what is missing. There is no Sir or please, no sign of respect, just give it to me.
-Note the next line, it comes into play later. And it really is his living; this is how he supported himself.
Luke 15:13
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
And he brought his own farm up the road from his father, no. And he moved into the next town and brought a villa, no. What he did to the far country. In this he is saying two things.
-He wants the father’s blessing he does not want the father. He does not want the fellowship, the presence just the presents. He was seeking the father’s hands and not his face. To take the blessings that he has given you for your own purpose can only end in a downfall.
-He wanted to get out from out the sphere of his father’s influence. Think about it, every year we get flooded in Florida for about a week or so every year with a bunch of college students for a thing called “spring break” and these kids go out and get drunk, do drugs, get their groove on, and act like wild animals. Why do they think they can get away with it? Because their parents are hundreds to thousands of miles away. There is no fear of retribution. When we get to the part where we feel we are far enough away, we don’t need to fear Him, God is not there, we can do what we want. We may have traveled to a point where we do not hear His voice, but it does not mean He is not there:
Psalm 139:7-12
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
-He wasted his substance with riotous living. He had his own version of spring break and he had a good time. For a season. Do you know the Bible speaks of the pleasure of sin for a season (that is in Hebrews 11:25 and how Moses choose life with Israel rather than life in the palace). The devil has to exploit the fact that sin feels good (if it did not, why would we have bothered to do it in the first place?), but he does not tell us there is a price to pay. And as R.G Lee said, there is a payday someday.
Luke 15:14
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
-After he had spent all there was a famine. We remember from our study of Ruth that a famine is a judgment of God. God will not let unrepented sin go unpunished. God will give a time and a season for repentance. God is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance.
-He was in want. All his so called friends were gone with the money. After all he gave to them, they left to go back to friends and families to take care of themselves.
-The problem with being in a far country is there is no family there. He needed to find help.
Luke 15:15-16
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
-He found a job slopping pigs. A very shameful profession for a nice Jewish boy. Pigs were unclean and they were supposed to have no contact with them. As Curtis Hudson used to say “sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and longer than you want to stay.” God will get your attention eventually.
Luke 15:17
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my fathers have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
-He came to himself. There comes a point where the fog of the life you are living wears off and you realize where you are and what you did to yourself. My point was when I was at MHRC and I woke up one night and saw a guy standing over me with a look on his face like I was a pork chop on a blue plate special. I was dragging on the bottom for a long time but God got my attention that night, and by the time the weekend was over I was right here at the Circle of Love. I was determined to get my life back, no matter what anybody else did. And sometimes that is what you have to do is put in your time studying, praying and building a relationship with Jesus so you can go on from here.
-And he remembered dad. He is dying of hunger and how well his father cared for his servants better than this!
Luke 15:18-19
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
-He realized his sin and was ready to accept the consequences of it.
Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
-He left for home. There comes a time where we have to decide to start the journey. We need not try to improve our condition before we start off home, we could never make ourselves acceptable on our own anyway. So in his dirty, pig stinking clothes, unwashed and bare foot the prodigal starts his journey home.
-There are two theories on who this parable applies to. First says it applies to the backslider because he left a son and was still a son when he came back. The second theory (as shown here by Matthew Henry):
It represents the children of men as of different characters, though all related to God as their common Father. He had two sons, one of them a solid grave youth, reserved and austere, sober himself, but not at all good-humoured to those about him; such a one would adhere to his education, and not be easily drawn from it; but the other volatile and mercurial, and impatient of restraint, roving, and willing to try his fortune, and, if he fall into ill hands, likely to be a rake, notwithstanding his virtuous education. Now this latter represents the publicans and sinners, whom Christ is endeavouring to bring to repentance, and the Gentiles, to whom the apostles were to be sent forth to preach repentance. The former represents the Jews in general, and particularly the Pharisees, whom he was endeavouring to reconcile to that grace of God which was offered to, and bestowed upon, sinners.[i]
-In my opinion both are equally valid and apply to us here no matter which is our condition.
-It is obvious here that the father was looking for his lost son to return. I can see him every morning going out to the high spot in the road, looking off in the direction the boy left in hoping to see him but nothing till one day there was a figure in the distance. The gait looked familiar, the size and shape seemed right, could it be? He did not stand so straight, his body language less haughty, less proud. Yes it was him! Love in him overflowed as he forgot his dignity as an elder man, hiking up his cloak so he could run toward his boy! Stinking pig clothes, dirty, barefoot and all he hugged and kissed his boy in joy!
Luke 15:21-24
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
-The son started his confession but never got to finish. He said all that needed to be said; the son is not a servant.
-He got a robe, and a ring (a sign of family) and shoes (for only slaves went bare foot).
-There was a party for the retuning son.
Luke 15:23-24
And bring hither the fatted calf (kept for festive occasions), and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry - denoting the exultation of the whole household: "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:10). But though the joy ran through the whole household, it was properly the father's matter. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. Now, twice his son. "He was lost" - both to his Father and to himself, lost to his Father's service and satisfaction, lost to his own dignity, peace, profit. But he "is alive again" - to all these.[ii]
Luke 15:25-28
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
-Where is the love? This son has no forgiveness in his heart towards his brother. As we have been forgiven so we should forgive:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. –Ephesians 4:32
-But no here we have that good father coming out again to entreat him.
Luke 15:29-31
And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 32 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
-Here we have the legalist coming out with the dreaded “I” disease. Count the number of I’s here. Two in one verse. Where is mine? The question is why are you serving here? For the love of father or what you can get? Then the father drops the bombshell:
-Don’t you get it son? It is all yours. He did not need to ask the father if he could have a calf. Remember the beginning verse? He divided his substance among them. He has his 2/3 already. It belongs to him. He does not have to ask for what is already his.
-How many Christians sit around bemoaning the fact they don’t have what God has already promised them. You can pray and study and worship in song but you also need to exercise your faith to appropriate what God has given you.
Luke 15:32
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
-It was meet. By this parable, as well as by the two preceding, Jesus showed God's attitude toward sinners. He did not approve of their rebellious attitude nor of their evil deeds, but he welcomed them back and restored them to favor when they were penitent.[iii]
Wrap Up
So where are you today?
-Backslidden with no hope? God stands and waits for your return.
-Christian, do you see the older son in you and your actions? Why not forgive now? Restore that relationship with the Father in Heaven.
-Lost, God stands to welcome you home.
So the question is if you’re not saved, why not? What in hell do you want? Why not come up today and accept Jesus as your Saviour
[i] Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
[ii] Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.
[iii] from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press.
