We read in Luke 15:20, “And he rose up and went to his own father. But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses.” (Darby)
We meditated a little on this passage in the last sermon, considering the whole aspect of reconciliation between the father, and his wayward son. The above mentioned verse is taken from the parable of the prodigal son, which most of us are familiar with.
There are two methods that Jesus widely used in his teaching. One was to exaggerate a truth with an illustration, so as to drive home the point he was teaching in a vivid manner. For example, when trying to explain the difficulty that a rich man would have to enter the kingdom of heaven, He used the metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle, which he said would be far easier. In another passage, when teaching on how people find it so easy to find fault with others, he used the analogy of a man being annoyed at a speck of dust in his neighbor’s eye, and not being bothered or ignoring the huge log that is in his own eye. The other method that Jesus used often in his teachings was parables, a story from their everyday life that could convey deep secrets of the kingdom of God. The difference between Jesus’ teachings and those of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law was that, the ones who heard Jesus’ teaching experienced transformation in their lives.
The reason for the parable
Luke 15:1-2, One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, "This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!" (GNB)
The express purpose of Jesus teaching this parable is described in the above two verses. The ones who came eagerly to listen to Jesus’ teachings were not the so called righteous people or religious leaders, but those whom society rejected as outcasts and sinners. While Jesus was welcoming the sinners, instructing them about the kingdom of God, and explaining to them the way to get in, there were the Pharisees and teachers of the Law who were grumbling against Jesus. The leaders who were chosen to love and accept sinners, forgot their calling, and were instead sitting with a judgmental attitude against Jesus who was lovingly accepting of such people.
The church of God is meant to be a place that embraces those who have been hated, despised, and rejected by people of the world. Not sure how many of us are murmuring about the present situations in our lives. There are many believers, who are disgruntled like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day because they are comparing themselves with others who don’t believe, and are led to believe that they are being dealt with unfairly. Murmuring is a perilous habit, and many are unaware of its ill effects. While praises to God upset the enemy’s camp and drives him away, grumbling enhances his evil schemes, and allures him to take control of our lives.
Have we caught ourselves murmuring when we see others being blessed, may be with a better job, their own house or a good marriage alliance and feeling that they don’t deserve it while we do? Maybe we presume that we have lived a more righteous life than others, and so deserve much more than someone else does. Sometimes we may not express our dissatisfactions, but nevertheless, the Lord who searches deep down is aware of all our thoughts of murmur against others and that is why the psalmist said in Psalms 139:4, “Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD.” (CSB)
In Luke 15:3, we read, “So Jesus told them this parable:” (GNB). There are 3 stories in this parable, all of which convey one and the same message.
The Lost Sheep
• When we are in the right place there is protection
We read in Luke 15: 4-5, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost 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. (RSV)
The first part of this parable is the story of the lost sheep. A shepherd has a hundred sheep and he lost one, which means that he lost just 1%. He was not content that ninety nine of his sheep were safe, but rather went seeking after the one sheep that went missing only because he knew that his one sheep was not in the place that it should be in. The shepherd knew that the sheep on its own was vulnerable, and prone to attack by all sorts of wild animals. If the sheep has stayed with the flock, it would have experienced the safety, and protection that all of the other sheep enjoyed.
The intention of the kingdom of God is that the purpose and plan for which God created man should be fulfilled in and through him. When one goes astray from that divine purpose of God, God comes searching to restore that person back to his fold. Each one of us, needs to be in the place that God has ordained for us. One of the crafty schemes of the devil is to isolate people from the flock of God, so that they can become his easy targets.
We might remember a story that might have been told us as young children. There were ten cows that grazed together, and no wild animal could attack them. The lion which tried to attack them was at a loss, as the herd was too strong for him. One day the fox had a brilliant idea, which he conveyed to the lion. He decided to go to one of the cows, and convinced the cow that the grass on the other side of the field was far greener and better. The unassuming cow believed the cunning fox, left the herd, and went alone to graze on the other side, only to become the target of the vicious lion.
How often people compare themselves, their jobs, families with others unaware that each one have their own share of burdens and difficulties. The difference is that some grumble while others don’t. If one were to disconnect themselves from others for any, and every problem, we expose ourselves to the subtle attacks of the evil one. The only reason Jesus our Good Shepherd came seeking after us, is because He knew that outside the presence of God we are prone to every evil assault and danger. The salvation that God offered us through His son Jesus is priceless, but it cost Him everything, for He had to humble himself, take on the form of man, and die the cruel death on the cross for our sins and redemption.
We read in Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (NKJV)
To be the recipient of God’s protection and deliverance, the prerequisite is that we should dwell in the secret place of the Most High God. As long as the sheep stays with the flock, they are assured of provision and protection. God desires that every one of His children, be stationed in the place that He has decided for them, for only then are we assured of His divine hand of protection over our lives. This means we have to stay in that appointed place whether in the family, our work or in the church.
The lost coin
• When we are in the right place we are highly priced
We read in Luke 15: 8-9, Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them — what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ (GNB)
Here a woman has ten silver coins and lost one, which amounted to about 10%. She had probably treasured these coins, but one of them was now misplaced and fallen on the floor, a place it was not meant to be in, which was why she swept to search for it. The coins had value as long as they were with the woman, but when one of it was lost, it was now with the dust on the floor, and had the possibility to be thrown in to the trash can. She too did not take lightly the fact that she lost only one, but diligently searched for it, cleaned it and restored it back to where it rightly belonged. Once she found it she called all her friends and neighbors, rejoicing over that one coin which she had lost and found.
It is good for us to analyze ourselves to see if we are standing in that position that God has appointed for us or if we have fallen from there. The word of God admonishes us 1 Corinthians 10:12, “So that let him that thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (Darby) God searches for us to restore back to us our original worth. For those who feel you have lost a lot, the honor, the position you had, the good news is that if you return to the Lord, He is able to restore it all back to you, for He highly esteems each one of us.
The lost son
• When we are in the right place we are privileged
The third story is of a man who had two sons, the younger of whom decided to walk away from his father, which was a 50% loss. The sheep was lost, it knew it was lost, but had no way to get back. The coin was lost, but it was unaware that it was lost. The son was lost and the father did not go pursuing after him, but waited patiently for his return, for he wanted him to return to his senses.
By walking away the son lost his privileges as a son, but the father was waiting, expectantly for his son to return home. When the son returned home after squandering all of his father’s wealth, his father lovingly accepted him, and restored back to him, his position and privilege as his son.
Some of us were at one time zealous for the Lord, reading his word, praying, serving Him diligently, but have now backslid and gone far away from God. God is speaking, but they are unable to hear His voice, and have lost the joy that was theirs when they first committed their lives to the Lord. Many children do not value the love they receive from their parents and take it for granted. It is only when these benefits are taken away do they realize the value of what they had. Only as long as we stay in the family of God will we have the blessed entitlements that are due to us.
God is a God of restoration, and He is willing to restore back to us our protection, our price and our privileges as His children, if we are willing to come back in obedience and rely on His word. Our God does not repair, but He restores and makes whole, and that is why the word of God assures in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV)
When God restores there is rejoicing; the shepherd rejoiced that he found his lost sheep, the woman rejoiced with her neighbors that she found the lost coin, and the father threw a great feast to rejoice over his son’s return.
The reason Jesus told this parable was for the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who believed that the kingdom of God was only for them, and therefore shunned the outcast and the sinner. That is why Jesus said so categorically that the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. When those who were supposed to do the work of God with zeal fail to do so, the Lord chooses to use others who will carry out His purposes. No one can hinder or stop the work of God, and the expansion of His kingdom that He has purposed to accomplish here on earth.
We must be tune our hearts to perceive things the way the Lord does, rejoicing in those things that He delights in, and grieving over those things that distress the heart of God. So also a good son will do those things that makes his father happy, and avoid those things that cause pain to him. The one thing that God’s heart exults in is when the lost are found, and restored to their original position that God intended for them to be in. There is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, and that is the heart that each one of us must yearn to have.
David a man after God’s own heart
Act 13:22 God removed Saul and made David the king of Israel. God spoke favorably about David; He said, 'I have found that David, son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.' (GW)
The testimony that God gave about David was that he was a man after His own heart, meaning that David desired to do all that was pleasing to the heart of God. The Lord rejected Saul because his heart was not right, but David had a heart that was in total unison with God and His will. When David sinned he had a penitent and repentant heart that the Lord approved of. David was chosen by God because God found him worthy of the honor that he bestowed on him.
The self-righteous elder son
This parable continues in Luke 15:28 “The elder brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in.” (GNB)
In Luke 15:29-30 we read "'All these years,' replied the son, 'I have been slaving for you, and I have never at any time disobeyed any of your orders, and yet you have never given me so much as a kid, for me to enjoy myself with my friends; but now that this son of yours is come who has eaten up your property among his bad women, you have killed the fat calf for him.'”(WNT)
The elder son came home to find that there was great sound of festivity inside. When he knew his younger brother had returned, instead of rejoicing, he was angry, and would not enter his own home. His anger was turned toward his father because he had forgiven and accepted his younger brother, who had walked out in rebellion and squandered all of his father’s wealth. The father came out and begged his elder son to come in, into his own home.
The reason the elder son murmured was because he compared himself with his younger brother, and felt that the treatment meted out to his brother was unfair and undeserved. The father waited for a long time for his younger son to return, and as he rejoiced that he had finally come, he now encountered the disapproval of his elder son who stood outside, unwilling to come in, so that his father had to come out again, to beckon him in.
It is a fact that when we harbor a spirit of murmuring, like the elder son, we will be unable to enter our own homes with joy. When we compare with someone else and murmur against another, we are prone to become bitter towards that person. Bitterness turns to anger, and when we are angry with another believer, who is also a child of God, we are cutting ourselves off from God’s family, just like the elder son did.
The people of the world fall broadly into these two categories. One group who like the younger son have walked off in sin and rebellion against God, and the other group who like the older son choose to stand on their own self-righteousness. The Lord wants to reach out to both these groups because all of us need the salvation that Jesus offers, the sinner and the self-righteous alike. Jesus died for all of us, and every one of us stands before Him in need of His mercy and forgiveness.
There was one man to whom Jesus assured that he would most certainly be with him in heaven. He was the repentant thief who hung on the cross adjacent to Jesus, who begged Him for mercy and received the same. Just imagine if we in our self-righteousness thought, ‘how could we live in heaven with someone like that’ sadly it would be to our detriment, and we would be the losers.
It is necessary to analyze ourselves, to check and see if there is a spirit of grumbling inside of us, instead of a heart of gratitude and praise for all that the Lord has done for us. Like the Psalmist David said in Psalms 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (NKJV) even when surrounded by trouble on all sides, we too must praise the Lord in all circumstances. Everything we have been endowed with, our parents, family, children, jobs and church are all God’s blessings to us, and therefore may we never compare with others or murmur about any of these. May our hearts reflect that of our Father in heaven, one that is willing to embrace and love everyone, one that rejoices to see people enter the kingdom of God, and one that is overflowing with praise and thanksgiving.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
