A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 41
¡§Parables of the Father¡¦s Love¡¨
Luke 15:1-32
As we open our study of Chapter fifteen, the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling again. ¡§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." Specifically, they were grumbling about the fact that Jesus ¡§received sinners¡¨ and ate with them. Why should it matter to them whether Jesus chose to associate with sinners? To associate with those whose lives were outwardly sinful was to challenge the whole system of spiritually that the Pharisees had developed.
¡§The religious leaders were people who claimed to know God and who were offended by the kind of people Jesus attracted. They were not alone in having these feelings. If we are honest with ourselves, we sometimes share their attitude. Not everyone who follows Jesus is ¡¥our kind of person¡¦¡¨ [Gary Inrig. The Parables: Understanding What Jesus Meant. p 12.]
According to verse three Jesus tells the parables we find here in response to the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes, ¡§So He spoke this parable to them, saying¡K¡¨
Jesus tells three parables illustrating what it means to be lost, heaven¡¦s joy when the lost are found and how the loving Father looks to save people.
In these parables God is the shepherd whose sheep has wandered off; he is the woman who grieved because she has lost a coin; he is the father whose son has gone away. It is an amazing picture of God, he is seen grieving, seeking and rejoicing. If you are lost today, the first application is to you, you are valuable to God even in your lost condition.
The biblical description of those who do not know Christ as their savior is not ¡§unsaved¡¨ but ¡§lost.¡¨ In his letter to the Ephesians (2:12) the Apostle Paul describes those without Christ as ¡§without hope and without God in the world.¡¨ Perhaps there is no better illustration of this than the image of a child lost in the supermarket. The helpful worker comes to the crying child and says, ¡§What¡¦s the matter? Why are you crying?¡¨ ¡§I¡¦m lost¡¨ says the little boy, ¡§I can¡¦t find by Daddy.¡¨ For the little boy, ¡§lost¡¨ means being absent from his father. And so it is with us.
Each of the three parables that follow speak of the Fathers connection with the lost.
1. The Father Seeks That Which Is Lost
- The Parable of the Lost Sheep (vv. 4-7)
"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.¡¨
A lost sheep in the Judean wilderness was doomed. The shepherd took whatever time was necessary to search for his lost sheep. He had to expose himself to the same dangers of the wilderness and the weather. The same lions and wolves that were stalking his sheep might stalk him as well. The longer the sheep remained lost the greater the risk of being destroyed.
The Father Seeks That Which Is Lost And
2. The Father Values That Which Is Lost
- The Parable of the Lost Coin (vv. 8-10)
"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (9) And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ (10) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Whenever I lose something (which I seem to do with great frequency) it drives me nuts until I find it, even if it is not of great value. In Jesus¡¦ second parable, a woman had ten silver coins, each worth more than their monetary value of a day¡¦s wages. These coins were probably her dowry, worn on as a headdress. ¡§When a man took a wife, he would give to her a ribbon on which would be strung ten coins. She would wear this as a token of love on her head even as women do in the Middle East today. Like a wedding ring these coins represented the marital relationship. Often on each piece of silver the name of the husband would be engraved. If a woman was caught in adultery, if she had been unfaithful to her husband, one of the coins would be taken out leaving a gap to show she had disgraced her marriage vows.¡¨ We see why this woman was so frantically searching for the lost coin, her reputation and her marriage were at stake. [Adrian Rogers. ¡§Lost and Found.¡¨ Message to the American Festival of Evangelism. July 28,1981]
The woman did not give up until she found what was missing. In the same way, The Good Shepherd goes after every sheep whom His father has given Him. The point is that the woman and the our loving heavenly Father did whatever it took, however costly, to find the that which is lost. In the case of our salvation, the cost was great. Romans 8:32 says, ¡§He who did not spare His own Son but delivered him up for all¡K¡¨
The Father Values That Which Is Lost And
3. The Father Longs For That Which Is Lost
- The Parable of the Prodigal Son (vv. 11-32)
This parable in reality is not so much about the prodigal son, as it is the loving father. We need to look at each of the three characters in turn.
The Younger Son¡¦s Rebellion (vv. 12-20)
¡§Then 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 falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. (13) And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country,
This young man¡¦s request is like a knife in his father¡¦s heart. He is saying, ¡§If you won¡¦t hurry up and die, give me my what is mine, now!¡¨ The young man is expressing a desire for his father to die.
The Greek text shows the anguish of the father, it literally says, ¡§He divided to them his life¡¨ (v. 12b).
As soon as the younger son was able to turn his assets into money, he took off, for the bright lights of the city. Apparently he gave no thought to how his selfishness would affect the whole household, he took one-third of the family resources (Deut 21:17) and left home to live it up. He was not simply moving away from home to live on his own, I think we can safely say that he had no intention of ever returning.
The second half of verse thirteen continues his story, ¡§¡K and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. (14) But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. (15) Then 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 gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.¡¨
But as always in life, sooner or later, choices have consequences. The money eventually ran out, and at the same time, a famine fell upon that part of the world, bringing this young man to desperate straits. In fact, things became so desperate he hired himself to a Gentile, not just any Gentile but a Gentile pig farmer. This is the most disgraceful job imaginable to a Jew.
The job was not only unpleasant but he soon realized that the pigs were better cared for than he. It was in this state of want that young man came to his senses. It is in a very striking way that the Lord describes the turning point in this young man¡¦s life in verse seventeen. "But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (18) I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, (19) and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."’ (20) "And he arose and came to his father.
The Steps back to the father are simple.
First, there must be an awakening to one¡¦s true condition. (v. 17) Finally his mind started working again. The phrase, ¡§He came to himself¡¨ means that he was thinking more clearly now, having learned some hard lessons. There is a certain insanity to sin, and this young man suddenly saw himself as he really was.
Humans have the capacity to change. We do not have to remain in the pigpen. We do not have to continue to live a life of sin. We can come home.
Second, there must be an honest confession of sin. (vv. 18-19) The process of turning from sin begins with seeing things straight which means seeing ones¡¦ actions as sinful, we seen this when he says, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you¡¨ (v. 18). First and foremost we must see our actions as sin in the sight of God and then in the sight of men. King David in dealing with sin with Bathsheba, reflects this truth in Psalm 51:3-4 where he says, ¡§For I acknowledge my trangressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned¡K.¡¨ True repentance includes an honest confession of our sins, without any excuses. The prodigal said "I have sinned against heaven and in your sight." He didn¡¦t say, "I wouldn¡¦t have sinned if you hadn¡¦t been such a demanding and insensitive father." "I wouldn¡¦t have gotten into trouble if you hadn¡¦t given me all that money when you knew that I wasn¡¦t mature enough to handle it properly." He didn¡¦t blame the fact that he had to live in the shadow of his high-achieving brother. He said, "I have sinned." True repentance always involves accepting responsibility for what we have done
Third, there must be an actual return to the father. (v. 20) He made a decision that he would ¡§return to the father¡¨ and then he acted on that decision. There is no harder place to go than where you have failed.
The Father¡¦s Reception (vv. 20b-24)
¡§¡K. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. (21) And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ (22) "But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. (23) And bring the fatted calf here 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 father ran to greet him and fell on him with great affection. He clothed him and put shoes on his feet. Slaves went barefoot; the shoes marked the son as a freeman. All the things the father did for the son were designed to confirm his status as a son.
The Elder Brother¡¦s Resentment
(vv. 25-32) "Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) And he said to him, "Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ (28) "But he was angry and would not go in¡K.¡¨
The older son comes in from the field and hears the music and dancing. He doesn¡¦t go inside, but he calls one of the servants and asks what is happening. When he finds out that his no-good brother has returned and that his dad has thrown a party to celebrate, he explodes. Not unlike a teenager picking a fight with his parents before a house full of guests, the elder brother behaves in such a way as to not only be hurtful but humiliating. Whenever anyone blows up like that, it is not just a spur of the moment thing. You¡¦re seeing all of the pent-up anger of the years boiling over. When he refuses to come in, the father was as gracious to the elder brother as he was to the younger, he went out to reason with him. When his dad comes out to appeal to him in verse twenty-nine he unloads, "¡K Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. (30) But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’¡¨
The older brother¡¦s remarks show a whole slew of bad attitudes ¡V self-righteousness, pride, disrespect of his father, discontent and an unforgiving spirit. He felt superior to both his brother (who lacked his own righteousness) and to his father (who lacked his discernment and judgment).
He in essence is saying, ¡§It¡¦s not fair!¡¨ And he is right ¡§It is more than fair. It¡¦s reckless. It¡¦s extravagant. It¡¦s wonderful!¡¨
Notice the things that the elder son mentions to his father;
¡§I worked hard but you gave no banquet.¡¨
He thought that the basis for obtaining his father¡¦s approval was his works. It is obvious from his statement that he regarded his relationship with his father to be based on performance. The younger brother did not appreciate his father so he left him; the elder brother stayed but he did not appreciate him either.
Both brothers were slaves. The younger brother was a slave to his passions and the elder brother was a slave to his works based theology.
¡§I have always obeyed you in everything.¡¨
He is so arrogant as to assume that he has never sinned. Is that a description of you? How can he say he has never neglected a command of his father when just moments before he was asked by his father to join the celebration and had refused?
Now the father reasons with him in verse thirty-one, "And he said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. (32) It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."
The father reminds the elder brother by telling him ¡§everything I now have will go to you.¡¨ Although the younger son, had been welcomed home, and restored as a son, it do undo what he had lost.
We are not told how the elder brother responds to his father. We are left to our imaginations to determine the final response. We are also left to determine how we would respond.
How do we respond when a sinner comes home? Are too busy establishing our in=groups and defining who is in the out-group? Are we afraid to sully our reputation or to be seen with people who do not belong or measure up?
Conclusion
Twice in this text Jesus tells us ¡§...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.¡¨ To believe that there is rejoicing in heaven over the sinner who comes home is to believe there are three things necessary.
ā We must believe that sin is serious business.
The problem is that we do not take sin seriously enough. Here is an illustration that may help you to understand what I mean. ¡§While working as a court-appointed attorney, Emery Potter was assigned a client who had been accused of criminal trespass. Mr. Potter probed his client with some general questions about his background. He asked if he had any previous arrests or convictions. The man ashamedly said, ¡¥Yes, sir. I¡¦ve got quite a few.¡¦ The thorough attorney then asked, ¡¥Any felonies?¡¦ The man indignantly replied, ¡¥No sir! I specialize in misdemeanors.¡¦¡¦ That sounds a lot like us. We know we sin but we classify all our sins as not really that serious. But according to Jesus, Sin is sin. [Daily Guideposts. 1991 (Carmel, New York; Guideposts) pp. 128-129]
ā We must believe that repentance is possible.
People can change. It doesn¡¦t happen easily. Humans have the capacity to change. We do not have to remain in the pigpen. We do not have to continue to live a life of sin. We can come home.
ā We must believe that God really does forgive Sin.
