Dec. 30, 2001
Scripture Text:
Luke 15:1-32
Speaker:
Jeff Williams
Good morning! My neighbors must have thought I was crazy. I was standing in the dumpster. I was not looking in the dumpster. I was standing knee deep in their trash. One of my boys had been playing with my keys and the last place we saw them was in the vicinity of the trashcan. I had searched everywhere and concluded that they must have thrown my keys away. So there I was in the dumpster digging through coffee grinds and last night’s chili when Maxine saved the day and found the keys under the couch. I was so happy I wanted to hug her but she made me take a shower first.
Have you ever lost something? I am better at it than most. I have lost coats, gloves, watches, sunglasses, my place in a song, and my heart to a girl named Maxine. But out of all the things I’ve lost, my mind is the thing I miss the most. I lived in Memphis twenty-one years and still get lost when visiting my father. When I was younger I lost my keys so much that my mother bought me a device that would beep when you clapped near it. I lost that too.
Losing something is the most frustrating thing, especially if it valuable. The search can be intense and involve all of our resources. Little Jasmine Anderson, the toddler that was kidnapped from the bus station in Chicago on Christmas Eve, is back at home due to a nation-wide search involving law enforcement officers from all over the country. Have you ever thought about what God thinks about lost things? Does He care? This morning we will hear from God’s Word about God’s heart toward lost sheep, lost silver, and lost sons. Turn with me to Luke Chapter 15 as I explain the context.
Verse 1 starts:
Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.
Jesus was doing what he did best eating lunch and explaining the things of God. He was teaching the people He loved best the outcasts. Jesus hung out with dishonest businessmen, crooked politicians, and brazen prostitutes who could have cared less about the religious rules of the day. This verse specifically identifies the “tax collectors.” These were Jews that had turned against their own country and collected taxes for the Roman government that occupied Palestine. They extorted money from their fellow countrymen and got rich doing so. For this they paid a heavy price. Tax collectors were excluded from the religious community and shunned by most respectable Jews.
Currently there is debate going on within our government whether John Walker should be tried for treason. He is the young American who was captured fighting for the Taliban in Afganistan. In that culture, there was no debate. Tax collecting was treasonous and deserving of death. But in Jesus they found a friend. In fact, Jesus had chosen a tax collector who He renamed Matthew to be part of His mentoring group of disciples. These men, along with the dregs of Jewish society, were drawn to hear Jesus speak. Jesus went further than just teaching them, He ate with them. To associate with these people was bad enough, but to eat with them was outrageous! The original meaning of our word companion means “with bread.” To eat with someone was a sign to all of your friendship with that person. Jesus drove the religious leaders crazy!
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Now before we are too hard on these guys, remember that they were the “good” guys. They championed the Word of God. They were interested in holiness and many had a sincere desire for pleasing God. There was just one problem. They had forgotten that lost people matter to God. They were looking for a Messiah to conquer Rome not One who could conquer lost hearts. Can you hear them, “ You know he calls himself a rabbi and some say he is the Messiah. Doesn’t he know who he is sharing bread with? Doesn’t he know that God hates sinners?” They were grumbling and muttering and they were wrong. Or at least, part wrong. God hates sin because it separates us from Him but he loves sinners enough to give His Son for them. The teachers needed teaching and Jesus tells three parables to drive home His point.
He doesn’t give a lecture or a sermon but tells a story of a lost sheep, lost silver, and a lost son.
A Lost Sheep
Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Jesus starts his stories with a parable that both the outcasts around him as well as the religious rulers can understand. There were undoubtedly shepherds in the crowd and tending sheep was a big business in Palestine in Jesus’ day. Sheep provided people with meat, milk, fat, wool, and skins. One hundred sheep were an average size herd and shepherds tended flocks together in the open country. The shepherds would count them nightly and get to know each one of them individually.
Sheep need constant supervision because…well…they are intellectually challenged. The fact is they’re not too bright. Sheep can wander off easily and do not have a good sense for danger. I asked Bridget Henkel, a senior in our student ministry, what would happen if one of her sheep got lost or was alone. Her family raises sheep and being very familiar with them she immediately answered that the sheep would become very upset. They would begin to cry out for the person who takes care of them. Bridget reports that the sheep know her voice and will come to her when she calls.
This is what the shepherd does. Jesus said, “ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” [John 10:27] The shepherd pursues the sheep “until he finds it.” His heart is intensely involved because of his love for the lost sheep. When he finds it, he doesn’t beat it or berate it. As is the custom, he puts it on his shoulders and carries it home. He then throws a party and invites all his friends. Jesus says this is a great word picture of Heaven. When one lost person recognizes his sinfulness and repents, which means to turn around, and surrenders his life to God through Christ there is a party thrown by the Father Himself.
The “ninety-nine who do not need to repent” is an obvious description of the Pharisees and the scribes who believed themselves more “righteous” than such dumb sheep that Jesus attracted. Isn’t it interesting that the very experts in the Law did not immediately recognize that Jesus was making a point that many had made before Him. Listen to David:
· Psalm 119:176 “ I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.”
· Isaiah 53:6 “ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of as turned to his own way.”
· Ezekiel 34:15 “ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down…I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.”
The Pharisee had heard Jesus refer to humans as sheep many times. They had heard Him say that He is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep to save them from the wolf [John 10:15]. The only problem was they did not consider themselves in need of being saved. Jim Cymbala, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York says, “ Pride has a devilish quality that keeps us from sensing the need for God’s grace in our lives.” So Jesus tells another story.
The Lost Silver
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
This is a story about not only a woman but a poor woman! The Pharisees would not have could less about a poor woman losing her life savings but Jesus is now connecting with the outcasts who are sitting at his feet. The coin she lost would have been worth one day’s wages. The coin probably came from her dowry that she would were on a chain around her neck or on her head. It was like a savings account necklace and was important as a wedding ring. Even if she went into debt these coins could not be taken from her. This poor woman’s house most likely did not have windows and had a dirt floor or rough cobblestones. So she lit a lamp and swept until she heard the cha-ching of the coin. Just like the shepherd she searches “until she finds it” and then throws a party.
When doing sound for a funeral last month Maxine noticed that a stone out of her ring was missing. We searched the entire church and even asked Hector if we could go through the vacuum cleaner bags. It was found a few days later and Maxine was overjoyed.
Jesus says that when one sinner repents the angels rejoice. In Mississippi, when trying to explain this verse to high schoolers I decided to call this “Holy Whooping.” Imagine ten million angels exploding into uncontained applause when one person recognizes their lost ness and surrenders their lives to the Father.
Jesus has been building up to the last story. He told the story of one sheep out of one hundred to show the importance of every individual person. He followed up the story with a parable of one coin out of ten to show the value of human beings. Now he tells what is considered one of the greatest stories of the Bible.
The Lost Son
· The Son severed ties with his family
Jesus continued: There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father give me my share of the estate.” So he divided the property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had…
The story begins by immediately drawing all the listeners that were fathers. There are two sons and the younger one demands his share of the estate. The Message translation puts it this way, “ I want right now what is coming to me.” You can hear the anger in his demands. It was as if he were saying, “Dad, you old fool. You are as good as dead to me. Cash it all in Pops and give me my share. I’m going to blow this one horse town and live it up!”
The Pharisees would have audibly moaned when Jesus reported that the father honored his demand. For this insolence, the son should have been taken before the elders and stoned outside the city gate [Duet. 21:18-21] Instead, the father calls his accountant and spends considerable time converting his estate into cash. This would have involved selling off land and livestock. The younger brother would have received one-third according to Levitical law [Duet. 21:17]. with the older brother getting two-thirds. He then “got together all he had.” He had no plans of returning. He was done with his family and he did not look back as he walked away from the house.
· “and he set off for a distant country”
For a young Jewish male to leave his home and travel to another country would not have been uncommon due to the transient nature of the Jewish population at that time. But the original language seems to imply he went as far away as he could. A prophet named Jonah tried this and ended up with a whale of a testimony about how far God will search for you. He was running away from all the restraints of home. In a distant land he could be anonymous and could do whatever he wanted.
· “and squandered his wealth in wild living”
Unrestrained, the young man indulged himself in every kind of sensual escapade. He lived on the wild side. He lived extravagantly and recklessly. He wasted his dad’s money with no thought of the future. We see examples of athletes that are making millions of dollars a year and end up broke. Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go and, in the end, leave you not only financially devastated but also emotionally and spiritually bankrupt.
· The shame of the pigpen
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in the whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
Famines were fairly common during this time but this one affected the entire country. So the playboy becomes the pig boy. The Jews considered pigs unclean animals and they were not permitted to touch them or eat them, let alone have lunch with them. It is very difficult to convey the amount of shame this would have brought on the young man. A common proverb of that time states “Cursed in the man who tends swine.” He had been eating caviar, now he just wanted to eat the carob pods left over from the pig slop.
· When he came to his senses
When he came to his senses, he said, “ How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!”
Sitting in a pigpen hundreds of miles away from home, something began to happen
inside of him. He began to realize his foolishness. A small inkling of understanding began to form in his mind of how much he must have hurt his father. My dad calls these times in our lives “significant emotional experiences.” It was a divine reality check. It was a wake up call of cosmic proportions.
John Newton knew this feeling well. After deserting the Royal Navy, he became a pirate and assisted in the trafficking of slaves. When he was miraculously converted to Christianity, he wrote his life story in a song. The first verse reads: “Amazing grace/how sweet the sound/that saved a wretch like me/I once was lost but now I’m found/was blind but know I see.”
· He prepared his speech
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: “ Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” So he got up and went to his father.”
His sincerity is obvious. He honestly admits his wrongdoing. He left on his own terms but would return humbled. Hunger and humiliation led to homesickness. Though tired and weak, he starts the long road home to his father’s house, rehearsing his speech every step of the way.
· He was received as a son
But while he was still a long way off his father saw him and filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to called one of your sons.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick, get the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. For this son of mine was dead; he was lost and is found. So they begin to celebrate.
At this the Pharisees would have tore their clothes. They expected the story to end with the young whipper-snapper sitting in the pigpen getting what he deserved. That is called justice. What they heard instead was a symphony of grace.
This father had been looking for him. Peering up over the horizon every day. Leaving a light on at night. The wise dad knew he had to honor his son’s demands because only God could flatten his foolishness. Only God could pulverize the pride of a young arrogant heart. Only God could make the son hungry not only for his father’s food but for the father himself.
The father ran. “Very uncouth”, the Pharisees would have whispered. Older men in the Near East still do not run. But this father did. He interrupted his son’s speech because it was unnecessary. He showered the son with kisses of forgiveness. He called for the best robe, which would have probably been his own. The robe represents the wealth of the family being restored. The ring is the authority of the father. Sandals were worn by sons, but not by slaves. The fattened calf represents the celebration of the father’s heart. People of that culture rarely ate meat. The calf was being fattened in anticipation of a celebration. The father knew his boy would come home. The calf would have been enough to feed the whole village
The son had come home. The relationship had been restored. It was party time!
The sinners surrounding Jesus would have had tears in their eyes when it occurred to them that they could come home as well. But Jesus is not finished with the story.
Lost Opportunities
Meanwhile the older brother was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. “Your brother has come”, he replied, “and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has back safe and sound.”
The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father. “All these years I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”
Instead of celebrating the return of his brother, he immediately starts a pity party for himself!
· He becomes angry. He loses his cool. He blows his top. This the ultimate indignation. His brother returns home looking terrible and smelling like a pig and he gets a party?! “I’m not going in there!” he snorts. The self-righteous smugness of the older brother not only mirrors the Pharisees but also many in our culture today.
I lived in Mississippi when the Monica Lewenski scandal became public. The radio station I listened to became a twenty-four hour tirade of religious ranting and raving, all in the name of Jesus of course. My heart grieved as these mean-spirited Pharisees used their platform to pound the parties involved. I couldn’t take it anymore and turned the dial The older brother’s wrath was still alive and well.
Christians are angry with people who sin. Just remember cows don’t lay eggs. Sinners sin because they are sinners. It is their nature. One of my favorite Brian Bill-isms is that we often do not like people who sin differently than we do. A well-known pastor who had been asked to mentor president Clinton was approached by one of his church members after a service. This man interrupted the pastor’s conversation with another person and blurted out, “How can you minister to such an immoral man?” The quick-witted pastor replied, “ I know…you are pretty irritating…but I’m doing the best I can to love you any way.” They will know we are Christians by our…boycotting? judgmental bantering? Self-righteous slandering? No, no, no! A thousand times no! This lost a dying world will know we are Christians by our radical, unconditional love for lost people!
· He got an attititude with his father. I’ve been slaving for you. You never let me have a party with my friends. This is the attitude of legalism. I have done for you and what do I get for it. It is an attitude of pride. I once sat in a different place at a church Maxine and I attended. We had invited someone who does not feel comfortable sitting up front so we looked for a place in the back. I sat down and soon found myself being given the evil eye by the couple sitting beside me. I explained to them that there would be another couple joining me. It was Easter after all and the church of 7000 was packed. They moved over but sighed loudly. When it came time to shake people’s hand the man actually turned his back to me. His wife said loudly to a neighbor that I had “taken their seats.” I wrote the man a letter during service, which attempted to apologize but also challenge his view of church, but he would not accept it. He literally ran away from me. I am embarrassed to say that I chased him down the aisle, out the door, and down the steps and shoved the note in his coat pocket. He would probably tell you that he was a good religious person and was in church every Sunday. But his attitude betrayed his heart “my seats are more important than your soul.”
· He revealed his own spiritual apathy
The Pharisees could not imagine God being this gracious. There are really two prodigals in the story. The younger brother abandoned his father physically. The older abandoned him in heart. He was there the whole time, working and serving, but his heart was far from the father. All the sins of the younger brother could not keep him out of heaven due to his repentance. All the virtue of the older brother couldn’t get him into heaven because of his pride. He was just as lost as his brother but he was too self-righteous to admit it.
Perhaps you have been working hard for God, but, if truth be known, your heart is far from Him. Can you hear such a person? “ Why all the fuss about these new families? What is this church coming to? We used to be so proper now we’ve got people showing up without ties on. We have kids with green hair and their bully-buttons pierced. We’ve got single mothers, divorced dads, alcoholics and drug addicts, and a pregnant teenager with a tattoo. We’ve got a family who aren’t even Christians sitting right in front of us. One time the whole herd sat in our row, in our very seats! When’s the last time the pastor honored me for my faithfulness to this church?” Just like the older brother, we will miss out on opportunities to celebrate God’s work in people’s lives if we do not focus on the heart of the matter: Lost people matter to God so they should matter to us as well.
The story is really more about the Father’s heart than it is the prodigal son. Listen as he answers the older brother.
* He is gentle: “My son”, the father said, “You are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” He endures the son’s temper tantrum and explains his motives. Although the older brother does not properly address him as “Sir”, he still treats him tenderly and gently by calling him “My son.”
* He is graceful: The father goes out to meet the brother and he pleads with him to join the celebration. He accepts him “you are my son…all I have is yours.” He offers him grace and forgiveness. The story ends with the dad and older brother standing outside the house staring at each other and the younger brother basking in the celebration. The story also ends with the sinners and tax collectors understanding the passion of God’s heart toward lost people. The Pharisees walked away from the crowd, shaking their heads, and following their rules.
Why did I chose to preach this passage?
On December 30, 1990, I attended a church retreat. This was pretty novel for me due to the fact I prided myself in being to smart to believe in God. But my life was empty and the hopelessness that was taking over my soul was leading me to contemplate suicide. The guys at the retreat were cliquish and the girls were a little on the goody-two-shoes side for me. But the speaker taught on this passage and explained how to come home to God.
I returned home on New Year’s Eve afternoon and attended my girlfriend’s party that night. She met me at the door drunk and her mother was upstairs smoking marijuana with our friends. This was my life. I sat on the couch and something began to happen inside of me. It is very difficult to explain it. It was as if everything slowed down and an this one thought completely overwhelmed me “Jeff Williams, you are in the pigpen.”. My life was a pigpen. God had given me so many opportunities and I had run off in the far country of sin and squandered them all. I sat hungry for meaning and purpose but continually ate the pods this world lust, power, greed, and pride. God convicted me of my sin and prompted me to repentance. I literally came to my senses that night. In the middle of a party on New Year’s Eve 1991 I became I Christ-Follower. In the middle of my hopelessness and shame. That was eleven years ago this weekend and my life has never been the same. And now I stand before you now and tell you the story.
· Some of you need to come home. You have been off in the far country. Sin felt good for a season but now you look at your life and wonder “how did I get here.” Sin is a slippery slope and you are in the pigpen. Let me tell you this morning that the Father is longing for you. He is peering over the horizon for you. He desires no one to be lost but everyone come to salvation. Come home. He will welcome you back. He will fill you purpose and passion. He will satisfy the thirst and hunger you have for security and significance. Stop looking for it in humans. Come home.
Many people will say that they will get right with God when they “clean up their act.” Forget all that. Come home and let God clean you up from the inside out. Instead of New Years resolutions to do better and to be better, just come home.
Jesus said, “ I have come to seek and save that which was lost.” [John 19:10] The ultimate expression of His love you was demonstrated on the cross:
“But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” [Romans 5:8]
Prayer
Coming to your senses involves repentance:
(1) Admitting you are a sinner and that no amount of rule keeping or good deeds will ever get you in good with a Holy God. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
(2)Believing that Jesus died on the cross in your place so you would not be held hostage by your sins. Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
(3)Confessing that you are a sinner and that you are hungry for a relationship with God. I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Surrender your heart to Him today. Today is the only day you have. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.” [Hebrews 3:15]
Prologue
It has been said that there are four basic attitudes that a church can take toward the lost: (1) hate them; (2) be indifferent to them; (3) welcome them we they seek us out; (4) or be passionately and purposely seeking the lost with the best news of all time the way to come home. I am grateful that God has placed me in a church that believes that lost people matter to God.
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