Prodigal Son
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Introduction
Introduction
In France the early 1800s, a man was released on parole from being sentenced to hard labor. Amidst poverty, He had been charged for stealing bread. When he consequently sought to escape, his sentence was extended to 19 years. Finally he was released on parole. The life for a released convict was extremely difficult. Having been marked by the penal system, he couldn’t find employment, shelter or any form of assistance. One night upon falling asleep on the porch of a church, a minister saw him. Despite the man’s startled and rough appearance, the minister invited inside. He treated this man as an honored guest. Providing him with a meal and a bed to spend the night. He was desperate to make it on his own. As he lay in bed he determined that he would steal some silver from the church in order to make a new start.
In the dark of the night as everyone was asleep, the man took the opportunity, grabbed the silver and slipped out under the cover of the darkness. It wasn’t long before the man was discovered and was returned back to the church by the local authorities. “We have your silver,” Stated the senior officer. After decades of serving hard time, the man was about to be incarcerated again. “we caught him red-handed. He had the nerve to say you gave it to him,” the officer continued.
“That is right,” the minister replied to the officer. Then he turned to the man and endearingly said in front of the officers, “but my friend, you left so early. surely something slipped your mind. you forgot I gave these also. would you leave the best behind.” turning back to the officers, the minister stated, “ Release him, this man has spoken true.”
The man was released and allowed to rest in the church again. As he sits alone in one of the rooms of the church, the man is conflicted by the grace he had been shown. He realized that he has had it all wrong. As he sits in the room, he reflects upon his life and his words are recorded as follows:
Take an eye for an eye! Turn your heart into stone! This is all I have lived for! This is all I have known!
One word from him and I'd be back, beneath the lash, upon the rack. Instead he offers me my freedom. I feel my shame inside me like a knife. He told me that I have a soul, How does he know? What spirit comes to move my life? Is there another way to go?
I am reaching but I fall, and the night is closing in, as I stare into the void, to the whirlpool of my sin. I escape now from that world. I am nothing now! and another story must begin!
Transformation reigns in this mans life. Several years later, we see him in a position of prominence. He becomes the mayor in a suburb of Paris. He becomes an honest man, an agent of grace.
If you haven’t seen it, this is more or less what happens in the first 15 or so minutes of the 2012 rendition of Les Mis. In this movie, Jean VelJean, finds the grace of Christ and is a changed man. Grace has a remarkable changing power.
Today we will be studying . Luke is the gospel written with the intent of providing a chronological account of the events of Jesus’ ministry. By the time we get to today’s passage, we see that Jesus’ ministry is in full swing; he has been performing many miracles and has already spoken many hard truths. He has reached out to those who were alienated in that day, and has already made the religious leaders a little on edge. As we come to , Jesus is talking to a large crowed. The tax collectors and sinners begin to come to him to listen and the scribes and pharisees grumbled at this and so Jesus begins to tell some parables. He tells the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Today we will be studying that parable of the lost son. Your bible may title this passage the Prodigal Son. Please join me in following along as we read God’s word starting in .
11 And He said, “A man had two sons.
12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.
13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly 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 fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
27 “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
29 “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”
Luke 15:11-32
Lets Pray - Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for today and for your word. we pray that as we seek to better understand and apply this passage to our lives that you would work in our hearts and if we are distant from you today, we pray now that you will relentlessly seek us out, find us, and save us. Lord, we pray that you will work in our hearts today, in Jesus’ name- amen.
If we look at this parable at a 35000 ft view, we see Jesus is telling a parable in a list of parables here. Parables are short stories that tell truths. first tells a story of a shepherd with 100 sheep who loses one sheep. He leaves the 99 to seek out the 1 and when he finds it, he rejoices.
Second he tells the story of a lady who loses a coin and drops everything to search for it. when she finds it, she rejoices.
And the third parable is not too different, but what is striking is it is told from a different perspective. Instead of focusing on the one seeking, the focus is on the one being sought! So often, we don’t see how when we are lost, God is seeking us out. But we know from the previous parables, that He is actively seeking out the lost! Even though the seeking is not the primary emphasis of this third parable, we still see that the father sees the son a far way off. You don’t see something a long way off unless you are looking. Verse 20 reads
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
This third parable shows God’s grace in allowing us the role in salvation to choose to seek him. The issue of the predestination of man vs the total free will of man can be a sticky one. This issue divides churches. And I think the best thing we can tell is that if we read the scriptures without any presuppositions, we see that both the view of God’s predestination and man’s free will are both presented in scripture. Really the way I see this is that it is a wet concrete issue. some theological topics in our life need to be held with a hard reinforced concrete stance. That we are saved by grace alone through faith alone by christ alone is one of these hard reinforced concrete issues. I see this issue of predestination vs free will or as some prefer to call it with polarizing terms, the Cavinism vs Arminianism. Its just hard to take a hard stance when there is evidence for both on the discussion. I know where i land on the debate, but thats not whats important. What I think is important to point out is that if you are going to be saved, you have to make a conscious choice to seek God. Nevertheless, God is completely sovereign. some people see these two as contradictory, which is why i like this illustration of one theologians interpretation. The story goes like this, someday we will die and come to the pearly gates of heaven. Inscribed above the gate it will say “Whosoever wills may enter” if you choose to enter in, you may notice as you turn back around that the inside of the gate reads “chosen before the foundation of the world.” I like this because it points out that both can still be at play - God can be completely sovereign and yet people can have free will.
This parable shows that the story of this young son. As we go through this, i want to say that the father was searching for the son, but lets see what happens from the sons perspective:
11 And He said, “A man had two sons.
12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.
13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
11 And He said, “A man had two sons.
12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.
13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
So what we see is the father graciously divides his wealth among the sons. Let me say, we each have our own lot in life, but what is remarkable is how gracious God is to us even when we are not seeking Him! In fact, what i find remarkable looking at my life is that even though i spent so many years seeking after my own personal interests and happiness, trying to make my own estate great. Sometimes squandering it, God still graciously gave me all that I had. I believe that God, being the discerning father he is knew what i would do, yet still out of grace God gave me more than I deserved.
14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
We see that the son reaches a point of desperation. He realizes the way he was going would only lead to destruction. Thus he begins to seek out a cure.
17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
Then we see that he came to his senses. Let me ask you - have you come to your senses? or are you still trying to figure it out like like a man trying to make his way in utter darkness. Everything which you and I have on this earth has been given to us. it may not have been given to us by human hands, and sure it may be a product of your labor, but the true source is that every good and perfect gift comes from God. when we reach the end our ourselves, we can look around for ground to stand on, but we will not be satisfied until we find solid ground. ground that is the foundation of where all good and perfect things come from - God himself. The boy comes to his senses and seeks the father.
LUke 15:17-
18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
What we see here is repentance. The boy sees the error of his ways, he seeks the father and he turns from his wrong ways. That is true repentance. What a heartfelt statement of repentance. in humility he admits his wrong doing - “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight” and i love that he acknowledges that there must be change in his life. He knows he messed up is to the point of humility before his father that he is willing to do whatever it takes to be right with his father. he asks the father “make me as one of your hired men”
What we see here is repentance. The boy sees the error of his ways, he seeks the father and he turns from his wrong ways. That is true repentance. What a heartfelt statement of repentance. in humility he admits his wrong doing - “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight” and i love that he acknowledges that there must be change in his life. He knows he messed up is to the point of humility before his father that he is willing to do whatever it takes to be right with his father. he asks the father “make me as one of your hired men”
The father’s response is amazing. he doesn't scold the boy. He doesn’t punish. The humility in seeking the father is met with something more beautiful that anything else we can experience in this life:
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly 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 fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
luke 15:
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly 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 fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
luk
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly 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 fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
THE FATHER RUNS TO HIM AND EMBRACED HIM! There is nothing more beautiful than when a son turn to our father who is in heaven and humility seeks him in repentance. With immeasurable grace, the father runs and embraces them!
As we dig a little deeper, not only does the Father embrace him as our heavently father embraces us when we turn to him in repentance, but the father also re-clothes him.
In those first two parables, the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, they both share one imperative verb - “Rejoice!” In this third parable, we see the rejoicing story we see the rejoicing!
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
But the father rids of the filthy rags and clothes him with the best robe, sandals, and jewelry.
IF you ever want an interesting study through scripture. Track the word nakedness. You will see a remarkable trend. In the garden man was naked and not ashamed — that is until sin enters the picture. Then man tries to hide his nakedness from God. You see, we are spiritually naked before God without the Coverings of Jesus Christ’s atoning Blood. As God provided clothing for man through the sacrifice of the first animal in Genesis, God provides a greater covering for us through the blood of Jesus. As you continue to trace the theme of nakedness through scripture you see that it is tied to our depravity as humans and that we are all naked to Gods judgement without Jesus.
The father clothes the son and gets rid of the filthy rags.
Renewal.
This type of renewal is what we see in Jean VelJean’s life in Les Mis. In the beginning of the movie, he was living his own way. In fact his way even landed him in jail. When released he seeks to steal silver from the church but he is met with grace from God when he reaches the end of himself. the minister doesn't only let him off the hook, but he gives him even more. This changes Jean VelJean and he becomes a christian. Several years down the road, we see the obvious change this grace from God made in his life. Jean VelJean is like the first brother in this parable. The one who was lost but now is found.
Jean VelJean in Les Mis is similar to this first son. In the beginning of the movie, he was living his own way. In fact his way even landed him in jail. When released he seeks to steal silver from the church but he is met with grace from God when he reaches the end of himself. the minister doesn't only let him off the hook, but he gives him even more. This changes Jean VelJean and he becomes a christian. Several years down the road, we see the obvious change this grace from God made in his life. Jean VelJean is like the first brother in this parable. The one who was lost but now is found.
In the three parables of , when what was lost is found, celebration occurs. In those first two parables, the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, they both share one imperative verb - “Rejoice!” In this third parable, we see the rejoicing story as the father orders they prepare the fattened calf to eat.
Now as you remember, there is another character in this story. As the first brother represents those who come to God in repentance, there is a second brother:
Luke 15:25-32
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
27 “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
29 “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”
Though most of us would be quick to say that we relate with the first brother, we don't often think about how we relate to the second brother. we see the sin in our lives and we rejoice when we turn to the father in repentance. But the story of the second son is one that maybe we don't want to admit we can relate to.
The second brother is one who has walked with the father for a long while. He is one who has sought to be faithful for many years. But unfortunately, he is one who has, to some degree, forgotten the main thing.
After years of faithful service, he is embittered that such a sinner can just come back to the father and be be celebrated forgetting all that he has done. None of us want to admit that we sometimes are this way, but how bout in another situation.
Lets say you work hard at work. You also have a coworker that does the minimum to get by. When your supervisor moves up, the question is who will be promoted into his space. Your lazy co-worker goes to the one hiring and apologizes for his past laziness and commits to work hard. When it comes time for the promotion to be given, you are astonished, not only do they promote you, but they promote your co-worker to a co-managerial role. This situation would probably make you pretty mad.
You see, the first brother didn't deserve grace, he didn't deserve to be celebrated. After all, he had already squandered away everything that had been given to him. But he was shown grace. He was accepted into the kingdom.
What the hard working second brother misses though is that we are all with sin. And in Gods eyes, all sin is matched with the same penalty.
You of course know
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
I call this the nobody’s perfect verse. Everyone can acknowledge that they aren't perfect. That’s what this verse is saying. You aren't perfect, I’m not perfect.
But then we see the punishment for imperfection -
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It doesn't say the wadges of some sins is death. No, it’s the wadges of sin is death. There is no differentiation in types of sin. a wadge comes from work done. here the work is sin and the payment is death.
Here is why the second son is upset - It is hard for us to comprehend that someone who became a christian at a young age and lived a good and moral life will go to heaven in the same way as someone who lived a bad life but accepted became a christian right before death.
While this can be a hard pill to swallow, it’s remarkable how it shows how big God’s grace is. Gods grace is big enough that it can cover any sin. Gods grace can cover a thief. We see this as jesus hangs on the cross. The man next to Him was being crucified for being a thief. Nevertheless near the last moment of his life, when he places his faith in Jesus, Jesus tell him.
43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
liuke 23:
God’s grace is big enough to cover anyone’s sin at any moment. His grace is big enough to cover the sin of a murder; His grace is big enough to cover the sin of an adulterer; His grace is big enough to cover even the most wretched sin you can think of.
You may have been walking with the Lord for many many years, but regardless of how sinful you knew someone to be doesn't mean that God’s grace cannot cover them. After all it is by grace that we are saved, and not by that of our works.
Now before you start to think the thought that Paul confronts in , that is
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
let me encourage you with this contrast between the brothers. On the one hand we see the first brother-the one who used to have much sin. He may have seen some of the earthly pleasures of sin, but he also had to experience some earthly trials because of his sins. The second brother on the other hand never had the physical or emotional suffering the second brother had.
I have heard people who accepted christ at a young age say that they wish they had a testimony of someone who accepted later in life. They see it as a powerful testimony because of the life change that occurs. As someone who didn't accept christ until college, however, i think how great it would be to have accepted Christ at a young age. To have been spared the pain of some sins. To have had the joy of walking with the Lord for many more years. The power of salvation is remarkable regardless the testimony.
In this parable, Jesus is addressing the scribes and pharisees. The scribes had been doing their best to follow what they knew of God, but they missed the whole point. They missed the power of grace that was available through Jesus Christ.
Have you kept the main thing the main thing? or are upset at the grace and need a change of heart?
In the movie Les Mis we see someone who cannot comprehend the grace that Jean VelJean received.
The father brings
Now despite how we continue to see this consistent petition in these stories, to rejoice when the lost are found, as we come to the second son, we see one who is not as happy...
Tie back to opening illustration before discussing second son.
As we pick back up in the movie of Les Mis, Jean VelJean lives in his newness of life constantly putting to death his old self. Unfortunately, the world still remembers the old Jean VelJean. Officer Jaber is a man who embodies Justice and the Law. Jaber ruthelessly persues Jean VelJean. Despite Jaber constanly seeking Jean VelJean’s life, when Jaber is captured by rebel forces trying to overthrow the french government, Jean VelJean frees him and lets him go. Jaber is met with grace and reaches a crisis of faith. In one of the final scenes, Jaber has the monologue as he walks along the banister of a bridge:
How I can now allow this man To hold dominion over me This desperate man whom I have hunted He gave me my life He gave me freedom I should have perished by his hands It was his right It was my right to die as well Instead I live
And my thoughts fly apart Can this man be believed? Shall his sins be forgiven? Shall his crimes be reprieved?
And must I now begin to doubt Who never doubted all these years? My heart is stone and still it trembles The world I have known is lost in shadow Is he from heaven or from hell? And does he know That granting me my life today This man has killed me even so?
I am reaching, but I fall And the stars are black and cold As I stare into the void Of a world that cannot hold I'll escape now from that world From the world of Jean Valjean There is nowhere I can turn There is no way to go on!
Jaber then unwilling to walk in grace jumps to his death. He knew his was was wrong, but he was unwilling to change to the way of Jean ValJean. He is unwilling to accept grace. Though his life was spared, he takes it anyway.
LEt
Who are you? Are you willing to come to God in Repentance? Are you the first brother or the second brother? will you turn in repentance, seek God, and experience life change as Jean VelJean did?
Lets pray -
I want to give you a little bit of time to respond to God this morning. Maybe there is something in your life that you need to bring before God this morning. Maybe this is the first time you are truly coming before God....