The Lost Son – Part 2
Luke 15:11-32 (20-24)
December 22, 2019
We are currently in the middle of the study of
Perhaps the most famous chapter in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 15 is the chapter that contains 3 famous parables from Jesus.
• The Parable of the Lost Sheep
• The Parable of the Lost Coin
• The Parable of the Lost Son
We are now looking at the 3rd on the list.
If you have not been with us for the previous two sermons,
I must remind you again that SETTING and CONTEXT here
Are vitally important to a right understanding of these parables.
Luke 15:1-2 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Jesus, as He was known to do, has received sinners to Himself and here He is found eating with them.
• This was not the only time, in fact we have even noticed that such behavior has earned Jesus the derogatory title of “Friend of Sinners”
• We might point out at this point that if our Lord was going to have any friends at all then they would have to be sinners because humans don’t come in any other form.
But the point is that our Lord has been grumbled against
By the religious elite for being too friendly with those who are godless.
Luke says “Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble”
In response to their grumbling Jesus gave 3 parables.
The first two are identical in meaning.
The Lost Sheep & The Lost Coin both teach the same principle.
Namely that when a person loses something of value and then finds it,
They naturally rejoice over it.
Whether that is a sheep or a coin or whatever.
You rejoice when you find what was lost.
The application to these parables was clear:
Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Luke 15:10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
And so with two parables Jesus drew the line in the sand.
• The Pharisees heart was out of touch with God’s heart.
• The Scribes had no concept of who God was.
• Furthermore the Pharisees and Scribes had no affection for God because they couldn’t even rejoice in something simply because God rejoiced in it.
And if the Pharisees and scribes didn’t pick up on that from the first 2,
Then this 3rd parable should make His point crystal clear.
Jesus introduces the 3rd parable of the day.
• It is the most detailed and complete.
• It is the most shocking and appalling.
• It is the finest job of storytelling that we have perhaps ever seen.
It began in verse 11
“And He said, “A man had two sons.”
• We point that out again because by the time we finish this parable you’ll see why it is so important.
• Often times this parable is referred to as the parable of the prodigal son, but as you can see it’s about more than just one son.
This parable is about a man and his “two sons”.
Both are important to the story.
Both are important to the meaning.
Last week, we began looking at the different players in the story.
We started
#1 THE YOUNGER SON
Luke 15:11-20
And without hashing back through every detail of this boy’s life,
I would simply remind you that Jesus here created the most vile and disgusting piece of humanity imaginable to His Jewish crowd.
• This boy despised and dishonored his father.
• This boy despised and dishonored his birthright.
• This boy despised and dishonored his nation.
• This boy despised and dishonored God through his sinful living.
Every step of his story sees him sliding further and further
Into the most degrading lifestyle imaginable.
• By asking for his inheritance he in effect asked for his father’s death.
• By gathering up his inheritance he had to liquidate everything and no doubt took pennies on the dollar for it.
• By traveling to a Gentile land he offended every Jew in the audience.
• And by blowing his money on loose living he offended everyone even more.
Then a famine hit and the boy hit the absolute low point
Of wishing he was a pig just so he could eat some of the pig’s food.
And no doubt there was a sense of justice sweeping over the crowd as this boy was getting what he deserved.
But then we recognized that God began to work on this sinful boy.
Verse 17 said “But when he came to his senses”
We call that REGENERATION.
• It is God opening blind eyes.
• It is God opening deaf ears.
• It is God breathing life into a dead soul.
A lost man cannot accomplish this for himself, God must do it.
It reminds us of the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar
When God caused him to lose his sanity
And eat grass like a cow for 7 years because of his pride.
Nebuchadnezzar had no means of pulling himself out of that slump.
But the book of Daniel says:
Daniel 4:34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.”
There we see that Nebuchadnezzar’s “reason returned to [him]”
God did that.
It’s the same thing for this boy.
God initiated his repentance.
God initiated his return.
And then the boy determined to return to his father.
He even REHEARSED what he would say:
(18-20a) “I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”‘ “So he got up and came to his father.”
NOW THIS IS WHERE WE LEFT OFF LAST TIME.
We have the most sinful son imaginable on his way back home.
His hope is that his father will be merciful.
• In fact he is placing everything on that reality.
• If his father has no mercy the son will not survive.
And at this point the crowd is getting to imagine the response.
• What will the father do?
• What will the father say?
And as I told you last time, if you’re asking the crowd or the Pharisees
Then the answer is clear.
THERE IS NO COMING BACK.
(Not realistically)
To come back that boy would have to make restitution for everything.
• That entire inheritance he squandered would have to be returned (and it was gone)
• Then there would be the moral shame he would have to pay for.
• Then there would be the loss of trust that he would have to earn back.
• There would be the painful task of trying to rebuild a shattered reputation.
You understand that for this culture, realistically speaking,
There was no returning for this boy.
That ship had sailed.
That bridge was burned.
From the crowd’s perspective that boy was regarded as dead.
BUT THAT’S WHERE WE ARE IN THE STORY.
• This sinful prodigal is on his way home and we are anticipating the type of reception he’s going to receive.
Surely it can’t be good.
The Younger Son
#2 THE FATHER
Luke 15:20-24
Just as we had several outline points while looking at the younger son,
You could have several here with the father as well.
If you’re an outline type person,
I can see 7 notable realities about the father and his reception of this son.
1) HIS DESIRE (20b)
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him…”
Many have painted this as a father sort of sitting in his rocking chair on the front porch watching the road daily.
Perhaps that is the case,
But certainly we see that the father’s heart never departed from the son
Because when a figure emerges on the horizon the father immediately begins to analyze him as to whether or not it his son.
The father has never pushed the son out of his mind.
• The father has never written the son off.
• The father has never moved on from him.
• Even though the son was offensive.
• Even though the son was living far away.
• Even though the son was engaged in unacceptable behavior.
The father never quit watching for a future day of redemption.
Of course this is a picture of our God.
We can go back to the beginning of the problem.
• We can see Adam and Eve in that garden rebelling against God and bringing
with it all the sin and separation and shame.
• And even in that day, we see evidence of a Heavenly Father who is already
looking “a long way off” to the day of redemption.
Genesis 3:14-15 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Even in the day of the announcement of the curse,
God was already looking “a long way off”
To the day when He would send a Savior to crush that serpent’s head.
And such is the mentality of God throughout the Old Testament.
We have PROPHECY AFTER PROPHECY AFTER PROPHECY
Of God looking “a long way off” to the day of salvation.
AND IT IS A DAY THAT GOD LOOKS AT EAGERLY.
Point being, when we see this father, and when we think of God.
HE IS NOT A RELUCTANT SAVIOR
This father is not watching the road hoping to never see that boy.
He is watching the road with anticipation.
This is the mindset bound up in those famous verses:
1 Timothy 2:3-4 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
The Father is eager for His sons to come home.
That is clearly His desire.
2) HIS COMPASSION (20c)
“and felt compassion for him”
The word “compassion” here is: SPLANCHNIZOMAI (splank-need-zo-my)
The root word SPLANCHNA refers to the gut or the bowels.
The word Jesus uses means
“to be moved in the gut” or “to be moved in the bowels”
The ancient east saw the gut as the seat of emotion.
This is where joy and love and other emotions came from.
Today we would speak of it as “the heart”
• When we say “I love you with all my heart”
• I suppose they’d say “I love you with all my bowels”
The point is that the boys appearance
Hurt the father in the deepest parts of his gut.
We might say, “It made his heart hurt”.
We see this of Jesus in the gospels:
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
• When Jesus saw that these people were skinned and discarded sheep, He inwardly hurt for them.
We see it again:
Matthew 14:14 “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”
• And you see it often times with Jesus.
• He just hurt for the plight of humanity.
That is where the father is in this story.
His feeling toward the son
Is TOTALLY DIFFERENT than everyone in the crowd is feeling.
The crowd no doubt felt that the son was getting what he deserved.
• Some may have even been happy about his plight and pig feeding.
• There was a sense of satisfaction that this boy’s choices had led to suffering.
The crowd did not hurt for this boy, they were angry at this boy
And were at the very least somewhat satisfied by his hardships.
But the father, in contrast, hurt for his son.
• He hurt that his son was clearly malnourished…
• He hurt that his son had suffered the humiliation of feeding pigs…
• He hurt that his son had traveled all this way with no help from anyone…
• He could look at his son and see that even though the son had brought this on himself, his life had been horrifically hard.
And regardless of just consequences
The father’s heart ached that his son had
Had to walk through such pain and reproach and suffering.
And that is so true of Jesus.
Certainly when He came the objective
Was to demonstrate His deity through miraculous works.
He continually revealed that He could do what only God could do
And thus was here to demonstrate His deity.
And yet, most of the time when He did do miraculous works of demonstration, they at the same time relieved the suffering of people.
• He was healing lepers…
• He was giving dead children back to their parents…
• He was healing the sick…
• He was removing demons…
Even if these people brought their infirmities on themselves
Jesus still hurt for them and so often worked to ease their suffering.
IT WAS COMPASSION.
And that is what the Father felt for the son.
NOW, AT THIS POINT IN THE STORY,
The crowd is growing a little uneasy toward the father here.
No doubt the expectation
• Is that the father should banish this son or stone this son,
• Or totally ignore him or something.
This son deserved justice for what he did,
AND IT IS NOT COMFORTING TO THE CROWD
To see that this father has compassion.
But, the father hasn’t done anything wrong in their eyes…yet…
If that father will bury that sympathy and see that justice is served
Then this story will end just as the crowd expects.
And it will be a wonderful story
• About how you can’t disregard the commands of God and get away with it.
• It will be a story to go and tell other people in order to warn them of the dangers of sinful living and how if you mess up there is a price to pay.
The father can still salvage the story.
The boy will be the villain
And the father will be a great example of truth and justice.
But, oh, Jesus is about to blow their minds.
3) HIS APPROACH (20d)
“and ran”
Now let me be clear here for you.
It is so important that you UNDERSTAND THE CROWD Jesus is talking to and their mindset.
If you are one who writes in your Bible
Then CIRCLE those two words “and ran”.
And make for yourself a little note in your margin.
THIS IS THE MOST APPALLING ASPECT OF THE ENTIRE STORY
As bad as that boy was…
As sinful as his choices where…
NOTHING is more scandalous and more appalling to this crowd
Than the fact that this father ran to this son.
DIGNIFIED JEWISH MEN DID NOT RUN.
• Running required lifting the garment which exposed the legs.
• Running was done by criminals who needed to escape.
• Running was for children.
Dignified Jewish men did not run.
Now to further illustrate this, I want to read you a quote from a man named Kenneth Bailey who was a Bible commentary writer who spent time living in the Middle Eastern culture. (I’m getting this from that book “A Tale of Two Sons” that I told you to read)
• Bailey is talking about when Arabic or middle eastern men translate the
Bible from the Greek into the Arabic.
• And he is referring to how hard it is for those men to translate that this father
ran.
Here is what Bailey says:
“The reluctance on the part of the Arabic versions to let the father run is amazing…For a thousand years a wide range of such phrases were employed (almost as if there was a conspiracy) to avoid the humiliating truth of the text – the father ran! The explanation for all of this is simple. The tradition identified the father with God, and running in public is too humiliating to attribute to a person who symbolizes with God. Not until 1860, with the appearance of the Bustani-Van Dyck Arabic Bible, does the father appear running. The work sheets of the translators are available to me and even in that great version the first rendition of the Greek was “he hurried,” and only in the second round of the translation process does rakada (he ran) appear.”
(MacArthur, John [A Tale of Two Sons, Thomas Nelson Publishers; Dallas, TX; 2008] pg. 114)
Did you catch that?
Even for 1800 years after Jesus gave this parable
Middle Eastern translators were unwilling to accept
That Jesus said that this father ran to his son.
It’s just too scandalous.
It’s just too unthinkable.
Now, this is NOT THE FIRST humiliating thing the father has done.
Remember,
• We saw last time how when the son asked for the inheritance the father should
have publicly shamed him, but instead the father gave him the inheritance.
• That made the father appear weak and spineless.
But this sort of completes the picture
And makes the father look foolish and shameful.
All of a sudden in this story, the father is now an equal recipient
Of the shame and reproach that the crowd is feeling.
BUT WHY WOULD THIS FATHER RUN?
Some would say, “Because he was eager to see his son.”
And certainly we can’t argue with that.
But I think there is a bigger reason.
This father is running to the son
Because the father is desperate to be the first person to get to him.
AND TO SAVE HIM FROM SHAME.
• What sort of shame and scorn and reproach will this son receive if he makes it to the town square?
• What sort of humiliation will there be for this boy if the elders of the city see him first?
• What sort of judgment might be inflicted upon him if he is recognized by the community first?
The father is running here
Because he is desperate to get to the son first
And to be able to deflect the shame that is coming his way.
In short, the father is bearing shame to save his son from any more.
The father is bearing humiliation so that the son might not have to.
It is mindboggling to the story.
And we’re not done.
4) HIS AFFECTION (20e)
“and embraced him and kissed him.”
• He DIDN’T run to the son to stone the son.
• He DIDN’T run in rage.
• He ran in love.
This son was dirty and foul.
This son was thin and likely smelled like a pig.
IN TODAY’S CULTURE,
Imagine a son coming home who had spent the last few years strung out on drugs, sleeping with prostitutes, engaging in immoral behavior.
• We’d have mental images of depravation…
• We’d have mental images of missing teeth…
• We’d have mental images of scars and scabs and markings…
• We’d have mental images of ratty and smelly clothes…
This son is not attractive.
This son is filthy.
And yet the father “embraced him and kissed him”
• It is akin to Jesus touching lepers…
• It is akin to Jesus loving the least…
And at the moment,
More important to the father than his own comfort;
More important to the father than his own reputation;
More important to the father than anything
Was that this son know that his father loved him.
And the crowd can’t believe it.
This father to them is surely a disgrace.
5) HIS INTERRUPTION (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.”
If you’ll remember,
From the point that the son come to his senses back in the pigpen
He has been REHEARSING exactly what he would say to his father.
And it was this:
“Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”‘
There’s probably no telling how many times on the way home
The boy rehearsed exactly what he was going to say.
After all, his entire hope rested upon the mercy of his father,
And so saying the right thing in the right way would seem crucial.
But if you notice here in verse 21,
The son isn’t able to even get his entire speech out of his mouth
Before the father cuts him off.
It is apparent that the son’s humility and return were enough.
The father isn’t looking for further conditions.
6) HIS COVERING (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;”
Again you notice the word “quickly” since the father
Is no doubt seeking to save his son from any further shame.
And the father calls for 3 gifts to be brought to his returned son.
“the best robe” which was A PICTURE OF HONOR.
Literally in the Greek “first-ranking garment”
MacArthur noted that:
“Every nobleman had a choice robe – an expensive, ornate, embroidered, one-of-a-kind, floor-length outer garment of the highest quality fabric and craftsmanship. It was a garment that was so special that he wouldn’t even think of wearing it as a guest to someone else’s wedding. It would be reserved instead for his own children’s weddings or equivalent occasions…Giving him the robe signified a greater honor than one would normally even think to confer on a son”
(ibid pg. 129)
The father wasn’t just covering the son, the father was honoring the son.
• The boy would no longer be clothed in filth and shame.
• The boy would now be recognizable by the family robe.
• The boy would now be well adorned in spender and glory.
How shocking this would have been to the crowd that
The father would waste such lavish honor on pig-feeding immoral rebel.
“a ring” which was A SYMBOL OF AUTHORITY.
• It was the signet ring that (like used to make a wax seal impression)
• And which entitled the boy to make decisions on behalf of his father and his father’s estate.
This brings its own problems.
• At the beginning of the story the father already divvied up the wealth.
• The younger son received his 1/3 and the older would have received his 2/3.
To give that ring to that young son was in essence
Giving him an additional share of the inheritance that was there.
Do the words, “NOT FAIR!” come to mind?
Would this father really bring this foul, immoral, offensive rebel
Back into his home and give him the same inheritance
As the son who had done nothing wrong?
We can hear the moans of the crowd!
• We can hear the complaints and the murmuring!
• I believe “grumble” was the word Luke used back in verse 2 of the chapter.
This can hardly seem fair, that younger boy doesn’t deserve this!
“sandals” which were A PICTURE OF SONSHIP.
• Hired slaves and usually went barefoot.
• It was the sons who wore shoes.
When the father gave this boy those shoes
He was making an emphatic statement that
This boy was not some random hired hand.
This boy was his son.
And certainly by now you can hear the crowd GRASPING.
Some may have even wanted to walk away in DISGUST.
This father just embarrassed himself
By lavishing undeserved glory on this son
Who had already ruined any chance he should have ever had.
And then the final straw of shock to the crowd.
7) HIS CELEBRATION (23-24)
“and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 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.”
This just takes the cake.
• It’s bad enough that the father pitied the son…
• It’s bad enough that the father ran to the son…
• It’s bad enough that the father reinstated the son…
• BUT A PUBLIC CELEBRATION?
Are you kidding me!
If this son was to be brought back (something no one thought should happen) then at the very least you DO SO QUIETLY.
You lock this boy away in his room or in the far field
And you meet his needs without anyone really knowing about it.
BUT CELEBRATING OVER THE RETURN OF THIS BOY
IS BOUND TO BRING OUT THE PUBLIC GOSSIP.
But what you begin to realize is that this banquet isn’t as much about the son as it is about the father.
• This banquet is so the father can rejoice.
• This banquet is so the father can celebrate.
Do we remember those first two parables?
What did the man do when he found his lost sheep?
• He called “together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”
What did the woman do when she found her coin?
• She called “her friends and neighbors saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’”
What did Jesus do when his lost sheep were found?
• Luke 15:1 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.”
• Luke 5:29 “And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.”
YOU’RE SEEING IT AREN’T YOU?
These tax collectors and sinners
• Were the unworthy sinners
• Who had blown any hope they should have ever had at ever coming home again.
But Jesus (the father in the story)
• Is so compassionate and merciful,
• That not only does he eagerly wait for his sons to return,
• But he runs to them,
• And covers them from shame,
• And clothes them in his own righteous robe,
• And shares his authority with them,
• And calls them a son…
AND HE CELEBRATES!
There is rejoicing in heaven!
This father in the story is Jesus.
• He bore shame and reproach for His mercy.
• He bore ridicule for forgiving sinners.
• He was grumbled about for accepting those who did not deserve it.
• He was in fact a “Friend of Sinners”
No one had ever seen mercy like what Jesus was offering to people.
• It didn’t matter where you had been.
• It didn’t matter what you had done.
• It didn’t matter the level of your rebellion.
If you would humble yourself in repentance
And come throw yourself on His mercy
Then He would forgive and reinstate as if it had never happened.
He would rejoice and celebrate over the salvation of his lost sons.
That is certainly why this parable is so often used as an evangelistic story
Because it shows us so clearly
The merciful and forgiving and gracious heart of our Savior.
It is a reminder to every sinner that
If you will humble yourself and come to Him
You will find the mercy you long for.
There are many of us in this room, who like that younger son
• Fell into sin in our lives.
• By God’s grace, came to our senses.
• Came back to our Savior in hopes of His mercy.
And not a single person in this room found Him unwilling.
He welcomed us home.
And this is also why we are going to have the Lord’s Supper this morning.
• It is a reminder of the One who bore our sin and bore our shame.
• It is a reminder of the One who clothed us in His righteous robe.
• It is a reminder of the One who calls us sons and daughters.
• It is a reminder of the One who gave us His authority and inheritance.
WE PARTAKE THIS MORNING REMEMBERING HIM.
THE FEAST IS NOT ABOUT US, IT’S ABOUT HIM
When you partake of that bread, see His flesh.
• See His perfect robe.
• The robe He crafted out of His own righteous life.
• The robe reserved for His own glory.
And see that He chose to put that robe on you
While taking upon Himself your filthy rags.
When you partake of that juice, see His blood.
• See the shame and reproach He bore.
• See what it cost Him to accept you.
• Someone had to absorb the price of that younger son’s exploits.
• Someone had to absorb the cost of our sinful choices.
Only the father could do that.
Only Jesus did it for us.
So as we partake this morning we celebrate.
We celebrate a merciful Savior
Who welcomed us back despite what we have done.
As always, we are going to have a time of preparation
If you are a child of God this is a great time for gratitude and thanksgiving and humility, remembering again what He did for you.
If you are lost, this is a great time for you to run to the Savior and ask Him to forgive you of your sins against Him.
But during this time of preparation
You prepare your heart for communion with our Savior.
