Lucas 15

Lucas 15

Murray - read full article here - Prodigal Son OBSERVATIONS If you’re fed up, tired of your parents’ strictures, and just waiting for the first opportunity to go to the far country, I beg you to reconsider your plans. Most prodigals don’t come back. Some find success and don’t come back. Many find death and can’t come back. Your restlessness is rebellion against love. Don’t minimize it by renaming it “sowing your wild oats,” “my time in the world,” or “trying it out.” It’s sin, and it’s sin against love. If you’re now living “free,” you’re probably not reading this; but you might be. Though you’re probably not in the normal places where Tabletalk is found, God has found many a faraway prodigal in faraway countries with this little magazine. I ask you this: How free are you really? Free enough to walk away from your habits and lifestyle right now if you wanted? You’re not, are you? What you call freedom is made up of multiple invisible chains, all the more deadly because they are rarely seen or felt. If you’re famished, you know it’s because the more you’ve consumed, the hungrier you’ve become; the more you’ve drunk, the thirstier you’ve become; the more pleasure you’ve sought, the sadder you’ve become. Guilt has hollowed out and dried up your soul. Now nothing satisfies. Feel it. Sense it. Admit it. Look at the filthy mess you’re in. Sin sickens you, doesn’t it? It didn’t once. It used to taste so sweet and satisfying, for a moment or two at least. Now it disgusts you and makes you sick. The good news is that such sickness is a sign of returning health. If you’re seeing how foolish you are, that’s a good sign, too. It actually means that you are coming to your senses, and that’s the first step of coming to Christ. You are seeing the insanity of sin. Now and then you say, “I must be going crazy.” But these are the most sensible thoughts you’ve had in a long time. Seeing your foolishness is the first sign of wisdom. You’re finished with sin, aren’t you? You’re finished with yourself, even. You’ve had enough. You’ve drawn a line in the sand and said, “I’m going no further. I’m done with my sin, and I’m going to retrace my steps to see if I can find a way back to the Father.” The good news is that you’re already on the way back. To finish with sin is to start with salvation. To repent is to believe, and to believe is to repent. Forgiveness awaits. Beg for it and be assured that you will receive it. You think you’re heading home to your Father, but your Father has already left home to find you and bring you the rest of the way. Look, He’s running, He’s coming, He’s hugging, He’s kissing, He’s calling, He’s enjoying, He’s celebrating. There’s nothing He enjoys more than forgiving. Why not enjoy it, too, through His perfect Son, Jesus Christ? Vance Havner - The Prodigal Son The parable is the third in a series about lost things. Many times we have been told that the coin was lost, but did not know it was lost; the sheep knew it was lost, but did not know how to get home; the prodigal was lost and knew the way home. The prodigal came first to his father. “And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living” (Luke 15:11, 12). In the second place, the prodigal came to the far country. The far country is not hard to find. You can enter it right where you are; you do not have to go to Las Vegas. In the third place, the prodigal son came to want. “ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want” (Luke 15:14). At the end of his trail of woe, the prodigal came to himself. This prodigal saw himself as a sinner and resolved to say when he got home, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight. The prodigal came back home. You know the blessed details of his return: the father’s greeting, the robe, the ring, the shoes, the fatted calf, the feast, and the music and dancing. Our Lord made His message joyous good news. God’s grace does not set up a funeral on one hand or a frolic on the other but a feast. There is joy on earth and in heaven over repentant sinners who come home. QUESTION - What is the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son? WATCH VIDEO ANSWER - The Parable of the Prodigal Son is found in Luke 15:11–32. The character of the forgiving father, who remains constant throughout the story, is a picture of God. In telling the story, Jesus identifies Himself with God in His loving attitude toward the lost, symbolized by the younger son (the tax collectors and sinners of Luke 15:1). The elder brother represents the self-righteous (the Pharisees and teachers of the law of Luke 15:2). The major theme of this parable is not so much the conversion of the sinner, as in the previous two parables of Luke 15, but rather the restoration of a believer into fellowship with the Father. In the first two parables, the owner went out to look for what was lost (Luke 15:1–10), whereas in this story the father waits and watches eagerly for his son’s return. We see a progression through the three parables from the relationship of one in a hundred (Luke 15:1–7), to one in ten (Luke 15:8–10), to one in one (Luke 15:11–32), demonstrating God’s love for each individual and His personal attentiveness toward all humanity. We see in this story the graciousness of the father overshadowing the sinfulness of the son, as it is the memory of the father’s goodness that brings the prodigal son to repentance (Romans 2:4). Jesus sets the scene for the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11: “There was a man who had two sons.” The Younger Son In Luke 15:12, the younger son asks his father for his share of his estate, which would have been half of what his older brother would receive (see Deuteronomy 21:17). In other words, the younger son asked for 1/3 of the estate. Though it was perfectly within his rights to ask, it was not a loving thing to do, as it implied that he wished his father dead. Instead of rebuking his son, the father patiently grants him his request. This is a picture of God letting a sinner go his own way (Deuteronomy 30:19). Like the prodigal son, we all possess a foolish ambition to be independent, which is at the root of the sinner persisting in his sin (Genesis 3:6; Romans 1:28). A sinful state is a departure and distance from God (Romans 1:21). A sinful state is also a place of constant discontent. In Luke 12:15 Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” The younger son in the parable learned the hard way that covetousness leads to a life of dissatisfaction and disappointment. He also learned that the most valuable things in life are the things we cannot buy or replace. In Luke 15:13 the younger son travels to a distant country. It is evident from his previous actions that he had already made that journey in his heart, and the physical departure was a display of his willful disobedience to all the goodness his father had offered (Proverbs 27:19; Matthew 6:21; 12:34). In the foreign land, the prodigal squanders all his inheritance on selfish, shallow fulfillment, losing everything. His financial disaster is followed by a natural disaster in the form of a famine, which he failed to plan for. At this point he hires himself out to a Gentile and finds himself feeding pigs, a detestable job to the Jewish people (Leviticus 11:7). Needless to say, the prodigal must have been incredibly desperate to willingly take such a loathsome position. He was paid so little and grew so hungry that he longed to eat the pig’s food. To top it off, he could find no mercy among the people he had chosen as his own: “No one gave him anything” (verse 16). Apparently, once his wealth was gone, so were his friends. Even the unclean animals were better off than he was at that point. The prodigal son toiling in the pig pen is a picture of the lost sinner or a rebellious Christian who has returned to a life of sin (2 Peter 2:19–21). The results of sin are never pretty (James 1:14–15). The prodigal son begins to reflect on his miserable condition, and “he came to his senses” (Luke 15:17). He realizes that even his father’s servants have it better. His painful circumstances help him to see his father in a new light. Hope begins to dawn in his heart (Psalm 147:11; Isaiah 40:30–31; 1 Timothy 4:10). The prodigal’s realization is reflective of the sinner’s discovery that, apart from God, there is no hope (Ephesians 2:12; 2 Timothy 2:25–26). When a sinner “comes to his senses,” repentance follows, along with a longing to return to fellowship with God. The son devises a plan of action, and it shows that his repentance was genuine. He will admit his sin (Luke 15:18), and he will give up his rights as a son and take on the position of a servant (verse 19). He realizes he has no right to a blessing from his father, and he has nothing to offer his father except a life of service. Returning home, the prodigal son is prepared to fall at his father’s feet and beg for mercy. In the same way, a repentant sinner coming to God is keenly aware of his own spiritual poverty. Laying aside all pride and feelings of entitlement, he brings nothing of value with him. The sinner’s only thought is to cast himself at the mercy of God and beg for a position of servitude (1 John 1:9; Romans 6:6–18; 12:1). The Father The father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son was waiting for his son to return. In fact, “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him” (Luke 15:20). He runs to his wayward son, embraces him, and kisses him. In Jesus’ day, it was not customary for a grown man to run, yet the father runs to greet his son, breaking convention in his love and desire for restoration (verse 20). The returning son begins his prepared speech (verse 21), but his father cuts him off and begins issuing commands to honor his son—the best robe, the best ring, the best feast! The father does not question his son or lecture him; instead, he joyfully forgives him and receives him back into fellowship. What a picture of God’s love, condescension, and grace! God’s heart is full of compassion for His children; He stands ready to welcome the returning sinner back home with joyous celebration. The prodigal son was satisfied to return home as a slave, but to his surprise and delight he is restored back into the full privilege of being his father’s son. The weary, gaunt, filthy sinner who trudged home was transformed into the guest of honor in a rich man’s home. That is what God’s grace does for a penitent sinner (Psalm 40:2; 103:4). Not only are we forgiven in Christ, but we receive the Spirit of “adoption to sonship” (Romans 8:15). We are His children, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). The father’s command to bring the best robe for the returned son is a sign of dignity and honor, proof of the prodigal’s acceptance back into the family. The ring for the son’s hand is a sign of authority and sonship. The sandals for his feet are a sign of his not being a servant, as servants did not wear shoes. The father orders the fattened calf to be prepared, and a party is held in honor of the returned son. Fatted calves in those times were saved for special occasions. This was not just any party; it was a rare and complete celebration. All these things represent what we receive in Christ upon salvation: the robe of the Redeemer’s righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), the privilege of partaking of the Spirit of adoption (Ephesians 1:5), and feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, prepared to walk in the ways of holiness (Ephesians 6:15). The actions of the father in the parable show us that “the Lord does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (Psalm 103:10–13). Instead of condemnation, there is rejoicing for a son who “was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32; cf. Romans 8:1; John 5:24). Those words—dead and alive, lost and found—are terms that also apply to one’s state before and after conversion to Christ (Ephesians 2:1–5). The feast is a picture of what occurs in heaven over one repentant sinner (Luke 15:7, 10). The Older Son The final, tragic character in the Parable of the Prodigal Son is the older son. As the older son comes in from the field, he hears music and dancing. He finds out from one of the servants that his younger brother has come home and that what he hears is the sound of jubilation over his brother’s safe return. The older brother becomes angry and refuses to go into the house. His father goes to his older son and pleads with him to come in. “But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve 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 has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’” (Luke 15:29–30). The father answers gently: “My son, . . . you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad” (verses 31–32). The older son’s words and actions reveal several things about him: 1) His relationship with his father was based on works and merit. He points out to his father that he has always been obedient as he’s been “slaving away”; thus, he deserves a party—he has earned it. 2) He despises his younger brother as undeserving of the father’s favor. 3) He does not understand grace and has no room for forgiveness. In fact, the demonstration of grace toward his brother makes him angry. His brother does not deserve a party. 4) He has disowned the prodigal as a brother, referring to him as “this son of yours” (verse 30). 5) He thinks his father is stingy and unfair: “You never gave me even a young goat” (verse 29). The father’s words are corrective in several ways: 1) His older son should know that their relationship is not based on performance: “My son, . . . you are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (Luke 15:31). 2) His older son should accept his brother as part of the family. The father refers to the prodigal as “this brother of yours” (verse 32). 3) His older son could have enjoyed a party any time he wanted, but he never utilized the blessings at his disposal. 4) Grace is necessary and appropriate: “We had to celebrate” (verse 32). The Pharisees and the teachers of the law, mentioned in Luke 15:1, are portrayed as the older brother in the parable. Outwardly, they lived blameless lives, but inwardly their attitudes were abominable (Matthew 23:25–28). They saw their relationship with God as based on their performance, and they considered themselves deserving of God’s favor—unlike the undeserving sinners around them. They did not understand grace and were, in fact, angered by it. They had no room for forgiveness. They saw no kinship between sinners and themselves. They viewed God as rather stingy in His blessings. And they considered that, if God were to accept tax collectors and sinners into His family, then God would be unfair. The older brother’s focus was on himself and his own service; as a result, he had no joy in his brother’s arrival home. He was so consumed with justice and equity (as he saw them) that he failed to see the value of his brother’s repentance and return. The older brother had allowed bitterness to take root in his heart to the point that he was unable to show compassion toward his brother. The bitterness spilled over into other relationships, too, and he was unable to forgive the perceived sin of his father against him. Rather than enjoy fellowship with his father, brother, and community, the older brother stayed outside the house and nursed his anger. How sad to choose misery and isolation over restoration and reconciliation! The older brother—and the religious leaders of Jesus’ day—failed to realize that “anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him” (1 John 2:9–11). The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of Scripture’s most beautiful pictures of God’s grace. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are all prodigals in that we have run from God, selfishly squandered our resources, and, to some degree, wallowed in sin. But God is ready to forgive. He will save the contrite, not by works but by His grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:9; Romans 9:16; Psalm 51:5). That is the core message of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. THE PRODIGAL SON Remember the story of the prodigal son? Most retellings of the parable focus closely on the wayward son. But there’s another son in the parable, the resentful and grumpy older brother. As the party rang in the distance, he sulked that even though he had never asked his father for anything, he now had to watch him lavish gifts on his ungrateful brother. Have you ever been the older brother? Have you wondered why God chose to bless someone else, someone who didn’t appear to deserve it? If so, the father’s words to his son might be meaningful for you as well: “You have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found” (Luke 15:31-32 NASB). Like the father in the parable, God richly blesses us every day. When He throws a party for someone else, we should celebrate too, knowing what a good God we have. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. LUKE 15:23-24 (See Inspired Faith - 365 Days a Year: Daily Motivation in God's Word) J. Ellis - Pointed and Practical Sermon Outlines PRODIGAL SON, THE.—Divisions of the parable (Luke 15:17). The fatherland. Leaving home. The far country. Riotous living. A mighty famine. Feeding swine. A wise resolution. A happy meeting. The best robe. The festival. An angry brother. A righteous father. Come Home! Your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found. —Luke 15:32 Several years ago, my wife Carolyn and I camped near the town of Brimley, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was a holiday, and we ambled into town for the annual parade. Believe me, it was something to write home about. There were marshals on horseback, homecoming queens, forest rangers, even Smokey Bear! There was a float featuring Big Bird from Sesame Street, and a flatbed truck carrying a brass band of men and women wearing straw hats and dressed in red-white-and-blue uniforms. There were vehicles of all kinds: tractors, trailers, trucks, and kids on tricycles. But the last float fully captured our attention. It featured a gray-haired old man kneeling at the foot of a cross. Across the back of the float was written: “COME HOME!” —JESUS Jesus still calls, “Come home!” You’re never too far away or too far gone to come back to your Father’s love. He stands waiting, just as the father of the prodigal son did. “When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion” (Luke 15:20). He rejoiced that his son was no longer lost (v.32). O Lord, it's true, I've wandered far From what I know is right, But now I want to come back home And please You day and night. —K. De Haan It's never too soon to come home to God. What Makes You Happy? It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again. —Luke 15:32 Mr. Mactavish was gone. I wanted to wait until morning to see if he would come back on his own. But the look on the other family members’ faces vetoed that idea. So we climbed into the car to begin looking for our wayward Scottish terrier. As we drove down street after street, calling his name and peering intently into the darkness, even I became sentimental. What if he got hit by a car? What if someone else picked him up? What if we never saw him again? We eventually found him. And by the time we did, I was as happy as the rest of the family to see him. Even though he was a mess—mud-soaked and foul-smelling—Mac was a sight for sore eyes. In fact, at that moment my family appeared to be far happier about finding and being with that dirty dog than we were about being with one another. Does that mean we loved Mac more than we loved one another? Of course not. Neither does showing special affection for a repentant alcoholic, adulterer, or enemy indicate that we love others any less. It means that we have enough of God’s love to celebrate with the kind of joy He feels when a dearly loved rebel comes home. Repentant sinners who come home Deserve our love and caring touch; For who are we to withhold love When God's forgiven us so much? —Sper Those who deserve love the least need it the most. AI Generated Synopsis of The Prodigal Son The parable of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15, teaches several important lessons. In this story, a young man asks his father for his inheritance and then leaves home, squandering all the money in "riotous living" in a far country 1 2. When a famine strikes, the son finds himself in dire poverty and decides to return home 1 2. Upon his arrival, the father, who had been waiting for his return, welcomes him with unconditional forgiveness and celebration 1 2 3. The parable also includes an elder brother who refuses to participate in the homecoming festivities, representing a critique of those who judge repentant sinners 2. This story is often interpreted as an illustration of God's forgiveness and willingness to welcome back those who have strayed from faith 3. The parable has been influential in religious teachings on repentance and has inspired numerous works of art, literature, and music throughout history 4. 1 Thomas Nelson, Awesome Bible Kids (Nashville, TN: Tommy Nelson, 2004). 2 David L. Jeffrey, in A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992). 3 Gordon R. Coulter and James W. Thompson, “A Theology of Grandparenting and Generational Faith,” in A Theology for Family Ministry (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 143. 4 John F. A. Sawyer, “Prodigal Son,” in A Concise Dictionary of the Bible and Its Reception (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 212. Prodigal As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, there is no place like home. PRODIGAL SON “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living LUKE 15:13 NIV The Prodigal Son is a sterling example of bad decision-making. He couldn’t wait to get his money before he ran off to a strange land to spend it. Finally, destitute, he landed in a field, tending pigs. We tend to look at the son and feel some pride. We’ve never done such a thing, have we? We ask ourselves how he could have been so foolish, and we feel good about ourselves. But in doing so, we miss the point of Jesus’ parable. We are all prodigals who ran from God; none of us made a good choice until we turned to follow Him. The Prodigal Son, who runs back to his father when he’s in trouble, is actually a good example because he does that. But we often forget about this son’s good choice, a choice we need to share. When we make bad choices, are we ready to turn to the Father who loves us? Or will we so fear Him that we avoid His face? Can we turn to Him, asking forgiveness? Be assured that your Father loves you and is calling you home. No mistake or sin of yours can stop His love (Letting Go and Trusting God) (CAVEAT - REMEMBER LET GO, LET GOD IS NOT BIBLICAL - THE BIBLICAL PATTERN IS "LET GOD, LET'S GO" AND THE PRODIGAL DID JUST THAT - HE REPENTED AND RETURNED). The Prodigal Son Though we stray in headlong fashion and often come to a crisis as serious as did the prodigal son, our Heavenly Father waits with open arms to receive us, His penitent children. One of the best–known parables of Jesus was that of the prodigal son. It is the story of a father and his two sons. The father was “comfortably fixed,” as we would say. The younger son was a restless type who wanted everything now and not as an inheritance. He was brash enough to ask for his share of the inheritance, and the father gave it to him. You likely know the rest. The son blew the inheritance on “wild living.” That was not the last time a prodigal son or daughter ended up broke. At the same time, a severe famine had hit his new country, and the prodigal son was needy— even hungry. He secured a job, of sorts, with a local farmer who put him to work feeding pigs. At this crisis point in his life, the young man finally came to his senses. Realizing he had made an utter failure of his life, he decided to eat some “humble pie.” Not demanding or even expecting anything, he decided to return home as a very needy man and seek work as one of his father’s servants. He went home, and while he was still a long way off, the Scriptures tell us, his father spotted him. Compassionately, the father ran to his penitent son and threw his arms around him to welcome him back. The father told his servants to bring a fattened calf and kill it. “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:23–24). The point of this parable is obvious . . . lovingly obvious. Jesus was teaching us about our Heavenly Father. Though we stray in headlong fashion and often come to a crisis as serious as did the prodigal son, our Heavenly Father waits with open arms to receive us, His penitent children. That’s what repentance means, very simply. “I tell you,” said Jesus, “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The book of Hebrews adds in the fourth chapter, verse 16: “Let us then approach the throne of grace [i.e. an awaiting Heavenly Father] with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Beyond the Horizon - Daily Devotions for Seniors) The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-24-32- Wade Horton (Borrow Sound Scriptural Sermon Outlines) This is a PARABLE OF LOSS The father lost a son Fellowship The son lost the comforts of a home The companionship of a family He became lost to himself The parable emphasizes the love that a father can have for his children. There are many instances of deep paternal love in Scripture. JACOB: "If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." "Ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." DAVID: And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went thus he said, "O my son Absolom, my son, my son Absolom! would God I had died for thee. O Absolom, my son, my son!" JOB: When the days of his seven sons and three daughters feasting were gone about, Job rose up and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus did Job continually. The rupture—separation of father and son—may have come after long conflict and heartache. The Prodigal said: "Give me the portion... that falleth to me." This attitude reflected a basic difference in the philosophy of the son and his father. It contrasted: Pleasure with work Luxury with prudence Wastefulness with temperance At last the differences were made clear: Self-indulgence Indolence His choice of friends The son was spoken of as being "lost" and "dead." o LOST— ▪ To himself ▪ To his father ▪ To reality o DEAD— ▪ In rebellion ▪ In sin ▪ In self-realization Like a person who had been out of his mind, it is said that, "He came to HIMSELF...." His confusion was like that of modern youth—addled, befuddled, often schizoid. When he became willing to face up to himself he became willing to face his father: "He arose, and came to HIS FATHER." The Father and benefactor, the friend and counselor, had become a stranger to dread and to fear. But the Father greeted the son with: • FORGIVENESS—There was no bitterness or recrimination. • LOVE—He fell on his neck in affection. • ROBE—Which signified a new beginning • RING—A signet ring, which signified authority and responsibility • FEAST—The joy of reunion—fellowship, rejoicing —Charles W. Conn INTRODUCTION: This is a story of tragedy and of triumph. The tragedy his leaving home, where blessings were many—love, shelter, protection, and fellowship of family and friends. The triumph was that "he arose, and came to his father" (v. 20). He saw himself and returned home. I. HIS DEPARTURE A. He said, "Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me" (v. 12). B. His father responded and granted his request. C. He gathered everything he had and departed—departed from home into a world of which he knew nothing. D. The same thing happens spiritually. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12). II. HIS DISTANCE A. He "took his journey into a far country" (v. 13). B. From a good home to a filthy hogpen C. He, perhaps, had a vision of a better life in a new country, but he soon saw that home was the best place in all the world. D. Spiritually, when a Christian leaves God, he is estranged from all that is good, pure, wholesome, and sound. He is really in a far country. E. "... though he be not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27). F. "Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). III. HIS DEGRADATION A. He "wasted his substance with riotous living" (v. 13). B. "When he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine... and he began to be in want" (v. 14). C. "He joined himself to a citizen of that country" (v. 15) as a servant and was sent to feed the swine. Jews would not feed swine! D. Spiritually, the same things happen—all is spent, no friends, away from God, out of reach. IV. HIS DISGUST A. "He would... have filled his belly with the husks" (v. 16). B. So disgusted, he would do the disgusting things. C. And to make matters worse, "no man gave unto him." D. No doubt he had given parties, spent money on drink, food, and good times, and now no one cared about him. E. When he hit the bottom, all left him. That same thing holds true today. V. HIS DISCOVERY A. "And when he came to himself [Oh, thank God! He came to himself!], he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" (v. 17). B. Yes, he saw himself! What a discovery! How foolish he had been! C. He was far from home, perishing with hunger, and his father's house was full—plenty of love, food, and forgiveness. VI. HIS DETERMINATION A. "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father" (vv. 18-20). B. Would to God that more sinners and backsliders would be determined to arise and return to the Father's house! VII. WHAT WAS HIS FATHER'S ATTITUDE? A. It could have been a refusal. It could have been a coldhearted "Come in." But neither of these fit the occasion. B. He welcomed him with open arms! 1. Reception—"When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (v. 20). The prodigal testified of what had happened. 2. Forgiveness—He not only received his son, but he also had compassion. God forgives us (1 John 1:9). 3. Feasting—"Bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry" (vv. 23, 24). This was perhaps the greatest feast day this family had ever observed. What joy and happiness permeated that home. CONCLUSION: Oh, that all sinners and backsliders could see this great need of returning. The Father awaits with open arms. Please remember that the heavenly Father loves you. Repent and He will forgive you. Prodigal Son One of the most beautiful stories of the Scriptures is that of the prodigal son, the youth who left home, got into deep difficulty, wasted his life in riotous living, and ended up in the pigpen. Dr. J. Vernon McGee once asked, “Do you know the difference between the son in that pigpen and the pig? The difference is that no pig has ever said to himself, “I will arise and go to my father.” He is right; only sons say that. That is why there will be no condemnation, no rejection by God of his children. All believers, even prodigal sons, are his children, not his enemies. The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11–24 - Jackson Maze I. THE PRODIGAL LEAVING HOME A certain man had two sons. One was satisfied to stay at home but the other wanted to wander in the world. vv. 12–13… And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 1. The prodigal in a faraway country. The faraway country is sin. It is far from God, far from right, a dwelling place in the world for unsaved people. 2. The prodigal lived an extravagant life. “And there wasted his substance with riotous living.” 3. The prodigal found himself in want. vs. 14… And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. II. WHEN HE CAME TO HIMSELF 1. He thought of his father’s home. vs. 17… And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. 2. He arose and came to his father. As long as he had pride, it would not let him go back home. With all of his sorrow and penitent spirit, he would never have been forgiven his sins. III. THE WANDERING PRODIGAL WAS FORGIVEN AND ACCEPTED AS A SON 1. The father met his son. vs. 20… And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. HE LOVED HIS SON AND HAD COMPASSION ON HIM. 2. The disobedient son repented of his sins. vs. 21… And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (borrow) - PRODIGAL SON. The parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11–32) has aptly been called “the gospel within the gospel” and “the crown and pearl” of all Christ’s parables because of its lucid portrayal of gospel truth. In response to the grumbling of the scribes and Pharisees (15:1–2) Christ structured a parable around the Jewish custom whereby a father could assign his possessions to his heirs during his lifetime. He might actually hand over the allotment (cf. the younger son, 15:12); or he might present the share but retain the right to usufruct (cf. the elder son, 15:31). The attitudes and actions of the parable’s personae then depict the various facets of the gospel: (1) The younger son (15:12–20)—the tax-gatherers and sinners whom Jesus received (NB the prodigal’s sin, misery, and repentance). (2) The father’s joyful and enthusiastic reception of the returned prodigal (15:20–24)—God’s welcome to the repentant sinner. (3) The annoyance and bitterness of the elder brother (15:25–28)—the grumbling discontent and spiritual poverty of the scribes and Pharisees, who thought that salvation was a matter of meritorious works and outward piety. Possibly one could say there were two prodigal sons! The Prodigal Son On one occasion when preaching on the returning prodigal, a pastor paused, looked at the door, and shouted out, after he had depicted him in his wretchedness, “Here he comes, slipshod! Make way—make way—make way, there.” Such was the approach to reality, that a considerable part of the congregation turned to the door, some rising on their feet, under the momentary impression that some one was entering the chapel in the state described. In the same sermon, paraphrasing the father’s reply to the son that was angry and would not go in, he said: “Be not offended; surely a ‘calf’ may do for a ‘prodigal’, ‘shoes’ for a ‘prodigal’, a ‘ring’ and a ‘robe’ for a ‘prodigal’, but ALL I have is YOURS.” Alexander Whyte - Bible Characters A CERTAIN man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. The country-bred boy had been told stealthy and seductive stories about the delights of city life. 'A young man with a little money,' he had been told, 'can command anything he likes in the great city. A young man who has never been from home can have no idea of the pleasures that are provided in the city for young men whose fathers have money. The games, the shows, the theatres, the circuses, the feasts, the dances, the freedom of all kinds; there is absolutely nothing that a young man's heart can desire that is not open to him who brings a good purse of money to the city with him.' All these intoxications were poured into this young man's imagination, and he was but too good a pupil to such instructions. How long will my father live? he began to ask. How long will that old man continue to stand in my way? It is not reasonable that a young man should be kept so long out of what really belongs to him. It is not fair to treat a grown-up man as if he were still a child. "Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me." It was a heartless speech. But secret visions of sin will soon harden the tenderest heart in the world. Cogitatio et imaginatio, according to À Kempis, are the two first steps of a young man's heart on its way down to the pit. Keep a young man's thoughts and imaginations clean, and he is safe, and will be a good son. But once pollute, by bad books or bad companionships, a young man's mind and imagination, and nothing in this world will hold that young man back from perdition. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. Let one who lived for a long time in that far country describe it. "A darkened heart is the far country. For it is not by our feet, but by our affections, that we either leave Thee or return to Thee. Nor did that younger son look out for chariots, or ships, or fly with visible wings, that he might go to the far country. Unclean affections, and a God-abandoned heart, that is the far country. This was the world at whose gate I lay in imagination, while yet a boy. And this was the abyss of my vileness when I was cast away from before Thine eyes. Who was so vile before Thee as I was? I was vile even to myself." And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. "A mighty famine" is perfect English. It is one of those great strokes of translation that sometimes surpass the original. "A mighty famine" puts a perfect picture of that far country before us. Now what chance, in the midst of a mighty famine, had a prodigal son who had already wasted all his substance with riotous living? What hope was there for him? What could a penniless spendthrift do? Till, covered with rags, and with all his bones staring till they could be counted, he threw himself upon a citizen of that country, and said:-'Only give me one crust-of-bread and water, and I will do anything you like to command me. I have a father at home, but that is far away. Oh, for my father's sake, and he will repay you, give me something to eat.' And he sent him into his fields to feed swine. "Did I see a boy of good make and mind, with the tokens on him of a refined nature, cast upon the world without provision, unable to say whence he came, or who were his family connections, I should conclude there was some secret connected with his history, and that he was one of whom, from one cause or another, his parents were ashamed." Such is Dr. Newman's picture of the human race, as it is fallen away from God, and gone into a far country. "And when he came to himself."-Underline these words. Print these words in capitals. Engrave these words in letters of gold. For up till now sin has abounded, but henceforth grace is much more to abound. And already the abounding grace that the prodigal son is so soon to be met with, is beginning to drop from His lips Who here tells the prodigal's sad story. Look at the beautiful way in which the terrible truth is softened in the telling. Every word is so tenderly, and almost apologetically, chosen. You do not upbraid a son of yours when he is brought home to you safe and sound from the asylum. Whatever he may have said or done during his illness there, you refuse to listen to it. You say, My poor possessed child! You say, My son at that time was not responsible. And you shut your ears to all the heartless tales they tell about what he said and what he did when he was still beside himself. You rebuke his cruel accusers. You tell them that nobody reckons to a recovered man the things that would be reckoned and punished to an entirely sound-minded man. These grace-chosen words, "When he came to himself," already prepare us for the speedy return and complete restoration of this unhappy son, whose infirmity and affliction, rather than his sin and guilt, are the subject of his history as it is here told to us. "But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him." And we see him. Our Lord sees him, and He makes us see him. Look at him! Look how he runs! He runs like a man running for his life. He forgets his bleeding feet and his hungry belly. He outstrips everybody on the same road. He runs as he never ran before. But when he comes to the first sight of his father's house his strength suddenly fails him. He stands still, he sinks down, he beats his breast. He cries out as with an intolerable pain till the passers-by hasten on in fear. The man is possessed, one says to him. How long wilt thou be drunken? says another. But he sees them not. He hears them not. The only thing he sees is his father's house through his tears and his sobs. And all that any of the people in the fields or on the road could make out from him was always this: "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight!" And, then, all this long far-country time, his father's grey hairs were being brought down with sorrow to the grave. His father had never been the same man since that evil day when his son had left his father's door without kissing his father. He had ever since that day gone up and down his house a broken-hearted man. His very reapers had wept for him as they saw him walking up and down alone in his harvest fields. Every night also he sat and looked out of his window till the darkness fell again on all the land. And all through the darkness he listened all night for a footstep that never came. But, at last one day,-That is none other than my long-lost son! And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and bad compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed, him. And now, among many other things, our Lord, I feel sure, would have us learn from this family history such things as this-The unspeakable evil of a mind early stained with the images of sensual sin. This young man was at one time as innocent of this sin, and was as loyal to his father and mother, as are any of your sons or mine. But on a fatal day some bad man told him a bad story. Some one whispered to his heart some of the evil secrets of Satan's kingdom. And then, as the Imitation has it, there was first the sinful knowledge, and then there arose out of that a sinful imagination, a picture of the sin, and then the young sinner's heart took a secret delight in the knowledge and the vision, and then he sought for an opportunity, and the opportunity soon came. A bad companion will do it. A bad book will do it. A bad picture will do it. The very classics themselves will sometimes do it. It is being done every day in our bothies, and in our workshops, and in our schools, and in our colleges. A bad story will do it. A bad song will do it. A bad jest will do it. Indeed, it is in the very air that all our sons breathe. It is in the very bread they eat. It is in the very water they drink. They cannot be in this world and clean escape it. For myself, one of the saintliest men I ever knew once told me certain evil things, just out of the evil fulness of his heart, when I was not asking for them. Evil things that I would not have known to this day but for that conversation. Supply me with a knife deep enough and sharp enough to cut that corrupt spot out of my memory, and I will, from this moment, cast it out on the dunghill of the devil for ever-as we had, at last, to cut off and cast him. It was some one like my early friend who polluted that young man's imagination till nothing could keep him back from becoming the prodigal son of whom our Lord here tells us all these things for our warning and for our rebuke. The very finest point in all this history full of fine points, is this,-"When he was a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion on him." And there is nothing more true in our own history than just this, and nothing more blessed for us to be told than just this, that our Father also sees us when we are yet a great way off from Him, and has compassion on us. When we are just beginning to remember that we have a Father; when we are just beginning to repent toward Him; when we are just beginning to pray to Him; when we are just beginning to believe on Him, and on His Son Jesus Christ our Saviour; when we are still at the very first beginnings of a penitent, returning, obedient, pure, and godly, life; ay, when we are yet a great way off from all these things, our Father sees us, and has compassion on us, and comes to meet us. I do not know a sweeter or a more consoling scripture anywhere than just this,-"When he was yet a great way off." For, what grace is in that! What encouragement, what hope, what comfort, what life from the dead is in that! Blessed be the lips that told this whole incomparable story, and added to it these words of gold-"a great way off." And, then, to sum up. This whole story, in every syllable of it, has its exact and complete fulfilment in ourselves every day. A prince of Scripture exposition holds it to be doubtful whether our Lord intends under this family story to set forth the first conversion of a great sinner, or the repeated restorations of a great backslider. But the truth is, our Lord intends to set forth both; and much more than both. For not one, nor two, nor three, but all the steps and all the stages of sin and salvation in the soul of man, are most impressively and most unmistakably set before us in this masterpiece of our Master. From the temptation and fall of Adam, on to the marriage supper of the Lamb-all the history of the Church of God, and all the experiences of the individual sinner and saint, are to be found set forth in this most wonderful of all our Lord's histories. John Howe warns us that we must not think it strange if all the requisites to our salvation are not to be found together in any single passage of Holy Scripture. But, on the other hand, I will take it upon me to say that all the incidents and all the experiences of this evangelical history are to be found together in every soul of man who is under a full and perfect salvation. In a well-told story like this, all that the prodigal son came through, from first to last, must of necessity be set forth in so many successive steps and stages: the one step and stage following on the other. But that is not at all the case in the actual life of sin and grace in the soul. The soul is such that it is passing through all the steps and all the stages of sin and salvation at one and the same time. Some of the steps and stages of sin and salvation may be more present and more pressing at one time than at another time, but they are all somewhere or other within the soul, and are ready to spring up in it. We speak in our shallow way about the Apostle Paul being for ever out of the seventh of the Romans and for ever into the eighth. But Paul never spoke in that superficial fashion about himself. And he could not. For both chapters were fulfilling themselves within their profound author: sometimes at one and the same moment. Sometimes the old man was uppermost in Paul, and sometimes the new man; sometimes the flesh, and sometimes the spirit; sometimes the law and sin and death had Paul under their feet, and sometimes he was more than a conqueror over all the three. But, all the time, all the three were within Paul, and every page he writes, and every sermon he preaches, shows it. And so it is with ourselves, so far as this history, and so far as Paul's history, is our history. For, like the prodigal son, we are always having lewd stories told us about the far country. We are always dreaming of being at liberty to do as we like. We are always receiving our portion of goods, and we are always wasting our substance. We are always trying in vain to fill our belly with the husks that the swine do eat. And we are always arising and returning to our Father's house. In endless ways, impossible to be told, but by all God's true children every day to he experienced, every step and every stage of the prodigal's experience, both before he came to himself, and after it, is all to be found in the manifold, boundless, all-embracing, experience of every truly gracious heart. In His unsearchable wisdom, God has set both the whole world of sin, and the whole world of salvation, in every truly renewed heart. And that, not in successive and surmounting steps and stages, but at one and the same time. And that accumulating, complex, and exquisitely painful, state of things, will go on in every truly regenerate heart, till that day dawns when the greatest prodigal of us all, and the saddest saint of us all, shall begin to be merry. John