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The Parable of the Lost Son was told by Jesus to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Luke 15:1, 2 In response to this statement by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, Jesus tells 3 parables: (1) Lost Sheep (2) Lost Coin (3) Lost Son. We are going to look at the Parable of the Lost Son or what I would call the Parable of the Prodigals and the God Who Loves Them. Remember, this is a response to the statement made by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law: This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Luke 15:11-24 I read about a young man who was single who had inherited $250,000 from his uncle who had no direct descendants. The young man lived the life of his dreams but within a year he had spent all the money. When his father heard that his son was broke, he asked him "What did you do with all that money?" The son explained, "I spent $60,000 on a new sports car." "I spent $20,000 taking my girlfriend on spring break to Tahiti." "I went through $75,000 on my weekend in Las Vegas." "I also spent $15,000 on a party for my friends." "And I'm afraid the remaining $80,000, I just squandered foolishly." When we live in a distant country, we try not to think of God too often. Because thinking of God makes us feel guilty for some of the choices we are making. When we live in a distant country, temptations are very strong and sin becomes increasingly attractive. The problem is when we become involved in sin, we no longer feel free inside. Instead, we feel weighed down inside because we know something is wrong. When we are in the distant country, we may feel hurried, rushed, easily irritated and often threatened. We search for bursts of pleasure, but we cannot find sustained joy. For the prodigal who set off for a distant country, the temptation stage was reached before the story begins. Somewhere along the line a thought occurred to him, "Living at home is a burden." "I would be happier away from my father and without all these constraints in my life." We see this in kids sometimes. Some children are very compliant and love to be home with their parents. Others are not nearly as compliant and pose much more of a challenge. It is very painful for a parent to have a grown child wander morally or spiritually. The problem isn't that we don't know where they are or what they are doing, but that we do know in some cases. We know they are in the far country, not only wasting their money but wasting their lives. Perhaps it is only a parent in such pain who can enter fully into the mood of this story. A two year old boy named Frankie was a noncompliant child. Frankie pulled a chair over to the front window and carefully placed it inside the drapes. He was standing there looking out at the world beyond his window when his mother came looking for him. She saw his little legs protruding beneath the drapes and quietly slipped in behind him. Then she heard her little 2 year old boy speaking to himself in very sober terms. He was saying, "I gotta get out of here." In this parable we meet a young man who is saying, "I gotta get out of here!" "Here at home I always have to do what dad says." "I have to work in his fields and follow his rules." "I don't want to have to do this anymore." "My life would be better if I had no rules." "I could be my own boss and chart my own course." "I gotta get out of here." After thinking about a temptation, we sometimes choose to pursue a sinful course of action. For the prodigal son, this step occurred when he went to his father and asked for his inheritance. When people toy around with the idea of sin long enough, they eventually move into action. Whatever the sin, the movement from thought to action always happens at the same point. That point is when the person finds an acceptable rationale to do it. Rationalizing is a universal problem among people. In the context of relationships between men and women, some people say, "It's just a harmless conversation or harmless flirting." Yet, they know an unhealthy attraction is growing. When it comes to employment, some rationalize by saying to themselves, "The company does not pay me enough, and I work a lot of extra hours." And so they pad their expense accounts and begin to steal from the company. If you see yourself rationalizing a behavior; watch out! Are you about to take the giant step from temptation into action? Well, as we know from the story, the son who goes to a distant country runs out of money and food. Things are getting pretty bad. He begins to experience the pain of his sin. He will have to make a decision. Will he continue to live in ever-increasing levels of pain away from the father or will he humble himself and go home? He had lived high on the hog but now he was living low with the hogs. Notice the father didn't go to the pigpen and try to pull his son out. The son had to realize his own mistake. The son had to come to his own POTD (Point of Total Desperation). Parents, don't go to the pigpen. You won't like what you see. But never slam the door and tell your child they are not welcome in your home. The Lost Son in the parable reaches his POTD, his Point of Total Desperation. So he ends up swallowing something more tasteless than corncobs. He ends up swallowing his pride. The pain wakes him up and he is finally ready to go back to his father. He writes a little speech that he wants to give to his father when he gets home. In his speech he reveals the fact that he no longer sees himself as a beloved son of the father. He is worthy only of the status of a hired servant. But the father has a whole different plan in mind. The father has not disowned his son. The father has not shut him out of his heart. Lesson One: Forgiveness is always possible for those who want to return to God. (vv. 11-24) While the young man is still a long way off, the father sees him and starts running. Day after day, the father has been waiting for this moment. The father doesn't walk, he runs. To understand this story, we need to know that older men in the Middle East do not run. Robes make running difficult. Dignity also makes running inappropriate. The son begins to pour out his well-rehearsed speech: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But he gets no further. That is all the father needs to hear. The father begins to make preparations for his son's homecoming party. The celebration begins. Luke 15:25-32 And that's where the story ends. Did you notice there is no conclusion to this story. Yes, we are happy that the Prodigal Son has returned but we don't know whether the older son joins the homecoming party. Jesus intentionally omits a conclusion. He leaves it up to the Pharisees and teachers of the law to come up with the conclusion. You see, the older brother in this parable represents the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, the so-called "good people". Jesus introduced the "good people" to themselves, to the older brother inside them. We are so fascinated with the prodigal son coming home and being loved and accepted by his father that we miss the point Jesus wanted to make through the mention of the older brother. Lesson Two: God's people should not resent His generosity for even the most wayward of sinners. (vv. 25-30) This parable could have ended right after the father welcomed home the prodigal son and gave him a party. This would have been a great story even if it would have ended at that point. What a great story of the love and grace of God in receiving repentant sinners back into the fold. But Jesus then brings in the older brother to make another point. What happens to the older brother in the parable? That's a good question for all of us because we all have the potential of becoming like the older brother. We live responsible lives. We obey the law. We work hard. We may be involved in community projects, service clubs, and church committees. We may find ourselves sympathizing with the older brother. We don't blame him for being angry. Lesson Three: God loves prodigals whether they are home or away. There is no doubt that the father loved this older brother At no point does he speak harshly of him. But there is something very wrong with this older brother. This older brother has some issues. 1. The older brother seemed to envy the sinner. There may been more to his envy than the party which celebrated his brother's homecoming. The older brother is the one who tells us that his younger brother spent his money on prostitutes. There is nothing in the story about prostitutes until the older brother mentions them. The prostitute idea may have been something the older brother conjured up in his very human, somewhat lustful mind. Before his brother's return, the older brother probably said to himself: "I know what he's doing in the city. He's spending his time with beautiful, wicked women. That rotten dog." And then under his breath he would say, "That lucky dog." Good people are sometimes like that. They do the right things but they sometimes long for bad things. In one of his poems, Charles Wesley thanks God that as a young man he escaped the more grievous sins. But he confesses that it was not his goodness which kept him from sin, but the fear of the consequences. Sometimes when "good people" like the Pharisees express their horror at the conduct of another person, it seems they are savoring the details. They may say "Isn't it shameful? Can you imagine someone doing a thing like that?" This may suggest the presence of envy. The older brother may have been like that. He may have envied his younger brother. The older brother appeared to be a moral, industrious, and thrifty man. But in his heart it may have been a different matter. 2. The older brother may have never really discovered the joy of being home. He may not have realized how fortunate he was to be home, living in the daily blessing of a loving father. Remember, he asked his father "What have you ever given me?" The people who listened to Jesus tell this story knew what the father had given him. The law in that culture required that the older brother receive two-thirds of the family property at the time of distribution. He had done very well. He had the prestige, the comfort, and the challenge of a successful family operation. He also had the privilege of working with his father who loved him deeply and generously. Yet, he asks his father "What have you given me?" When we are surrounded by blessings and don't know we're blessed, we are poor. We might as well not be blessed at all. Such was the state of the older son. And so it was with many religious people of Jesus' day. They were scrupulous in following the details of their religion, but they weren't enjoying it. Then when they saw sinners coming to Jesus and enjoying the faith and friendship they found in him, they were envious. In fact, they resented it. They had religion but they did not have the joy of knowing Jesus personally. It was obvious that the younger son was wasting himself in a wild lifestyle. There would come a day when he would hit the bottom which he did. But the older brother was also wasting his life because of his selfish and thankless attitude. If we don't do something of worth with our lives and our money, we have come to live in our own kind of skid row. Perhaps that's why some people in comfortable circumstances feel so unfulfilled and so disappointed in life. 3. The older brother didn't really know his father's heart. He had grown up under his father's kindness and love, and yet, did not seem to understand him. The older brother couldn't see how his father could love the younger brother. Why would the father want to celebrate the return of this wayward son. When speaking to his father, the older brother referred to his younger brother as "your son." The father tried to remind the older son that the younger son was his brother. The older son would not acknowledge he had a brother because he didn't understand his father's heart. It is so hard for an older brother to see himself for what he really is. The older brother didn't know his father. There may have been servants in the household who understood the father's heart better than the older son. How is it possible to live so close to goodness and love and never come to appreciate it. One can be surrounded by love and kindness and yet never really make it one's own. The father was a giving, loving, caring human being but the older brother never seemed to grasp it. He didn't see his father's love as it was expressed to him, and he didn't want it expressed to his younger brother. That is why the older brother could be called "The Prodigal Who Stayed Home." He never went to the city and spent his money on wild living but in his heart, he may have envied his brother. He never discovered the joys of home. So did the older son finally join the celebration of his brother's homecoming party? We don't know. Jesus intentionally did not finish the story. He wants each one of us to finish the story in our own lives. Are we going to rejoice when that lost sinner comes to repentance. Or will we look on with envy when we see the attention that new believer gets. Or will we separate ourselves from that new convert because of their past. If we find no joy in seeing someone come to Christ, we are the older brother in this parable. But, if we find joy in seeing someone come to Christ, we share God's passion for the lost. =========================================================== Discussion Questions for Wake Up with the Word for Sunday, March 14th: Discussion Question #1: Read Luke 15:11-32. Generally the estate was divided at the time of the father's death. It was unusual for one of the children to ask that the estate be divided. What do you think this tells us about the younger son? Discussion Question #2: For a Jew, the greatest humiliation would be to have to feed pigs since they were considered unclean according to the Law of Moses. The lost son had reached his POTD or Point of Total Desperation. He decides to go back home. Where do people today turn to when they reach their Point of Total Desperation? Discussion Question #3: Would anyone in the group like to share their story and what they experienced when reaching their Point of Total Desperation? What emotions did you experience? How much time did you spend in the state of total desperation before you came to your senses? Who did you turn to? Discussion Question #4: Which character in the parable can you most closely identify with: The father, the older brother or the younger brother? Discussion Question #5: Read Hebrews 11:24-26. Moses had the opportunity as did the Prodigal Son to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. Why are the pleasures of sin short-lived? Who is more likely to resist the pleasures of sin: The person with a temporal mind-set or the one with an eternal mind-set? |
