Luke 15:11-25English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants,[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

“What is Father’s Day?”

“Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much money on the present."

“What present?”

Five Points

But I’ve come to believe that Jesus actually intended this story to tell us as much about the Faithful Father as it does about the footloose, frisky and featherbrained son. Why did the Rabbis tell the story that way? Because that’s how they viewed God.

BUT… that was an entirely different VIEW of God than what Jesus presents. The Father in Jesus’ story NOT ONLY did not turn his child away…He embraced him… put His best robe on him… placed a ring on his finger… killed the fatted calf and had a feast.

1. When most people hear this story, how do they usually refer to it?

Five Points

2. So why did Jesus tell this story?

“The world is a spiritual kindergarten where bewildered infants try to spell God with all the wrong blocks.”

And this isn’t farfetched…it is a fact that better than 90% of psychology students choose that major because they, themselves, are in desperate need of counseling.

This was the God he’d always longed for. This was the God of which the Pharisees and the teachers of the law knew nothing.

Five Points

3. Now it’s important for us to realize… God IS a God of judgment

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 tells us “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”“BECAUSE he who was dead is alive again; he who was lost is found.” (Luke 15:24 & 32)(verse 24: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate”; AND in verse 32: “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”Jesus is DRIVING this point home and it has to be ringing in the ears of everyone – the Pharisees and teachers ticked off while the bulk of the crowd is overcome with hope!

Jesus affirms that, in fact, God is INDEED a God of judgment… but He is also a God of REDEMPTION. When Paul gave that list of people who would not inherit the Kingdom of God in I Corinthians, you know:

• the sexually immoral• the prostitutes• the adulterers and homosexuals• the drunkards, liars and swindlers

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

4. Now… there’s one more misunderstanding I think Jesus was correcting.

“I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’” (Luke 15:18-19)

(2 truths and one falsehood)

(1) First he said, “I have sinned against heaven.” That was right. Primarily, all sin is against God, so here he confesses his sin to God.

(2) Second, he confessed to his father, “and I have sinned against you.” Right again. One of the hardest things for any of us to say is, “I was wrong. Will you forgive me?” That’s what he was saying.

(3) But look at the third statement. He said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” That may sound good on the surface, but there is a mistake in his thinking. He was NEVER worthy to be called a son of his father. How do I know that? Look at the reaction of the so called righteous son in the story – his reaction to the entire affair wasn’t any better than his brothers! Both were acting out, neither worthy of their caring father.

“ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

How many have sinned? (All)

How many of you have sinned?

Romans 3:23: You can never be good enough.. to be good enough… for God.

5. Well…if that’s true – how can you or I ever hope to be pleasing to God?

• Why had the Father in Jesus’ parable accepted the prodigal son back home?

o Was it because the son had never sinned? (no)o Was it because the boy had sinned less than someone else in the household? (no)o Was it because the prodigal had stopped by Las Vegas on the way home and gathered enough winnings to somehow buy his way back into the family? (no!)

So why did the Father accept the boy back home? Because the Father loved his child.

Luke 15:20 "… But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”He’s filled with compassion. AND HE RUNS TO THE BOY

This was no small thing for the Father to do. In the Jewish culture, men wore long robes. In order for a man to run, he had to lift the hem up and hold it high to keep from tripping over it. In doing so, he would bare his legs, which was considered highly undignified. It would have been embarrassing - men of respect never ran… but this Father did.

So all this father could do was watch and wait… until his boy DECIDED to come home.

That’s the story of Scripture. God has placed an ad… a classified… nailed on a cross. And in Jesus Christ, God has declared – all will be forgiven. Come home.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9

You have sinned against your Father. Decide that you want to be His child and belong to Him. And then die to what you used to be by surrendering to Christ … bury your past in the waters of baptism and rise from that watery grave to live a new life in Christ.

The Runaway Lad and The Waiting Dad - Which Way Will You Turn?

Happy Father’s Day