Introduction
The Story Of The Prodigal Son Is A Picture Of God’s Love For Us As His Children. God’s Love For Us Does Not Depend On Our Faithfulness; It Is Unconditional. He Loved Us While We Were Still Sinners. Though We Are Demanding And Do Not Remain Faithful, God Is Still Our Faithful And Loving Father.
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We Know That In The Story, The Father Orders The Servants To Give The Son The Best Family Robe; This Represents The Robe Of The Righteousness Of Christ, Without Which No One Can Enter The Kingdom Of God, The Family Ring That Signifies He Is A Son And Not A Servant Or A Slave, And The Sandals That Are Only Worn By … Royals
Where Do You Focus
If You Focus On The Prodigal Son, The Story Teaches About Sin And Conversion. It Tells Us That To Sin Is To Take The Gifts God Gives Us And Spend Them On Ourselves In A “Distant Country.” It Tells Us That To Repent Is To Realize That Sin Makes Us Miserable, And Pray To Stop.
Good News
Jesus Has Been Preaching The Good News Of The Kingdom. He Has Been Calling Sinners To Repentance, So That They Would Receive From Him Forgiveness For Their Sins. Jesus Has Been Gathering Disciples, Followers, Who Are Eager To Hear The Divine Wisdom Coming From His Lips. And The People Who Are Following Jesus Are Not Always The Best And The Brightest Or The Cream Of The Crop. Indeed, Jesus Has Been Reaching Out To The Least, The Last, And The Lost.
Malady
He’s Been Calling People Whom The Religious Elites Of Israel Would Look Down On. For Example, There Was Matthew The Tax Collector, An Occupation That Was Widely Looked Down Upon, And Not Without Reason. Jesus Would Even Have Meals With These People, These Public Sinners, And That Was Rather Shocking. It Wasn’t That Jesus Approved Of Their Sin Or Condoned It–Far From It. But When Sinners Realized Their Sin And Their Lostness, Jesus Offered Them A Safe Haven To Come To–Back To God.
Application
So Sinners Troubled In Their Conscience Were Flocking To Jesus, For They Knew That’s Where They Could Find Forgiveness And Restoration.
So That’s The Situation. Jesus Is Hanging Out With Sinners, And The Respectable People Didn’t Like It: “Now The Tax Collectors And Sinners Were All Drawing Near To Hear Jesus. And The Pharisees And The Scribes Grumbled, Saying, ‘This Man Receives Sinners And Eats With Them.’
Jesus Perceives What’s Going On, And So He Begins To Tell Some Parables That Address The Attitude Of The Scribes And The Pharisees. First, He Tells A Parable Of A Shepherd Who Goes Out To Find His One Lost Sheep, And When He Finds It, He Brings It Home. He Invites His Friends And Neighbours To Rejoice With Him, Because He Has Found His Lost Sheep. Same Thing With A Woman Who Finds A Lost Coin She’s Been Searching For. She Invites Her Friends And Neighbours To Rejoice With Her.
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Then Jesus Compares This To The Rejoicing That’s Going On In Heaven When He, Jesus, Finds A Lost Sinner And Brings Him Or Her “Back Home.” The Implication Is That If Heaven Is Rejoicing Over A Lost Sinner Being Restored, How Come You Guys, You Scribes And Pharisees, Aren’t Rejoicing Also? Why Are You Grumbling About The Great Thing Jesus Is Doing In Bringing Back The Lost?
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Luke 15 Namely, The Parable Of The Prodigal Son Is Famous. You Probably Know How It Starts. The Dad Has Two Sons, And The Younger Of The Two Demands His Share Of The Inheritance Now. That Is Equivalent To Saying, “Dad, I Wish You Were Dead! I Want What’s Coming To Me!” Very Disrespectful. Shameful, Actually, Disgracing The Family In Front Of The Community. The Father Would Have Every Right To Punish This Son For His Outrageous Behaviour. But He Doesn’t. He Lets The Younger Son Have His Share Of The Estate, And Off The Son Goes, Leaving Home To Go It On His Own In A Far Country.
Malady
At First, Things Seem To Go Well. It’s All Fun And Games. The Boy Is Rolling In The Dough, And He’s Spending It Freely On Whatever He Feels Like. He’s Running Through The Money Like It’s Going Out Of Style. Our Text Says, “He Squandered His Property In Reckless Living.” And That’s Where This Word “Prodigal” Comes In. The Term “Prodigal” In This Context Means “Spending Money Or Resources Freely And Recklessly; Wastefully Extravagant.” This Is Why We Call Him The “Prodigal” Son.
But Then The Resources Start To Run Dry. The Young Man Is Reduced, Diminished, Humbled. He Has To Take A Job Feeding Pigs, Which Is About As Low As You Can Go, If You’re A Jewish Boy. He’s About Hit Bottom. Not That Feeding Pigs In Our Today’s Culture Is Bad, It’s Real Business But Not For A Jew!
Then He Starts To Come To His Senses. He Remembers The Goodness Of His Father’s Home: “If I Only Can Get Back There, Things Will Be Better. Even My Dad’s Servants Are Doing Better Than I’m Doing! But Wait! After I Have Disgraced My Father And Been So Disrespectful To Him, How Can I Ever Show My Face There Again? But I Know My Father Is Kind And Generous, So I’ll Take A Chance. But I’ve Sinned Against Him So Badly And Wasted All The Resources He Gave Me, So, So. . .. I’ve Got It! I’ll Ask If I Can Work Off All That I’ve Wasted, And At Least That Way I Can Get Back As A Servant, If Not A Son!” Great Thought Plan
So, He Arose And Headed Back Home. But Even Before He Gets Back To The Ranch–He’s Still A Long Way Off–Dad Has Been Looking Out The Window, Waiting For And Looking For His Son To Come Back. And When He Sees The Boy, Still A Far Way Off, The Father, Goes Running Out To Meet Him! This Is Unheard Of! This Is Amazing! And He Doesn’t Run Out To Give The Son What-For Or To Chew Him Out. No, He Runs Out To Embrace Him! He Falls On His Neck And Showers Him With Affection! The Son Starts To Recite His Rehearsed Speech About Working It Off As A Servant, But Dad Cuts Him Off Before He Can Get To That. You See, The Father Doesn’t Want Another Hired Hand. He Wants His Son Back.
The Father’s Love
“‘Bring Quickly The Best Robe, And Put It On Him, And Put A Ring On His Hand, And Shoes On His Feet. And Bring The Fattened Calf And Kill It, And Let Us Eat And Celebrate. For This My Son Was Dead, And Is Alive Again; He Was Lost, And Is Found.’ And They Began To Celebrate.”
Prodigal Celebration
Ok, Now Here Is Where We Get To The Word “Prodigal” In A Somewhat Different Sense. It Still Means “Excessive” Or “Extravagant,” But Now Using It In A Positive Sense. This Is The “Prodigal Celebration” It’s Way Over The Top! Lavish, Extravagant, Pulling Out All The Stops. The Father Is Lavishing His Grace And Generosity On This Son, Who Clearly Doesn’t Deserve It! Clothing Him With The Best Robe, Restoring His Authority With The Signet Ring, Providing Shoes For His Feet, And Even Slaughtering The Fattened Calf To Be The Main Course Of The Feast. The Father’s Joy Is So Great, He’s Pulling Out All The Stops, And This Is Costly Stuff He’s Supplying. Very Lavish, Very Extravagant, Very “Prodigal” This Joyful Celebration!
Reflection
Friends, This Parable Is A Picture Of How God Welcomes Us Back. He Does So Extravagantly. Lavishly Does He Shower His Love And His Grace On Us, And We Surely Don’t Deserve It. In Our Baptism, God Clothes Us With The Robe Of Christ’s Righteousness. He Restores Us Back To The Household With The Signet Ring Of The Cross. Our Feet Are Shod With The Gospel Of Peace.
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And Notice, At The Centre Of This Prodigal Celebration, This Lavish, Extravagant Celebration, There Is A Feast. And In This Feast, The Feast Of Salvation, It Is Not A Fattened Calf That Is Slaughtered. Rather, It Is The Lamb Of God Who Is Slain And Sacrificed. It Is Christ Jesus, God’s Own Son, His Beloved Son In Whom He Is Well Pleased–It Is Jesus Who Is Sacrificed For Sinners. Christ Went To The Cross For You, Dear Friends, So That Your Sins Would Be Forgiven. And They Are. This Is Costly Grace Indeed. Christ’s Holy Precious Blood Was Shed For You, So That Now You Are Restored To God’s Household. No Work-It-Off Scheme Necessary.
Jesus Has Already Taken Care Of That. God Wants You Back As His Child, And Now We Can Call On Him As Dear Children Ask Their Dear Father. What Could Be More “Prodigal,” In The Good Sense, Than This?
Other Issue Of Malady
Well, But Then There’s Still The Older Son To Deal With. This Was The Stay-At-Home Son, The One Who Didn’t Leave Home. But He Is Resentful And Jealous Of All The Attention And The Big Celebration The Younger Son Is Getting. He Won’t Go In And Join In The Celebration.
Gospel
So Again, The Father Does Something Amazing, Something Costly, Something Extravagant. He Goes Out To This Son Too. He Puts Up With The Older Son’s Disrespect. He’s Patient With This Older Son, Who Is Dishonouring His Father And Despising His Brother.
Malady
Of Course, The Older Son’s Attitude Is Equivalent To That Of The Scribes And The Pharisees. They Are Grumbling Against God, Really, When They Complain About How Jesus Is Receiving Sinners And Eating With Them. They Really Ought To Be Rejoicing, Like God Does, Whenever A Lost Child Is Brought Back Home. God Is Rejoicing, Heaven Is Rejoicing, So Why Aren’t You?
Reflection
The Story Is Left Open-Ended. The Younger Son Has Been Restored, But The Older Son Is Still Standing Outside And Grumbling. Will They, The Scribes And Pharisees, Realize Their Own Lostness And Come In And Join The Party? We’re Not Told.
Application
But What We Do Know Is That God Has Restored Us, And For That We Will Be Eternally Grateful. God Is Having A Lavish Celebration Right Here And Right Now At The Lord’s Supper. You Are Here At The Celebration, Here In The Lord’s House, Where Heaven And Earth Come Together. There Is Music. There Is Rejoicing. And There Is A Feast. It Is The Lord’s Supper, Eating And Drinking The Body And Blood Of Christ, The Lamb Of God Sacrificed For Sinners Like You And Me.
And This Feast Points Us Ahead To The Heavenly Banquet Still To Come. Talk About Pulling Out All The Stops! What A Party That Will Be! Heavenly Music Like We Have Never Heard! Joy Beyond Imagining! And At The Center Of It All Will Be Christ Our Savior, Risen From The Dead, Who Lives And Reigns To All Eternity.
Conclusion
Yes, There Is A Big-Time, Blow-Out, Prodigal Celebration In Store For Us All, And We’re Getting A Little Sampling Of It Here In Our Churches. And So It Is Not With Grumbling, But Rather With Gratitude, That We Can Say About Jesus: “This Man Receives Sinners And Eats With Them.” Yes, Indeed, We Are! Amen.