We're continuing a series that we've been in through the summer. It'll take us through the end of the summer. It is entitled Summer Classics: Timeless Truths. from scripture. And over the course of the summer, we are looking at very familiar passages of scripture and how they apply to us today.
Many of the stories that we've looked at so far in this series have been some stories that you would have probably, if you've been around church for any length of time, you would have probably learned about in kids' church or in junior church and primary church. And for whatever reason, when we get into here, which is what we call big church, it's like some of these real practical, timeless truths. It's almost like we think that they were made for the kids. They were made for, you know, VBS. They were made for our children and teenagers.
But it's like when we get in here, we don't really talk about these.
So over the summer, we're doing those.
So we've looked at things like David and Goliath. We've looked at the Good Samaritan. And today, we are going to look at another story that you're familiar with here today. We're going to look at what we call the prodigal.
Son. The prodigal son. And, like all of these timeless truths, these classic stories from Scripture. They're familiar to all of us, and sometimes. The familiarity of them.
We lose sight of the importance and the application because immediately, when you see this, you immediately think, I know where he's going. I know everything about this story. I can kind of sit back in my seat and I can relax because I know everything about this. And the familiarity of it is so dear to us that we kind of lose sight or miss the meaning of what this story is really all about. And so, what is fascinating, though, about this story is this.
is that We're all included in this story. And so, what we're going to do today, all of us are included in this story. And so, as we look at this, I want to, if we can, I want you to not answer this question out loud. But as we work through this, I want you to answer this question in your heart. And I want you to understand that for every person in here, you can fool me.
You can fool your parents, you can fool the people sitting next to you, your spouse, your family, you can fool any of us. But I want you to know, as you answer this question that we'll put up on the screen in just a second, is this: I want you to realize you can't fool God. about the answer to this Question. Here's the question. Who Do you best?
Identify with In this story. Who? Do you identify best? With In this story, we're all included. We all identify.
With a character in the story of the prodigal son. And I want you to answer. And remember, you can't fool God. And so, the best thing that you can do with the answer to this in your heart is to be completely transparent with yourself and to be completely honest with yourself today because God knows where your heart is. And so, who do you best identify with?
In the story of the prodigal son.
Now, before we get into the actual parable of the prodigal son, I want to give you a little bit of runway leading up to it so that you can understand. Context. And so in Luke chapter 15, verse number 1, here's what the scripture says. The scripture says this: Then drew near unto him, that is Jesus, all of the publicans and sinners. To hear him.
He goes on in verse 2, and it says: And the Pharisees and scribes they do what they do best, and they murmured. Saying, this man receiveth sinners and he eateth with them.
Now, before we go on, I want to kind of understand.
So, Jesus is teaching, and anytime Jesus was teaching, multitudes would gather.
So, people had gathered there. And I want to kind of make sure that you know who's all in his audience. Obviously, he has his disciples that were there, his followers, his closest followers. They're there in the audience. But Luke actually records several other people that are there.
First, it was the publicans, these were the tax collectors. Here's what's interesting about this: the tax collectors were considered in that culture the worst of the worst. And so, in some ways, they were like almost worse than sinners. And that's why they get their very own category. I mean, he could have just said sinners were gathered there, but no, Luke specifically records there were publicans and then there were sinners.
The publicans were like the worst of the worst. You say, why was that? It's because they were traitors to the Jewish people. What they would do is the publicans, they would steal from Jewish families and they would take their money and they would do it to benefit the Roman Empire. And so they were just like, you know, traitors to their families, to their Jewish relatives, to their Jewish community.
And so nobody in this story liked them. They were the worst of the worst. And then also, not only were there publicans there. There were sinners. You say, who were the sinners?
The sinners were the ones that didn't obey the Mosaic law. They didn't keep the law. They didn't believe that they had to live based on the way that God wanted them to live. And so they pretty much did whatever they wanted, and they had no boundaries, they had no rules, and they liked to do whatever they personally wanted or whatever they felt felt good in their life at that time.
Well, then in verse 2, you see there's another group of people. They were the Pharisees and the scribes. Here's who they were: they were the religious folks. Right? They were the what we would call the churchgoers.
Right? They were the religious ones. They were the ones that knew the Torah, which is the five first books of the Old Testament. They knew that, like the back of their hand. They knew everything that God had told them, and everything He told Moses and everything he told Abraham.
They knew everything about it. And they lived their life based on their standard: how to please God and how to obey. The law. But there's a problem that exists.
So you had publicans, you had sinners, and then you had the religious crowd, the Pharisees, and there's a problem. And here's what the problem is. They were confused. Everybody was somewhat confused about this because they're murmuring in verse 2 about the fact that here's these sinners, here's these publicans. And the reason that they were confused is why on earth, you know, these religious folks, they go to listen to Jesus, and when they show up, there's all of these people around Jesus that shouldn't be there.
And the religious crowd is confused why people who. Have nothing in common with Jesus. They look nothing like Jesus. actually liked Jesus. And so they're murmuring, they're complaining, like, what are these people doing here?
We're the religious crowd. We should be right around Jesus. Why in the world is Jesus taking, you know, time? For all of these really bad people that have nothing in common with him and they don't live for him and they don't try to obey his law, they don't try to obey his commandments. Why in the world would Jesus take any time for them?
And you can almost imagine from the religious crowd that they were almost waiting for a moment that Jesus would finally correct them for everything that they're doing, that Jesus would finally call out the sinners and say, Hey, you're wrong. You need to change your behavior. You need to start doing this and start doing that and everything. But for whatever reason, Jesus loved sinners. And so the confusion from the sinners, the confusion from the publicans, and the refusion from the Pharisees is this.
They have questions about how God really treats. Sinners Or how does God really view Sinners So, what Jesus does as he's teaching them, he gives them two small parables before the main parable that we're going to look at. The first one. Is the parable of the lost sheep? You wouldn't know this.
We're going to jump in our text here in a moment, just giving you some runway to get up to our story. The parable of the lost sheep, Jesus says this. Let me explain it to you. He's got all these murmuring because they're confused. Why?
Jesus is taking time for people that. Had nothing in common with him. They were sinners. And Jesus said, Hey, imagine this: you have a hundred sheep. And you have these 100 sheep that you're responsible to care for.
And imagine you lose one. And wouldn't you, as a good shepherd, you would leave the 99 together and you would go out and do whatever it took to bring that one back. Back. In which everybody in his audience would have said, Yeah, that's exactly what we would do. And then Jesus ends that mini-parable, if you would, by saying that's just like when a sinner repents, there is like, just like when you find that sheep, what are you going to do?
You're going to bring your family together, you're going to throw a party, you're going to rejoice. And he said, just like that, when one sinner repents and one lost person is found. There's great rejoicing. In heaven. He goes on and he says, or likewise, or really, suppose there's a woman.
that you know have these coins and she loses one And she tears her house apart, and she's looking everywhere for the coin, and finally she finds it. What's she going to do? She's going to call all of her friends over and their family and say, Hey, you know that coin that I lost that was worth a whole lot of money? I found it. And they throw a party and they're rejoicing because what was lost is now is now found.
So, Jesus gives these two parables here. And here's what I want you to know: there's some confusion. You got to put yourself in the audience there. We know the entire story, so this is not going to blindside us what Jesus is trying to teach. But in that culture, this was completely shocking.
This was completely counter-cultural to everything. And when Jesus mentioned those two parables, He had all of these characters in the story: the sinners, the publicans, and the religious crowd, they're all confused. And somewhat offended. Say, why were they offended with those simple stories? Here's why.
You got the Pharisees? Here's what they were saying. They were like, wait a second, this lost coin, lost sheep. And you're rejoicing over them? The Pharisees, here's their problem.
They were asking this question. You mean, Jesus, God isn't celebrating us? For how good we are? The Pharisees are sitting there frustrated and angry at what Jesus is saying. They're like, wait a second, Jesus, you're saying that the one that is lost, there's all this rejoicing and all this celebration for that, but what about us?
You mean God's not in heaven celebrating us for how good we are? God's not celebrating us for how moral we are. God's not celebrating us for how well we do church and how we dress and what we look like and everything that we do and our standards and our preferences and all this stuff. You mean to tell me, wait, Jesus, like, and they're frustrated, they're offended because Jesus is celebrating the one that was lost. And the Pharisees are struggling.
Then you got the sinners, the publicans, they're just as confused. Here's why: they're probably thinking this: wait. You mean God? Hasn't forgotten us? You mean God?
Hasn't he searching for us? Sinners Publicans, the ones that have nothing in common with him, hey, we get the Pharisees. They're the religious crowd. We get it if God's searching for them and God's looking everywhere for them. But for us, you mean God hasn't given up on us?
You mean God hasn't Forgotten us.
So everybody's in Jesus' audience having questions about how does God really view sinners? What does he really, when he looks to sinners, what do they look like? And he goes on with the parable that you're familiar with. That I'm familiar with, and the parable that includes all of us in the story. And I want you to ask the question: who do you best identify with?
He says this. Luke fifteen eleven. He says this, 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 on me. And he divided unto them his living.
Now, real quick, so Jesus is teaching. This is a parable. You say, What's a parable if you're new to church? A parable is simply just an earthly story that's very practical. It's an illustration, if you would, that Jesus would use when he's teaching that gives a heavenly meaning.
So there's a heavenly meaning here. And he says, Okay, so suppose there's a man, he had two sons, his father, and the youngest son comes to him. And he says, Dad? I want my inheritance now. In other words, what he's saying is, I want your estate.
I want the estate that's going to be left to me. I want it now.
Now, this would have really. Made everybody upset. In fact, I mean, if you really put yourself in this story, this would make you upset too. I mean, think about it. This is Father's Day.
What if one of your kids said, hey, Dad, I want my inheritance now? Here's what that's saying, Dad. I want your stuff. But I really don't need you. Dad, I want what you're leaving me, but I don't need the relationship.
I almost want, let's act as if you were dead already. Today And here's the most fascinating thing to me about the story. We skim over this. I've grown up in church my entire life, and I don't think anybody's ever really pointed this part out.
So the father, think about putting yourself in this story. Would you just be like, okay, son?
So, what we're going to do, let me go call my attorney and let's start dividing it up. Let's start signing things off to you. Like, none of us would do that. We would all be like, no, I'm calling my attorney. And because you asked that, you're getting taken out of everything, right?
But you know what's interesting that we just skimmed through?
So the father divided unto them his living. You almost get the sense that the son was already lost, the father knew it. And In order to get him back. The father almost was willing to pay. for his escape.
If that's what it took to bring the Son, back. He goes on in the story here in verse thirteen. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, he took his journey into a far country and he wasted his substance with riotous living. Here's what that literally means: he was living an ungodly life. Here, you know, in our context, just really, he's hanging out with prostitutes, he's hanging out, just getting drunk, drugs, just friends, doing whatever he wants to do.
So that's kind of the idea here.
So he's just wasting his life away, spending money on all these things and all that kind of stuff. And then in verse 14, and when he had spent it all, There arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
Now, anytime there's a famine in the land, of course, like all the families, they're not going to help a guy in need because they got to take care of their own. You got to take care of your own family if there's a famine in the land. And so, you don't have the excess to help people in need. And so, here this guy is. He's taken everything his dad did, and now he's left.
He doesn't need his dad anymore. He doesn't need his family anymore. He doesn't need, I got everything I need.
Now he's ruined his life away, spent everything that he had. There's a famine in the land, and now he's in need. He has no place to go. He has no money. He has no place to live.
He has. Nothing. Verse 15. And he went and he joined himself to a citizen of that country. In other words, he got a job.
Something this guy never had, right? He gets a job and he sent him into the fields to feed swine.
Now, you got to understand, Jesus is laying it on pretty thick to teach the congregation that day and the multitude on how our father views sinners. And so he goes and he's like, listen, and you got to put yourself here. This son alienated himself from his earthly father. He alienated himself from his family. He left his community behind.
He went to a far country, lost everything. And Jesus, who remember, is the best storyteller ever, Jesus adds on, oh, by the way, he gets a job feeding pigs. Why is that significant? Here's why: is because not only was he alienated from his earthly father, the fact that now he's feeding pigs, Jesus was showing them that he's also now ceremonially unclean.
So now is not only he estranged from his earthly father. He's now estranged from his Heavenly Father. Because he's feeding pigs. Verse 16. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him.
So I know that's not how we talk a lot of times, but here in verse 16, when it says, and he would fain have filled, here's what that word feign literally means: it means to covet, it means to lust. In other words, here's what Luke's telling us: this man, when Jesus is teaching, this man got so low that as he's feeding the pigs and he's living with the pigs, he starts feeding them, and he is craving. It's almost lunchtime, right? You're craving whatever Father's Day lunch you have on the agenda, right?
Well, this guy is so low that he begins craving the food that he's feeding the pigs. It doesn't get much lower than that. And so, verse 17, Jesus said, and when he came to himself, literally came to his senses, he said this, and he's in this moment. And it's like a light bulb goes off in his mind. and in his heart.
How many hired servants of my fathers have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? Verse 18: I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before me, and am no worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. Literally, you get the picture. He's sitting there with the pigs.
He's desiring. He's like, Man, I wish, I mean, I'm going to get fired from my job if I start eating their food, right? And so he's like there, and he's wanting that. He's so desperate that he's willing to eat anything. This would be like a guy going into the dumpster, right, looking for food.
And that's the kind of situation that you have. And he finally comes to his senses and he's like, you know what? Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go back to my dad. And he's rehearsing it probably the entire journey from the far country back home.
He's saying in his mind, like, okay, here's how this is going to go. I'm going to tell my dad, I'm going to say, hey, if you would just hire me to work in your house, that'll be enough for me to live because your hired servants were, I never have to be called your son again. I never have to have your last name again. I never, you know, have to have my inherent, all that stuff. I don't want any of it.
All I want is just hire me. And I will be the lowest in the household. And that'll be better than where I'm at. And so verse 20. And he arose.
and came to his father, But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. And he had judgment. Right. No! Think about it.
Put yourself in the story. This is your son. Goes away, does this, whatever. Here's what I would probably do because I tried to put myself here. I'd probably be like, man, my son returns after that.
I'm filled with frustration. Bitterness. Anger. Resentment. Disappointment.
You name it? I'd be feeling it. But aren't you thankful the father in the story? A little bit different than I am.
So the father, it says he had compassion. That word compassion, if you look it up in the Greek, it actually is an internal, deep emotion, much deeper than what you can probably understand. This is the same word that it said when Jesus looked at the multitudes, he had compassion upon them. Same exact word. He was moved, in other words, from his heart.
And his son. See, as he rehearsed all of that, you know, from the couple verses before this, he's rehearsing how his father's gonna take this. And on his journey back home. What he didn't realize, and here's, you know, this is my commentary on it. What he didn't realize.
Is that every day? It's almost as if, you know, as the sun's going down. The father goes out. It may be the corner part of the estate. I don't know.
And he's looking. Any spray? And he's thinking. Maybe today. is the day.
My lost son. Comes home.
So he comes home. He has compassion, and Jesus continues to lay it on really thick. Not only did he have compassion on him, he ran to him, which is undignified in this culture for any man to run.
Okay. It's a good thing for us to apply today, maybe. I don't know. And so, but he ran to him and then he fell on his neck and kissed him. This is Jesus really trying to lay it on thick because everybody in his audience who's having questions about how Jesus views sinners, and he's using this illustration to prove his point, to show in how God really views sinners in our world.
This would have made them almost like. Throw their stuff down. Here's why. You're talking the guy who just got done living with the pigs, cleaning up after the pigs, eating what the pigs ate. You're telling me that that dad had compassion, ran to him, and then kissed him?
If that was me, I'd be like, hey man, listen, I'm glad you're home, bro, but take a shower and then I'll hug you, right? But no, what he did, you almost imagine this guy's dirty, he's got issues and everything, and he comes back to his father, this unclean individual. And the father reaches down, just looks past all of the mess that he was. And he kissed him. Verse 21.
Son said in him, Father, here's his rehearsed speech. I've sinned against heaven, and in thy sight I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, hey, God, he almost just, he didn't even respond to the question. Like, his son's like rehearsing this whole thing. He's ready for it.
It finally gets to the moment. Father doesn't even respond to him. He's like, hey, man, forget that, son. Hey, servants, hey, come together. Bring forth the best robe.
Put it on my son. Put a ring on his hand. Shoes on his feet. Verse 23. And bring hither the fatted calf and kill it.
And let us eat and be merry. For this, verse 24, for this my son was dead. And he is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they begin to marry. In other words, like they begin to throw a party because this lost son had.
had returned. But the beginning of our story in verse 11. There was another son. You're almost like, you're so wrapped up into this story. You forget about the other one, and so Jesus.
Brings up the other son. He says verse 25. He says, Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and And dancing.
So the other son, he's been working, he's been working with his dad, doing everything he's called to do, everything he's supposed to do. And he comes back home just like any other day, he hears music. And he hears dancing. There's a party going on. Stinking.
What'd I miss? Did I miss the text message? Did I miss the email? Like, what's the deal? I didn't hear anything about this.
And then in verse 26, So he called one of the servants that worked for his dad, and he asked what these things meant. Verse 27, the servant responded back to him and said, Listen, thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And in verse 28, he was Excited. He was happy. No.
He was angry. He was so angry he wouldn't go in. Therefore came his father out and he entreated him. The word entreated literally means he pleaded with him. Notice the father.
He ran to the sun that had ruined his life. And he still goes to the sun that did everything by The book. He goes out. The father goes out and he pleads with him. Verse 29.
And he answering, he said to his father, Lo, these things, many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make marry with. In other words, he's like, Listen, I've done everything right. I've been faithful. I've lived for you, Dad. I've stayed here.
I didn't ruin my life. I didn't demand, hey, give me your inheritance. I didn't do any of that. I stayed right here, put, did my thing, worked every day. I did everything the right way.
And yet, you're throwing a party for the guy who ruined his life away and made a ton of terrible decisions. And yet here. I I am. He goes on in verse thirty. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured this is him pleading with his father, thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fat of calf.
And then in verse thirty one, and he said unto him, Son, Thou art ever with me. And all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead. and is alive again. was lost.
And is. Down. Familiar Story Every one of you have probably heard it.
So my question. is this. Who do you best? identify with in the story.
Now remember You can't fool God. God already knows where your heart is. He knows where you are. You can't fool him. But I want you to answer and be honest with yourself.
Don't try to fool anybody. Be honest with yourself. Be fully transparent with yourself. Who do you best identify with in the story? Perhaps it's the younger brother.
Right? Perhaps it's the younger brother, and maybe you were raised a certain way and to love God, and then all of a sudden you just made poor choices and you decided, you know what, I know better for my life. And so you went on, and now you're in a situation, maybe a relationship that you wish you weren't in. And maybe you're living a life and engaged in some things that you wish, man, I wish I never started doing. And all of a sudden, you find yourself and you're so far from God and you're estranged from family as a result.
You've made poor choices, poor life decisions, and you find yourself. And today you've slipped into our church, maybe just because it's Father's Day and you're like, hey, I'm going to do something nice for dad, but you haven't been to church lately and you don't really believe this stuff and all that kind of stuff. And you're just living like the world and you're living for yourself. And you say, today, where I'm at, Pastor, is this. I feel like I'm in a far country.
I feel like I'm in a distant country far away. I'm the younger brother. And I'm sitting here, and my life is not what I wanted it to be. My marriage or my relationship, my job, my relationship with my mom, or my relationship with my dad, my poor decisions, my friend group, my community, what I'm doing, what I engage in on the weekends. Like, I wish nobody would ever know what I was involved in.
And I feel like today, when I've slipped in here today, I identify with the younger brother. I feel like I'm in a far distant country so far from God that I don't even know what I would need to do to get back. If that's where you are, here's my challenge for you today. If you're the prodigal, if you're the younger brother, Come home. And here's what I want you to know.
If that's where you are today, because there could be somebody in here. If that's where you are today, here's my challenge for you. And don't forget this, don't miss this. You're probably thinking, man, what's my family going to think? What's my what's my community thing?
What's my friends gonna If I come back. If I admit what I've done, here's what I'll tell you. This is usually true. The people that know you best. And love you the most.
They probably already know what you're engaged in anyway. And if you come back, those people, here's what I'm going to tell you. They're probably not going to look at you and judge you.
Now, you might have to have some conversation and deal with some of the consequences of your bad decisions. I can't guarantee you're going to get away from that. But here's what. I've seen. The ones that are closest to you, they're probably going to say.
We've been praying. For this day to come. Welcome home. The ones that matter the most in your life, they're not going to look at you and point a finger. They're gonna welcome you back.
So if that's you, if you're the younger brother. Come home. Don't delay. Don't continue living with the pigs. Don't continue down your bad cycle of decisions because you can't break it by yourself.
Come home. But maybe that you're like, man, that's not me. I id identify best with the older brother. I stayed back. I did everything by the book.
I attend church every Sunday. I'm pretty good. And I like, I dress the right way. I sing the right songs that we're supposed to sing. The way I do church is right.
And I can't believe all these other people that do it a different way and stuff. You know what I'm talking about? And you think, man, that's the thing. And even when somebody that was far from God, maybe that made a mess of their life, they come back and you respond with things like, well, we better keep an eye on them. Or we better watch 'em.
Or I bet they're just back to get something from us. And we say all that. Listen, you might best identify with the older brother. Here's what I'm telling you. What you don't understand is the audience that Jesus was speaking to, he was speaking to the religious crowd.
That's the church folks. He was speaking to sinners and publicans, right? Sinners and stuff. Here's what you got to understand: both groups were lost. One, the sinners, they were lost.
In their badness, how bad they were. The religious crowd were still lost. They were instead just lost in how good they thought they were. But here's the thing that the common denominator with both curves They're both equally lost and equally in need of compassion shown to them from the Father. One was just lost in how bad they were, and one was lost in how good they thought they were.
But they both were in need of the love of the Father. And here's what I'm telling you, if that's you. Then what I would love to invite you to do today is. It's like Look at people the way that God looks at people. Ask him today to take the moat or the log out of your eyes so that it'll help you see clearly.
The way that God really views sinners, because that's the nature of the parable here. He's talking about how does God view sinners?
So I'm asking you: like, if you identify with the older brother, ask him today: take the log out of my eyes so that I can see people the way that God really sees people. And then maybe some of you identify with the Father. Maybe in your personal life, you do have a kid that has maybe left and ruined their life. And you're praying for them to come home. But we're not God in this story, understand that.
But maybe you sit here and you say, Pastor, I don't feel like I'm the older brother. I feel like I see people the way that Christ sees people, but I also don't think I'm the younger brother. I'm not, I'm not living in bad, terrible sin and partying on the weekend, doing all this stuff. I'm not there, I'm not there. I really believe I see that.
Listen, that is the desire that God has for every single one of us. Because what you have to understand about this story is just the gospel, and I'm almost done. The gospel is at play in this story. Because what you got to understand, just like the father leaped up when he saw his son from afar off and he ran to him and he hugged him and he kissed him and he put all this stuff and gave him all these gifts. What you have to understand is that that is symbolic of what Jesus has done for every single one of us.
Those who are far from him and sinners and deep in their sin, but also those who have kind of done everything what they thought the right way and they feel like they're pretty good and that kind of thing. God came, and what God did was he sent Jesus to come almost as if he's running from heaven to earth for us. And he ran and took upon him the cross of Calvary, taking all of your sin. How bad it really is. You say, Pastor, you don't know what I've really done.
Listen, it was nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ himself. And he took it upon himself. All of your sin. All of your morality, all of your legalism, all of your pride was nailed to the cross.
So that you can have life. And here's what I'll tell you. If you're in here and you've trusted Jesus as your Savior, when you trusted in Him. A party was thrown in heaven. And people make merry because of what has happened in your life.
But here's what I want you to know: Jesus did that for you so that you, through trusting in him through salvation, could actually look at people. The way Christ sees sinners. That's the thing.
So, who do you identify with? Is it the elder brother? Is it The younger brother? Or do you actually see people for the way that Jesus sees them? Mm.
