Passage: Luke 15:11-32
Preacher: Rev. Joel Beyer
Series: Parables of Jesus
Category: Forgiveness, Repentance
Keywords: prodigal , prodigal son , prodigal father , lavish , grace , reckless , luke 15 , parable
Summary:
The Prodigal Son is probably one of the most well-known and well-loved parables of Jesus. The dictionary defines "prodigal" this way: spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant; or having or giving something on a lavish scale. And I suppose when we call it the prodigal Son, we focus on the reckless nature of the Son who squanders his father’s estate on wild living. But who is the real "Prodigal" in this story?
Detail:
Parables Week 4 - The Prodigal Father Sermon by Pastor Joel Beyer
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been getting to know Jesus a little better through the stories that he told while he was on earth. I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things to do is to listen to people tell stories. This past week, I went to visit a 94 year old woman by the name of El Frieda Hess. She is a member of our church who is not able to get out of the house easily, and so once a month, I go and bring her communion, and on Monday it was about 105 degrees and she didn’t have A/C. As I was sitting in her house, drenched in sweat and wondering when I could leave, she began to show me pictures and share stories about growing up in Nazi Germany and how some of her friends were taken by SS officers for speaking against Hitler. It was incredible to hear of the atrocities of that war and how her travels eventually led her to the United States. I truly got to know her and who she is by the stories that she told me, and now I can relate to her better, and I can’t wait to visit her again! Jesus, being the very Son of God himself, could have very easily just zapped the knowledge of who he was to his disciples, but instead he chose to relate to us, to tell us stories about the reality of our relationship with God, and the incredible, and sometimes shocking reality of how deeply he loves us.
The story we’re exploring today is probably one of the most well-known and well-loved parables of Jesus: The Prodigal Son. What may come as a surprise is that the word prodigal appears nowhere in the story itself! I imagine it was attached later in a heading somewhere, but I actually had to look up what “prodigal” meant. The dictionary defines it this way: spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant; or having or giving something on a lavish scale. And I suppose when we call it the prodigal Son, we are told to focus on the reckless nature of the Son who squanders his father’s estate on wild living. But I want to change that. In reality, this story is not about the Son, as much as it is the prodigal nature of the father , who recklessly forgives, who is overly extravagant toward two sons who at one point despise him. When Jesus is telling this story, he is portraying to us the prodigal nature of God, who extravagantly loves us even though we are sinful, and prideful human beings.
Important as we take look at this story is to understand the context. Jesus is sitting with a bunch of religious elites who are grumbling at Jesus’ tendency to hang out with the outcasts and low-lifes of society, tax collectors, prostitutes. Jesus ate with and invited to follow him the people who we might call “what’s wrong with the world today”. You don’t have to think too hard to figure out who those people are today. I can just say “those people”…But Jesus loved them. And you can imagine, the religious elites who believed they were the arbiters of right belief and right conduct did not like this attitude one bit. In Luke 15, there is recorded a series of Jesus’ stories about how the kingdom of God reaches not only to those who “have it all together” and are acceptable to society, but also those who are what we might call “lost”, who are looked down upon or might not know the incredible love of God.
He starts with a story about 100 sheep and how a shepherd will leave 99 to go and find the one who is lost and hoist him up on his shoulders and carries him home. Then he tells a story about a woman who lost 10 coins in the dirt floor of her home and she searches night and day to find them, and when she does she is so excited she throws a party and invites everyone to celebrate with her. I can completely relate to her, except when I lose something like my keys or my wallet, I don’t just silently hunt for it, I turn into a complete jerk. Anyone else like this? I’m just completely grumpy and pouty until I find it. And then when I do, I run around annoying people by shouting I found it! Jesus makes the correlation that when God’s love finds someone who is lost and brings them to His flock, there is a gigantic celebration in heaven over it. Over you! Over me. Finding lost people and bringing them to himself is God’s favorite thing! That’s why Jesus hasn’t come back yet - there are still people to be rescued with His love. In this story, Jesus is going to share with us the nature of God’s love for the worst of sinners to lifelong believes. So lets’s dive in.
Luke 15:11-12 — And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 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.
This seemingly simple exchange here has a shocking undercurrent to it. It’s not like the younger son is asking for some extra cash to hang out with friends, he is asking for his share of the inheritance that is coming to him. According to the law of that time, the older son was entitled to 2/3rds of His father’s estate and the younger son was entitled to 1/3rd. But the shocking thing about this is that he wants it now, before his dad is dead . In essence he’s saying, “Hey dad, are you gonna die or what. I’m tired of waiting around. You know what, let’s just pretend you’re dead to me and give me my cut.” What?! What it should have read is “after his father picked his jaw off the floor he immediately cut his son off from the family. But no, the father obliges and sends him off with the value of 1/3rd of his estate.
So the real question is what is Jesus trying to tell us about the nature of God by the Father’s reaction? If the Father is God in this story, then Jesus is saying that God ’s love is not coercive. He’s not going to force anyone to belong to Him and receive his love. He gives it feely, but he doesn’t manipulate anyone into being in relationship with him, and at any time, we can walk away from Him and his promises. There is a popular teaching among some Christian circles called “Once saved, always saved”, meaning that once you are a Christian there is nothing that can stop you from being in God’s grace. In some way, they teach, God is going to bring you back and you will enjoy eternity with him. And while it sounds nice, its not biblical. The temptation of Satan and this world is huge, always convincing us to doubt that being in relationship with God is worth it, that there is greener grass apart from Him. As believers, we shouldn't be surprised when we feel lured away from Him and the things that He values. Its GOING to happen. For many of us it has, many times! The question is what are we going to do when it does?
Luke 15:13-19 — 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. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “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! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. ”’
The son who walked away from his father’s love is now experiencing the consequences of his actions. He has spent all his time and money and energy on things that he thought would make him happy, but they didn’t last. And especially after knowing the goodness and security and fulfillment of being part of a family, this just doesn’t feel right. Not only is he not content, but he is shamed by being made as low as the religiously unclean pig, and even desiring to eat what they do, which I’m sure is not very appetizing. Jesus is making clear the wisdom that we all have heard and know, but too many are reluctant to admit. Living for yourself is fun for a while, but always destructive in the long run. Relationships are shallow, destructive choices pile up, momentary pleasures eventually lose their charm, and life easily falls apart especially when the big things like economic trouble, relationship problems, sickness, and death come calling. The reality is The absence of God ’s love can be felt. My cousin Jeremiah wanted to be an actor and got mixed up with drugs. He knew the consequences of running away from God. And he would be the first to tell you that when you’ve gone so far away from Christ and His church by living for yourself, it’s that much harder to come back because of guilt and shame that follows you. It’s a sad, scary, place to be wondering what God thinks about your life decisions. Where do you start to try to make it right? We might try to make deals in our minds with God. I’ll turn it around! I’ll work it off by being a good person! I’ll do some community service! Then maybe, eventually, one day He’ll take me back, and I’ll feel like I belong again. But that’s not how God works, lets see how the Father responds.
Luke 15:20-24 — 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. 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. ’ But the father said to his servants, ‘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.
What?! In a turn of events, Jesus reveals the shocking part of this story is not the son’s actions, its the Father’s reaction to his return! All that time rehearsing and coming up with just the right words to say, and the right formula to earn back his father’s affection, was for nothing. The father ran to him, probably so that he would even avoid the shame and ridicule of everyone else in the village as he approached, and threw his arm around him, celebrating with all his might the fact that his beloved Son was lost and is found again. Think about this for a minute. The same son who just recently deeply hurt his father by telling him he wished he was dead, is not only allowed back into the family, but the emotion of the father is so great upon seeing him that he throws a giant party. The Father is the prodigal one in his story. Jesus shows us that God’s love for us is over the top, EXTRAVAGANT for sinners like us who often wish he didn’t exist so we can please ourselves that he celebrates each and every one of us. How COSTLY is His love for us that he is willing to undergo the shame and scorn of us turning our backs on him. And he doesn’t just love one person this way, he loves each and every person. In fact, his love for all people is so strong that it cost him the life of His own Son. In order to seek after us, he let his own Son suffer and die on a cross so that we could be saved. In order to welcome us home without any shame, while we were still sinners Christ died for us, and paid for our rebellion with his own flesh and blood. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God doesn’t wait for us to figure our lives out and prove our devotion to Him, before he throws his arms around us and says, I’m glad you’re here. God’s attitude toward our repentance is always to welcome us home and to rejoice in us, no matter if its the first or the 101st time you’ve ran. But then there’s the older son, the one who has always been a “good boy”, who hasn’t been lured by the temptation of the world, well, not the same kind of temptation anyway…Let’s see what happens with him:
Luke 15:25-32 — “ Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound. ’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him! ’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found. ’”
We’d like to think that the older brother had a right to be angry, that his brother had shamed his father’s name, that he had squandered a 1/3rd of His father’s estate, that he had tarnished their reputation, but the son’s anger isn’t directed to his brother at all, its with the father. “Dad, how come you’ve never celebrated me like that? Why am I not important enough for a celebration like this?” And in the meantime he has completely condemned his brother. Notice he says “This son of yours!” The sin of the older brother isn’t as extravagant as his younger brother, but its just as deadly - It’s his pride, His ego. His desire to place himself as the one who can judge and condemn others. As followers of Christ, we should definitely avoid following the ways of the world by only living for ourselves, but we should also be equally as careful about writing others off and condemning them as not worthy of our time to love, because God’s Love is CONTINUALLY PURSUING ALL PEOPLE . From those whom some in our society might look down on - the homeless, gang members, prostitutes and substance abusers to those whom God has put in our lives who have different lifestyles and values than you do, to even those in our very own family who have brought great hurt and shame. I know there were many in my family who wrote off my cousin Jeremiah after he went off the deep end. But God’s love continued to pursue him, eventually landing him in at Teen Challenge in New Orleans, where a church there was able to reach out to him and turned his life around through the love of Christ. He married a wonderful girl who leads much of the music at their church, now is a father of two beautiful children. He found his calling in the production world, not as an actor, but as a videographer and film producer for Christian movies and charity organizations. God’s love never gives up on people, and neither should we.
The Father was reaching out to the older Son as well. You’ve always been my child and He is YOUR brother too. Come and celebrate with us. God has redeemed us by the blood of Jesus to share with him in the joy of seeking the lost and sharing his PRODIGAL love, just as we have been loved all along. I love this parable because in it Jesus shows the reality that all sinners are equal at the foot of the cross. We all come into the party the same way - broken, selfish, and only through the extravagant, excessive, lavish, reckless, costly love of our Prodigal Father. This is the running, rejoicing Father, who greets us all with open arms and holds a big feast for us that we don’ t deserve, who also rejoices with us when we stay faithful to His Word and work with Him in his kingdom. May we always celebrate his Prodigal love for us through Jesus, a love we definitely don’t deserve, and join him in making it our mission to seek and love the lost. Amen.
