The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-24

Over the past 4 weeks, we have been discussing both the centrality of Christ and the true purpose for which He came.

We learned about the centrality of Jesus in Hebrews 1:1-3 and how God has spoken to us through Him, how He is the express image of God, and that He (Himself) purged our sins and now sits at the, “right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Taking this understanding, we then discussed Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the significance and symbolism of the donkey/colt and how this was Jesus’ last/final trip to Jerusalem as a man, before He bore our cross and judgment.

Then over the course of the last two weeks, we walked through the first two of three parables in Luke 15, all circling around the truth that God loves the lost.

We read how the shepherd went on an urgent and purposeful search for the sheep lost to the wilderness (world).

We read how the woman who lost her coin in her home, searched endlessly, tirelessly, and resiliently, with the light of truth of Jesus Christ to find her lost coin (those lost in our homes/families).

One a picture of those lost in the world, the other a picture of those lost in our homes.

Today we unpack the Parable of the Prodigal, the Parable of the Lost Son—which now is a picture of the individual. The prodigal refers to those who have chosen to live a worldly, fleshly, and sinful life; it refers to those who are living in rejection and rebellion of Jesus Christ and is a picture of a person who’s life is un-surrendered. We’ve gone from the broad stroke of the world, to our homes, to the individual in these three parables.

You may be here, as the person who was once a prodigal, but through Christ—have been found and no stand no longer a prodigal but a son/daughter of God, adopted through the means of Christ; for you:

Firstly I would listen to this story with a heart of gratitude and thankfulness, recognizing what Christ has accomplished for you, thankful you are no longer one.

Secondly, I would encourage you, that as you remember, to pray for the “one” you know who is prodigal and living opposed to God, that either through you or through another or some other means, they would see and realize their prodigal living and turn to Christ.

You may be here as the prodigal, living opposed to God and in need of restoration and reconciliation (it’s what you are ultimately looking for in your worldly living); for you:

I would listen to this parable, realize and see how the love of the father in this parable, is the love of God the Father towards you—that you can be found, that you can be saved, and that you can be redeemed and restored!

Ultimately, I believe the love of this father in this parable—to be the love of the Father towards us as seen in John 3:17

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

(READ LUKE 15:11-24)

God loves the lost. This is characterized, exampled, and seen in this story. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the greatest/most-beloved stories ever told. It’s preached on Sunday mornings, taught in Bible studies and small groups; it’s taught in children’s programs, youth groups, and senior adult classes. It’s a story we find ourselves reading in quiet times, discussing in conversations, or reading on blogs/vlogs/podcasts. It may also be a story you have yet to hear; either way it’s a story, which plainly, simply, and straightforwardly tells of the singular truth for which God sent His Son…God loves the lost!

Before we get started, note the meaning of the world “prodigal.” Prodigal means “recklessly extravagant,” or “recklessly spendthrift,” not wayward or rebellious as it often thought. The word itself is only once used in the NKJV. Prodigal is characterized by wasteful expenditures and lavish living.

Tragically, a person with these characteristics would turn most people away— and if we are honest, even professed Christians tend to look the other way. The truth is God loves the lost—He loves ALL people and He reaches out to ALL men/all people—even those who are the most wasteful, irresponsible, and rebellious. God runs to embrace ANY prodigal son who repents and returns home---this includes those stuck in/entrapped in/struggling in addiction.

While you and I may take 1,000 steps and walk a 1,000 miles in it—it’s the one turn of a repentant heart that ushers in God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness—one step of a repentant heart, to be included in the family of God.

LET’S DIG IN!

I (v.11-13) Setting & Setup—A man had two son—the younger left home

Luke 15:11-13 “Then 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 falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.”

(CONTEXT)

Note a few things first:

The son was a child of the father’s by birth

The son belonged to the estate (world) of the father by natural birth

The son, however, did not belong to the father; which is clear based on what follows

What the younger son said—“Give me the portion of goods that falls to me,” or another way, “Give me my inheritance.”

Note what he said

He wanted the money, the things, the possessions of the estate he was to inherit

He wanted all the father was to give him, in the now, so he could enjoy it in the now

Note his attitude:

He was selfish/self-centered

He was rude and unkind

He cared little—if anything—for his father

Note his heart:

In the majority of families in this time—it was primarily at the fathers’ death that a son’s inheritance was to be given; on occasion a father might give his inheritance a little at a time (but this wasn’t the case here)

In the son’s statement, attitude, and heart, he was saying to his father, “I wish you were dead,” so he could have his inheritance immediately

What else the younger son was saying: “Give me my independence.”

He felt tied down to his father’s rules/property/responsibility to care for the property

He wanted to be “free” of his father, to be away from him and his responsibilities; he wanted to live to himself

He felt that in continuing to live under his father’s house, the father would:

Demand and require too much work

Curtail and limit his freedom

Disallow and restrict fun and pleasure

Be unfair and no understand

Control and discipline too much

Keep an eye and hand upon him

Note the response of the father:

He gave his son his possessions and gave him his freedom

The son was able to do what he wanted to do with his life/his goods (abilities, talents, money, and things)

The son was given his freedom to use his life as he wished without interference from the father

He went against the culture of the day—and allowed his son to live as he chose; we most would have disavowed, the father allowed

What the result of this was: The son wasted his life in living to himself—in prodigal and riotous living

He left his father—the son rebelled/revolted and journeyed to a far country, a country:

Not across the street, nor across town

Not across the “state,” or even the next one, rather a place

Drastically different from that of his fathers’ (think about Elimelech going from Bethlehem to Moab)

As far away from his father as he could possibly get—where he wanted nothing to do with his father & everything to do with the world

He lived a worldly, fleshly (sin-natured) life—living for the pleasures of this world only—living to and for himself

“Riotous living”/”Prodigal living”—means loose, reckless, extravagant living; it included

Careless spending

Wicked behavior

Immoral activities

Irreverent/evil speaking

Immodest dress

Boastful language

(CONNECTION—You and Me)

While we are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the likeness of the triune God—we are not born into a relationship with Him—we are born already possessing a sinful nature—not by God, but through the one man, Adam.

When we are born, our bent is already set to this world, b/c our hearts do not yet belong to God

When we are born, we given a free will—and b/c our bent is to the things of this world, apart from a changed heart and renewed mind—we become as the prodigal. living to ourselves and in debt to our sinful nature (obliged to follow it)

As the prodigal—we search for and cling to worldly pleasures; things in the here and now to satisfy, fill a void, or find our identity; As prodigals, man tends to search for and find identities in:

Money/fame/fortune--”If I just have enough,” or “If I just had more, I’d find my contentment”

Problem is, when we chase this—it never becomes enough

Relationships— “I’d find my contentment, joy, and love in a spouse/boyfriend or girlfriend/friendship

Problem is—People are fallible, broken, and sin-prone; (1) Our spouses a sinner, (2) We date sinners, (3) Our friends our sinners, and we they fail us—because we’ve, “put all our eggs in their basket,” when the fail us:

Adopting worldly standards of how we speak to one another;

Problem is Jesus speaks candidly about the measure of our words:

Matthew 15:17-18 “Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”

Addiction: the next hit, the next drink, the next pornographic website—

Problem is all of these things (and others) are “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) that do not last

Adopting worldly standards of how we dress—that in adopting the “lawful” things of this world when it comes to our appearance, we might find our acceptance and identity

Problem is—God doesn’t look at the outward, rather He examines the inward

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

Psalm 139:1-4 “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”

As the prodigal—we adopt attitudes

Of selfishness & self-centeredness

That want nothing to do with God, His Word, His standards

That want our independence apart from living according to God’s standards

***See this: b/c some people look at God’s Word as the Prodigal Son looked at his father’s house---restrictive/demanding/oppressive:

When we look at God’s Word, His commands and how He calls us to live, as restrictive—we prohibit ourselves from living in the liberty which comes in Christ. Does God’s Word show us what we are to refrain from? Absolutely! But living in such a way the we dwell and focus so much on what we aren’t supposed to do—causes us to walk on eggshells, living as looking over our shoulders; this eventually leads to resentment of God and His Word—which produces prodigal living;

God’s Word is as much, if not more about living in the liberty we have in being born again in Christ; as we live to Him—we are no longer yoked to restrictive living, rather unshackled to live in the liberty and freedom afforded to us in Christ—and the blessings of living to Him FAR OUTWEIGH whatever the world promises; we should know where we “can and can’t go, “as believers; but knowing this isn’t a burden—it frees us to live in complete liberty

Pull from men’s retreat—Mike Singletary

II (v.14-16) The son came to the end of himself (suffering great need)

Luke 15:14-16 “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.”

(CONTEXT)—He suffered 5 (five) things:

He suffered being destitute

He “spent all”—The son squandered and wasted and misused

His money & property

His talents & purpose/opportunities

His mind/thoughts

His hands/body/soul

In this we see the prodigal

Rebel and serve himself in these things, rather than honor his father with them

Wrap his life up on the pleasures and securities of the world—but now they were all gone

Have nothing left to help him; he stood in the world

Bare, empty, alone, and destitute

He suffered natural disaster

A famine struck—which refers to the trials/tribulations/and disasters in life b/c of the very nature of the world, and because he had set his face against his father, the son had to encounter, face, and battle these things:

Without his father’s care or help

Without his father’s protection or provision

He suffered enslavement and humiliation

The son was enslaved and bound to the life he had chosen to live

The son was now attached/enslaved to a Gentile—a man of a “far country”

The son was living, now, in the humiliation of his choices to live to the world and set his face against his father

The son was now humiliated in having to clean hog pens

He suffered hunger

The son had spent all he had—his self, his money, his possessions, in pursuit of how he wanted to live and it left him

Hungry & in-need

Broken and starving

He suffered loss of friends—whatever friends he had—had now left him

When he had plenty—when he maintained his “social status” as his friends did—they were glad to call him friends; when he couldn’t, his friends disappeared

Common sense would say, his friends would have felt the effects of the famine,” but in respect to the prodigal, “no man gave unto him.”

(CONNECTION—You and me)

As in the prodigal, when man seeks to live according to himself, according to the ways of this world, squandering and wasting, misusing and abusing the life he is given, he too suffers:

Being destitute

In man’s rebellion and self-serving, in our pride of life, in man’s self-centered thinking of, “it’s my way not God’s way,” attitude, man is set to become destitute, having nothing left to help him—therefore he will eventually stand

Bare, empty, alone, and destitute—What the world offers, what the world “promises” is temporary, fleeting, and will ultimately leave you standing alone with nothing but a gaping void where God is supposed to be

From natural disasters

Trials/tribulations/and disasters will happen—and if we’ve turned our face from God and are living apart from Him and in rebellion of Him, we are set to encounter, face, and battle these things—alone:

Without God’s care or help

Without God’s protection or provision

Without the position of victory

Enslavement and humiliation (3 things to see in this connection)

It is a picture of being spiritually/emotionally/and mentally drained; (1) in living to ourselves, (2) fighting our own battles, (3) in thinking we know better than God, (4) in our refusal to involve God in our lives, we

Become spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically drained

No matter how we justify, excuse, blame, or claim ignorance—are left destitute, drained, and defeated—with a gaping void in our souls

It is a picture of attaching ourselves to a “person of a far-off country,” attaching ourselves to sin and the sinful ways of this world

Prodigal/sinful living leaves you drained, exhausted, and worn out

Prodigal sinful living leaves you seeking refuge in:

Addiction(s); Drugs—alcohol—pornography—greed

Immoral relationships: unequally yoked marriages

Passing pleasures of this world

In our sports/jobs/hobbies

In our money/titles/

False doctrines/beliefs

It is a picture of how sin’s leading enslaves a man to the “hog pens” of this world

Spiritual hunger—Living to our sinful nature—to ourselves—to the riotous and prodigal things of this world will ALWAYS leave a person (1) empty and (2) hungry; the pleasures, wealth, and systems of this world MAY satisfy the body—but WILL NEVER satisfy the soul:

The world cannot permanently:

Satisfy & fill

Nourish & provide

Provide & supply

Please & protect

The world WILL however leave man’s soul (leave the you of you)

Dissatisfied—How many times do you find yourself running back to the same sins again and again, trying to satisfy your heart?

Unfulfilled—How many times do you seek out fame/fortune/titles/status from the world, yet still find yourself unfulfilled?

Unnourished—How many times do you find yourself consuming the passings pleasures of this world, only to find yourself unable to quench your soul’s hunger?

Empty

Un-supplied

Displeased

(ASK YOURSELF—What has your sinful nature, what has the sin you are living in---ever accomplished for you? What’s it EVER brought you, REALLY?)

Loss of friends

In living prodigal, whatever friends you think you have—you will find they

Will disappear

Will leave you to yourself

III (v.17-19) The son came to his senses/faced reality

Luke 15:17-19 ““But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’”

“Came to his senses/himself”—means he literally returned to his right mind and realized how foolish he had been (David Jeremiah)

Jesus considers a person away from God to be mad, insane, living in an unreal world.”

Ecclesiastes 9:3 “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”

Repentance

The beginning is found in the thinking about one’s need to repent and turn back to God

Is the beginning of sanity, reality, and the very foundation for building a sound life

(CONTEXT) When the prodigal son came to his senses & faced reality—he began to think hard upon some things:

He thought about his father and his enormous provision

He thought about his situation, what he was facing (“I perish” v.17) This carries the understanding of both now and the future:

He was perishing now: empty, lonely, unhappy, humiliated, and destitute—without purpose/meaning/significance—without family or friend

He was doomed to perish eternally (Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” )

He thought about humbling himself—this involved two (2) steps: (and notice a running theme here..LOL)

Repenting—he would have to “arise”—to turn from and leave the far country (Naomi—Ruth 1:7); repenting involves

Getting up

Turning for one’s sinful life, and

Turning toward and moving toward God

Confessing—he would have to confess/admit/acknowledge:

His sin

His unworthiness to be called God’s Son

A note on Biblical humility

Note in this context of these three verses—the son is merely thinking these things

A note on the statement the son was making in his thoughts:

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you...”—This statement of the prodigal son, according to historian Kenneth Bailey, falls short of repentance, rather is an attempt manipulation. How? Why?

Jewish culture viewed this statement as such—and the audience in this parable would have included the Pharisees and Scribes, who would have recognized this statement from Exodus—from the mouth and heart of Pharaoh

Exodus 9:27 “And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked.”

Exodus 10:16 “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.”

The prodigal son was “merely thinking” these things—he had not yet acted upon them. His desire was to do so, and the conviction was gnawing at his heart

(CONNECTION-You and me)—At some point in prodigal living, when in coming to the end of oneself, a person will be confronted with the reality and truth of Jesus Christ through His Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit (the question becomes—will that person recognize it to the point they cry out to Jesus?)

Through His Word, we come to think on

Who God is—who Christ is—and the provision He offers—as well as who we are—our condition and need

Our fate apart from a relationship (both now and in the future)

Humbling ourselves: which involves

Repentance

Confession

The question then becomes, “what will you do with this?”

It’s the same question we see Jesus ask Peter in Mark 8:29

“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.””

IV (v.20-21) The son got up and returned to his father

Luke 15:20-21 ““And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’”

This is the summit of human experience—the son was seeking reconciliation with his father

This was the greatest of moments for the prodigal and for any sinner seeking reconciliation

The son repented

He was no longer just thinking about it—He was turning from his sinful life and going back to his father

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

He was accepted even before he confessed

“…a great way off...”—the text here is the Greek is emphatic and strong, it indicated

The father was not waiting for his son at home, rather

The father was travel some distance each day, toward the far country

This is the hinge verse—no where in Scripture does it allude to the fact the son knew or expected the father to be looking for him. The son had thought up in his own mind about being restored and reconciled (“Make me like one of your hired servants.”), but when he realized his father was actively looking for him—HE WAS UNDONE---despite all he had done, all he said, and how he was living; we see the son

Realized the “agape” love of the father had toward him—and this changed everything

Recognize his father’s compassion:

Compassion so consumed his father’s heart that he valued seeing his son restored—redeemed—reconciled—more than what the son had done—to the point the father “ran to meet him,” covering him/restoring him (which was counter to the culture). The father laid his down to see his son return

This compassion is the same compassion God has for you—that Jesus Christ has for you

In his father

Searching for him

Seeing him return

Running to him

Falling on his neck/kissing him

We see a father’s

Merciful eyes—no matter what the father had seen, he wanted to have mercy (This is God towards the prodigal)

Merciful heart—the father desired to reach out in compassion to the sinning son

Merciful feet—the father wanted to run and meet and escort the sinner home

The father, not wanting his son to experience the shame and guilt for what he had done, ran to him—to shield him from the shame and guilt the culture was sure to place on him

Merciful arms—the father desired to embrace the prodigal son and weep with him

Merciful words—the father desires to welcome the prodigal son home with all tenderness

He (the son) confessed

The son needed to confess his sin

The son needed to confess his rebellion, rejection, and his sin against his father

The son needed to confess he had sinned against heaven and all that heaven stood/stands for

V (v.22-24) The son was accepted and restored, when he returned to the father

Luke 15:22-24 ““But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”

THE KEY TO BEING ACCEPTED BY GOD IS REPENTANCE—A FACT WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER

The robe

Restored him to a position of sonship and honor

Symbolized being clothed with the righteousness of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Ephesians 4:24 “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

The ring

Restored him to a position of authority

The son was now to represent the father and his kingdom

The ring reinstated his son as an heir and gave him authority

The shoes

Immediately restored and elevated him above servanthood—meaning he became a free man

There was sonship—not servanthood—as the son had assumed

(WORSHIP TEAM)

As we close out these three parables, especially as we close out the study of the prodigal son—there’s an important truth we need to see about out the grace/mercy of Jesus Christ

Warren Wiersbe— “Had the boy been dealt with according to the law, there would have been a funeral, not a feast.”

Psalm 103:10-14 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”

In the grace/mercy of Jesus Christ—for those who repent and confess of their sins—of their prodigal living—we are not dealt with according to our sin,

We are dealt with according to the cross…and through the cross:

We find mercy—God withholding what we deserve;

We find grace—God gifting us what we don’t deserve;

We find forgiveness—God no longer holding our sins against us

We find peace—God no longer condemning us for our sins

We find our sins—washed, loosed, and eradicated with the blood of Jesus

We are also dealt with according to the empty grave..and in the empty grave we discover

Death no longer has a sting

Death has been put to death

In the blink of an eye—we will live in glory in the presence of Jesus Christ

And in the grace/mercy of these things, may I remind you of God’s love for you—as told to the church in Ephesus by Paul

Ephesians 3:16-18 “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—”