Lesson 51L Bonus- Rewind on the Prodigal Son Parable Luke 15:11- 31

Notes
Transcript

The Scandal Unfolds 15:11- 16

English Standard Version (Chapter 15)
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.
One of the first things we have to ask is just “who is listening?” We are told early on in the chapter that there were at least four groups of individuals in attendance not counting the Lord and His disciples. There were tax collectors (publicans), sinners, Scribes, and Pharisees. There is a great gulf between the two groups, though they are near in location. They are all within earshot of Jesus. We may be seeing in this story of a father with his young sons as these two separate groups being represented in this Bible passage. Jesus is dealing directly with the separation between them by showing just how it all looks to God Himself. Jesus is telling them and us that He is willing to meet us face to face no matter what our behavior.
While thinking of a prodigal, I could not help but think also of a prodigy. There is not much difference in the spelling but there is a world of difference in the presentation. The prodigal would be someone extravagant with their money or goods to the point of being extremely wasteful. Prodigal also means lavish, careless, and overabundant with nothing to show for it. As we look at the two words. I think it would be safe to say that the prodigal was at one time a prodigy. That is, he could have been sent out with his inheritance and high hopes were attached to the goods and him. He was perhaps a business prodigy who flamed out in the marketplace of sin. He is not the first, and probably not the last. Did the publicans/tax collectors and sinners figure that they were the prodigal son at the end of the story?
Tax collectors were hated by the masses because they profited off the government taxes of the day. These individuals added to the tax burden with their fees and pressured demands. They were almost like a government accredited mafia that specialized in graft and white cloak crimes. The sinners, were either Gentiles or anybody who did not subscribe to the law and ten commandments. They were what we would call an atheist or agnostic. A sinner could even be Jewish because of having disregarded the faith of their fathers. There were no religions practiced by the two groups so they were “sinners.” Jesus even chose a publican as one of His disciples. Visibly, it was a shady crowd.

The Religious Crowd

This would be the Pharisees and Scribes. They were professional Jewish spiritual leaders. We have come to see that many of them were extremely hard to get along with. Both groups of listeners, the unspiritual and the spiritual could be considered as being on the outside of the Fathers house at the same time. Alienated and unsaved. How about that?
The unsaved younger son, the wasteful, licentious young man squandered everything that had come into his possession through inheritance. By the way, most inheritances are gone in about a years time. Rarely are they metered to last. In this case, it lasted as long as there was no famine. When the tough times arrived, this playboy became homeless and pathetic. He did hire himself out to a Gentile pig farmer. He soon envied the pigs because of his hunger and their food. He was literally “down in the dumps!”

Change of Heart and Perspective 15:17-32

English Standard Version (Chapter 15)
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, ‘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. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 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.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”
The truth is, the trial and pain of sin had enabled him to see life from a new perspective. Instead of his family coming to him, he came to himself. It was not just a hunger need, he realized he needed to be back in his fathers house. He was alienated from the father. That is a detestable place to be. he came to a place of repentance: “I have sinned against heaven and (my father.)” He felt he was a shameful son. He also saw that it would be better to live as a servant in his fathers house than to be in this hopelessly lost predicament.

But Dad,...

The father probably never stopped looking as we see in verse 20. The Father ran to embrace the sinner, had compassion on him and give him a big kiss! The son then repented, apologized, and humbled himself before his dad. The father was ready for this day because he had a ring, a robe, some shoes, and perhaps even an energy bar or goat jerky.

Oh Brother 15:25- 32

The partying and celebrating of the prodigal’s return had not been made known to the brother. He was on the outside. Someone had to explain to him what all of the ruckus was. He was definitely not in the know. He was probably thinking, all of this partying, the fatted calf, the ring and the robe are all coming out of my inheritance. All of this has got his goat(vs.29). But dad, comes after him also and tries to reason with him. The dad makes every effort to help him see that this a is a good thing! dad thinks its time to celebrate and be joyful. But we never see if brother sees it his way. He is still on the outside. Life is not fair.
As we come in for a landing, let’s consider some truths for us here in today’s church economy. The immediate truth is that the gospel is not always fair. After all, someone had to die for all of us. All of our sins were laid on one man, Jesus Christ the righteous. And yes, sometimes the scandalous son makes it into the fold after wandering in the fields of sin. Sometimes, the religious, always obedient son has no repentance in his heart and remains close to the situation, but clearly he is still outside. these two aliens were raised in the same house but only one came to his senses and could see that the things of this world do not satisfy. The other stood his ground and could not see beyond how much this was going to cost. And, let us never lose the joy of being found. The lost are still being found today. Today we are still trying to convince the older alienated brother, that the father has come after him also. He needs to just draw up close to him and agree that he needs to be inside with everybody else, enjoying the blessing of being in the fathers house. Lay down the burden and come on in.
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