Lent 4
Notes
Transcript
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
I have two passages today. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 and Luke 15:11-32.
We know the parable of the prodigal son very well.
A younger son demands his inheritance, leaves home, and wastes everything in reckless living.
When he hits rock bottom, he returns home, expecting rejection but instead is welcomed with open arms by his father.
Meanwhile, the older brother resents this grace, but the father reminds him that both sons belong.
The parable - given the context of what Jesus was dealing with at the time. Shows us that that reconciliation and celebration are at the heart of the father's love.
At the beginning of Chapter 15 - where the Parable of the prodigal occurs:
1 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.
2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
New way of Seeing
A new Creation
God’s Reconciliation
Our Response
A New Way of Seeing
A New Way of Seeing
As in Luke 15:1-2 so in 2 Corinthians 5.
The Corinthian church was divided - like any community that gets together - the reality of our sin overwhelms our good intentions.
The Corinthian church was marked by:
Factions & quarrels (1 Cor 1)
Moral compromise (1 Cor 5)
Lawsuits & disputes (1 Cor 6)
Economic and social divisions (1 Cor 11)
Pride over spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12–14)
Questioning leadership (2 Cor 10–13)
Factions & quarrels (1 Cor 1)
(Paul Vs Apolos)
Moral compromise (1 Cor 5)
Sexual imorality
Lawsuits & disputes (1 Cor 6)
Taking each other to court.
Economic and social divisions (1 Cor 11)
Separation at communion.
Pride over spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12–14)
Which is better?
Questioning leadership (2 Cor 10–13)
Is Paul an Apostle?
Solution
Solution
New way of Seeing
A new Creation
God’s Reconciliation
Our Response
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.
Think of the prodigal:
32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
Application: We are called to see people not by their worst moments, but by who they are in Christ—or who they could become in God’s grace.
They are a new creation.
New way of Seeing
A new Creation
God’s Reconciliation
Our Response
A New Creation
A New Creation
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.”
God’s work is not about patching up the old, but making something entirely new.
In the Prodigal Son, when the son returns, the Father doesn’t scold or lecture—he throws a feast, clothes him in new robes, gives him a new start.
Application: This is the invitation for all of us—not to be defined by our past, but to live into the “new creation” identity.
But how - the truth is - it is God’s job.
New way of Seeing
A new Creation
God’s Reconciliation
Our Response
God’s Reconciliation
God’s Reconciliation
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.
God’s movement toward us is always reconciliation, not condemnation.
The Father in the parable runs to meet the son—before any apology, before any deal.
Reconciliation is God's idea, not ours.
It is to be received and shared.
Application: How can we reflect that same heart toward others—especially those who have "wandered far off"?
New way of Seeing
A new Creation
God’s Reconciliation
Our Response
Our Response
Our Response
Entrusted with the Message
(v.19–20)
Entrusted with the Message
(v.19–20)
"We are ambassadors for Christ..."
This isn’t just something God does for us—it’s something God calls us to live out.
Like the Father in the parable, we are called to be agents of welcome, forgiveness, and restoration.
Application: In a divided world, in a divided South Africa, we are called to the hard, holy work of building bridges—not walls.
The Heart of It All (v.21)
The Heart of It All (v.21)
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin..."
God’s reconciliation cost something—it was not cheap grace.
The Father in the parable absorbs the shame, the cost, and even the anger of the older brother.
The cross is the place where God absorbs all our brokenness to make us whole.
Invitation to be reconciled: Not just to God, but to one another.
We are both the prodigal and the older brother—and God is always the loving Father.
Who in your life do you need to see differently? Who is God calling you to reconcile with?
