The Prodigals (2)

Introduction: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “PRODIGAL.”

I would dare say when you think of a prodigal you think of a person.

Some of you think of a brother or a sister that has broken your parents hearts time after time, day after day.

Some of you think of a niece or a nephew that your Aunt/Uncle has been praying for, for years.

Others think of someone you knew who had so much potential, who now is almost unrecognizable because of the years of rebellion, and sin that they have wasted.

Others think of their own son or daughter who has been running from God. Night after night you wet your pillow with tears, interceding for them, begging God to give them one more chance, asking God to intervene.

Many of you thought about the Scripture we will look at today in Luke 15...

Scripture Introduction:

Many of us often refer to this passage as the story of the PRODIGAL SON. Do you remember this story (Luke 15:1-7). It was told by Jesus after He gave two other parables about LOST THINGS. He spoke of the LOST SHEEP and how the shepherd left the 99 other sheep in the sheepfold and went looking for the ONE lost sheep.

Jesus also told the story about how a lady had 10 coins (Luke 15:8-10). Most likely this was a wedding gift and one day one of the coins got lost and she lit every candle in the house and swept the house until the lost coin was recovered and she rejoiced with her neighbors that the lost coin was found.

Then in Luke 15:11-32 we come to the story often referred to as “The Parable of the Lost Son” or the “Story of the Prodigal Son.”

But have you ever thought there was more than ONE prodigal in this story?

I suppose it would be important to DEFINE the term “prodigal” to have a better understanding of why some people see multiple prodigals in the story...

Merriam-Webster defines “prodigal” as someone who is “characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure: lavish (Merriam-Webster, s.v. “prodigal (adj.),” accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/prodigal).

Let’s read the entire passage together and see how many “prodigals” we can find:

Luke 15:11–32 NKJV

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. 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. “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.” ’ “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.’ “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. “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Let’s begin with the most obvious...

The Wasteful Prodigal

We find from the passage of Scripture that the man had two sons. The youngest son requested his inheritance early. He wanted what was coming to him. Some commentators think the son was so insensitive to his dad that he could care less at this point whether he lived or died, he just wanted his share of the inheritance.

The father gave in to the demand and before long the younger son left and took a journey into a “far country.” While on this journey he squandered his inheritance and wasted his money with reckless living and prostitutes.

He is the very definition of the word “prodigal.” We are told that “he spent EVERYTHING” (v. 14). Not only was he literally “bankrupt” but a famine arose in the area. This young man, who had wasted what was so generously given him, now had nothing.

The “so called friends” he had made along the way, the women who kept him company at night—they were no where to be found. He was alone, he was bankrupt, he was separated from his family and he was HUNGRY!

He was so hungry that he went and hired himself out to a “pig farmer.” As you probably know “pigs” were considered unclean animals by the Jewish people, so to not only associate with unclean animals, but to literally live and eat with them was UNTHINKABLE—but that’s where he found himself (vv. 15-16).

He was a prodigal in EVERY sense of the word!

We are all that prodigal.

Our sins have left us spiritually bankrupt. How many of the blessings, given to us by a loving Heavenly Father, have we WASTED! We have wandered far away from the Father. Our righteousness is filthy rags and apart from the “Bread of Life” we will starve to death.

The prodigal son represents us before our salvation.

But I believe there is another prodigal in this story. One of the definitions of a prodigal is someone who spends “lavishly.” As we are about to see the “prodigal son” has a “prodigal father.”

The Lavish Prodigal

Notice again what happens in

Luke 15:17–23 NKJV

“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.” ’ “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.’ “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;

The prodigal son comes to his senses and realizes what he had left behind. He had left behind a loving and generous father, who had not only taken care of him, but was very generous to his servants.

As he heads back to the father and makes his way toward the home the father spots him and compassion begins to well up inside of him. As the compassion overflows, he doesn’t wait for his son any longer, but speeds away to meet him and lavish upon his son the affection that has been building up inside.

As the son begins to confess his sin against the father and against God, the father interrupts and commands his servants to LAVISH upon his son the BEST ROBE, to put a RING on his hand and put SHOES on his feet!

He then plans a LAVISH celebration involving the fattened calf, because his son, who was DEAD is alive again!

While it is appropriate to call the youngest son a prodigal, it might be even more fitting to call the father a prodigal, given his lavish spending. He both gives his youngest son his inheritance early and spends even more on the feast to welcome the same son back. (Ministry Pass)

I am thankful that we too have a PRODIGAL FATHER! We have a PRODIGAL GOD who gives LAVISH GRACE and LAVISH MERCY!

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

We also see in this passage a third person who I will call...

The Other Wasteful Prodigal

Most messages that we hear about the Prodigal Son focus on the younger son who wasted his inheritance and the father who lovingly welcomed him back home. However, don’t forget what prompted Jesus to tell the three parables in this chapter to begin with. Note

Luke 15:2 NKJV

And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

They were criticizing Jesus for receiving sinners and eating with them. The thing was the Pharisees were sinners just like all the rest. The only difference was they were trusting in their OWN righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ. They needed forgiveness and salvation just like anyone else, but they didn’t recognize and acknowledge it.

They WASTED the opportunity to HUMBLE THEMSELVES and realize their own sinfulness! They WASTED God’s grace and forgiveness because of their own PRIDE.

While we focus on the “separation” of the younger son from the father the older son was just as separated. One website notes:

This is a story about two sons, both equally lost, both equally estranged from the father. The youngest son’s lostness is evident to us, but if we pay attention to the end of the parable, we will see that it is paradoxically the eldest son, the “obedient” son, who is not at the party the father is throwing...

Both [sons] have one thing in common: neither loves the Father but only the Father’s stuff. They simply have two ways of going about acquiring his stuff. One by living their own way and breaking all the rules and the other by following all the rules…(Ministry Pass)

Luke 15:29 NKJV

So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.

Similarly the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were angry with the message Jesus was proclaiming. They did not like the idea that people from outside their nation as well as outcasts and sinners in the nation were to be a part of the kingdom. Like the older son who refused to go to the feast, the Pharisees refused to enter the kingdom Jesus offered to the nation. (TBKC, p. 245)

I’m concerned that many people are just like this elder brother.

They have the appearance of being close to the Father. People would never question their integrity or their morals. Society looks at them as “good” people and may even be religious people.

But they don’t really love God. Maybe they love “God’s stuff”, maybe they love religion, maybe they love ritual, maybe they love the benefits that come from living what society deems a good, moral, upright life, but in reality they are just as far, if not farther from the Father as the most well known sinner in society is.

We see this OVER and OVER again in Scripture...

Luke 18:10–14 NKJV

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 20:45–47 NKJV

Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

Our “self-righteousness” and “empty religion” means NOTHING to the God who knows our heart and our ulterior motives. We can be the person who is FAR away from God and we know it and everyone else knows it…or we can be the person who APPEARS to be close to God, yet be just as far away...

OR we can repent and acknowledge our separation from God and come to Him in true repentance and faith and be cleansed, forgiven, and receive the adoption into the family of God! How sad it would be to live in the SHADOW of the Father, yet not truly KNOW and LOVE Him.

As we close today I want to draw your attention to one last thing and that’s what I want to refer to as...

The Prodigal God and our Older Brother

Once again let me remind you of the definition of the word “prodigal.” It can refer to someone who is LAVISH in their spending. We have already seen that the father in this story was lavish toward the younger brother upon his return from the far country.

However we need to be reminded that our Father in Heaven is LAVISH toward us as well! We’ve already looked at John 3:16 but let me remind you of a couple of other passages that remind us of the LAVISH LOVE our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us...

Romans 5:8 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:9–10 ESV

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The LAVISH FATHER sent our ELDER BROTHER from the comforts and glory of Heaven to ‘SEEK and to SAVE” that which was lost.

The LAVISH FATHER sent our GOOD SHEPHERD the Lord Jesus into the wilderness looking for US…the ONE LITTLE lost lamb!

The LAVISH FATHER sent the DILIGENT HOUSEWIFE searching with the LIGHT in all the cracks and crevices looking for the LOST COIN that was us!

While the prodigal’s older brother stayed at home and lived his life with no concern about his younger brother’s wellbeing, our older brother was not content to let us wander and stray and stay in the pigpen without pleading for us to come to the Father and be a part of the family of God!

Not only did Jesus leave the glories of Heaven to come to this “pigpen” of a world, but He even did more than that.

When He road into Jerusalem on the donkey 2000 years ago on what we now know as Palm Sunday, He was knowingly riding to His death. He knew that in just a few days He would lay down His life in YOUR place and MY place to make the SACRIFICE necessary for our sins. You see we couldn’t be reconciled to the Father any other way. Our sins had separated us, ungodly people, from a infinitely HOLY God. Jesus Christ, 100% sinless man and 100% holy God, took upon Himself our sin and the WRATH that our sin had incurred, so we could be reconciled to the Father.

The Father has done all there is to do to make a way for YOU to come home. The Son has paid the price and the Spirit is speaking to your heart telling you that you don’t have to live in the PIGPEN of your sin and/or SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS anymore.

Salvation (Run to the Father)

Rededication

Baptism