Portraits of the Kingdom: Parable of the Prodigal SonIn

Notes:

Preached this passage before. I know it like the back of my hands… The nuances and stressors brought out by commentators.

But I have always found preaching this passage to be difficult to condence. The younger son gets all the attention, and when we spend all our time on the younger brother, then we forget the reason why Jesus shared this story in the first place:

Chapter 15:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Parable of the Lost Sheep

Parable of the Lost Coin

Third, longest, and most famous: “The Prodigal Son”

Attempt to spend intentional time within each scene of this parable with the understanding Jesus tells this parable to respond to the Religious Grumblers who, with gossip intent, say, “This man receives sinners and eats with them…”

Part I: Younger Son’s Recklessness and Realization

Recklessness:

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.

Reckless in his Selfishness

“Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.”

Me and Me

Can you imagine asking your parents for your share of the inheritance before they passed away?

Just as it would be inappropriate and disrespectful today, those same dynamics existed in the 1st Century.

Reckless in his Spending

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.

“All he had”

“Far Country”

“Reckless living”

I’m going to do this alone!

I’m off to do whatever I want to do.

Young and Restless

Young and Reckless

Where did his recklessness get him?

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.

Pigs will literally eat everything.

Pigs are gross.

Pigs were spiritually unclean animals to the Jews

Couldn’t get much lower than this.

Recklessness= Tax Collectors and Sinners

The Unclean

Sit across the Aisle politically and Spiritually

Sinner:

Unclean, unkept, needy.

In telling this story, Jesus shares with the Religious Elite:

Almost affirms their perspective: “Yes, these people you refer to who I hang out with. Yes, they are a spiritual mess. Some of them look the part. Some of them smell the part!”

BUT, Jesus hangs out with these tax collectors and sinners for a reason:

Why?

Because they’ve come to realize their neediness!

Younger Son’s Realization

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.”

Realization of a different Situation

What in the world, my dad’s servants eat better than this.

Realization of Sin

“I really messed up.”

Realization of Sonship

Have any of you come to that realization?

Need for a Father?

v. 17: “How many of my father’s servants…”

v. 18: “I will arise and go to my father…”

v. 18: “Father, I have sinned…”

He’s offering to be a servant, even if that’s just for selfish gain, but what the grammar reveals is a heart towards his father.

He can’t escape that IDENTITY!

No matter how far away you take off, no matter how impure your motives may be to return, even if that’s for survival purposes, the fact that this son is a SON can’t be denied!

What’s genuine about the realization is NEEDINESS within CONFESSION:

I am in NEED, Father.

Jesus is like, “Look, I hang out with these extravagant spenders, social misfits, and spiritual deserters and dissenters because they have come to their senses!

They realize their need to hang out with Jesus!

And so Jesus affirms with the Religious Elite that they are right: He does hang out with tax collectors and sinners.

But he does not to join them in their misery, but to help them discover who they are as sons and daughters of the Father!

Challenge for all of us:

Realize the Situation: Come knowing there’s a better situation for you.

Realize your Sin: Come with a Repentant Heart

Realize your Sonship: Come knowing the Father is there with you!

Part II: The Father’s Reaction, Reinstatement, and Revelry

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.

Reaction

Ran: How embarrassing?

Hugged: Received, accepted, immediate embrace.

Kissed: show of affection towards his child.

Cut him off: “I am no longer worthy to be called you son…”

Is the Father even listening?

Favorite Movies that brings me tears every time I watch it: Finding Nemo:

Nemo starts to explain to his dad where he’s all been.

His dad just embraces him and cries out: “NEMO, I FOUND YOU!”

Royal Reinstatement

Best Robe

Ring

Shoes

Fattened Calf

Eat and Celebrate

Joy of Discovery!

What a moment!

Emotional. Before we move on, some of you here this morning just need to hear this part of the passage:

Reason why this story is called the Prodigal Son. Many of us can resonate with this younger son who left home and didn’t return again.

Some of you may be stuck in the pig pods.

Some of you may feel sheepish coming back to the Lord.

You’ve been stuck in isolation, and you experienced the Lord running towards your soul, gripped you, and gave you new life!

In a real sense, we are all prodigal sons who need to experience this type of Compassion.

Perhaps you need to experience it right now.

We can all fall into the category of tax collectors and sinners.

We felt the nudge of the Spirit.

Praise the Lord! Worthy of celebration!

But we need to pivot, Jesus as Jesus pivots in this story… For we are only half-way done…

Part III: Older Son’s Rationale for Rage

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.

Prodigal=Extravagant

Younger Son=Extravagant spender

Father=Extravagant Compassion and Grace

Older Son=Extravagant Self-Righteous Anger

Go back to the beginning: Listeners probably forgot that Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.”

“Oh yeah, there was 2 of them!”

Well, what’s this older son doing?

“In the field”= Working for his dad.

“Drew near to the House”= Access to the house

“Called one of the Servants”= Authority and Leadership

v. 28: “But he was angry and refused to go in.”

The older son is clearly these Pharisees and Scribes.

Those already in the Know and those already at hard work for God.

They’re in the trenches. Sweating out in the fields. Tilling. Farming, harvesting. Fixing fences.

They’ve been hanging out with Dad all these months or years.

And they want proximity with Jesus!

They want Jesus attention!

They want theological debate.

They want access to this brilliant rabbi.

That’s why the older brother is so mad!

“You’re brothers home, the steak’s on the grill! It’s time to party, man!”

28 But he was angry and refused to go in.

Angry= “upsurging”: Wave of Fury.

This isn’t like, “That’s not fair!”

This is, “I’m going to kill him! Does my brother have any idea what he put our family through! Any idea what he put ME through!”

Not just anger=Rage

Refused= “To wish or want”

“I do not wish”

“I refuse” “I will not budge.”

Have you ever been in that moment of jealousy?

This parable invites us to stand their with this older brother’s rage for a moment:

You’ve been the loyal one.

You’ve been the harder worker.

You’ve been the more studied.

You’ve been the more studied and steady.

You’ve been committed and you’ve maintained your character.

But you never feel like that’s gotten you further ahead! Perhaps it’s because you’re loyalty has kept you back. Kept you hidden. Perhaps taken for granted or under appreciated.

That’s what this brother feels.

That’s what the Pharisees and scribes feel.

They are the Religious Elite. They are the learned. They put the work since they were kids:

Scripture memorization. Swaths!

Experts of both KNOWING and INTERPRETING the Law.

Sat under an expert of the Law, like Paul sat under Gamaliel.

They earned their stripes!

And yet they were not welcome around the table with Jesus.

Jesus spent all his time with tax-collectors and sinners.

Part IV: Father’s Reassurance and Reason

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.’ ”

Reassurance of Position

“You are always with me. All that is mine is yours.”

Pharisees were masters of God’s Word. They were brought up in a privileged position. They always had special access to God’s Word.

Religious Access

Word Access:

Experts of the Law

Power Access

Powerful ruling authority within Israel.

Reason to Celebrate= A miracle has happened!

We’re experiencing RESURRECTION LIFE!

Wheat and Tears

5 Wise Virgins and 5 Unwise

Younger Brother versus Older

Another dynamic:

How will you treat those who come in torn, unwise, and needy?

How will you maintain your hospitality?

Challenge:

Fairytales:

Beauty and the Beast

Know the Father, not the Culture.

None of us deserve the Father’s compassion.

Pride will be torn down

Younger brother can become the older brother.

We osolate between the two.

Unresolved ending: Does the older brother enter the party?

Examples…

Open ended

Like Jonah: Will he go?

Prayer for Conversion

As we age, don’t turn into the Older Brother