Lost Sons: The Son Who Left

Intro

Tonight we continue our study of the parables

A parable, if this is your first time joining us, is simply a story with a point

Parables were sometimes used to communicate a truth that some would understand, while others would not

The Parables are the stories Jesus tells

Last time we were together, we looked at the start of Luke 15 where Jesus tells two interrelated stories about things lost, the diligent search for that which was lost, and the celebration that followed upon finding that lost thing

We are picking up right after those two stories, the most famous of all the stories Jesus ever told

Luke 15:3 “So he told them this parable:”

We saw this last time, but notice again that he said “parable” instead of “parables”

These three stories come together to form a single parable

And given that they are designed to be a single parable, we should expect to once again find something lost

Only this time, instead of something… it is someone

Transition

Last time I referenced another famous story that involves lost things: Peter Pan

As a story that has endured, it inspired many offshoots

One of those is a song by Ruth B called “Lost Boys” which, of course, is what Peter Pan’s associates in Neverland were called

In the refrain to that song we hear her sing

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me And Lost Boys like me are free

It is a sweet song about how this “lost boy” felt less alone and more free in Neverland

But here is the sad irony: That which is lost is never truly free

As we will see here in Luke 15, a son who is lost may have an illusion of freedom… but it is only ever an illusion

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11-32

Luke 15:11–32 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 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. 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. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “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! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 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. 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.’ 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. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 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.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 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. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Pray

Context

Here we are in the third story that comprises this three-fold parable

Jesus told a story about 1 of 100 sheep that was lost

Then Jesus told a story about 1 of 10 coins that was lost

And now we have a story that is down to 2 sons

This story has long been referred to as The Prodigal Son and understandably so

But I want to suggest that this story is not about 1 son that is lost, but that both sons are lost

Tonight we are going to look at the lost son - the son who left - and his relationship to the Father

Next time we will come back to this story and look at the lost son - the son who stayed - and his relationship to the Father

Recap

Jesus opens this story by telling us about a man who had two sons

The younger son went to his dad and asked for his share of the inheritance

Now, let’s be clear here: inheritances are given upon death

For the son to ask for the inheritance is to say, “You are dead to me and the only thing you are worth to me is for the money that I am entitled to”

The Father here didn’t argue, didn’t protest

He simply liquidated assets and gave his son the money

Let me be clear here for a moment: to say it was “simple” is not to say it was easy

No, it was very costly

Without doing a Greek word study here, the short is that Jesus uses the word for “estate” not the typical word for “inheritance”

To do what the son asked here, the Father had to sell off some of family land, not just take a withdrawal from the local bank

Long term, this makes the family’s estate smaller meaning less long term opportunity for profit, etc.

So the act of doing what the son requested here was, while simple in concept, very costly in practice

Then watched with deep sadness as his son left

Verse 13 tells us that the son went to a far country and squandered everything in reckless living

Jesus doesn’t tell us exactly what he does but we can easily imagine

The son was looking for the next momentary pleasure, keep the party rolling

Right up until he had no money left

Zac Brown Band has a song that captures this approach to reckless living well

Yes, and all the muchachas, they call me big papa When I throw pesos their way

And then the very next verse of the song

The señoritas don't care-o when there's no dinero, yeah I got no money to stay

The party rolls until the money ends

Unfortunate, it is right then that a famine sets in

So he is broke and is out of money

He takes the only job he can find

The lowest of low jobs

Feeding pigs

And it was so bad that he started wishing that he could eat some of the pigs food

It is in that spot - the lowest of spots - that he does that hard heart work that many of us are loathe to do

Sure, he had forsaken his sonship, but even the servants in his dad’s house have enough to eat

Luke 15:18–19 “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’”

I imagine the entire journey home he is practicing his speech

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”

But what happens next in the story is so beautiful

I imagine the lost son here is walking slowly, head to the ground

The shame, embarrassment creeping over him

He knows he will be scoffed so he is just trying to delay it as long as possible

Luke 15:20 “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.”

His son was lost

Every morning - day after day - week after week - month after month - he looked down the road hoping his son would come home

Then that day, there he was

He recognized his son from far away - and ran to him

Gives him a giant bear hug and kisses him

The lost son, head still down, was trying to get out his speech

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

But notice he never finished his rehearsed speech about becoming a servant

When he was found in the Father’s love, there was no place for being a servant… only for being a son!

But the Father yells to a servant, “Get the best robe, get him a ring, get him some shoes!”

To offer him a robe, ring and shoes is to say, “your sonship is restored”

Luke 15:23–24 “And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

And as when the sheep was found and the coin was found, the result of finding that which was lost is to celebrate

Dad throws a massive party for his son that was dead is alive again, his son that was lost is now found

Main Point

I’d like to look at the relationship here between the lost son who left and the Father

To do so, I’d like to propose two questions

I’ve found these really helpful in my own life and I would hope that you could take these two questions and ask them in your own life

For all that you’ve gained, what have you lost?

For all that you’ve lost, what have you gained?

The Son Who Left

Let’s start by asking those questions about the son who left

For all that he lost, what had he gained?

For all that he gained, what had he lost?

So in leaving, what did he gain?

Money

Popularity

Sex

The illusion of freedom

In leaving, what did he lose?

Relationship with his Father

Even more, he lost his whole family

He lost his home

He lost his connections

He lost his identity as a son

The Son Who Returned

Broke, with no hope and not even any food, the lost son makes the decision to go home - not as a son, but maybe, just maybe, as a servant

The reception he receives is not just beyond what he imagined, it wasn’t an outcome he had even imagined!

So again let’s ask those two questions in returning home

What did he lose?

He had lost all his money

Feeding pigs, he lost his pride

And what did he gain when he came home?

He gained his family

He gained clothes and jewelry and shoes

He gained his Father

He gained his Father’s love

He gained his sonship!

Transition

Having walked through the story, want to zoom out and look at two topics

First I want us to consider those two questions in our own lives

Then to consider our relationship with the Father

What have we gained? What have we lost?

Take the opportunity to ask in your own heart what you have lost and what you have gained over the years

This is tough because most of us struggle to do this kinda honest heart work

It’s tough to look at the man in the mirror with all honesty

These two interrelated questions have really helped me process events in my own life

For all that you’ve lost, what have you gained?

That is, it’s easy for us to be held up on all those things that have been lost in our lives

A lost innocence, a lost job, a lost love

But in losing those things, what have you gained?

Ask God to help you see how his providence has been with you and the blessings that you may have missed if not for those losses

For all that you’ve gained, what have you lost?

The counter to that is to recognize that for all that you have gained, some things have been lost along the way

A promotion that led to a missed opportunity somewhere else

A move that led to a lost friendship

It’s ok to grieve that which was lost along the way even as you celebrate what you have gained

I share those questions hoping they will give you some tools that you can use to process some of the things that weighs heavily on your heart

Maybe there is an opportunity for you to grab a notebook and engage with something that is burdening you

Our Relationship with the Father

Last thing for us tonight is to consider our own relationships with the Father

After all, the point of this story is to invite us to consider how we are like the lost son who left his Father

One cool feature of this story is the reversal that happens in the language

In asking for the inheritance, he was declaring his Father to be dead

But at the end, it is the Father who says that the son was dead and is alive again

The never-ending, never-stopping, unbreaking, always and forever love of God did not stop even when the son left

And the never-ending, never-stopping, unbreaking, always and forever love of God was waiting to receive home the son and to declare, “You are my son”

Even tonight, no matter how far you strayed from God, wandered off, or deliberately went to a far country away from God

You were the lost son who left

Even that that version of “leaving God” looks different for each of us, this son’s journey is our journey as well

But it can also be your story: that you were dead and are now alive, you were lost and now are found

You left but you have been brought back into the house of the Father

You left the Father but he came to find you

Final story (and I tell this story with Kim’s permission)

Kim picked a college with the idea that she was running from God

Sure, the scholarship to the college was great

But she kinda wanted to do life apart from God

She got to Elmira College in New York only to find God waiting for her there with some incredible people who would point her to the love of the Father for her

As the Father was looking fervently for the son and saw him with great compassion

As the Father found Kim right at the place where she was going to leave the Father

So the Father is looking for each of you, each of us

No matter how far you go, the love of the Father will meet you there

He will look at you, give you that big bear hug, and welcome you home as his child

Conclusion

And the Father eagerly and joyfully does that because Jesus was the perfect Son

Yes, he left the Father

Not out of reckless rebellion

But out of compassion he left the Father to go on a rescue mission

Jesus didn’t squander the Father’s wealth, but spent his life giving of himself - even giving his life by dying a criminal’s death on the cross

Jesus didn’t wallow in a pigs’ pen, but he did take the heinous, despicable stain of the sin of the world upon himself

Jesus wasn’t just considered death, but really, actually dead

And by his death, that Son substituted himself for the death each of us rightfully deserved

And by his resurrection he triumphed over death to welcome wandering, wayward sons like you and me home into the family of God

Forgiven. Adopted as sons. Forever in the warm bear hug embrace of God the Father.

Pray