Sermon Tone Analysis

REVIEW:

Chapter 15:1 “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.”

It was the outcast; it was the scum, the low lives who listened, believingly, upon what Jesus had to say.

Two categories: Tax Collectors & Sinners

Verse 2 says, “And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

When they saw Jesus associating with sinners, they drew one single conclusion: He is satanic because He hangs around Satan’s people.

Jesus is doing the work of God, which is the redemption of sinners.

They see it as the work of Satan.

That’s how far from God they were.

His response to their self-righteous anti-evangelism was to unmask them as very far from God, very distant from God, knowing nothing of His glory and nothing of His joy.

He explains what He’s doing in three stories.

· Vs. 3-7 “Parable of Lost Sheep” ~ A man goes, he finds the sheep, he rejoices with his friends because a sheep has value; verse 7, “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Heaven rejoices over one sinner’s repentance.

· Vs. 8-10 “Parable of Lost Coin”~ A woman who lost a coin.

Again, that has value; she finds the coin; she calls her lady friends together: “Rejoice with me,” verse 9; I found the coin.

The application, verse 10 “I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Point~ Pharisee’s are so far from God; they don’t get it.

God’s joy is found in the salvation of one sinner.

(Point of chapter 15)

PRODIGAL SON

Read verses 11-21

Verse 17, he says, “I’m going to die of hunger.”

This is desperation.

This is the sinner: poor, destitute, hungry, hopeless, , and dying; this is desperation.

Sin is rebellion against God, and God will give you the freedom to choose your sin.

He’ll give you freedom to take your sin as far in any direction as you choose to take it.

Here is the rebellion of one who had:

· No relationship to the one who gave him life.

· No relationship to the one who held all the riches he ever could have needed all his life.

· No relationship to the one who could give him a future, as well as a present.

That’s how it is with sin.

It is disdain for God’s person, God’s rule, God’s authority; God’s will, God’s goodness, God’s resources.

Sin is desire to run from God to avoid all responsibility, accountability to God.

It is to deny God any place in your life.

Dishonor God, to take all the loving gifts that are available and squander them as far away from God as you can get.

Waste your life in self-indulgent dissipation, unrestrained lust, shunning all God’s goodness.

And the question is: How is the father going to deal with somebody who is this bad?

Jesus really has invented the ultimate sinner.

“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.”

Well, the young man was still a long way off, still outside the village.

Maybe there was a gate; there was a dusty road leading to the village.

While he’s a long way off, his father saw him.

Still a long way off~ The father was looking; He was watching for his son to return.

We could assume that this was a regular thing for him to look for that son.

The father was the seeker, felt compassion, and those Pharisees are saying, “How weak is this man?

Can’t he ever respond in a righteous, honorable way?”

And then he did the unthinkable.

He ran.

Middle Eastern noblemen don’t run.

It’s not just something you don’t do,

This word “ran” in the Greek is the word for sprinting in a race.

This man came out of his house and sprints down the middle of town toward this son.

This is selfless.

Why is he doing this?

Because he wants to get to the son before the son gets to the village.

As soon as that son enters that village, he’s going to be mocked and scorned and heaped upon with shame and ridicule.

And father runs through town, takes the shame to embrace the boy before he receives the shame.

He embraced him--hugs the pig-scented rebel and kissed him.

· He should have been beaten.

· Should have had to sit there and take the shame.

What is this?

I’ll tell you what it is--one word, grace.

And they didn’t get it.

That is all review to catch you up in the story… I am sorry there are so many details that we do not have time this morning to go back into but let us continue in verse 22.

1. SHAMEFUL REJOICING

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.

Look at verse 22, .

“The father said to his slaves, “Quickly”

I love this, it shows that salvation is instantaneous; not a long process of restoration by works and ceremony--it’s an immediate thing, quickly, right now, all the privileges.

· ROBE

A wealthy family like this would have one robe, by the way, the father’s robe, and it was used for those maximum kinds of occasions of great dignity and importance.

What is that?

It’s the robe of dignity.

He shared the full dignity of the father, the full majesty of the father.

The father is about to call for the greatest celebration that's ever occurred in that family and in that village and he's giving away the garment that he would normally wear.

This is a way of saying to the son, "Everything I have is yours."

~ "The best that I have is yours.”

· RING

Put a ring on his finger.

The rings weren’t just for looks; they were used to stamp in soft wax the family symbol on official documents.

This is authority to act in behalf of the father.

He can signify the father’s will in any document.

It’s like getting the keys to the kingdom.

· SHOES

Put shoes on him.

Slaves and hired men and the poor didn’t wear shoes.

Shoes were for people who had responsibility.

Because he is in this family he has great responsibility.

Give him dignity; give him authority; give him responsibility.

This is full son ship.

And this is precisely the kind of thing Jesus is doing with these sinners.

The Pharisees and scribes refuse to see Jesus time with sinners as the activity of God.

They refuse to see it as the work of God.

But it is the work of God.

It's the work of God to give everything He has to the repentant sinner immediately, not after some time gap but immediately.

And then the father in doing this essentially lays all that belongs potentially to the older son and say it's all yours.