This morning’s message teaches us about God’s great love for lost sinners. It comes from the last of three stories that Jesus told about things that get lost—a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost boy. They are parables that illustrate to what lengths God will go to in order to seek and to save lost people. After all, Jesus declared to his followers that was the reason for his coming. In Luke 19:10 Jesus told his disciples: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

If you remember, the Jewish religious leaders are agitated about the company that Jesus has been keeping.

Luke 15:1-2 "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.”

In answer to their criticism, Jesus tells three stories. They are parables that reveal just how great a friend to sinners Jesus is. Sinners need a friend like Jesus because they are weak like sheep. In the first parable, God is like the good shepherd who goes out looking for that one lost animal. Sinners also need a friend like Jesus because they are as worthless like a coin that is lost in the dirt. In the second parable, God is like the faithful housewife who diligently searches in the dirt until she finds the coin that has been lost. There is one more story . . .

I. WE NEED A FRIEND LIKE JESUS BECAUSE WE ARE ALL LIKE LOST SONS

1. we also need a friend like Jesus because we are as wretched and, selfish, and unappreciative just like the young man we've come to call the prodigal son
2. what does this story teach us about ourselves?

A. THE FOOLISHNESS HE EXHIBITS

• "The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. "“And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, ... " (Luke 15:12-13,NASB95)
1. the younger of the two sons has become tired of staying at home
2. he wants freedom from the control of his father
1. he has convinced himself that by being away from the eyes of his parents he would be able to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with whomever he wanted
1. he would have his freedom
2. of course to carry out his plan he needs one thing—money!
1. so he comes to his father and says, "Dad, there is an inheritance coming to me one of these days, but I don't want to wait for it. I want my inheritance now."
3. it’s a shocking request
1. it was tantamount to saying, "I wish you were dead so that I could have what is coming to me."
2. he didn't care about his father – only about the things his father owned
3. this young man’s declaration is a radical rejection of his father
3. this young man is the proverbial “spoiled brat”
1. his behavior is heartless, cruel, and ungrateful
1. he wants what he wants and he wants it now!
2. the verb give me in verse 12 is in the imperative mood
3. what that means is that this young man is actually commanding and demanding his father to give him his share of the inheritance
2. reluctantly, I’m sure, this loving father gives His son exactly what he wants—his money and his freedom
4. the prodigal’s behavior describes the character, and attitudes of the typical lost man
1. God the Father is a divine being to be used and demanded of, but never obeyed
2. He is present in the universe for one reason: To give us what we think we’re entitled to, and to give it to us the moment we demand it
• "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. "Professing to be wise, they became fools," (Romans 1:20-22,NASB95)
5. like the father in the story, God still gives the lost man all the freedom he desires
1. the farther away this young man could get from his father the better
1. sin is more than breaking religious rules and laws
2. sin is breaking our Heavenly Father’s heart

B. THE FAMINE HE ENDURES

1. the prodigal son’s freedom from his father came at a high personal cost
• Luke 15:13-16 “and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” NIV
2. Jesus weaves for his hearers a spellbinding story
1. the young man goes to a far off country were he lives a corrupt and immoral life
1. the young man casts off all restraint and self-control, and intentionally chooses to disregard all that he had been taught about how to live
2. he dove deeply into the septic tank of self-indulgence
2. he spends money hand-over-fist like it was going out of style
1. when you do that you have a lot of “so-called” friends
3. but in time the money ran out and so did his friends
1. his last resort was to hire himself out as a day-laborer feeding pigs
3. serving sin and Satan has a high price
1. Satan will deceive you about what money can buy
2. Satan will deceive you about the pleasure of sin
3. Satan will deceive you about who your real friends are
4. Satan will deceive you about who he really is
4. it costs every step of the way
1. it will cost you your character, your reputation, your health and your self-respect
• ILLUS. One of Aesop’s fables tells the story of a scorpion who wanted to cross a river. Now scorpions are very poor swimmers, and so the scorpion asked a turtle to carry him on its back across the river. "Are you mad?" exclaimed the turtle. "You'll sting me while I'm swimming and I'll drown." "My dear turtle," laughed the scorpion, "If I were to sting you, you would drown and I'd go down with you. Now where is the logic in that?" "You're right," cried the turtle. "Hop on." The scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river gave the turtle a mighty sting. As they both began to sank, the turtle said, "Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there is no logic in your stinging me. Why did you do it?" "It has nothing to do with logic," the drowning scorpion replied. "It's just my nature."
2. sin is destructive and has a sting unto death even though the world, the flesh, and the devil deny it
5. the prodigal son has been stung by his sin
1. he is humiliated, hungry, and homesick
2. his excitement at being off on his own have been dulled, diminished, and diluted
1. his life in the fast lane came to an abrupt finish and he reached the end of his rope
3. in the minds of his listeners, Jesus paints a picture of a man who is as low as he can get
6. Jesus is saying, "I keep company with sinners and outcasts because they're wretched like this lost son."

II. GOD IS THE PATIENT FATHER WHO REJOICES WHEN HIS CHILDREN WILL COME HOME

1. what does this story teach us about God?
1. in this parable, God is like the affectionate Father who lovingly and patiently waits for his son to come home
2. if ever there was a Scripture passage that painted a picture of the character of God as a loving Father, surely it is this parable
2. like the prodigal son, the wise sinner – when he or she comes to the end of themselves – remembers they have a loving Father who stands ready to receive them with open arms
• Luke 15:17-19 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ NIV
3. after wallowing in the degradation of sin, the son comes to his senses
1. he realizes that he has a sinned, repents, and resolves to go to his father and confess
4. what a beautiful picture of a sinner finding God

A. GOD DOES NOT TREAT THE PENITENT AS THEIR SINS DESERVE

1. it is difficult to convey in words the fullness of the concept of God’s mercy bestowed upon fallen sinners who rightly deserve only His condemnation and wrath
1. outside of God’s great love for us in Christ there is no explanation
• Psalm 103:1-4; 8-13 “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, . . . The LORD is compassion-ate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;" NIV
2. God’s reaction toward the sinner who repents is so alien to how most human fathers would probably respond
1. can you imagine the reception this young man might have received if this had been a human father —especially one of the religious leaders who were so quick to criticize Jesus for spending time with sinners?
• ILLUS. W.E. Sangster, noted Methodist London pastor in the first half of the 20th century, retells the story of the Prodigal son from a more human perspective: And he arose and set out for his home, and when at last he arrived at the door, he banged and there was no response. He stood there hungry and piteous in his rags and knocked again. His father looked out and said, "Oh, it's you! You're broke, I suppose, and you look terrible. Why have you come home? You've had your share of everything. Now I suppose I'll have to feed you. And I suppose you came right through the middle of town where everybody could see you. How am I to explain that to our friends?” And he said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight." But his father banged the window and left him standing on the doorstep. Presently, his father opened the door and said, "You're an utter disgrace to me and to all your relatives. I'm ashamed of you, utterly ashamed. But I'm your father, and I've thought it over, and I am prepared to put you on probation for three months, and if, at the end of three months I can find no fault in you, well, perhaps I'll have it in my heart to give you another chance.
3. aren’t you glad this morning that we have a Heavenly Father who is compassionate and gracious ...
1. who is slow to anger, and abounding in love . . .
2. who will not always accuse, nor harbor his anger forever . . .
3. who does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities?
• ILLUS. Jesus paints a picture of a father who has been looking out of the window for months, hoping for the sight of his youngest son. His whole heart is in that gaze. Every day he goes down to the mail box at the post office hoping for a letter. Everyday he hopes some passing stranger will have a word about his son. Every evening finds him sitting of the front porch, his eyes focused on the long lane down to the main road, waiting for his son to come home. He has waited long. And then, on day, he catches a glimpse of a figure in the distance. Dare he hope? But there is something familiar about the way he walks, about the way he carries his head. And then he catches a clear view of his son. The old man runs from the house, his arthritis forgotten, toward the son he has all but given up seeing again. The son blurts our words, like, “Father, I’m so sorry, can you ever forgive me?” But he is already forgiven. He decks out his son with rings and robes and shoes fit for a king. And soon there is a party to which all the neighbors are invited. They celebrate his homecoming. The father declares with tears of joy, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ (Luke 15:24) NIV
4. aren’t you glad this morning that the God we worship is more like the prodigal son’s father then the Pharisees who rebuke Jesus for eating with “sinners?”
1. like the father of the Prodigal Son, God can see repentance coming at a great way off and is there to quickly meet that repentance with reconciliation

In this long parable we see the character of the sinner in the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. We also see the character and compassion of our God.

We see Jesus as our rescuer. He is the Good Shepherd who seeks lost sheep.

We see Jesus as the faithful housewife who diligently searches in the dirt until she finds the coin that has been lost.

We see Jesus as the Loving Father at work in the story of the Prodigal Son who longingly and patiently waits for a wayward son to repent and come home.

Jesus is the friend of sinners. They criticized him for keeping company with such people. But I, for one, am so glad he did.