The Prodigal Series - WK 1
Notes
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11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout 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 to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up 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 like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then 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 slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
Intro
Welcome to Lent
Ash Wednesday
—> The parables of the 3 losses
—> People tend to view Luke 15:1-32 as 2 short connected parables about lost things and then 1 parable about a wayward child. Some will connect the 3 as a unit but some want to see the parable of the Prodigal stand on its own.
Over the next 5 weeks we will be diving in for a closer look at the Parable contained in Luke 15:11-32 and we will start the journey today.
Before we get there however, I want us to look at all three parables and notice where we find God.
4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, 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.
—> The Shepherd not the Sheep
8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
—> The Woman not the Coin
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout 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 to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up 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 like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then 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 slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
—> The Father not the sons
—> Before we can glean anything from these parables we need to understand our place in them and what God is doing.
—> I don’t think we understand the depth of these parables and what they truly mean for us, because we have been overlooking the depth of the love of God for so long.
—> As a live stock enthusiasts/cowman I’ve never cared enough to go after the one. Growing up when we would work cows (work is the technical term for tagging, doctoring, etc.) we always would have one or two that would slip by, slip out, or just refuse to participate and that was fine by us. If we could get 99 that’s what we got, if we could get 98, we would take that too.
So when just says we leave the 99 and go after the 1 that draws my attention...
That tells me...
—> 99 wasn’t good enough for God
—> 9 out of 10 wasn’t good enough for God
—> Having a son just waiting around to get the reward at the end of the journey wasn’t good enough for God.
In every one of these parables God goes to the extreme to show the love that He has for us. The first song we sang today talked about that love a reckless love, a love that isn’t careless, God isn’t careless with his love but people from the outside looking in might ask the question “why does God love like that? It doesn’t make sense that God would go all out all the time. Seeming not to care about what happens to the love that is shared with us.”
Here’s the truth church in every one of these stories the items that are lost or the people or animals that run away aren’t strangers to the shepherd, woman, or father. No they are known by them. The sheep was in the fold and wandered away. The coin was in the purse and slipped out. The son, the son was in the Father’s house and chose to walk away but he didn’t just choose to walk away, no that would be too easy.
Let’s look back at Luke 15:11-14
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
vrs 12
—> “The share of the property that will belong to me”
—> So after doing some research into inheritance laws this week I found that the younger son would most likely have been given 1/3 of the inheritance upon the death of the father. Notice what I said there, “upon the death of the father.” So what the younger son is really saying to dear old dad, is dad I have no use for you anymore, I don’t want to be around you, I don’t want you, I wish you were dead so I could have what’s coming to me.
—> That’s a little harsh isn’t David...
You’re right I would never say that to my Earthly parents but how many times have I said it to God?
—> No! I would never. How many times to we wonder about heaven yet we don’t regularly read our bibles or pray? How many times has God asked us to do something but we ignore Him, yet want God to show up when we need it.
—> If you are a non-Christian in the room today, I’m not talking to you right now, but if you have ever identified yourself as a follower of Christ this is for you.
—> We are the sheep, the coin, and the son. We walk away, roll away, and drive a wedge in our relationship with God that separates us. God never stops loving us, with his reckless love even when we do these things, how do I know?
VRS 12b
“He divided his property between them.”
The Father gives the younger son what he wants. He gives him a chance to live life on his own. That sounds alot like us right? God gives us this freedom to live life how we want, make our own choices, do our own thing, and it never fails we mess it up...
13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
—> “and he began to be in need”
—> Ash Wednesday is the day every year that I am reminded that I am in need.
