Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

By way of introduction this morning, I want to remind you that a couple of weeks ago we started looking at this account of Jesus confronting the Pharisees and the teachers of the law when they witness Jesus being surrounded by tax collectors and sinners.

As the Pharisees and the teachers of the law witness Jesus engaging with and even eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they became indignant because in their minds this was something that was not to be done.

Jesus was making himself unclean by doing what he was doing.

Jesus immediately saw this and he confronted them on their own failure to understand and realize the mission for which he had come.

Jesus had not come into the world in order to help and save the righteous people.

Yes certainly, if they were repented of their sin and they trusted in him, then he would be more than willing and pleased to bring salvation to them as well.

However, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were so confident in their own self-righteousness that they believed that they were in no need of any saviour to deliver them from the consequences of sin.

As such, Jesus confronted them by speaking to them through three parables.

At least that is the way Luke structures his gospel message here as he outlines these three parables that Jesus spoke.

The last time we were in Luke’s gospel we considered the parable of the lost sheep along with the parable of the lost coin.

In those parables we looked at how God and the heavenly hosts would rejoice and celebrate when that which was lost became found.

The third parable is what we turn our attention to this morning.

The parable is a very well-known parable.

It is the one of the lost son, or the prodigal son as it’s often referred to.

But keep in mind the context is the Pharisees and religious leaders that were confident of their own self-righteousness.

Through this parable, Jesus will demonstrate to these Pharisees and tax collectors not only the fact that he came to seek and to save those who are utterly unworthy, but rather that it is those who are utterly unworthy that will end up delighting in and celebrating in the wedding feast between Christ and his bride when He returns to bring all things to fulfilment.

Due to the length of this parable, we will not consider every verse in minute detail, but rather will look at the parable in broad strokes and explain the implications of the sections and then draw some points of application throughout the course of the text.

As we begin our consideration of this text then, notice firstly with me…

1.

A Squandered Life (vv.11-13)

We read in verses eleven through thirteen:

Jesus conveys this parable of an exceedingly wealthy man who has two sons, each of them act in a very different way in terms of their relation with their father.

Both of these sons would have been entitled to a portion of their fathers inheritance under the Jewish law.

The older son would have had a double portion.

But either way, the younger son is not prepared to wait for his inheritance.

He has no interest in continuing to work with the family as was customary in those days.

Rather, is only concern is in taking his future inheritance now so that he can go and spend it on himself.

We see in this picture is that the son who takes his inheritance has little interest in anybody but himself.

He has little respect for his father’s labours and accumulated wealth.

All he wants is to go and enjoy himself and enjoy his life.

Now, immediately we must recognise that this is a very apt picture of the condition of sinful humanity in their own sin.

A person who is in bondage to sin has a natural inclination toward self-centered living.

Even the very fall of man into sin in the garden of Eden was marked by Eve eating of the fruit in the garden because she believed that it would make her wise, even like God.

In essence, she wanted to be God.

The natural man is in sinful rebellion against God.

There continues to be a demonstration of this self-centredness in our day.

There is a rebellion within man against the thought of humbling oneself under the wise and good instructions and commands of God.

Rather, man seeks to walk in the ways that he chooses and sees fit.

This is the natural state of man.

Look with me at the way that some Scriptures speak to this truth.

When Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus and compares their former manner of life with their new life in Christ, he speaks of the former manner of life with these words:

Paul speaks here in terms of the cravings of the sinful nature that mocks humanity.

And the natural inclination of man is to gratify those cravings of the sinful nature.

He also says that by nature we follow those desires and thoughts that are within us.

The unregenerate state of man is such that we do not want to follow the ways of God, but rather we want to follow the cravings of our sinful nature.

We must see over here that this is not merely a matter of external actions that makes a sinful.

Rather, though sinful actions are merely expressions of the sinful nature that is within us.

When Paul writes to Titus he explains that this former manner of life was due to our enslavement to this human nature.

Now, there are all kinds of ways that this is borne out in our lives.

Every one of us is different in terms of how this is expressed in our own lives.

In areas where others are struggling and sin easily, we might find that this is not even a challenge to us.

But in the areas where they are strong, will find that those areas that we are weak.

The bottom line is that all of us are tempted and enslaved to the sinful human nature, irrespective of what that particular struggle is that we have.

What is it is present into these Pharisees and teachers of the law through the picture of the son that leaves the father is a picture of the natural state of man rebelling against a good and gracious God.

I would say to you that unless you recognize yourself as being that son who is wayward, and unless you see that you too have strayed away from God and so to rather walk in your own ways in your natural state, you will not really understand the gospel.

We will see why as we go on in this passage.

Notice secondly with me…

2. A Significant Longing (vv.14-16)

In this next portion of the passage we suddenly find that the son who had everything and was living a life of selfishness and self-centered pleasures comes to a place where he is absolutely nothing.

In this parable, there is a severe famine in the whole country, and he becomes a person in a place of deep need, so he goes to the place to find work.

Notice in this parable that the work that he goes to find is to work in the fields feeding pigs.

Now, we need to understand that pigs were filthy animals in the eyes of the Jews.

These religious leaders and teachers of the law they would be horrified at the idea of a person working to feed filthy animals such as these.

Here was a man who is unclean.

According to the Jewish law he would’ve been considered to be actively unclean and unable to engage in the worship of God with his people.

As Jesus conveys this parable even speaks about this son longing to fill his stomach with the food of the pigs.

What Jesus is doing here is he is painting a repulsive picture of this son.

He is painting the worst kind of picture you could paint for the religious leaders and the Pharisees in order to show them the extent of the filthiness of a person who in due course will be shown the grace and mercy of a loving father.

What is being conveyed through this is not only that man is self-centered and seeks to indulge in selfish living, but rather that man is utterly filthy.

There is a vileness and a filthiness and a polluted state to the human nature that has wandered away from God.

When we see this polluted state of ourselves before our Holy God, we’ll see that we are in essence like this polluted young man, who squandered everything, and is not filthy and dirty and smelly.

However, we must also see that Jesus conveys the sense of the hunger of this younger son.

He is hungry and desperate.

All of the lascivious living has done nothing for him ultimately.

It’s left him destitute, and now he finds himself starving.

There is a very important spiritual picture portrayed in this scenario.

The fact is that all of us are spiritually craving fulfilling.

Every single person is built with a longing after something that can fill them and bring them satisfaction and contentment.

Man was made to worship.

When we worship that which is right and true, we will find that our lives are filled with contentment and satisfaction.

When we worship that which is created, and seek to find our fullness in the things of this world, it is then that will find will craving.

And nothing in this world can satisfy this craving.

In my mind the best passage of Scripture to bring this truth to the fore is that picture in John 4 where Jesus is speaking with the Samaritan woman.

In that passage, Jesus is telling this Samaritan woman about living water that can give to her so that she will never thirst again.

And what he points out to her in that passage is has had five husbands in the past, and the man that is currently living with this is not a husband.

There was a woman who was searching for satisfaction and contentment through the relationships with men and yet was not finding that.

Jesus promises her that there is a way that you can find something to quench your inner thirst for meaning.

The son in this parable was hungry for that which would fill him.

There are those who are hungry to be filled with the fruit of God’s word and the Holy Spirit in order to bring that fulfillment and that there is no longer a longing after things.

The reality is that until we find that Jesus Christ will continue to be hungry.

Notice thirdly with me …

3. A Sobering Realization (vv.17-19)

At this point this young man comes to a very important realization.

He comes to see his desperate situation.

He understands that he is a man who is in desperate need of help.

We need to understand that an awareness of one’s desperate position, and also a humility to acknowledge and confess that desperate situation is what is so essential for a person in these circumstances.

In terms of spiritual realities, this is really no different.

If anyone would have hope of being restored been regenerated been reconciled to God the father, it is essential that they come to the realization of where they are spiritually, dead in the trespasses and sins, and then also have the humility to acknowledge that and confess that.

Without this humility and coming to one’s senses a person will not be driven to the cross of Christ in order to be saved.

Further to this, we find this son realizes that there are storehouses of riches, there is a plentiful abundance at his father’s home.