No? There we go. Hey, how about that?
Woo! There we go.
Well, if you all will pray with me as we look into God's Word together, that'd be great.
Father, we come to you tonight thankful that you are God who has not left yourself unknown and unknowable,
but you have revealed yourself and you have given us your Word, this book, the Bible, to speak to us.
And Lord, we praise you tonight for the story that we are going to read together
and for the way it reveals the kind of God you are.
Lord, I pray tonight that by your Spirit we might see these things rightly.
And as we see them rightly, we might also rejoice in them and embrace them and make them our own.
God, we know that only your Spirit can do this, so we ask for your help tonight.
Lord, I ask for your help. Give me words to speak.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
What does God think of you?
Have you ever asked yourself that question?
I don't know about you, but when I think about it, the first thing that comes to my mind is,
I know my stuff.
I know the moments when I saw the ugly of my heart rise up and just spew out the people around me.
I know the times when I've used my words to crush those around me.
The times when anger or rage has just exploded like Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens
when he just takes his lightsaber and smashes all the machinery in his control room.
Times when your selfishness exerted itself at the expense of those you cared about.
Or the times when you fell in again into those destructive patterns that you've worked so hard to try to escape.
Your mess.
What the Bible calls sin.
Our own willful sin and the effect of the sin of mankind that affects us in so many ways.
Does it haunt you?
Does me?
Does it ever make you think, can God ever accept me?
Could I ever come back to God?
Could he ever really welcome me?
The passage we're looking at tonight is for people like us who wonder those questions,
who think about those things.
We're going to look at three parables.
It's a fairly long chapter, so we're going to look at it in two chunks.
But three parables that reveal God's heart and reveal something of our own heart as well.
And then the big idea, what I want you to hear,
what I want to hear myself in the depths of my heart,
is that God is a God who celebrates when repentant sinners are returned to him.
And God doesn't just accept us, but he celebrates when people turn back to him,
acknowledging how much they've messed up.
And that's the kind of God that we see in this passage tonight.
So if you have been coming here, you know we're preaching through the book of Luke,
the central part of it from chapter 9 to chapter 19.
We're in Luke 15, which is a very well-known chapter.
The three parables are well-known.
The third one particularly is the parable of the prodigal son.
And so that's what we're going to look at tonight.
As we look at it, you can turn.
Do we have a page number in our pew Bibles?
I don't know what it is.
8-7-4.
Thank you.
This is crowd participation tonight.
So 8-74, Luke 15.
As we look at this, what we've seen is that Jesus in chapter 9 turned his face towards Jerusalem.
And he's headed.
He's headed to his death.
He's headed to the height of conflict with the world.
And conflict particularly with the religious leadership of Israel in that day.
And yet in the height of that conflict where he dies,
he also accomplishes the purpose for which he had come.
To die on the cross for the sins of humanity.
To somehow do a work whereby God might reconcile us to himself.
Where he might make a way back to God when we had no way.
And so this is what Jesus is heading towards.
And as he's heading towards that, he's teaching and he's clarifying the nature of his mission.
And he's doing so with increasing conflict.
To those around him.
As we read, I want to just point out before we start reading.
Notice verses 1 and 2 because it sets up the context of who is his audience and who he's talking to.
So let's read.
We're going to start by reading verses 1 through 10.
And we're going to talk about those for a while.
And then we'll talk about 11 through the end of the chapter.
And that's what we'll see.
So let's read together.
Luke chapter 15 starting in verse 1.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying,
This man receives sinners and eats with him.
So he told them this parable.
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing.
And when he comes home, he calls his friends together and his neighbors, saying to them,
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
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.
Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
And 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.
Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Typically, when we read parables, parables are stories that have one main point.
Sometimes they have auxiliary things.
Sometimes we see that happening.
But typically, they have one point.
And the point here seems to be so clear.
He's telling these stories.
And then in verse 7 and verse 10, he gives the point.
And there's a pattern that you see in both of these stories, in both of these parables.
Something of value has been lost.
The one who is responsible for the thing that has been lost then goes and seeks to find it.
And when he finds it, he then gathers his friends and neighbors around and says,
Let's rejoice and celebrate because the thing that is lost has now been found.
And then in verses 7 through 10, Jesus says,
And this is the point.
This is what God does when sinners,
And by that he means people who recognize that they have rejected God,
That they have lived outside of his laws and his commandments,
And also they have lived outside of a real living relationship with him.
Those who have lived outside of that and sought to live independently of him,
When they return,
The heart of God is like the heart of the shepherd and the heart of the woman.
It is full of joy and celebration.
And this is the main central point of these parables.
And they're fairly straightforward.
There isn't a whole lot more to say.
Some people have read these parables and think,
Well, how is God like the woman?
Or how is God like a shepherd?
And you know, we could get into how those metaphors might point us to particular aspects of God.
But that's not the point of the parable.
The parable is saying,
Hey, you know how a shepherd is, right?
A shepherd, when he loses his sheep, he goes to find it.
And similarly, you know how it's like,
If you lose a silver coin,
What are you going to do?
You'll turn your house upside down to find it.
Because that silver coin is precious and worthwhile.
And when you find it,
You will throw a party.
Because the thing you've regained
Brings great joy to your heart.
And that's the way God is.
God is like that.
He celebrates.
Now, it's really interesting.
If you notice, look with me at verse 7.
Because he says a little bit more than just that.
Verse 7,
Just so I tell you,
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
Okay, that's the point overall.
But then he goes on and he says,
Then over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Now, who is he talking about here?
Because the Bible will tell us in other places,
And clearly we see that Jesus,
Throughout his ministry,
Said that there is no one who is without sin in the world.
No one who lives a perfect life.
No one who relates perfectly to God.
So what is he talking about here?
Well, it's very similar to what happens in Luke 5.
If you go back to Luke 5,
Jesus is calling his disciples and he calls a man named Levi.
Now, Levi is a tax collector.
And as a tax collector,
He is the rejected of the rejected.
Because he's a traitor.
He's a Jewish man who's working for the Roman oppressors.
And he probably is stealing money from his Jewish neighbors along the way.
He's pretty much a wretch and a lout.
And you would never, ever do anything with him if you could avoid it.
You would want to avoid him.
And Jesus calls him to say,
Come and follow me.
And he gets up and he leaves his tax collection booth and follows Jesus.
In fact, they go back and they have a party at Levi's house.
And the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of the day, say this.
The Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples saying,
Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?
Those are the unacceptable people in the minds of these people.
Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?
And Jesus answered them,
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
This is a similar theme that you see throughout the scriptures.
Where Jesus responds incredibly graciously and welcome, with great welcome,
to people who know their neediness.
Who know that they can't do it on their own.
Who know that their own righteousness is never enough to please God.
But,
but,
to those who think
that by their religious duty,
by their good deeds in the world,
by their striving to be the best person they can be,
by whatever your standard is of trying to be as good as you can be,
if you think that by doing that,
you are good enough for God,
what Jesus says is,
you don't even know what you need.
You don't need my salvation,
because you think you can save yourself.
And that's a scary place to be.
Jesus doesn't celebrate over those people.
But for those who know that they need him,
for those who come,
turn away from this life of independence,
and this life of sin,
and this life apart from God's commands,
and his instructions,
Jesus says,
come,
I'm going to throw a party.
I'm going to throw a celebration.
Think.
I want you to think for a minute.
What is it that we do in our culture
when we really,
truly celebrate?
Right?
It happens in,
I think there's some,
there's some unique circumstances in our culture today,
where you see real celebrations.
I was rooting for the Golden State Warriors,
but when the Cleveland Cavaliers
won the NBA championship a few weeks ago,
when they arrived home on their plane from California,
thousands,
literally thousands of people
were waiting for them at the airport,
on the runway,
waiting to cheer for them.
And when they emerged from their plane,
people erupted with joy.
with shouts of praise,
with gladness in their hearts.
The poor people of Cleveland
who've been waiting over 50 years
for some championship to celebrate.
And finally,
LeBron James,
the Savior,
came back and gave them one,
and they celebrated.
And they had a huge party.
And they went from the airport
to a ticker tape parade
in downtown Cleveland.
And they worshipped
the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And it's the same thing that happens
when Beyonce gets up in a concert.
It's honestly the same thing that happens
at a Donald Trump rally.
This celebration.
Now, let me say this.
None of these things are celebrations
that have their object placed
in something worthy
of what they're giving.
Right?
All of these celebrations
are giving praise and glory
and rejoicing in something
far less important.
But I want you to see
that when we use this to celebrate,
sometimes we can be so stayed in church.
We think, well, you know,
those people out there can be crazy,
but we have to be sort of,
you know,
buttoned up and all serious
about worship.
You know?
And worshipping God
should be a celebration
because the God that we serve
celebrates.
And what you see humanly
expressed in our culture
is something that we will do
even much more greater in heaven
and what we can do
even now on this earth.
This is what God does.
And this is God's heart.
This is what he thinks
when one sinner
turns from their sin,
repents,
changes their mind
and says,
I'm not going to live that way anymore.
I'm going to come to God.
God's heart is rejoicing.
What a wonderful thing it is
when someone who is lost
is found spiritually.
This leads us to the third parable.
As Jesus takes this point
and he expands on it more.
And one of the things
that's so beautiful about this
is Jesus is a masterful storyteller.
And he takes this core concept
and he pushes it even further
into the hearts
of those who are listening
and hopefully into our hearts as well.
Let's look at it together
and read the rest,
the third parable
starting in verse 11.
Let's look at it together.
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,
the 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 rose
and came to his father.
But while he was still
a long way off,
his father saw him,
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 servant,
bring quickly
the best robe
and put it on him
and a ring on his hand
and the shoes
on his feet
and bring the fattened calf
and kill it
and let us eat
and celebrate
for this is my son
who is dead.
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 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.
I have never
disobeyed your command.
Yet you never
gave me a young goat
that I might celebrate
with my friends.
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.
So you see
that the principle
is the same.
There is a celebration
about one
who was lost
who is now found.
But,
Jesus,
the master storyteller,
put some twists
in here
and in doing so
he digs into our heart
a little bit more.
First thing
I want you to see
is that
the thing
that was lost,
a son,
wasn't just misplaced.
He didn't just
wander off
like a sheep.
It wasn't just
dropped under the counter.
The son
was culpable.
He was responsible
for being lost.
And not only
was he responsible
for it,
he was reprehensible
in it.
When he comes,
when you go
to your father
in this culture
and you ask him
for your inheritance
now,
it's like saying,
Dad,
I wish you were dead.
I just want your stuff.
I wish you were dead.
It is an act
of disowning your family
and simply
in a mercenary way
wanting to get
your inheritance
without anything else.
Not only did he then
take that inheritance,
but then he showed himself
to be a wretch.
He went and he squandered it
in the worst possible way.
And then,
at the end of it,
this good Jewish boy
ends up in a field
feeding pigs.
Now,
you may not know much
about Jewish culture,
but pigs were unclean animals,
unacceptable to be eaten.
You wouldn't touch them.
You wouldn't raise them.
You wouldn't have anything
to do with them.
The fact
that he was
feeding pigs
made him
the most
pitiable
and the most
despisable person
in the story.
And as you're hearing
this story
as a Jewish person,
you're thinking,
I don't want him
to be saved.
I don't want him
to be found.
He doesn't deserve it.
He's left himself.
He's made his bed
and he should lie in it.
And so,
when the son
comes to his senses,
when the son
in his heart
repents
of his sin
and turns back
and physically
turns his way around
and walks
the long road
back home,
there's this
anticipation
that the other two stories
don't pull out.
How will the father respond?
Will it be the same
or will it be different?
Will it be,
well,
you got what's coming
to you,
didn't you?
Isn't that what
you would expect
from God
at this point?
But no.
The son even
prepares himself
to humble himself.
The son comes back.
His repentance
is true.
He doesn't come back
not in a demanding
sense of entitlement
like,
I'm your son.
I know I blew it
but you should take me back
and treat me
like I'm your son.
He knows he blew it.
His repentance
is real
and his heart
is broken
and he's just hoping
that he might get
undeserved favor
from his father
in the form of
at least treat me
like your servant.
At least give me
food to eat
so that I won't starve.
There's a reality
about his repentance.
But we still don't know
how the father
will respond.
Till we get to,
where is it?
Let's look at it together.
Verse 20.
He arose
and he came
to his father
but while he was still
a long way off
his father saw him
and ran
and embraced him
and kissed him.
The father's love
is the same
celebrating love
that we saw
in the first two parables.
He comes
and he runs out
and the son
begins his speech.
I know I've blown it.
I know I'm not doing it.
He doesn't even get
to give his request
to treat me
as a servant.
The father
cuts him off
in the middle
of his speech
and says,
no, no, no.
I'm going to treat you
like a son.
The robe
and the ring
and the sandals
are all symbols
of being accepted
in the family.
You are now
an honored part
of this family.
the son
doesn't just say,
yeah, you can come
and live
in the garage
apartment.
I'm not going to
really let you
in the house
but you can at least
get close.
But he says,
yes, it's a full
embracing of the son.
And he lavishes
upon him
these tokens
of acceptance
and of belonging
in the family
and then he lavishes
on them
the celebration
of killing
a fatted calf.
Something that they
would have raised
for a special occasion.
It wasn't just a,
well, you're back.
Here's your hamburger
helper for the day.
He pulled out
all the stops.
They went to Pepe's.
They didn't go
to Papa John's.
You know,
he pulled out
all the stops
to get the best
celebration
for that.
And you would think,
wow,
God's love,
his joy
over the return
of a repentant sinner
is so great.
You think,
that's great.
That's the end
of the story,
right?
No.
Jesus has one more
twist for us.
One more exploration
into our heart
as he looks
into this.
Because if you look
in verse 25,
you realize
there's not one story
in the story
of the prodigal son.
There are two sons.
And the older son,
who has always
stayed at home,
who has always
been dutiful,
who has always
done what is right,
but has clearly
not quite acted
like a real son.
when he comes,
he has the emotion
that maybe many
of us had
when you think
about the younger son.
He doesn't deserve it.
He should be
thrown out.
The wretch,
he ruined our family,
took half of our fortune.
He embodies
that heart
when he hears
about what has happened.
It's interesting.
The father then,
just as he ran
to the older,
the younger son
as he was returning,
now again,
the father goes
out of the house
to the older son,
doesn't he?
He goes out
to him
in an attempt
to bring him in.
He says,
your brother
is back
and we're
throwing a party.
Come on in.
verse 28,
but he was angry.
Look,
this many years
I've served you
and I never disobeyed you.
You never gave me anything.
It almost seems like
the older brother,
like the younger brother,
wanted his father
more for the stuff
than for the relationship.
That the older brother
wanted all the perks
of being the dude
and the things
that he had earned
by doing the right thing,
not a relationship
with the father,
but the status
and the position
and the privilege
and the stuff
that comes with
being that dutiful father.
And then verse 30,
you see the depth
of his heart.
But when this son
of yours,
right,
I have disowned him.
He is not part
of my family.
This son of yours
come back.
You celebrated.
And he says,
I am not going to do that.
And the parable ends
not with a conclusion,
but with a hanging storyline
because it ends
with the father saying,
son,
you are always with me.
It has always been.
You've always had everything
that I've had,
but it was fitting
to celebrate
your son,
your brother.
You notice how
the father calls him
your brother,
not my son,
but your brother.
Your brother who was lost
is now found.
You,
it is fitting
to celebrate that.
And there is
an inherent invitation
at the end
of this parable
because it doesn't resolve.
If you know anything
about storytelling,
this doesn't wrap up.
This is the climax
of this part of the story.
The tension is raised
to this point.
The question is,
how will
the younger brother
or the older brother
respond?
How will he respond
to his father's expression
of welcome and embrace?
And the story ends.
And I think,
remember how I told you
that in the audience
there were two kinds
of people.
There were the tax collectors
and sinners
and there were the Pharisees.
And what Jesus is saying
in this story
is that God's heart
for all people,
both the people
who know
that they've completely
blown it
and wonder if God
could ever accept them again
and the righteous people
who think
they don't need God,
think that they have
earned his favor
by the way
that they have lived,
think that they are
good enough
on their own.
The Father goes out
to both of them
in love
and calls both of them
to repent.
To repent
of your wild,
sinful living
and to repent
of your best righteousness
and to say,
come in.
Repent from your sinful
self-justification
and come in
to the family.
Come in
to the household
and come be a part
of the celebration
because I am a God
who celebrates
things that were lost
that have now been found.
I am the God
who celebrates
sinners
who repent
and come back
and turn
to me.
Which, of course,
leaves us
with a question.
Who are we
in this story?
Who are you
in this story?
Have you wandered
off to a far land?
Far from God?
Doing your own thing?
Wasting your life?
There is a God
who is calling you
to turn to Him
and to return to Him.
He is ready
to run to you
and to embrace you
and bring Him back.
Or are you
the religious
dutiful type?
You have done
everything right.
You cannot quite
understand
why life
is not working well.
Maybe you are one
who hates
to be corrected
and can never
be wrong.
Thinks that God
agrees with you
all the time.
These were the
Pharisees of the day
who thought
that by their
obedience
by their
descendants
from Abraham
because of their
position in society
because of their
religious observance
that they were
acceptable.
It's so easy
isn't it
in our culture
today maybe
to think that
if I'm a good
church goer
if I go to church
and I give my money
and I try to be
a good person
isn't that enough?
Doesn't God
accept me
because I am
those things?
And what Jesus
tells us is
no
you need to
repent of those
good things
as much as
the wild
profligate
has to repent
of their sin
but the heart
of the Father
is the same
if you repent
and come to me
I will accept you.
but friends
Jesus doesn't
explain it fully
in this story
he doesn't
tell us
exactly how
but in the
storyline of Luke
we know why Luke
has put this here
in this story
because where is
Jesus headed?
He's headed to
Jerusalem
and what is he
going to do
in Jerusalem?
He is going to
go be crucified
on a cross
and up on that cross
he's going to
cry out
my God
why have you
forsaken me?
Father
into your hand
I commit my spirit
this perfect son
who did actually
live the perfect
life of obedience
who was the
older brother
for all of humanity
by his perfection
he
was cast
out
of the house
so to speak
he
was removed
from the
father's favor
and the
father's embrace
as he hung
on the cross
taking the
judgment
for our
sin
this
Jesus
as he's
heading towards
that event
is telling
this story
so that
us
and all
who heard
him
when we
when
now looking
back
we saw
what Jesus
was going
to do
now we
know what
he has
done
he has
died
and he
has risen
from the
dead
and he
now has
removed
all of the
offense
of both
our
wild living
and
our
self
righteousness
he has
died for
both of
these things
and risen
from the
dead
so that
he might
be the
firstborn
of a
whole
family
of God
and so
he is
not ashamed
to call
us
brother
and sister
as we
repent
of our
sin
and come
to the
foot of
the cross
and celebrate
what Jesus
has done
for us
because
through
this
now the
father
opens
wide
his
embrace
and says
come
to me
come
to me
and be
my son
my daughter
in my
family
forever
friends
this is
the good
news
of the
gospel
and this
is the
hope
that we
have
and this
is what
Luke 15
is telling
us about
the heart
of the
father
let's
pray
Lord we
thank you
we thank you
for this
beautiful
parable
and for
the power
that it
has
for it
reminds us
Lord
of our
self
righteousness
it points
to how
easily
we try
to justify
ourselves
Lord
and it
points us
to you
and to the
kind of God
you are
that you
celebrate
us
Lord
that you
rejoice
when we
are lost
and then
are found
by you
Lord
because
you are
a great
God
who delights
to save
your
creation
Lord
we praise
you for
that
Lord
help
us
I pray
tonight
to know
Lord
that this
is what
you think
of us
that you
know
our
sin
you know
how bad
we are
and Lord
you even
know how
good we
are and
see how
far short
it falls
but Lord
you love
us
and you've
opened up
your embrace
for us
in Christ
Lord
may we
repent
and turn
to you
tonight
we pray
this in
Jesus name
amen
well friends
we have
the privilege
and the honor
of
it's fitting
isn't it
to celebrate
the Lord's
table
Lord's
supper
after this
after looking
at this
story
we have
the joy
of being
able to
think of
this
as we
come to
the Lord's
table
what the
Lord's
table
is
a
remembrance
a remembrance
of what
Jesus
has done
for us
a remembrance
of
a reminder
for us
on a regular
basis
this is why
as the church
we celebrate
the Lord's
supper
on a regular
basis
so that
we can
so that
we can
remember
because when
we remember
we are shaken
out of our
self-righteousness
we are
freed
from
the shame
that might
keep us
from coming
to God
because this
reminds us
that at
the cross
God dealt
with our
sin
decisively
forever
if you are
here tonight
and you have
placed your
faith in
Jesus Christ
as your
Lord and
Savior
then this
table is
for you
maybe you've
been wandering
a little
maybe you've
been convicted
tonight that
you've had a
heart of
self-righteousness
and tried to
please God
and be acceptable
in your own
but if you've
placed your
faith in
Jesus Christ
repent of
those sins
and receive
these elements
receive them
as an act
of grace
and a reminder
of God's
grace to you
if you're
here tonight
and you
haven't made
that decision
if you have
not placed
your faith
in Christ
then what we
ask is that
you wouldn't
take these
things
because they're
by taking
them
it's an
expression
of faith
and belief
we don't
want you
to do
that
lightly
so if
you haven't
placed your
faith in
Christ
we ask
just let
it pass
by
and instead
consider
consider what
we've talked
about tonight
consider this
parable
consider
Jesus
invitation
instead of
taking these
things
maybe you
in your
heart of
hearts
as you pray
before the
Lord
would take
Christ
to be your
savior
tonight
that would
be a
wonderful
thing
apostle Paul
writes this
for I
receive from
the Lord
what I
also
deliver to
you
that
the Lord
Jesus
on the
night
when he
was
betrayed
took bread
and when he
given thanks
he broke
it and said
this is my
body which
is for you
do this
in remembrance
of me
we'll pass
out the
bread
together
and then
you can
hold on
to it
and we'll
eat it
together
and as
we do
so we
can
continue
to
worship
so