Some may accept poor treatment and avoid confrontation.
! In the workplace, a person might laugh at jokes that they dislike just to fit in.
! In families, someone might hide their true self out of fear of rejection.
! At school, students sometimes agree with things they don't believe or join in unkind behavior,
desperate to belong.
Others move far away from home and change how they talk or act so they don't stand out.
These are ways people lose pieces of themselves, large or small, just for belonging.
With all these sacrifices for acceptance, we might wonder, will God accept us?
Is he an accepting God?
Well, we learn what God is like from what God does.
And Jesus illustrates with three parables.
In the beginning of the chapter, the tax collectors and sinners draw near to Christ.
The Pharisees complain about this, saying,
This man receives sinners and eats with them.
What is their complaint?
That they believe that the holy should separate from the tainted.
Why would God's prophet eat with sinners?
Jesus' counter?
He gives the parables as a demonstration of why he can eat with sinners.
And he uses the examples given to urge his disciples to honor even the weak.
He came from heaven to save all.
Even the lost and broken.
Even the outsiders, which the Pharisees hate.
We too should value others for Christ's sake.
It makes no sense at all for us to look down on people whom the Son of God has held so high.
And even these weaker ones have flaws that might make them easy to scorn from the Pharisees' perspective.
But our pride will not be forgiven on that account.
We should value them not because of how worthy their virtues are, but for the sake of Christ.
And he who will not follow Christ's example is proud.
This is what the Pharisees are doing.
We all need grace.
Each of us is broken and called to holiness.
We need mercy and a call to follow God.
We should rejoice when the lost return.
Like someone rejoicing over finding something lost.
Like a sheep or a coin.
This is what the Pharisees ought to do.
And that is the reason for Jesus' parables.
And the first main point of these parables, or our first main point, is that God rejoices when he finds sinners.
Because it has changed from death to life.
Jesus tells us that the point of the two earlier parables about the lost sheep and coin is to show that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who do not need to repent.
So first we'll answer, why is there more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents?
Both the perseverance of Christians in faith and the new conversion show God's glory and grace.
But the difference could be that repentance, which turns someone from a completely broken life of suffering under sin, is hard.
Those of you who already have faith must groan under the weaknesses of your flesh and labor to correct them.
But those who haven't yet been granted faith in Christ will have to reverse every weakness, every love, and every affection that is not touched by the grace of God.
It's hard to completely reverse course.
Sometimes you'll hear people ask, if we're just meant to believe in God, if that's the point, why doesn't he make it easier?
Or why doesn't he just show himself to us?
Apart from the fact that seeing isn't believing, thinking about God being real is not a very good image of what conversion and repentance really is.
We don't just see evidence to truly believe.
To truly get it, you have to die.
You have to be buried with Christ on the cross and be raised with him.
You have to be refined like gold in a furnace.
You have to deny yourself.
This is union with Christ.
What happened to Jesus historically, in dying, being buried, and being raised again, becomes true of you spiritually the moment you believe.
Your old sinful nature is not reformed.
It's executed.
Sins, legal power, and grit break because a dead person cannot be enslaved or condemned.
It's not easy.
This is why there is rejoicing.
In jumping ahead a bit, as we have read, the Father will say,
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found.
In the same way, God does not receive you on the basis of your reformed record or partial reformation.
He accepts you fully and joyfully the moment you come home in faith and repentance.
Because in Christ, your old self has already died.
And you now stand before him as a beloved son or daughter, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Welcome to the table with celebration.
The cross puts to death the old you, so that the Father can run to embrace you without hesitation or condition.
So we see why God rejoices when he finds sinners.
Because it's a change from death to life.
We have then the parable of the prodigal son or the story.
It might be called the story of the wasteful son or the lost son.
And it differs from the other two parables by having the older brother react to the finding.
This parable confirms the demonstration of heaven's joy at the restoration of sinners.
In the first half, it reveals how readily God pardons.
And in the second half, highlights the wickedness and stubbornness of those who grumble at his compassion.
In other words, our second point is that you can find acceptance in God
because he is unmeasurably quick to forgive those who have faith in him.
And our third point will be that you can find acceptance among God's people
since we have been warned by God to be as compassionate as he is.
So the second point.
Christ shows you that you can find acceptance in God
because he is immeasurably quick to forgive those who have faith in him.
How does Christ do this?
In the person of a young reckless spender
who, having been bought from the deepest poverty by luxury and wastefulness,
returns as a beggar to his father,
to whom he had been disobedient and rebellious.
Christ describes all sinners who, exhausted by their foolishness,
turn to the grace of God.
He compares God to the kind father
who not only pardons the crimes of his son,
but on his own accord, meets him when returning.
God who is not satisfied with pardoning those who pray to him,
but even comes forward to meet them with the compassion of a father.
So verse 11.
Jesus continued.
There was a man who had two sons.
The younger one said to his father,
Father, give me the share of my estate.
So 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
where he squandered his property in reckless living.
The younger son here hopes to leave his father.
He hopes to live in a life of hedonism.
He sets his sights far away from continuing to work for his father
and goes to a place where he is not seen.
He doesn't stay and spend the money there.
He leaves.
And what does he do with the cash
from selling the inheritance which his father had given him?
He squanders it.
He is reckless with everything that he has.
After this, he deserves no forgiveness from his father.
Verse 14.
After he had spent everything,
there was a severe famine in the whole country
and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out
to a citizen of that country
who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
He longed to fill his stomach
with the pods that the pigs were eating,
but no one gave him anything.
He will realize that there is no safety
apart from his father.
Since he is reckless,
the evil of the world brings him to starvation.
Do we lack the judgment and wisdom
to rule our own lives?
Do we have healthy fear or shame
to hold us back from our base desires?
Without God's grace,
we head towards whatever our sinful desires
would point us to.
We rush headlong into spiritual poverty.
Like the son being far away from his father,
he is left to waste away in hunger.
He has eaten up his own wealth in piggish gluttony
and now becomes the friend of pigs.
The Pharisees,
listening to this illustration,
will understand it as a terrible image
of their worst nightmare,
the complete spiritual destitution
of an Israelite who does not eat pork,
let alone eat with food.
He finds no love or acceptance in the world either.
He can transact with people and work for them,
but he finds no charity.
And he has given up the bread of his own house
for the slop of reckless living.
Verse 17,
when he came to his senses,
he said,
how many of my father's hired servants
have food to spare?
And here I am starving to death.
I will set out
and go back to my father
and say to him,
father,
I have sinned against heaven
and against you.
I am no longer worthy
to be called your son.
Make me like one of your hired servants.
So he got up
and went to his father.
The practical
and spiritual meaning
of the parable
begin to converge here
because the son
is repentant
to his father
and to heaven.
And we see here
how God calls people
to repentance.
If we were wise
on our own
and willingly submitted
to him,
he would draw us gently.
But because we never bow
in obedience
until we've been humbled
by hardship,
he often has to discipline us.
For this young man
who had grown wild
and rebellious
because of his wealth,
hunger turned out
to be the best teacher.
From this example,
we should learn
not to think of God
as being cruel
when he sends us
heavy troubles.
Those who are stubborn
and drunk with pleasure
are taught by him
to become obedient.
All miseries we go through
are a useful call
to repentance.
Because we are slow
to learn,
we hardly ever
come to our senses
unless we are driven
by extreme distress.
Until we are pressed
on every side
and feel utterly hopeless,
our sinful nature
keeps on enjoying itself
or at least pulls back
from change
and repentance.
From this,
we can see
that there is no reason
to be surprised
if the Lord
often uses strong,
even repeated blows
to break our stubbornness,
like leading a sharp axe
to chop down
a tough tree.
It's also worth noting
that the hope
of being better off
if he returned
to his father
gave this young man
courage to repent.
No amount of punishment
by itself
will soften our hard hearts
or make us truly sorry
for the sins
which we have committed
until we see
some hope of good
coming from it.
just as this young man
moved by trust
in his father's kindness
sought reconciliation,
so the beginning
of our repentance
must be a belief
in God's mercy
that stirs
hopeful expectations
in us.
The young son
who has severely
insulted his father
repents
and goes to him.
In verse 20 again,
but while he was
still a long way off,
his father saw him
and was filled
with compassion
for him.
He ran to his son,
threw his arms
around him
and kissed him.
And this is the
strongest illustration
of the point.
The point that you can
find acceptance
in God
because he is
immeasurably quick
to forgive those
who have faith in him.
If ordinary men
who are by nature
quick to wrath,
quick to take revenge
and very protective
of their own rights,
can still be moved
by fatherly love
to kindly forgive
their children
and gladly welcome
them home
when they have
fallen into misery,
then God,
whose goodness
far exceeds
any parent's love,
will certainly
not treat us
more harshly.
Just as this father
does not wait
for his son
to beg and plead,
but runs to meet him
whilst he is still
far off
and embraces him
before hearing
a single word,
dirty,
ragged,
and ugly as he is,
so God does not
wait for long prayers.
As soon as a sinner
truly intends
in his heart
to confess his faults,
God freely
and willingly
meets him.
Verse 21.
The son said to him,
Father,
I have sinned
against heaven
and against you.
I am no longer
worthy to be
called your son.
Earlier,
when the son
had come to his
own senses,
he has realized
who he really was
or who he could be
again,
a true son
to his father.
And we see here
another important part
of true repentance,
a deep conviction
of sin
that brings grief
and shame.
If a person
is not truly
sorry for what
they have done
and does not
see their thing
clearly before their eyes,
they will try anything
rather than return
to the right path.
Displeasure with our sin
must come before
genuine repentance.
humility must
accompany regret.
The son is humble
in that he
doesn't even ask
to be restored
to the sonship
he once knew,
hoping only
to petition his father
to be one of his servants.
But the father
interrupts the son,
saying to his servants,
Quick,
bring the best robe
and put it on him.
Bring a ring
and put it on his finger
and sandals on his feet.
Bring the fattened calf
and kill it.
Let's have a feast
and celebrate.
For this son of mine
was dead
and is alive again.
He was lost
and is found.
So they began
to celebrate.
The son has been
chastised
for being ungrateful
by being allowed
to lose everything
which his father
would give him.
And he felt ashamed
at the reproach
and disgrace
for his physical
and spiritual nakedness.
The father
not only pardons
our sins
in such a way
that he buries
the memory of them
completely,
but he also
restores the gifts
of which we have
been deprived.
The son here
has been restored
to full sonship
and embrace
the father.
But it is not
the son's efforts
that have restored him.
The father's grace
restores him.
The joy of his son
being alive
leads him
to identify
with his son
and bring him back
into his family
once more.
We who have faith
enjoy the same
restoration
and reconciliation.
In the parable
the father states
the reason for the joy.
This child of mine
was dead
and is alive again.
He was lost
and is found.
It's reminiscent
of the death
and life involved
in conversion
that we spoke
about earlier.
Remember that
we are told
that we are buried
with Christ
on the cross
and resurrected
with him.
That's the summary
of what God does
which enables you
and me
to be forgiven
by him.
But what do we mean
when we say
the cross?
We mean that
Jesus
having lived
in perfect
obedience
to the father
took on
the punishment
for our sin.
He took our guilt
suffered
and was killed
for it
and gave us
his righteousness.
Then he rises
from the grave
showing us
his authority
and victory
over death.
And that gift
of life
is then given
to those
who have faith
and repentance.
Christ saves us
from our own sin
by suffering
on the cross.
It's a shameful
death meant
for criminals.
It's God
coming down
from a throne
to be mocked
and shamed
and killed.
And yet we're told
in Hebrews
that Jesus
despised the shame.
Jesus despised
the shame
of the cross
because he regarded
it with utter contempt
and disregard.
He treated
the humiliation,
the mockery,
the nakedness,
the criminal curse
and the public disgrace
as completely worthless
and beneath
his consideration
when he weighed it
against the joy
that was set
before him.
The joy
of redeeming sinners
and bringing
many sons to glory,
defeating death
and sin
and being exalted
in glory
at the right hand
of the Father.
He pressed on
in full obedience
to the Father
for our salvation.
In short,
the eternal reward
and glory
far outweighed
the temporary contempt.
Jesus despised
the shame
on the cross
for the glory
and joy
in redeeming
his people.
The joy
of redeeming you.
God the Father
sends God the Son
to die
and as such
sustains
a similar indignity.
God takes the joy
in saving
and accepting
his children.
He takes joy,
sorry.
Similarly,
in the parable,
the Father
is willing
to commit
the indignity
of a man
for his age
and position
to run.
The Father
runs with joy
for the redemption
of his child.
And the humiliation
emphasizes
our second main point,
that you can find
acceptance in God
because he is
immeasurably quick
to forgive those
who have faith in him.
We now come
to the second part
of the parable
where we are shown
the reaction
to the restoration
of the younger son.
Remember,
the Pharisees
who are hearing
this parable
are represented
by the older brother
who want to shun
those whom Jesus
is willing to talk to
and eat with,
those who have been sinful.
Jesus strongly rebukes
those who would cruelly
try to put limits
on God's grace
as if they were jealous
of the salvation
of wretched sinners.
We know this is aimed
directly at the Pharisees' pride.
They felt they were not
getting the reward
they deserved
if Christ welcomed
tax collectors
and ordinary sinners
into the hope
of eternal life.
So we come to
our third main point,
that you can find
acceptance among
God's people
since God has warned us
to be as compassionate
as he is.
So Jesus will show
the Pharisees
why they need to accept
the redemption
of those who are not
yet found.
He says in verse 25,
Meanwhile,
the older son
was in the field.
When he came near
to the house,
he heard music
and dancing.
So he called
one of the servants
and asked him
what was going on.
Your brother has come,
he replied,
and your father
has killed
a fattened calf
because he has him
back safe and sound.
The older brother
became angry
and refused
to go in.
He has the same
awareness of the danger
to his younger brother
as his father had.
They would have maybe
heard about the famine.
He's just heard
about his brother's
practical resurrection.
The father was joyful
and yet he responds
with pride and anger.
Jesus compares the scribes
to obedient children
who, having patiently
submitted to their father,
father's authority
their whole lives.
Even though they were
completely unworthy
of such praise,
Christ spoke in accordance
with what they believed
about themselves
to illustrate the point
that even if Jesus
was to accept
their false claims
that they have always
been obedient children
to God,
they still have no right
to reject their brothers
so proudly and cruelly
when they repent
of their sinful lives.
The older son
has also heard
about the father's joy
and is angry with him,
rejecting him
by refusing to share
in the celebration.
But how does the father
respond to this rebellion?
Verse 28,
So his father went out
and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father,
Look, all these years
I've been slaving for you
and never disobeyed
your orders.
Yet you never gave me
even a young goat
so I could celebrate
with my friends.
But when the son of yours
who has squandered
your property
with prostitutes
comes home,
you kill the fattened calf
for him?
The father is again gracious
in approaching
and reasoning
with the older brother
who is consumed
with anger
at his brother's past sins
that he even refuses
to call him brother.
With these words,
Jesus rebukes the hypocrites
for their unbearable pride.
Their pride is so great
that the father
has to plead with them
not to be jealous
of the mercy shown
to their brothers.
God tells us
through scripture
and in this example
that he strongly urges us
to be patient
with the faults
of our brothers and sisters
and to remove
every excuse
for harsh,
unloving judgment.
Jesus does more
than just let
the hypocrite speak
and he goes further
and declares
that even if someone
had perfectly fulfilled
every duty of godliness
towards the father,
he would still have
no right to complain
when his brother
receives pardon.
We Christians
hope to be free
from this bitter,
envious spirit
to share in the joy
of the father
but Christ's purpose here
is to show
that it would be
completely unjust
for anyone to grumble
or reject
when his brother
is welcomed
back into life.
Even if that older brother
were not one less bit holy
than he could imagine,
his pride
is not in recognizing
what the younger brother
did was wrong
but rather hating him
for it.
Even after their father
had granted forgiveness,
he hated the younger brother
to the point of murderousness
and practically wished him dead.
verse 31,
my son,
the father said,
you are always with me
and everything I have
is yours.
But we had to celebrate
and be glad
because your brother
of yours,
this brother of yours
was dead
and is alive again.
He was lost
and is found.
Didn't the older brother
get it?
He had been benefiting
from his sonship
all the time.
He had not been left
to starve
or feed with pigs
in order to taste bread.
He has no reason
to be angry
when he sees his brother
kindly welcomed home
without losing anything himself.
All the time
he has been working
towards his own inheritance.
Second,
instead of caring
about his brother's safety
and restoration,
he is simply upset
because everyone else
is rejoicing
over his return.
On one hand,
it is no loss to us
if God graciously
receives back into favor
those who have been
separated from him
by their sins.
On the other hand,
it is wicked
and harmless of heart
not to rejoice
when we see our brothers
and sisters
return from death to life.
Jesus is still inviting
the Pharisees to repent
and accept the good news.
The warning is,
if they reject new members
of God's people,
they are essentially
rejecting God himself.
Jesus warns us,
we have to celebrate.
you can find acceptance
among God's people
since we have been
warned by God
to be as compassionate
as he is.
Let's finish by
applying this to our own lives.
Let us rejoice
more and more
for everyone who listens
to Christ's words
and his call to repentance
and be even more grateful
for how God continues
to forgive our pride.
The outsiders
are sons and daughters
who can be brought back
from the brink of death
and death to life
warrants celebration.
After all,
he came down from heaven
to save not only the holy
but those who are lost
and dead in their sins.
Again,
it makes no sense
at all
for us to look down
on people
whom the Son of God
has held so high.
And even
if the weaker ones
have flaws
that might make them
easy to scorn,
our pride will not be forgiven
on that account.
We need to value them
not because of how worthy
they are
but for the sake of Christ.
Accept them
by following Christ's example.
And in humility,
take joy and be glad
that God runs to us
restores us,
celebrates and defends us,
always calling us
his children.
If you are here today
but you do not yet believe,
we hope to love you already
and be a friend to you.
And if you join us in faith,
no pass will prevent you
from being accepted.
If you have questions
or want to talk more about faith,
please come and speak
with someone here.
Come back and ask questions
and take the next steps
towards faith.
you are warmly invited.
But recognize that
if you do not yet have God,
you are in a spiritual famine.
What would the father
of the parable say
if his starving son
could hear him from afar,
if he could call him
on the phone?
He would say,
my child,
come home.
When will you realize
the enormity
of the recklessness
and waste
of all the good
God has given you so far?
God does not receive you
because you've cleaned up
your record.
Rather,
he offers to accept you
fully and joyfully
the moment you come home
in repentance
and faith.
In Christ,
your old self
has already died
and now you stand
before him
as a beloved son
and daughter,
clothed in Christ's righteousness.
Welcome to the table
of celebration
if you come to him
in belief.
The cross
puts to death
the old you
so that the father
can run
and embrace you
and accept the new you
with no hesitation.
He seeks the coin.
He seeks the sheep.
He seeks you.
Child,
come home.
Let us pray.