Good morning, everyone. It's good to be here with you in Brinsfield again.
He's one of the best-known characters in the Bible,
even by people who've never opened its pages.
And all this despite the fact that we never actually learn his name.
All you need to say are three words,
and I think many people will know just who you're talking about.
The prodigal son.
Yeah, I know that story that Jesus told about the guy who left home
with his share of the family fortune,
blew it on wine, women, and song,
ended up in a pigsty,
went back home, and his dad welcomed him with open arms.
Kind of synopsis of the story, and I'm not going to stop just here.
Not so many people know that he had an older brother,
which must have been really annoying for the older brother.
It's bad enough having a famous brother,
but an infamous brother,
and giving his name to the story.
But actually, there were two brothers in the parable story that Jesus told.
One who strayed, and one who stayed.
But actually, the main character in the story is not either of the brothers.
The main character in the story is the father.
Which is why I've renamed it as the parable of the prodigal father.
Now, it's not a misprint.
Why prodigal father?
Well, you'll just have to stay awake for another kind of...
I'm aiming at 20 minutes here, just to reassure you.
And Graham, you'll have to wait a few moments to find out why.
But first of all, what we need to do is read the original story in its context.
It's found in the third of the four stories of Jesus
that are recorded in the New Testament part of the Bible,
written by a doctor named Luke, and it's in Luke chapter 15.
If you've got one of those Bibles down there, it's page 1048.
1048.
And to get the context, we need to read the whole chapter.
All right?
We'll get the idea of where it fits in the story.
So, page 1048.
I'm in a church now.
Thank you for praying for Hope City,
where we tell people the page numbers,
and then we say,
and the chapter is the big letters, words,
and the little numbers are the verses,
especially for those who never wrote in the Bible.
So, Luke chapter 15.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.
But the Pharisees and teacher of the Lord muttered,
this man welcomes sinners and eats with them.
Then Jesus told them this parable.
Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep,
loses one of them.
Doesn't he leave the 99 in the open country
and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
And when he finds it,
he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,
Rejoice with me.
I found my lost sheep.
I tell you in the same way,
there'll be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over 99 righteous people who do not need to repent.
Or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses one.
Doesn't she light a lamp,
sweep the house,
search carefully until she finds it.
And when she finds it,
she calls her friends and neighbors together and says,
Rejoice with me.
I found my lost coin.
In the same way,
I tell you,
there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.
Now our story.
Jesus continued.
There was a man who had two sons.
The younger one said to his father,
Father,
give me my share of the estate.
So he divided his property between them.
Not long after that,
the younger son got together all he had,
set off for a distant country,
and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he'd spent everything,
there was a severe famine in that 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 out 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.
When he came to his senses,
he said,
How many of my father's hired servants
have food to spare?
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.
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.
The son said,
Father,
I have sinned against heaven,
against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
But the father said to his servants,
Quick,
bring the best robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger,
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.
Meanwhile,
the eldest son was in the field.
When he came near 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.
Your father has killed the fattened calf
because he has him back,
safe and sound.
The elder brother became angry,
refused to go in.
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 this son of yours,
who has squandered your property
with prostitutes,
comes home,
you killed the fattened calf for him.
My son,
the father said,
You are always with me.
Everything I have is yours.
But we had to celebrate
and be glad
because this brother of yours
was dead
and is alive again.
He was lost
and is found.
In the opening sentence of the story,
Jesus introduces us
to its three main characters.
He says,
There was a man
who had
two sons.
So let's begin,
as the story does,
with the first son,
who we could call
the rebellious son.
This is the third,
as we read,
of three parables
that Jesus told
on the same theme.
The lost sheep,
the lost coin,
and the lost son.
While maybe the sheep
is lost
because of foolishness,
the coin maybe
because of carelessness,
the son is definitely lost
because he chooses
to get lost.
He is lost
because of deliberate decision
on his part.
The younger son
said to his father,
Give me my share
of the estate.
Now you need to know
a little bit of background.
In the law of Moses,
which governed
the people of Israel,
there were strict guidelines
laid down
for rights of inheritance.
The oldest son
in the family
got the lion's share,
what was called
in Hebrew
the double portion.
All the other sons
shared out
the other third.
Everyone still with me?
Two sons?
Oldest one gets
two thirds?
There's only one other son,
the younger son,
and so he's due
a third of the estate,
but not until
his father dies.
So demanding his share now,
he is actually saying
to his father,
I wish you were dead.
Let alone the difficulty
and disruption
of selling off
enough of the estate
to pay him out.
Yet despite this disgraceful
and distressing request,
there is no argument
on the part of the father.
He simply concurs,
so he divided
his property
between them.
Why did the youngest son
do such a thing?
Freedom!
He wanted to be liberated
from the shackles
of home life
and parental restraint.
He wanted to see life
and all that he had to offer
in glorious technicolor
instead of monotonous monochrome.
And so fortune in hand,
leaving not a single
possession behind,
he set off down the road
to this distant country,
this far country,
with never a glance back.
Such is life,
sometimes literally,
always spiritually.
Within each one of us,
there is a desire
to break free,
a rebellious spirit
which drives us
to go our own way
rather than God's way.
Proverbs,
the Hebrew book of wisdom
in the Old Testament
part of our Bibles,
comments,
there is a way
that seems right to a man,
but in the end
it leads to death.
Not that this young man
believed it at this point.
He was sure that the signpost
to the far country
read life
and for a time
it seemed that he was right.
Life in the fast lane,
fast living,
fast women,
fast camels.
But not forever.
His resources,
even those
of the son of a wealthy man,
are not limitless,
especially when they're spent
with such reckless abandon.
The word translated
in verse 13,
squandered,
is the word used
of winnowing
when you throw a load
of grain into the air
and it falls back
to the ground
and the chaff
is blown away.
That was what this young man
did when he squandered
his wealth
and there were plenty
of people around
to catch the falling shekels.
But soon,
sooner than it expected,
his plastic card
is spewed back out
of the cash point
and a flashing light
indicates insufficient funds.
And then,
so unfortunately then,
for this young man,
a famine strikes the country.
And not just a famine,
but a severe famine.
And the young man began,
we read,
to be in need.
And so is everyone else.
Belts are tightened
as well as purse strings.
And the boards
in the job center
are empty
except for one which reads,
swine herd required,
food and lodging provided.
The lodging is the pigsty,
the food is pig pods.
But desperation
and starvation
and no respecter of persons,
all his newfound friends
who swarmed around him
like bees around a honeypot
and nowhere to be found
now the jar is empty.
There he sits,
his hopes,
like his clothes,
in tatters.
At rock bottom.
What abject humiliation
for a rich Jewish boy
to end up keeping company
with unclean pigs.
Now,
you may be setting out
on the well-traveled road
to the far country.
You've grown up
in a Christian home.
You can't wait to be gone.
Maybe you're a student.
You've come to Edinburgh
your first year
and you've grown up
in a Christian family
so you're here today
or for a week or two
before you're gone
and when your parents
ring up and say,
have you gone to church?
Yes,
I was at Brentfield Evangelical Church.
And maybe this is
one of the last times
we might see you here.
You can't wait
to be freed
from the restrictions
of home and parents.
You don't believe
a word I'm saying
when I say
it will end in ruin.
Or maybe
you are a person
today who's already
arrived in the far country
and you're having
a wonderful time.
Life is truly fantastic.
Freedom from all those
restraints and regulations
is so liberating
you don't believe
a word I'm saying.
But perhaps,
perhaps there is
someone here
who's having
second thoughts.
Burning the candle
at both ends
means that it gets
very short
in the middle.
Things that were
once very fulfilling
now need
twice the effort
and investment
to get half
the satisfaction.
And maybe
who knows
and I only know
a handful of you here
maybe some of you here
are really in the pigsty
this morning.
It may not be
outwardly apparent.
You're not reduced
to sleeping on the streets
though you may be.
You may even have
all the material
possessions of life
but you are still
empty and still hungry
and nobody has
anything to offer
which will satisfy
the aching longing
within your spirit.
But it is
this point
at the lowest point
that hope begins
as we see
in the story.
At last in the pigsty
the young man
begins to think
and he can think now
for his mind
is no longer befuddled
by the intoxicating
pleasures
and bright lights
of the city.
All he has to look at
are pigs.
Look what it says
in verse 18.
When he came to his senses
he said
how many of my father's
hired men
have food enough to spare?
Here I am
starving to death.
I've got a strategy.
I will go back
and say to my father
Father I've sinned
against heaven
and against you.
I'm no longer worthy
to be called your son
but make me one
of your hired men.
The Bible has a word
to describe
what happened
to this young man.
It's a Bible word
and it's the word
repentance.
Repentance literally
means in the original
language it means
a change of mind
which then leads
to a change
of direction.
The young man
begins to think
about himself
and what he has done
about his father
and what he has left.
Repentance
is a change of mind
which leads
to a change of direction
before note
he did not stay there.
The key phrase
is in verse 20
so he got up
and went
to his father.
Now we'll return
to the details later
when we consider
the father
and his love
but simply
and wonderfully
note here
that the wayward
and rebellious son
is fully reconciled
to his father
not
as a hired servant
but as he goes
down the road
his father sees him
and runs to welcome him
and lays on
a tremendous celebration.
Bring the fattened calf
let's kill it
have a feast
and celebrate.
This son of man
was dead
and is alive again
he was lost
and found
so they began
to celebrate.
How ironical
that the son
who left home
because he wanted
to have a good time
ends up coming home
and having a great party.
But the story
does not end there
for there is
another son
an older son
not just the rebellious son
but what we could call
the resentful son.
When the younger son
returned
it's a beautifully
told story isn't it
you can imagine
the story
you can hear the drums
banging
and sound of drumming feet
and he comes in
from the fields
where he's been
slaving away
working away
in the fields
and he's probably
hungry and tired
and as he approaches
he hears the noise
and he thinks
what's going on?
Maybe
it's a surprise
party for me.
So he calls
one of the servant
boys over
and he says
what's going on?
Your brother
has come
he replied
and your father
has killed
a fattened calf
because he has
him back
safe and sound.
But rather
than being pleased
that his brother
is back home
the elder brother
is incensed
he is angry
no doubt
he is angry
with his brother
for all the trouble
and heartache
he's caused
in the family
the cheek he has
in coming back home
when he's blown
his fortune
but behind this
will you notice
there is a much
deeper anger
and his deeper
anger and resentment
is not against
his brother
but against
his father.
this is seen
in his response
to his father
who comes out
from the feast
when he hears
the older brother
is there
his older son
and pleads with him
to come and join
the celebration.
Listen carefully
to what he says
it's very important
but he answered
his father
look
he says
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 this son
of yours
who has squandered
your property
with prostitutes
comes home
you kill the fattened
car for him
notice the contrast
between his words
to his father
and that of his
younger brother
the returning son
says father
I have sinned
the resentful brother
bluntly says
look
all these years
I've been slaving
for you
he doesn't use
the word father
why?
because he doesn't
see himself
as a son
he sees himself
as a slave
you see
the younger son
had chafed
against the
restraints
of his father
and his home
he'd shown it
in open rebellion
he had taken
his share
of the family
wealth
cleared off
he didn't want
to be a son
anymore
but will you notice
the elder son
stayed at home
living
as a son
but with a
slave mentality
but now
with the welcome
given to his brother
his pent-up
resentment
explodes in open
anger
for his father
breaks all the rules
by throwing a big
feast for his
younger son
who deserves
nothing
while he's not
even being given
a goat
to have a
get-together
with his friends
it's not fair
if there had been
a national
farmers union
he would have
taken his employer
to the cleaners
for compensation
but you see
he's not his
employer
he's his father
he's not a
slave
but a son
as his father
gently reminds him
and that the one
he calls
this son of yours
is actually
also this brother
of yours
my son
the father
said
you were always
with me
everything I have
is yours
but we had to
celebrate and be
glad
because this
brother of yours
was dead
and is alive
again
he was lost
and is found
now while there
are many people
in the world
maybe a few
even here today
who are like
the younger brother
openly rebellious
against God
and his laws
there are many
outwardly
good living
religious people
who are like
the elder brother
in fact this is
the context
why I read
the whole chapter
it begins
with Jesus
who is associating
with younger
brother types
now the tax
collectors
and sinners
despised tax
collectors
collaborators
with the Romans
people they
call sinners
who never
followed God
or his law
were all
gathering around
to hear him
but the Pharisees
the religious
people
the teacher
of the law
muttered
this man
welcomes
sinners
and eats
with them
you see
the Pharisees
and teacher
of the law
were the religious
people of the day
the good living
people who did
their absolute
best to keep
God's laws
they would never
be seen dead
in the far
country
they would never
associate with
anyone
who had been
there
they label
such people
sinners
and they
called themselves
righteous
you see
their religion
was based
on the premise
of punishment
and reward
God punished
those who did
what was wrong
and rewarded
those who did
what was right
it was a slave
mentality
and God
owed them
what they had
earned
so if this
Jesus really
was
God's chosen
Messiah
if he really
came from God
he would have
nothing to do
with prostitutes
collaborators
like tax collectors
instead he would
only mix
with folk
like them
but Jesus
actually did
exactly the
opposite
why he even
went to parties
they organized
on his behalf
with singing
and dancing
and lots of fun
what kind of
religion was it
where such people
were welcome
where such parties
were held
no wonder
they muttered
the original
language in Greek
is one of those
words that sounds
like it has
gone good
and in answer
Jesus tells them
these three parables
with the same
theme
culminating in the
last in detail
which answers
their muttering
Jesus says
when lust
when the lust
are found
there is rejoicing
in heaven
but here
among the
religious people
there is
complaining on
earth
as far as
they are
concerned
like the
elder brother
they refuse
to join
the celebrations
the chapter
begins
with them
refusing to
join the
parties
Jesus
is at
it ends
with the
elder brother
refusing to
join the
celebration
on the
return of
his brother
so what
is the
root of
their problem
it is
simply this
the one
fact they
fail to
understand
or accept
the true
character of
God
who is
the prodigal
father
now
the word
prodigal
in the
dictionary
has two
meanings
its normal
meaning
is wasteful
or recklessly
extravagant
it is
used
negatively
of
something
valuable
which is
wasted
but it
has a
secondary
and positive
meaning
giving or
yielding
profusely
lavishly
abundant
and this
wonderful
parable
teaches
us
an
incredible
truth
that
God's
love
is
prodigal
it is
extravagant
his
extravagant
prodigal
love
is shown
to both
sons
it is
shown
to the
rebellious
son
first of
all by
letting
him
leave
if
he'd
been
my
son
and
have
locked
him
in
his
bedroom
and
double
locked
it
or
thrown
him
out
for
good
but
it is
also
especially
shown
by the
fact
that
he
welcomes
home
rebels
and
runaways
while
the
younger
son
is
still
a
long
way
off
what
is
the
father
doing
he's
looking
down
the
road
looking
for
the
returning
prodigal
and
when
he
sees
him
in
the
distance
he
lays
aside
all
dignity
it's
hard
to
understand
this
in
our
culture
but
people
don't
run
and
old
people
especially
don't
run
he
gathers
up
his
cloak
and
he
runs
down
the
road
running
to
welcome
his
lost
son
you
see
we
come
if
you've
ever
been
in
the
far
country
we
come
back
expecting
so
little
we're
expecting
at best
to be
a
hired
servant
but
we
are
welcomed
home
with
amazing
grace
as
sons
and
daughters
given
the
best
robe
of
distinction
the
signet
ring
of
authority
the
sandals
of
a
son
rather
than
the
bare
feet
of
a
slave
and
when
it
happens
heaven
throws
a
party
graham
asked me
to speak
at this
he said
we're
hoping it's
going to be
a baptism
well
it isn't
a baptism
today but
baptismal
services are
the happiest
occasions in
any church
because we're
celebrating lost
people being
found
there's more
rejoicing of
in 99 people
who think
they're good
enough and
don't need
to repent
than one
person
who
turns
i wonder
is that
you this
morning
have you
ever
experienced
the father's
prodigal
love no
matter what
you've done
maybe even
thinking about
some of the
things you've
done makes
you embarrassed
and ashamed
you wouldn't
want anyone
else to know
about them
i simply say
to you
whatever they
are
god is
looking for
you to
return
and he
welcomes
you with
open arms
and flings
his arms
around you
yet you
see the
father not
only shows
his love
to the
rebellious
son but
also to
the elder
son you
see the
elder son
has also
defied
convention
seriously
he shamed
his father
by refusing
to join
the celebration
he should
have gone
into the
celebration
and then
talked
afterwards
with his
father
and sorted
it out
he has
embarrassed
culture and
convention
and as
with the
younger son
the father
goes out
to meet
him
he earnestly
pleads with
him also
to come
and he
says look
we had
to celebrate
and be
glad
you see
the father's
extravagant
love
his prodigal
love is
shown to
the rebellious
son as
well as
the resentful
son he
shows his
love to
the unrighteous
as well as
the self
righteous and
I guess all
of us fall
into one of
those two
categories
the great
tragedy of
this story
then and
now is that
the self
righteous stand
outside refusing
to join the
celebration
but returning
prodigals join
the party
celebrating with
the angels
in heaven
so this is a
parable about
the father
and his two
sons but of
course there is
a third son in
the bigger story
the one who is
telling the story
Jesus himself
we're not told
the parable is
left open-ended
did the eldest son
ever join the
party well the
story doesn't tell
us but the
story of the
gospel does
tell us the
eldest son the
Pharisees the
teacher the law
religious people
never joined the
party instead
they killed the
one who tells
the story but
this was part of
God's wonderful
plan listen to
some words written
by John a
follower of Jesus
he says this is
how God showed
his love among
us he sent his
one and only
sin into the
world that we
might live
through him
this is love
not that we
love God but
that he loved
us and sent
his son as an
atoning sacrifice
to pay for our
sins and I
simply conclude
slightly over my
twenty minutes
five minutes
over but I
conclude by
asking this
morning have
you experienced
the prodigal
love of the
father you know
what it is to
know God as
your heavenly
father are
you rejoicing
in that love
today celebrating
the prodigal
love of God
the father by
which he calls
you his son
and daughter
another verse
from the Bible
written again
by John
see what great
love the father
has lavished on
us that we
we
unrighteous
self-righteous
should be called
the children of
God so I
simply conclude
by asking you
three questions
are you lost
or found
are you a
slave
or a son
are you
grumbling
or rejoicing
let's pray
together
our father
in heaven
thank you so
much for your
amazing prodigal
love generous
love shown to
each one of us
here not one
of us deserves
your love
one of us
deserves to be
a member of
your family
to be called
your child
your son and
daughter and
yet you've made
it possible by
giving your own
son up for us
so whoever we
are this morning
as we bow
in your presence
you know who
we are and
where we are
whether we're in
the far country
whether we're on
the road home
whether we're
standing outside
angry
refusing to
join the party
show your love
to us by your
spirit
and may we
rejoice
today with
the angels in
heaven
that you
welcome us
back as
lost people
we pray in
Jesus name
Amen