Good morning! I’m glad to see all of you here today and welcome to those of you who are joining us online. We’ve got a LOT of scripture to dig into today so we’re gonna get right into it.
Today we’re in Luke, chapter 15, so turn with me there, if you’re using a house Bible, Luke chapter 15 starts on page 868 .
We’re going to be taking a look at one of the most beloved parables of all time. The parable of the ‘prodigal son.’ We’re in our 3rd week of ‘Hope Month’ which this year is centered on healing the broken place of separation from God.
We’ve described it as the Grand-daddy of all of the 6 broken places, because it leads to all the other areas of brokenness in our world. We as a people have fallen away from who God created us to be and as a result we’ve broken the world.
We broke the world. That’s the bad news.
But, there’s good news! There's a good reason we are calling this ‘HOPE’ month, and that is because
Hope is alive because God is alive! He is moving, and He is healing our broken world.
He is intervening! His light is breaking through the darkness. And that is not just some cliche. I am seeing it, everywhere! I’m seeing it. The hope of God, the light of Christ breaking through!
I am very very excited to bring you this message today. The good news has me all fired up, and I’ll tell you why a little later, but first let’s pray and ask God to speak through His word:
[Pray]
Alright, we’re in Luke chapter 15 and
The meat of our story starts down in verse 11. But if we were to start there, we would read
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story:
And we would have to stop right away, and ask a clarifying question:
To Illustrate what point? What point was Jesus trying to FURTHER illustrate by telling this story?
The Parable of the Prodigal Son was a response to what happened in verse 1 of this chapter.
So go back up to Luke 15:1, and we read:
Luke 15: 1-3 NLT
15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So Jesus told them this story:
Now that’s how it reads in our house Bibles, in the New Living Translation. But I want you to hear it put in a slightly different way. I love the way the Message Bible sets the scene. It reads:
Luke 15: 1-3 MSG
15 1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of questionable reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.
So we’ve set the stage. Jesus is speaking, and as usual, he has an audience. His audience is made up of 2 kinds of people - there were the men and women of questionable reputation who had gathered to listen intently to his teachings. These were KNOWN sinners.
Social outcasts. And Jesus was speaking to them, even eating with them! Treating them like old friends.
That’s the part that really angered His other audience - the highly educated religious scholars. The self-righteous Pharisees. They were not there to listen. Oh they wanted to hear Jesus teach, but only so they could catch him saying something that they could use to discredit him. They did not truly want to listen. They wanted to complain.
And it was that complaining, that grumbling, that prompted Jesus to tell this story. To tell 3 stories to be exact. What followed was a trilogy of short stories all about something that went missing, but was ultimately safely recovered - LOST AND THEN FOUND.
A lost sheep. Remember that line about ‘leaving the 99 behind to go after the 1’? It's right here in Luke 15:4.
A lost coin - that part about angels rejoicing when even one sinner repents - you can find it right here, Luke 15:10.
Through the art of storytelling, Jesus is making the truth come to life in a new way! He responds to the grumbling of the Pharisees by telling them about:
A lost sheep,
a lost coin,
a passionate pursuit of that which had been lost,
and a joyful public celebration when what was once lost was finally found.
Lost and then found.
A lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.
Now we commonly refer to this parable as that of “the prodigal son.” And it is that, by definition. The word prodigal means
Prodigal
- a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way.
And we will see that in this story. There’s some reckless spending going on here. But remember, this is the 3rd installment of a series of stories about LOST things. A lost sheep, a lost coin and a LOST son.
Lost:
- unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts. Confused. Adrift. Off-track. Astray.
And so with that in mind, let’s read what Jesus has to tell us through the parable of the LOST son.
Luke 15 starting at verse 11
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
Here’s where we have to remember Jesus’ audience, because already the scandal of this younger son’s request would’ve gotten their attention immediately! For the son to demand his share of the inheritance BEFORE his father died was like saying “I WISH YOU WERE DEAD! JUST GIVE ME WHAT’S MINE NOW. I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO WAIT FOR YOU TO DIE!”
With that amount of disrespect, an ancient audience might have expected the father to disown the son, or send him away. But the father does not respond in anger. Instead, he agrees and divides his wealth between both of his sons. As was customary, the older son would’ve received the larger share of the inheritance, ⅔’s of his father’s wealth. And the younger son would have received ⅓.
We keep reading in verse 13:
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.
This is where we get the name ‘prodigal son.’ He was out there living wild, throwing all caution to the wind, and blowing his inheritance in some far away land.
He wanted adventure and he had no intentions to return home. Verse 13 says he packed up ALL his belongings. He didn’t leave anything behind that would tie him to his old life or his family. He was gone for good. That is… until the party was over and he was hit with a sudden double dose of reality:
14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
He’s flat broke and hungry. He was so hungry that even the carob pods that the pigs were eating looked good to him - but no one gave him ANYTHING! That means that the pigs' lives were worth more than his was at this point! This was absolute rock bottom!
Fun Fact: Remember, in ancient jewish culture, pigs were considered the lowest of the low - nasty, filthy and undesirable. Pigs were to be avoided, because they were unclean. But here our guy is, out there feeding pigs, working for a gentile land owner. Jesus includes this detail in his story to show us just how far gone this younger son was. He was far far from home, doing the most debasing work possible to ancient jews - feeding unclean pigs and working for a gentile stranger.
Now… this is a parable. A story with a lesson. And there were other parables in the ancient world that might have ended right here. The moral of the story is: don’t be like that guy! Don’t disrespect your father and abandon your family! Don’t waste all your money on wild living- or else you’ll end up destitute - and lower than pigs! The End.
But Jesus’ parable does not stop there. Keep reading in Verse 17
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[b]’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
Verse 20 says, “So HE RETURNED HOME TO HIS FATHER.”
The Greek there translates “Having RISEN UP, I will go to the father.”
That word for ‘risen up’ is the same word we see later on in Luke - when he writes that on the 3rd day Jesus “will rise again.’
“Having RISEN UP, I will go to the father.”
Where other parables of the time would’ve stopped at the son’s destitution, Jesus’ parable is a celebration of the son’s resurrection! From death to life! “Having RISEN UP, I will go to the father.” He ROSE UP from a path that would ultimately lead to death, and instead - chose a path that would ultimately lead to life - abundant life. He made his way home to the father.
Fun Fact: I find it interesting that in Jesus’ parable, no one had to argue this man back to his senses. He simply “came to himself’ or ‘came to his senses’ and decided to return to His father. This gives me great hope. The Holy Spirit convicts. Not me. My job is to represent the heart of the Father to my ‘ones’ and to represent them back to the my Father in prayer. The Father does all the rest.
And the scriptures says that while he was still afar off… That’s my favorite phrase in this entire beautiful story - while he was still afar off his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
He ran to his son - in Jesus’ day, dignified men, wearing robes, did not run. That would’ve been humiliating. But this father did not care about his own dignity at this moment, and he didn’t care who saw him, as he ran a distance to greet his son. And not with a stiff lipped ‘well, what do you have to say for yourself…” But with a kiss. Not with his arms folded, waiting for his son to explain where he had been, but with an embrace!
The love of this father. The compassion. The picture Jesus is painting for us with this story is so vivid. He’s painting a picture of the heart of the Father for his lost son! His heart is love! Lavish love!
Now, I think it's important to note that this lost son was not discreetly let back into the father’s good graces. There was nothing hush hush about the prodigal’s return! He was welcomed back with a grand celebration - on the scale of say, a wedding or some other community wide feast.
They killed the fatted calf - that was enough food to feed the entire village. It was a special occasion! They weren’t having chicken for dinner tonight! This was a filet-minon level celebration, with music and dancing - it was loud!
Verse 25
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
We finally hear the voice of the elder brother, who had been part of the story from the very beginning - verse 11 said ‘A man had TWO sons…’ and that the father’s inheritance had been divided between his TWO sons. But while one son ran away and wasted it all on wild living, the other son had been faithfully slaving away at the homestead. OR at least that’s how he saw it.
“All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to - and you never even gave me a goat...”
You hear his indignant tone. He’s put out! He believes this celebration is grotesquely unjust! He’s the one who deserves to be celebrated. How dare his father welcome such a filthy sinner! How dare he EAT with him, much less throw a party for him and invite the whole village!
15 MINUTES
But right at this moment, we hear the heart of the father again, this time for his older son. The faithful, loyal, albeit self-righteous son. He speaks gently, calling him ‘dear son’ and reminding him that everything he has belongs to him as well. He reminds him of the familial bond between the 2 brothers. And how it was only right to celebrate, because -
This is what you do when someone who has gone missing, returns home safely
This is what you do when someone who was lost is finally found.
This is what you do when the dead come back to life.
This is just what you do. You celebrate resurrection! You celebrate repentance! You celebrate restoration! This is what you do, son! This is what you do!
It is only right that we should be singing and dancing and feasting right now! We’re in here having a resurrection party! Now are you coming? Are you coming?
The father loves both of his sons. The father pursues BOTH of his LOST sons.
Lost:
- unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts. Confused. Adrift. Off-track. Astray.
One had gotten off track because of his rebellious sin, and the other because of his own self-righteousness sin.
Remember, Jesus was speaking to 2 audiences that day: ‘notorious sinners’ and self-righteous religious scholars. Both of them, both audiences, were represented in the story of the lost son, because both of them were lost sons. And Jesus, who said “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” Jesus, was right there, the heart of the father, God in the flesh! Jesus, in loving pursuit of that which was lost! Poor prodigals and self-righteous saints. Both of them, unable to find their way!
Confused. Adrift. Off-track. Lost.
Sinners, and saints. The father loves them both. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost!
Now, I said earlier that I was excited to bring you this message today. And I am! HOPE has me all fired up!
A few weeks ago, right after the first message of this Hope Month series, I was singing the closing song, “Tears of the Saints’. That was the service where we closed by inviting all of you to write down the name of someone you’ll be praying for throughout the month of September. We invited you to put those names up on these ‘hope walls.’ And all month long these walls would stand to remind us of what’s at stake, why Hope month exists! To remind us that we are God’s ambassadors to the lost people in our lives. We represent God to them, and represent them back to God in prayer.
The song had barely begun, I had barely sung the first line when I watched so many of you RISE UP from your seats, and walk all the way down to the front, and stand in line to write down the names of the people you are praying for. The people you love. The lost sons and daughters in your lives.
And I wish I could say that my first reaction was positive… but it wasn’t. What I felt in that moment - watching all of you - was deep despair. The opposite of hope. The need just felt so great. The mountain so high to climb. So many lost sons and daughters. So many names being written down. So many people crying for their loved ones to come back home to the love of the Father. And then I saw a couple that I have prayed with a few times. I know their story. I watched that couple stand and weep during that closing song, and began to weep with them because I know who they’re praying for. I know how their hearts have been broken. The song said, “There are tears of the saints for the lost and unsaved, crying for them ‘come back home.’”And I saw those tears from so many of you that morning. And a fear, a dread came over me. This is huge, God. This broken place is just too much for me. The need is so overwhelming.
But then it happened.
IN that moment of desperation only 3 sundays ago, as I looked out over this room and saw your tears, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me ‘REMEMBER YOUR BROTHER.’
Picture of Jason
I have an older brother, and for years, for decades, he was our family’s ‘lost son.’ But God has been doing a work in my brother’s life over the past 3 years that is nothing short of miraculous!
As I looked around the room, and watched you write down the names of your friends and loved ones, as I sang about the lost coming home, I was reminded of my own brother - and HOPE flooded my whole heart!
Just like that, the tide shifted. Despair was lifted! I began to cry happy tears! “YES GOD” tears! Because suddenly I realized - I’ve already witnessed what can happen when out of the blue God’s light comes rushing into dark places, and a lost son comes to his senses, and RISES UP and returns to the father! And because of that, because of what I have seen happen in my own family, I can believe God for your prodigal to come home! I have seen resurrection from death to life, from what seemed hopeless, to what now seems like HOPE WITHOUT LIMITS!
Hope is alive because God is alive. He is moving, and He is healing our broken world.
In light of what we are talking about all month, healing the broken place of separation from God - being God’s ambassadors to those who are ‘lost,’ I spoke with my brother last week. I asked him, ‘In a time when so many are deconstructing their faith, and turning their backs on Christianity… What in the world made you decide to turn back to God at the age of 40? Was it a singular moment or a catalytic event of some kind?’
He said it wasn’t a singular event. He said that ‘growing up, truth had been ingrained into our souls.’ And he’s right. But - listen to his words, I took notes as we talked. He said, “you know… I’m very stubborn and I’m going to do what I’m going to do.” He said, “When we were growing up I just thought “once I get out, I’m living my own life…”
And, my friends, that is exactly what he did. He partied hard. For a long long time. But during that time, he struggled. I asked him if he ever heard that ‘still small voice’ of the Holy Spirit while he was out there living wild. He said
“Even in my darkest days, I would know that I was not living the right way. Almost denying that voice. I heard it, and knew that what I was about to do was wrong, but just kept doing what I wanted to do anyway.” But listen to the hope in what my brother said next! He said:
“But Jesus said He’ll never leave us or forsake us. So… never is never. But you can ignore His voice. And when you start living in sin - it’s easy to stay there.”
“But Jesus said He’ll never leave us or forsake us. So… never is, NEVER.”
Are you in that mode right now? Are you in prodigal mode, ignoring what you know in your heart to be true? That our Father God is loving, and that he came to seek and to save that which was lost? He came to seek YOU! Or do you feel like God has abandoned you, or that somewhere along the way, He forgot about you? Let me gently remind you of what my brother is just now discovering to be true: “Jesus said He’ll never leave us or forsake us. So… never is, NEVER.” Never means NOT EVER! He is the father who runs to us! No matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done. No matter who we have become along the way, sinner or saint, the Father never leaves his children behind. Not. Ever.
Fun Fact: this kind of conversation with my brother would’ve been unthinkable 3 years ago. Now he’s a Sunday School teacher to 2nd graders! I can not stress it enough! This is a full blown miracle. If you would’ve told my brother (or me for that matter) that he would be singing and dancing with kids and teaching them Bible stories, he would’ve laughed at the very thought! And I would’ve laughed, but prayed even more still…
One more story about my brother, he said that his church just recently did this cool thing, where they wrote down the names of 3 people, and put those names on a board in the lobby, that would be on display all year long. The challenge was simple: over the course of this next year pray for those 3 people, show them love, and invite them to church.
So, my brother did that. He wrote down 3 names, and he invited them to church. To his total surprise, THE VERY NEXT WEEK, 2 of them came to church with him! A co-worker, and a couple that he and his wife are friends with, they’ve got little kids, and their whole family came to church. God just keeps surprising my brother with more and more ‘cool stuff’ as he put it.
So what did it? What was the thing that made my prodigal brother ‘RISE UP’ and return to his Father?
He said “I don’t really have a cool epiphany story. I just got tired of my way and wanted to try it His way. So I just did it. And as I did, more and more prayers were answered and ‘cool stuff’ started to happen. Blessings and things of that nature just started happening. It makes me wonder, man, where would my life be if I would’ve started this 10 years ago?”
He said, “Now, I feel like I can’t fail. I know there’s going to be more struggles, and I know more things are going to happen, but it’s to the point where I don’t want to go back. And it took a while to feel that way, but my family, my wife, my relationship with my wife, my kids, my job, our friends and their kids, it’s just one thing after another! “Cool stuff!”
And no real big thing happened. Maybe it was just time.”
Maybe it was just time.
My friends,
Hope is alive because God is alive. He is moving, and He is healing our broken world.
My brother Jason is living proof. He was my ONE, for many years. And his resurrection came when he wasn’t even looking for it.
And you know what - that’s how it was for my mother, and my father, and my brother in law, and so many others in my own family! Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, and that’s exactly what He did in the lives of so many of my own friends and family members.
I want to share this hope with you! From lost to found! Jesus seeks after us, even when we aren’t looking for him. He lifts us up, out of whatever pit we’re in. When we make that choice in our hearts and our minds, to RISE UP and return to the Father, immediately, without hesitation the Father runs to us! He lifts us from a path that would ultimately lead to death, and establishes us firmly on the only path that leads to abundant life.
If you are in need of hope today RISE UP and go to the Father! He loves you. And he will receive you and be near to you.
If you are praying for someone who has been separated from God, to those of you still waiting for your prodigal to come home - take heart.
Hope is alive because God is alive. He is moving, and He is healing our broken world.
And you are His advocate! You represent God to your lost one, and you represent your lost one to back God! So Pray! And call on others to pray with you, for your loved one, your lost one. Your friend, your family member. RISE UP and go to the father on their behalf! He hears you. Trust that He hears you, even if you don’t see the impact of your prayers automatically. Keep praying. Don’t stop praying. And take heart. God is not finished yet.
And If you are confused today. If you find yourself feeling adrift, or off track. If you feel lost, don’t wait! Maybe it’s just time. Right now can be the moment when you choose to RISE UP, and go to your Father. His heart for you is love! Extravagant love! His compassion toward you is steadfast and unwavering. It always has been. No matter where you’ve been!
Hope is alive! Because God is alive!
Next week, we’re going to celebrate that hope with Baptisms. If you haven’t been baptized, or if you know that you have been separated from God and you want to recommit yourself to following Him, and do so in a public way - come and be baptized! Let’s celebrate! Like the prodigal son, repent, RISE UP and return to your loving father. And we will have a grand ole celebration, all of us together, rejoicing that what once was lost has been found. And what once was dead, has been brought back to life through Christ Jesus!
My friends, Hope is alive because God is alive. He is moving, and He is healing our broken world.