The Lost Younger Son

0:30And he said, There was a man who had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of 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.

1:11And 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. 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.

1:43And he arose and came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and 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 servants, Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him, and bring a ring, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.

2:19For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate. This is God's Word. You may be seated. In Luke 15, our Lord tells three parables. But they're really just one story. It's the story of the Father's yearning love for the lost and heaven's reaction when the lost are found. The first parable ends in verse 7 with these words. When Jesus says, I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.

3:18The second parable ends in verse 10 with these words. In the same way, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. And the third parable will end in verse 32 with these words. We had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live and was lost and has been found. The first parable is the story about a lost sheep. The second parable is about a lost coin. And the third parable is about a lost son.

4:03All three parables have this in common: being lost and being found, followed by great joy in heaven. As John Piper notes in his sermon on this, a lost and found sheep and a party, a lost and found coin and a party, a lost and found son. And a party. The yearning love for the lost stands in stark contrast to the religious leaders of Israel who have no interest at all in the lost. This yearning love is seen not in them.

4:50And in fact, it is these leaders who are on the fringe of this gathering who are the true targets of these parables. It's not the tax gatherers who are listening to Jesus. It is not the sinners, prostitutes, and the maimed who are listening to Jesus, who's the target of his true audience. It's those, the Pharisees and the scribes on the outer edges who are the targets of these three parables. It is these leaders. By the time that we finish this chapter, you're going to have your own heart tested as to whether or not your learning yearning for the lost and their being found is a consummate joy for you. So the story of the prodigal son, in reality, it's the tale of two lost sons. Both of these sons are lost. They're not saved.

5:56It's one of the most familiar stories in the Bible, but this presents us. With a problem, it is a hindrance to our study, our interpretation, and our application of this text. To a great degree, our understanding of this text is filtered through our own personal experience. Parents who are presently struggling with a wayward child will sometimes tend to identify with the father of the prodigal and look at this text for guidance and comfort in the midst of their pain and adversity.

6:35Those who have fallen into sin will focus on the wayward son and the loving and forgiving heart of the father. But how many of us in this room will associate ourselves with the older brother? And yet, in the context of chapter 15, he is the central figure. His sin is most in view. His reaction to the brother's repentance in return is the explanation the Lord gives for the grumbling of the Pharisees and the scribes on the outer edges.

7:21So, what I want you to do is for a moment set aside your previous interpretations of this parable, any predisposition. Positions you have, any needs that you have, and I want you to seek the illumination of the Spirit as we approach this very important passage in God's Word. I want you, at a minimum, to grasp three things. First, there are two different brothers. Each represents a different way of being alienated from God and a different way of how they will strive to be accepted, and a different way in which they will need to be saved. Second, do not overly sentimentalize this parable. We're going to make a big deal about the Father, but the Pharisees and the scribes were not melted into tears with this story. Rather, they were offended, they were infuriated with what Jesus is going to say.

8:29Jesus' purpose was not to warm their hearts, but to shatter their categories. And third, the targets of this story are truly not wayward sinners. Recognize that both sons grew up in a religious home, they had been taught the truths of God's word. Jesus in this parable is. Not pleading with immoral outsiders. He's pleading with moral insiders. For the next two Sundays, we're going to be studying this third parable, the tale of two lost sons. In each sermon, we're going to focus on one of the sons. In this sermon, we're going to narrow our focus to the younger son. And borrowing from J.C. Ryle's commentary on Luke, I want to consider five aspects of this story. A man following the natural bent of his own heart, a man finding that the ways of sin are bitter, a man awakening to a true sense of his natural state, a man turning to God with true repentance and faith, and a man received and accepted by God. First, let us consider a man following the natural bent of his own heart. Look at me with verse 11. And he said, A certain man had two sons. Now the younger of them said to his father, hey, father, give me my share of the estate.

10:28So he divided. His property between them. The younger son had become tired of staying at home. He was convinced that by being by himself, away from the eyes of his parents, that he would be able to do whatever he wanted. And that would make him happy. Of course, in order to carry out this plan, he needed some mulah. But he knew that according to Deuteronomy 21, 17, that one-third of the parental estate would be his, remember this point, when his father died. But he wanted his portion now.

11:19And so he asked for it. When the Pharisees heard this, they were outraged. This was just infuriating. Why? Number one, to make a request such as this in this culture was shameless. This would have resulted in a son who made this request being shunned, if not for life, at least for a long period of time. Some may even have treated a son who made such a request like this as if he were dead. Second, the younger son asked for. For his, we're going to look at a Greek term here, his share of the state.

12:05Tess usius. Right? He does not ask for his inheritance, which is klitoronomia. Why is that important? Asking for an inheritance, klitoronomia, meant that he would now be responsible for managing those assets of the estate for the benefit of the extended family. But asking for a share of the estate meant that he didn't have to manage anything. It was all his. And the Pharisees understood that the younger son wanted his stuff with no responsibility and accountability. This is an evil son. That's what the Pharisees are thinking. And third, the Pharisees understood that to ask for his portion now was tantamount to saying, Dad, I wish you were dead.

13:11So, in essence, this younger son in the story is a picture of a sinner demonstrating he doesn't love God, wants nothing to do with God, and wants no accountability to God. But this is just. The first surprise in the story. Because rather than strike him across the face and shunning him or considering him as if he's dead, the father actually grants him what he asks. And the Pharisees come unglued. This, my friends, is a picture of God giving the sinner his freedom. He does that. We know that because in Romans 1:24, when God gives the sinner over to the lusts of their heart and to the sin and to its consequences, that's what is occurring here. So let's get back to the story. Verse 13. Not many days afterward, the younger son gathered all that he had and went away to a distant country. The young man chose to go as far away as he could. He went into a Gentile land where no one knew him.

14:36And there he squandered his wealth by living extravagantly. So, what do we have in verses 11 through 13? We have the perfect picture of our natural heart, which resists the rule of God in our life. We are all naturally. Proud and self-willed. We have no pleasure in fellowship with God. And we doubt the capability and goodness of the Father. We think we can do a better job of managing our own lives than can God. Thus, we go off to spend our time, our talent, and our treasures on things that simply cannot profit. We are like what Isaiah writes in 53:6.

15:33Like sheep, we all go astray and turn everyone to his own way. That is the man following the natural bent of his own heart. Second, let us see a man finding that the ways of sin are bitter. Look in verse 14. When he had spent everything, a severe famine arose throughout that country and he began to be in need. Things go from bad to worse, and he cannot expect any help now that he has no more money from anyone else. But he is still not ready to go home. He is still not ready to fully humble himself. He is still not ready to face his father. So he does what people tend to do. Do when they hit bottom, they try to pull themselves up by their own means. Look what happens in verse 15. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country who sent him into the fields to feed pigs.

16:49Remember the culture here. This man is a Jew, and instead of humbling himself, he finds the only work to care for that type of animal which is considered the filthiest of all animals in Jewish culture. Verse 16. Even doing that, he can't yet get himself out of his dilemma. In verse 16, we see, and he was longing to fill his stomach with the carob pods, which the pigs were eating, but no one was giving him anything to eat.

17:30He was so hungry, he would look at the carob pods that the pigs were eating, but no one else would give him anything to eat. We don't know why he didn't eat the carob pods, but what's important here is he's starving. So I want you to notice three things about verses 14 through 16. First, sin is a very hard master. Unconverted people always Find it out. Sooner or later, they will find out what Isaiah writes in chapter 57, verse 21. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked.

18:14Second, when we break our attachment with God, we will end up attached to something else. And that attachment will ultimately lead to slavery, not sonship. It may be drugs, alcohol, illicit sex, a job, a spouse, a sport, or a hobby. The attachment may be crude or it may be refined, but just know this. If we attempt to break free from God, we will attach ourselves to another. And third, remember that you and I have a God-shaped vacuum in our heart. I think everyone thinks the heart's here, but it's actually right here.

19:08And if we run from Him, if we take our little earthly inheritance of time and money and energy and use it to attach to something other than God, we will never fill this God-shaped vacuum in our heart. That is A man finding out that the ways of sin are bitter. Third, let us see a man awakening to his sense of his natural state. Verse 17. But when he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father's men, my father's hired men, have more than they can eat? And here, I'm dying of hunger.

19:59In the midst of his misery, he awakens to the fact that the condition of his father's hired men, you need to think of day laborers, was far better than his own condition. Verse 18. I will arise and go to my father. And I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. He arrives at what conclusion, brothers and sisters? Does he arrive at the conclusion that this was a stupid decision? Did he arrive at the conclusion that this was simply unwise?

20:55Did he arrive at the conclusion that it was just a mistake? No, he arrives at the conclusion that what he did was what? Sin. And it was a sin committed against God. The Hebrews often use the word heaven to refer to God and against the Father in your sight. As such, he no longer has the right to be called a son. And he's going to go to his father and tell him this: I have sinned, make me as one of your hired men.

21:36I want you to note something here. This is a very specific request. Servants worked and lived on the estate of the master. Hired men lived someplace else and came and did work on the estate and then went back home. He is not asking to be a servant and to live there. He says, I want to become as one of your hired men who will not be living on the estate. The rabbis taught that if you had violated the community standard, an apology was not sufficient. You had to make restitution. So the Son intends to say, in essence to the father, this: Father, I have no right to come back into the family, but if you apprentice me out to one of your hired men, I can learn a trade, earn a wage, and begin to pay off my debt.

22:53That appears to be the request he's going to make of his father. So, in essence, we see here the younger son awakening to the sense of his natural state. So, fourth, let us see a man turning to God with true repentance and faith. Paraphrasing J.C. Ryle, thinking is not a change of heart. Conviction is not the same as conversion. Good thoughts are all very, very well, but they are not saving Christianity. If the younger son had never got beyond thinking about returning home, he might have kept from home to the day of his death.

23:46Verse 20. So he arose and went to his father. While many pious resolutions are never carried out, this young man Did what he resolved to do. He started out and he kept going. He put feet to his resolution. The lost son was willing to come home as a hired man rather than as a son. That is a man turning to God with true repentance and faith. And finally, let us see a man received and accepted by God. Verse 20, the latter half. But while he was a long way off, the father saw him and his heart went out to him. The father ran, threw his arms around his son's neck, and kissed him fervently.

24:49As I said before, the father's behavior in this story is shocking to the Pharisees and scribes. They expected this: that when the younger son came home, the father would make himself unavailable because he had been dishonored and this son had been rebellious. They expected that the father would probably make him sit outside the gates of the home in public view so that everyone would be able to come by and reap scorn or abuse or slander and maybe even spit on this rebellious son. Next, after a period of time, The father would give him a very cool reception, require the errant son to bow low and kiss the father's feet before telling him, with a measure of indifference, what works the son would have to do and for how long in order to gain repentance.

25:51And only if he did all that was asked, could he be reconciled to the father? This is what the Pharisees wanted. This is what the scribes expected. But that's not what happened. It is clear from our story, if you notice, that the father had never lost interest in his wayward son. He must have again and again and again been looking out, hoping to see his son coming. And now he sees his son in the distance. And look at the four things that the father does before the son opens his mouth. First, he shows compassion. That's what it means. His heart went out to him.

26:44It's not just compassion for his past sin. It's not compassion just for his present state. He probably was filthy and smelled, having worked with pigs, having walked a long distance. And it was not even just for the compassion of what he Expected the community would ultimately try to reap on top of his head. He shows compassion for all of those. Second, he sprints. The Greek word here is dromen. It's the kind of sprinting that you see in a stadium. He sprints. Middle-aged men, old men in that culture, don't sprint. It's undignified. Of course, old men probably can't sprint, but that's a different discussion. But this father sprints.

27:35Nothing stops him from doing that. Number three, before the son can speak, he embraces his son. And number four, he kisses his son again and again. The grumblers were furious. The father condescends and humbles himself for this rebellious son. Just like Jesus. Jesus came into our world and took on human form and bore our shame. He chose to accept us in our filthy rags. He took us into his arms without any work or works on our part.

28:28This verse makes it very Clear that, like the younger son, we are saved by grace. Now, for the budding theologians in the room, I put this in here. Where are you getting grace without works out of this passage? Look at verse 21. And the son said to the father, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Do you notice something missing? Look back at verse 19. He said, I was going to say, I'm no longer worthy to be your son, but he also said something else. Make me as one of your hired men. It's missing here in verse 21.

29:25He intended to say that, but you know what? He never had to. The Father never gave him a chance. The Father receives, embraces, and reconciles with the Son before the Son can say anything. That is, the Father shows grace to the younger son. It's not the Son returning that saves him. It's the Father's grace that saves him. Or state it differently, the Son is saved by the Father. Grace. It's not his works. Thus, when the younger son does speak, he leaves out any mention of his works. Why? Why does he choose not to add that different, that little additional word, that clause, that phrase? It's because of this. He's already been received as a son. He's already been forgiven. He already has been shown mercy. He's already been reconciled. There's no need to work his way back into a state that he's already been given to him. There's no need to say, Make me as one of your hired men, because he is now a son because of what the Father has done.

30:47We, like the younger son, are saved by grace, not by our works. Brothers and sisters, this is very important because what we need to be instructing the wayward son, the sinner, the one that is lost, we need to say, all you need to do is to come penitently, trusting in God. And if you do, the Savior will run to the sinner, asking nothing of him. All we have to do is to be seen that he will be thrown into his love, his mercy. Mercy, his grace, because that's the joy of the Father. The sinner may want to perform to plan works, but he's going to be shown grace. And like the younger son, the sinner should accept the grace and offer no works. That would be an insult to the Father. Verse 22.

31:55But the Father said to his servants, Quickly bring a robe, the best one, and put it on him. Put a ring in his hand, sandals on his feet. Bring on the fattened calf and kill it. And let's eat and celebrate. The father's forgiveness leads him to give his son the best robe. That's an indication of his restored standing in the family. To give him a signet ring, an indication of his authority. To have sandals tied to his feet, an indication he's not a slave, but a free man. And to slaughter the fattened calf, which is an indication that the village is getting ready to celebrate. And then the father states the reason for this celebration in these words, verse 24. Because this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. The four words, dead, alive, lost, found, are meant to be interpreted by hearing this parable in a spiritual sense. We see it in Ephesians 2, 1. We see it in Luke 19, 10.

33:12The Father's orders were obeyed with this result, and they began to celebrate. Let's make sure we understand this. This celebration is not really a celebration of the Son as much as it is a celebration of the Father. The feast honors the Father for what He has done. It is the Father who made him a sin again. It is the Father who restored him to blessing by merciful forgiveness and gracious love. And the whole village comes to celebrate. That is a man received and accepted by God.

33:59So let me close with five additional comments, and I will be brief. First, there are some of you in this room who are like the younger prodigal son. You doubt the goodness of God. You take his gifts, you leave God, and you seek out happiness through some other means, work, family, relationships, substance abuse. Need to come to your senses. You need to recognize that what you're doing will not work, that you are in need, and you need to turn to God in repentance and faith. And when you do, he will receive you with open arms. Second, this parable, Alan in his prayer, said this: This parable has something to say about worship for those of us who profess to be believers. The younger son was not able to enjoy his father for who he was.

35:14He viewed the father only as a means to indulge his fleshly desires. We are the very same way with God. We most often tend to think of him as the giver rather than as the gift. We come to him in prayer, not for fellowship and communion, but for the things we want him to provide for us. Shame on us. True worship is enjoying God for who he is, not just for what he gives. Number three, no. In this passage, does Jesus minimalize the sin of the younger brother?

36:09He calls what the younger brother does sin, and he never celebrates what the younger brother has done. We need to be careful to never minimalize the true effect of sin in our lives and in the lives of others. Fourth, let us be aware of any repentance which is not of the character of this younger son. Action is the very life of repentance unto salvation. Feelings, tears, remorse, wishes, resolutions are useless unless they are accompanied by action and a change of life.

36:59And with all apologies to the Pharisees and the scribes on that who were offended by the actions of the Father, let us close by considering the lavish enthusiasm of the Father and what we can learn about God's love for the sinner who repents. Since in this story, the Father represents God the Father. Like the Father in this parable, God is not so busy with other things. That he is not concerned about those who have his alienated children.

37:39Second, God feels compassion for the lost. Some of you have a black sheep in your family. Can you imagine the compassion that you would show to see that black sheep repent and come to faith in Christ? That is just a snippet of the way it is with God, with one who repents and comes to faith in Christ. Third, God will throw decorum to the wind. The father was a middle-aged man, owner of a significant estate, with servants at his beck and call. Servant, people in that culture simply didn't run unless they have given themselves over to the utter joy of their hearts. And that's the way God is when one of his children comes to faith. And fourth, God embraces and kisses the prodigal. Imagine that one person in your life that you want to come home, home from sin, home from unbelief, home from heart-heartedness, and what it would be like to see brokenness in their faith.

39:00Would you not reach out, embrace, and kiss them? Know that God will do the same. Fifth, God restores the prodigal. God grants the robe of sonship, not of slavery. And to everyone who comes to faith in Christ, the Father will grant sonship. And finally, God celebrates. God is very glad when one of his children comes to faith in Christ. Why? Because he has a lavish enthusiasm for the lost. Let us pray. Father, you love your children.

39:52You patiently wait for your children to come to faith in Christ. You grant us grace. You need none of our works. You celebrate our salvation because you yearn for the lost. May each of us who profess faith in Christ have a similar yearning for the lost. And for those who find themselves in a state similar to the younger son, may they find that the ways Of sin are bitter quickly. May they awaken to a sense of their lostness and may they turn to God with true repentance and faith.

40:46We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.