The father of the prodigal Luke 15:11-32
A candidate for church membership was asked by the committee, “What part of the Bible, do you like the best?” He said, “I like the New Testament.” Then he was asked, “What Book in the New Testament is your favorite?” He answered, the Book of the Parables.” Then they asked him to relate one of the parables to the membership committee.
And a bit uncertain, he began… “Once upon a time a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves; and the thorns grew up and choked him. And he went on and met the Queen of Sheba, and she gave that man, a thousand talents of silver, and a hundred changes of raiment. And he got in his chariot and drove furiously, and as he was driving along under a big tree, his hair got caught in a limb and left him hanging here! And he hung there many days and many nights. The ravens brought him food to eat and water to drink. And one night while he was hanging there asleep, his wife Delilah came along and cut off his hair, and he fell on stony ground. And it began to rain, and it rained forty days and forty nights. And he hid himself in a cave. Later he went on and met a man who said, “Come in and take supper with me.” But he said, “I can’t come in, for I have married a wife.” And the man went out into the highways and hedges and compelled him to come in! Then he came to Jerusalem, and saw Queen Jezebel sitting high and lifted up in a window of the wall. When she saw him she laughed, and he said, “Throw her down out of there,” and they threw her down. And he said “Throw her down again,” and they threw her down seventy-times-seven. And the fragments which they picked up filled twelve baskets full! NOW, whose wife will she be in the day of the Judgment?” And the membership committee looked at each other and they all agreed that this was indeed a very knowledgeable candidate!
Now, rather than be as confused as this guy was let’s go back and understand what’s going on here. Jesus was using three parables to communicate who God is and what He wants from every individual who was ever born. The word “parable" means “likeness" and a parable is a comparison of two objects for the purpose of teaching. In other words, you can understand something complex by relating it to something simple because there is a comparison between the two. It would be like me taking a quarter and saying, “When you look at this you can understand the shape of the moon.” Now, the quarter doesn’t tell you anything about the moon and it certainly doesn’t hang in space but you can understand the overall shape of the moon by simply looking at a quarter.
And although Jesus didn’t invent speaking in parables, it’s significant that He is the only one who uses them in the New Testament. At one time in His ministry, it was the only way He taught when He was speaking to the crowds.
So, the obvious question is, why did Jesus speak in “parables"? Although many in the church at large believe that He did this in order to make His points clear, the opposite is actually true and Jesus said so in Matthew 13:11-16 where it says, “And the disciples came, and said unto Him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, by hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” So, bottom line is, the parables were meant to explain truth to the believers while hiding it from the unbelievers.
And the purpose of these parables was to help believers to understand who God is and what his kingdom is all about. And we notice that Jesus uses images and characters that were taken from everyday life to illustrate His messages and this was His most common way of teaching. His stories appealed to the young and the old, the rich and the poor as well as to the smart and to those who weren’t so smart.
Over a third of the Gospels that were written by Matthew, Mark, and Luke are made up of Jesus’ parables. And it was obvious that He loved to use these illustrations to reach the hearts of people through their imaginations. And these parables challenged them to discover what God was like and then moved their hearts to make a response to Him.
So, keep in mind who Jesus is talking to here. There are the tax collectors and a group that are known as sinners which some think may have been the women of the street and there were also the scribes and Pharisees which are considered to be one group together. And these were three groups of people are all alike in one respect in that none of them liked the other two. I mean, the Pharisees hated everyone who wasn’t one of their own and especially those who were either employed by the Roman government like the tax collectors or those who worked the streets in the sex trade. And then the tax collectors hated the Pharisees because they saw them as self-righteous and stuck up and they’d also see the women of the street simply as useless because they couldn’t tax them for anything. And the women of the street hated everyone because they always felt ignored and used. So, knowing who was sitting here listening and how they felt about each other gives us the impression that this wasn’t the average church service. I mean, there would have been a real sense of tension in the air.
And it’s important for us to understand something about the nature of the Pharisees, because these men were extremely sensitive to the concepts of honor and shame. In other words, as far as they were concerned, you had to do everything in your life in order to achieve honor and avoid shame. And to them it was very important to be considered an honorable person who was only known for doing good things. And then they took this a step further by saying that everyone earned their way into God’s favor by being very good and to them that meant being very religious to the point that it even affected the clothes they wore and the foods they ate.
And their religion consisted of dotting your ‘i’s’ and crossing your ‘t’s’ in terms of maintaining the standards that the religious crowd set for the community. And that meant that you never did anything to bring shame to your name. And in the end they believed that they were not only honorable but that they were the architects of what honor was about and at the same time they also defined what shame was.
And yet, as religious as they were, Jesus never said one good word about them, ever. I mean, He never once mentioned anything good they said or did and the reason for this was simple. They never did anything unless it was to demonstrate how good they really were. They were so full of themselves, it was sickening.
And so, in chapter 15 all the tax gatherers and sinners were gathered to hear to Jesus and as far as this religious crowd were concerned Jesus was attracting the worst elements of society. I mean, they considered these people to be the scum, the nobodies, the lowlifes and the socially untouchables. These tax collectors and sinners were people who would have been excommunicated from the synagogue for their lifestyles of thievery and immorality and no normal person would ever be caught dead hanging around them and yet, here was Jesus befriending and teaching them the word of God.
Well, you can imagine how uncomfortable these Pharisees were, because they had to sit amongst the rest of the so-called sinners or they wouldn’t be able to hear Jesus and if they couldn’t hear Him then how could they criticize Him for everything He had to say.
These kinds of people remind me of the Jewish story that tells about a hardworking farmer. In the story the Lord appeared to this farmer and granted him three wishes, but with the condition that whatever the Lord did for the farmer, double would be given to his neighbor. The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately, he received a hundred cattle and he was overjoyed until he saw that his neighbor had received two hundred. And then he wished for a hundred acres of land and again he was filled with joy until he saw that his neighbor had received two hundred acres. And rather than celebrating God’s goodness, the farmer couldn’t escape feeling jealous and slighted because his neighbor had received more than he. Finally, he stated his third wish; he wished that God would strike him blind in one eye. And when He heard the request, God wept.
And that really defines the nature of the Pharisees. And when I think of hard-hearted religious people I’ve met, I’ve always wondered whether they were really saved or not. I remember when I was a new believer and I used to be asked to share my testimony in different kinds of places like coffee shops, chapels whether they were in jails or prisons, a few churches, a couple of high schools and anywhere else that people were trying to reach others with the gospel. They would ask me to come and tell the story of how I had been saved from a life of drugs. And just like the prodigal son I generally got one of two reactions from the various Christians who heard me.
The first reaction was from those who were grateful God had saved me and that He was using me to reach those who were on the streets like I had been and they were thankful that those who might be thinking that this could be an exciting way to live could hear the consequences that accompanied this lifestyle. And the other reaction was from Christians who told me many times, that God would rather use a clean vessel than a dirty one to carry His message to a needy world. And they often accused me of making it sound like I had too much fun when I was living in sin.
And, the truth was, I did. You see, the Bible says, “The pleasure of sin is short.” In other words, there is pleasure in sin but it doesn’t last very long. I remember when I was a kid, everybody smoked. The teachers had a smoking room, the policemen smoked, you’re parents smoked and even a few of the United Church ministers. And when you had your first cigarette you really felt like a man because all men smoked. All the cowboys smoked in the movies and everyone that was wealthy not only smoked but they even had very long cigarette holders. And even though smoking often made you sick the first couple of times you tried it, there was pleasure from smoking and it wasn’t from the smoking itself but because everyone who was important did it and when you smoked you thought you were mature or suave just like the Hollywood crowd.
And then after a while we found out that smoking causes cancer, heart disease and hundreds of other problems. And when you smoked for a couple of years you found yourself getting winded playing checkers. But, that didn’t stop people, because even though you knew it was killing you, there was so much pleasure that was promised by the advertisers.
A few of the commercials at the time said, “Awaken your taste with Cameo.” Pall Mall promised their cigarettes would, “Guard against throat scratch.” Winston said they brought flavor back with filter smoking.” And then there was the writing on the side of the Kent cigarette package that said, “With your very first carton of Kent’s, you will discover the cleanest-tasting, freshest cigarette flavor you have ever known. One that stays clean and fresh-tasting, no matter how much you smoke." And in spite of all the promises they made and the feelings you experienced, you found that the pleasure of sin was short and very quickly everyone was spending their money on ways to quit smoking.
And then there was the drinking. And whether one was having a beer with the boys or a drink after work this was considered to be the good life. Did you know that from 2001 to 2003; teens saw 779 television ads promoting alcohol, compared to 9 industry-funded ads warning against underage drinking. Now, that’s not exactly what I would consider to be socially responsible. But you see, the problem is, no one ever said the good life included alcoholism, broken homes and cirrhosis of the liver. So, there is pleasure in sin, but listen, it’s very short.
And that was the lesson the prodigal learned, because for all the fun he had, it wasn’t long before it was all gone and so were all his friends who helped him spend the money. And just like I did, he found out too late that the pleasure of sin was short.
Last week we saw the prodigal coming home and today I want to focus on the father who received him. And I think his coming home exposes everyone for who they really are. We saw the father to be a loving and compassionate individual and maybe nobody noticed it before because he never had the opportunity to show it but when he opened his arms and his home to his wayward son everyone could see how much he cared for someone that no one else cared about. And the elder brother also had the opportunity to show who he really was and we saw his shallow and spiteful attitude not only toward his younger brother but even toward his father.
And so, as we look at this story we see the father and he’s obviously standing at the door looking for his son as he’s done many times before. Now, they tell us that in those days the rich lived in the center of town and if there was a hill, they’d probably have the home at the top. And it’s possible that this is what’s happening because it says he sees him even though he’s a long ways off.
And it’s an odd thing but you can see someone coming and not recognize them until they’re almost at your door but when it’s one of your own you simply know who they are by the way they walk. And this father recognized his son from afar and it says, ‘he started running towards him.’ And I think the reason the father ran is because he knew that if his son walked past the towns people then everybody was going to tell him what a loser he was and that he had no business coming back after all the disappointment he’d caused. And out of fear that his son might turn around and go back where he came from the father forget his dignity and ran to meet his son.
And there’s something you have to understand here, older men in that society never, ever ran. As a matter of fact, the Pharisees and other men of the temple would wear long robes that hung right to the ground and they considered it to be shameful if anyone ever saw part of their legs. And so, in order for this man to run, he’d have to lift up his robes. And then when he got to his son it says, he threw his arms around him and kissed him. And the term used for ‘kissed’ here means that he kissed him over and over and over again. You see, he loved him and he wanted him and everyone else to know that he loved him. And his hugs and kisses were his way of showing forgiveness and also showing him full acceptance.
And it says that as he looked at his son, he "had compassion on him" that is, he felt sorry for him because of all he had been through. There was no anger in his heart because of the money he wasted or the life he led but he had nothing but love and pity for his son. And listen, the son knew that all the problems he had were his own fault and yet, that doesn’t even come to his father’s mind let alone from his lips.
In one version of Luke 15:20 it says, "And kissed him much." And this translation could also be interpreted, "kissed him earnestly," or "kissed him eagerly," or "kissed him often." And it’s a picture that’s very rich in imagery because this son didn’t get what he deserved but he got just the opposite.
And this kissing signifies seven things. First, it meant that he really had a lot of love for his son. There was no pretension and he certainly wasn’t putting on a show for anybody but he really did love him and he wanted him to know that he was loved. Second, his kissing him also meant he forgave him for all he had done and as far as the father was concerned it was all completely forgotten and now he was welcoming him back to his heart as well as to his home.
And it’s hard to imagine his condition but think about his appearance, I mean, he had come from a good home and yet, here he was dressed in rags and dirty and stinky but all his father could see was his son. And then third, his kisses meant he was fully restored. The son was prepared to say "Take me as one of your hired servants" but his father’s kisses, stopped all that and confirmed who he was because he was born to be a son and never to be a servant. And then fourth, these kisses also revealed his father’s exceeding joy as his heart was overflowing with gladness. And fifth, his kisses also conveyed a sense of comfort because the son could tell that he was forgiven and accepted. And then six, the father’s kisses also gave him a sense of assurance to make him certain that all this was real. And then finally, the father’s kisses also told him he was secure from the criticisms of others because no one would dare criticize the son or they would face the wrath of the father.
Then we see where the prodigal prepares to give his rehearsed speech of repentance as he says, “I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son.” Dictionaries define the word "repent" as "to feel sorry for sin and to seek forgiveness." But this parable shows that repentance is more than this because the process of repentance includes the recognition and acceptance of personal responsibility for sin and a conscious decision to stop the wrong-doing or an actual "turning away from" the sin. In other words, it’s a change of direction in the person’s behavior. In Matthew 3:8 John the Baptist told those who came to confess their sins and that they must "bear fruit” or have evidence of their repentance." In other words, they had to be born again. They had to start life all over again by turning from their sin to God and by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for their sin.
Well, I like how the son came to himself because he didn’t blame the weather, the stock market, bad investors or someone else who ripped him off. He just said, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”
And it’s interesting to see his motive in coming home because he’s not coming back because he broke his father’s heart or because he was such a dunce and wasted all his money. He was really coming home because he was broke. And many people come to God because they have problems rather than because of their sin but it’s their problems that bring them to the point where they’re willing to face their sinfulness. But listen, here’s the good news, God accepts us no matter why we come.
So, this son was on his way home with an attitude of humility when his father saw him from a distance and ran towards him and from there on in the father took over and made everything right.
And then we notice that the father doesn’t even allow him to ask to be a hired servant but rather, he interrupts his son to show him that he has been fully accepted and he calls for a robe, a ring and sandals and all these are symbolic of the fact that he is being accepted back as a son and not as a servant. And then he calls for a feast and the killing of the fatted calf. And basically, the father was so overjoyed that his son had returned that he threw a lavish party where there would be music and dancing because as far as he was concerned his son had been dead, but now he was alive.
It’s always interesting to see what they meant by dancing. You see, in their culture back then and even in Israel today the religious men danced with men and the women with women. Men and women never danced together. For instance, in Exodus 15:20-21 it gives an account of women dancing to celebrate God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt after they crossed the Red Sea and there’s no mention of any men dancing with them. And again, in Judges 21:19 we have an example of women who are dancing alone. In 1 Samuel 18:6 women danced to celebrate one of King David’s victories. In 2 Samuel 6:14-16, in what was apparently an act of worship to God, David danced before the ark of the covenant. And then in Psalms 149:3 and 150:4 they speak of praising God through the dance. And in 1 Samuel 30:16 we read of soldiers dancing and there were no women there. So, you see, the Bible doesn’t condemn all dancing, but, you have to consider that all their dancing were expressions of celebration. The purpose of these dances was to reflect joy and worship and listen, there was never anything sexually provocative in dancing.
I remember years ago there was a pastor by the name of Roland Starr and he was the pastor of a very independent Baptist church and one day his young people decided they’d like to have a dance in the basement of the church. So, a few of them went to ask the pastor about it. And he was very kind and asked, “What’s the reason for this dance?” And they said, “It’s just a social time and it’s a good way to have exercise.” Well, he told them he’d pray about it and they’d have an answer in a couple of days. And when they came back he said, “I’ll accept that what you said is true and let you have the dance.” And when the kids heard that they were really excited and they thought, this is the greatest pastor in the world. And then he said, “The girls can dance on Fridays and the boys can dance on Saturdays.” And that was the end of the dancing.
So, the scripture says, all the people of the town were filled with joy and dancing and I know I mentioned them a couple of weeks ago but I want you to focus on the four gifts that his father gave his son because I think they’re all very significant. Starting in verse 21 it says, “And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”
So, first the father says, “bring forth the best robe” and this robe was the father’s robe and it was one he wore for really special occasions like the marriage of one of his children or even an annual religious festival. And by giving him this robe to wear he was demonstrating to everyone that his son was someone to be respected. And when his son showed up at the party wearing this robe, no one would dare put him down for his past or for any mistakes he had ever made. And by wearing this, he was not only restored to full status as a son but the father’s status was also conferred upon him. And this was the father’s way of showing the whole town that his son was not only accepted but he was precious in his sight.
And then second, he said, “put a ring on his hand” and most people think this refers to the signet ring which was used to stamp official documents and this would have given his son the freedom and authority to act on behalf of the family with all the family resources. And his wearing this ring said, he was restored as a member in the family with all the legal rights and privileges. He wasn’t a bum coming home but he was a son.
And then third, he said, “and shoes for his feet.” Now, most of us would say, well, what’s the big deal? Well, it was a big deal because servants and hired hands didn’t wear shoes but only the members of the family wore them. And what he was saying was, take note of the fact that he’s my son because he’s got all the power, the authority and the honor because of his relationship to me.
And then fourth, he said, and “bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And I think the only one who wasn’t having a good time so far would have been the fatted calf.
But listen, this was an extravagant feast. In the ancient world since they couldn’t preserve meat, when they threw a party they would butcher whatever animal they needed. And if it was just another family coming over they’d probably kill a chicken or if two families came, they might kill a duck or goose and if there were more then that then maybe a goat or lamb but the killing of a fatted calf was only done if the entire village was invited. And then once the animal was killed it was assumed they would eat the whole thing because there was no way to keep it. So, this was to be the celebration of celebrations.
And everyone came to have a good time and the father spared no expense in celebrating because as he said, “This son of mine was dead.” And there are two ways to interpret this, either the father had heard about the famine and since he didn’t know what happened to him he might have thought he had died and then second, he might have just assumed he was dead because he had heard he was living like a Gentile. And there are some Jews who conduct funerals for their children if they leave the faith and marry Gentiles. But in either case his father was rejoicing and he really pulled out all the stops to celebrate his son’s home coming.
Now, let me ask you a simple question here. Did the son need the robe, the ring, the shoes or even the party? No. It was his father who wanted to celebrate. Listen, this is a beautiful picture of salvation. And when the sinner comes bankrupt and realizes he has nothing but casts himself on his Father’s mercy and says, “I’m a filthy sinner and I don’t deserve anything. I can give you nothing but I’m willing to work.” Then our Father embraces us in love and says, “You don’t have to work for salvation because I’m giving you full sonship with all rights and privileges, honors and authority.” And that’s what salvation is all about. All of us come recognizing we deserve to go to hell but get heaven instead.
And so, these three stories were told to these three groups of people but they were also told to us, so we can grasp something of the depth of God’s love and as I pointed out last day, there’s a difference between this parable and the first two. You see, the lost sheep and the lost coin didn’t even know they were lost. If you took a sheep and let them go where they wanted to go, they’re too dumb and too blind to find their way back. I mean, sheep can’t seem to make a logical decision and they also have very limited vision. They say sheep can only see about thirty feet. So, if someone doesn’t go looking for them, then they’re lost and they’re not coming back. And the same is true of the coin. I mean, have you ever lost a quarter and had it come back to you? Money doesn’t return it just wanders away. (At least mine does.)
And there are theologians who will take the first two parables and say, “This is a picture of salvation because we’re so sinful that we wouldn’t come back to God no matter what and if God didn’t come looking for us then we’d be lost for all of eternity.” But, on the other hand, we have the son who decided that he had better come back because home was the only place he could survive the harsh realities of life.
So, in the first two parables we see the sheep and the coin are found and they have nothing to do with being found and yet, in the third parable the son came home by himself. And this tells me that salvation is not a case of God doing everything and we just receive it or us doing everything and God just accepting us but it’s God offering us salvation and us receiving it. On one hand, if God didn’t offer salvation there’d be nothing to receive but on the other, if we didn’t receive salvation then His offer won’t do us any good. So, the message of this parable is simple, “God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.”
Let me finish with a true story. Larry Walters was a truck driver, but his lifelong dream was to fly. And when he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force hoping to become a pilot. Unfortunately, poor eyesight disqualified him. So when he finally left the service, he had to satisfy himself with watching others fly the fighter jets that crisscrossed the skies over his backyard. And as he sat there in his lawn chair, he dreamed about the magic of flying.
And then one day, Larry got an idea. He went down to the local army-navy surplus store and bought a tank of helium and forty-five weather balloons. Now, these were not your brightly colored party balloons but these were heavy-duty balloons measuring more than four feet across when they were fully inflated.
Back in his yard, Larry used straps to attach the balloons to his lawn chair and he anchored the chair to the bumper of his jeep and inflated the balloons with helium. Then he packed some sandwiches and drinks and loaded a BB gun, figuring he could pop a few of those balloons when it was time to return to earth.
His preparations complete, Larry sat in his chair and cut the cord. The plan was that after he enjoyed some flying time he’d lazily float back down to earth. But things didn’t quite work out that way.
You see, when Larry cut the cord, he didn’t just float up but he shot up like he was fired from a cannon! And he didn’t just go up a couple hundred feet but he climbed and climbed until he finally leveled off at eleven thousand feet! At that height, he could hardly risk deflating any of the balloons, for fear he’d unbalance the load and really experience flying! So he stayed up there, sailing around for fourteen hours, totally at a loss as to how to get down.
Eventually, Larry drifted into the approach corridor for Los Angeles International Airport. A Pan Am pilot radioed the tower and told the air traffic controller that he had just passed a guy in a lawn chair at eleven thousand feet who had a gun in his lap.
Eventually, a Navy helicopter dropped a rescue line over Larry and gradually hauled him back to earth. And as soon as Larry hit the ground, he was arrested. But as he was being led away in handcuffs, a television reporter called out, "Mr. Walters, why’d you do it?" Larry stopped, eyed the man, then replied nonchalantly, "A man can’t just sit around."
I think Larry’s statement is a message for all of us. We can’t just sit around the rest of our lives and read our Bibles but we need to go out and make a difference in the lives of others. We need to offer the gospel to those who need it and we have to look for a way where we can have an impact on the lives of others.
There was a Simpson show on one night where Homer promised money to PBS but he didn’t have the cash he promised. So, they made him go to a private island and built the natives a church. In the end Homer was very proud of what he did and said, “Well, I don’t know much about God but we sure have built him a nice little cage.” Listen, God wants to use us, but we have to be willing to be used. In Luke 14:33 it says, “And the lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” And this is God’s will for our lives and also God’s will for His church.
