Open Arms
Luke 15:11-24
National Back to Church Sunday
September 18, 2011
Morning Service
A Sunday School teacher was giving a lesson on the story of the Prodigal Son. The class discussed how the young son had taken his inheritance and left home, living it up until he had nothing left. Finally, when he couldn’t even eat as well as pigs, he went home to his father, who welcomed him. When we finished the story, the teacher asked the class what they had learned. After thinking a moment, one girl said, "Never leave home without your credit card!"
11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "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. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 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. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. ' 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:11-24
Luke chapter 15 Background
When Jesus shares this parable, He does so in the context of a major issue. The religious leadership of the day openly criticizes the people Jesus is spending His time with. Jesus invested His time in people that the religious thought were unimportant. Jesus places His time with those who needed Him the most, those who were away from God.
The message of Jesus is clear that every person matters to God. You matter to God regardless of what you have done. People matter to God and they matter to the church. The church should be about people more than anything else because people are the church. When we lose sight of this, we lose who we are as a church.
The story here that Jesus tells puts a little different slant on the subject of the missing. Notice from verse 11 who the story is really about: There was a man who had two sons. The story is not about the sons but in reality is about the father.
Four points on a downward spiral
Rejection (12)
The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
Before anything else can take place, the son rejects the father. Notice what the son says to the father: give me my share of the estate. We read this and think it was a selfish thing to ask but nothing really over the top. The son is essentially saying that he wished his father was dead. I wish you were dead, give me my share!
The root of all rebellion starts with a rejection. Every relationship that has ended, begins with some form of rejection. The lack of respect for authority begins with rejection. All crime starts with a rejection of what is right. Rejection is at the heart of rebellion.
Rebellion (13)
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.
The son packs his bags and sets off for a distant place. Not only did he reject the father, now he was putting distance between them. The prodigal son was the life of the party, he was the party. He had big money and he was blowing it fast on the wildest of everything. The son was spending everything that he had on things that don’t last.
Jesus says that he squandered his money on wild living. Squander meant to throw away and to scatter without reason. The word that is used here for wild only appears here in the whole New Testament. The term was used to describe behavior that was without restraint. The son was spending money recklessly and filling himself with decadence. The son was indulging every possible pleasure and became corrupt in his actions. This sounds a lot like being rebellious.
Let me start with a few questions to clarify:
Have you ever done something you knew was wrong?
Have you ever said something that you knew was hurtful?
Have you ever been guilty of breaking rules?
We all have a personal experience with rebellion because the term fits us well. Rebellion is a word that we do not care for and we like it even less when it is applied to our lives. Every one of us has done something rebellious at some point or another. Every one of us has done something that we knew was wrong but we did it anyway.
Regret (14)
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
When the money was gone and the party was over, regret started to sink in. There is something that happens when people rebel, they get lost in the moment. People forget the consequences of their actions and do foolish things. The son was no different, he spent his money, his new found friends were gone and he found himself with nothing.
No matter who you are, you have some regrets. There are things that you reflect on and things that you think about that were results of poor decisions. There are issues that you face now because of those decisions.
Results (15-16)
So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
The middle eastern custom was not to send someone off but to give them a task they would refuse. When the son asks for a job, he is given a task no good Jewish person would accept. He was given the task of feeding the pigs. This would have been unacceptable for two key reasons.
Pigs were unclean animals
Pigs had to be fed daily – breaking the Sabbath
Even with the humiliating work, there still was not enough for the young man to get enough to eat. He longed to eat the pods that the pigs were eating. The results of the wild living came to a horrid end.
There is an important lesson to learn here. There will always be a cost to living in rebellion. The cost of rebellion will always be higher than we want to pay.
Realization (17)
"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
There comes a moment in everyone’s life when they get a wake-up call. How we respond to that wake-up call makes all the difference.
Recognition (18-19)
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.
Return (20)
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.
Repentance (21)
"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. '
Restoration
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
Quick
The story begins with the father and ends with the father. Notice what the father does when the son returns. Orders were to be carried out with great haste. These things were to be done with urgency and in an immediate manner. There would be no delay in bringing the son back into the family. There is no condemnation. There is no lecture. There is no waiting period for acceptance. There was no required begging. There was no considering the son as a servant. There was nothing but a full and total acceptance.
Bring the best robe
The robe was a symbol of being a member of the household. A robe meant that the son belonged to the family again. This was not just any robe, it was the best robe in the house. Who owned the best robe in the house? The father gave the wayward son his own robe. What an amazing act of love and mercy.
Put a ring on his finger
The original language reads a little differently than our English. A closer rendering would be the ring or his ring. Why does this matter? The father automatically is calling the servants to get a specific ring. The likelihood was that the father was getting the signet ring for his son. The signet ring was a symbol of authority and acceptance. The boy was returned to the status of a child.
Put sandals on his feet
Shoes seem like no big deal today. Everyone here is likely wearing shoes. In ancient times, shoes were given only to those of status. Servants would have never been given shoes of any kind. The moment the shoes go on the young man’s feet, he is elevated above the status of a servant.
Bring the fattened calf and kill it
The father orders for an immediate feast. There are two reasons for the meal, to feed the son and to celebrate his return. The celebration is a sign of reconciliation. There can be no restoration without being reconciled.
Open arms are waiting for you. God is waiting to embrace your life and accept you into the fold of His house. God’s open arms extend His mercy and grace. God’s open arms offer forgiveness. God’s open arms keep hope alive. What are you waiting for?
