 Today we're going to continue and conclude chapter 15 here and We're going to be looking at a parable. It's been referred to as a parable of the prodigal son I I chose to refer to this as the lost sons because in fact It's not just the one boy that we know so well by the term prodigal But he has an older brother and they're both they're both lost. It's not just the prodigal It's actually the two sons that are lost and so we're going to be looking at that today So let me begin reading to you here in Luke chapter 15 at verse 11 And I'll read the entire parable to you and then give you up an introduction and move into our study Luke chapter 15 verse 11 Then he said a certain man had two sons and The younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of goods that falls to me So he divided to them his livelihood and Not many days after the younger son gathered all together journeyed to a far country and There wasted his possessions with prodigal living But when he had spent all there arose a severe famine in that land and he began to be in want Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate no one gave him anything But when he came to himself He said how many of my father's hard servants have bred enough and to spare and I perish with hunger I will arise and go to my father and will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son Make me like one of your hired servants and he arose and came to his father But when he was still a great way off his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him And the son said to him father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son but the father said to his servants bring out the best robe and put it on him and Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and Bring the fatted calf here and kill it. Let us eat and be married for this my son was dead And is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to be married now His oldest son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house He heard music and dancing so he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant And he said to him your brother has come and because he has received him safe and sound your father Has killed the fatted calf but he was angry and would not go in Therefore therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father low these many years I have been serving you. I've never transressed your commandment at any time And yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends But as soon as this son of yours came who was who has devoured your livelihood with harlots You killed a fatted calf for him and he said to him son You are always with me and all that I have is yours It was right that we should make merry and be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again Was lost and is found And so last time we were together Let me lay a foundation for you before we move into this and kind of develop some things for you The last time we were together we looked at we were looking at chapter 15 and we saw how Jesus was speaking to a large group of people when we looked at chapter 14 verse 25 a Luke had said a great multitude went with him. So Jesus is speaking to a large group of people and The people that he was speaking to included according to chapter 15 verse 1 tax collectors and sinners as well as verse 2 and Pharisees and scribes and So this is a large crowd that had a group of religious leaders the Pharisees and the scribes But there were also less respectable people there Luke specifically mentions them as tax collectors and sinners and and last time we were together I mentioned to you that that both the groups the tax collectors and sinners were despised They were despised members of Jewish society tax collectors were hated because they they worked for pagan Rome And they would collect taxes from their own people and the sinners were despised because they were unconcerned with religion and they were Outrageous in the way that they lived So when the Pharisees saw these people There with Jesus they they got upset and their reaction was negative in verse 2 it tells us they complained that That Jesus received sinners and actually ate with them. I mentioned to you that receiving when it says he received that word receiving and speaks of warm warmly welcoming them and Eating with them spoke of enjoying fellowship with them And so they felt that Jesus was was a man of similar character He was like them and that's the only reason that he'd have anything to do with these people and because of that attitude Jesus gave a couple of parables or actually this would be some have regarded this as a single parable with three parts But he began to speak to them and he began to share with them in verses 1 through 7 About a shepherd who is searching for a lost sheep and then in verses 8 through 10 he continued by speaking of a woman searching for a lost coin now both of these illustrations emphasize something that was lost and and it also emphasized that someone was searching for that which was lost You see neither the sheep nor the coin would be aware of being lost They needed to be found so in the first two sections we saw how God searches for those who are far from him And that's because God is the God who seeks for the lost because he wants to rescue and recover Well at this point Jesus continues revealing God's passionate love for the lost, but this time he speaks of lost sons He speaks of a prodigal that prodigal represents the tax collectors and sinners But he speaks of an older brother and the older brother is self-righteous. He's a picture of the Pharisees now as We look at this particular parable You might find this interesting this parable was the center of debates during the Middle Ages It was referred to by Muslim scholars when they were debating with Christians and in debates They often use this parable as evidence against Jesus Christ be in Messiah Now how would they do that? How would they use this parable to oppose Christianity? Well, this is what they do They would point out that the son left home He went to live in a foreign land. He got in trouble He decided to return and when he arrived home, he was welcomed and his return was celebrated So they argue he simply returned home. He was welcomed back by a loving father. There was no incarnation There's no savior. It's just a young man deciding to return home Well that accords with Islam because if someone wants to convert to Islam, it's a simple thing to do I wanted to see that and I wanted to take something from one of the One of the sites that they give you information on Islam that is put out by Muslims I wanted to quote their own source and so I looked at and I looked it up I said, how does one convert to Islam and so I went to a page and this is what was written It says to convert to Islam you simply say and believe that there is no God except Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger Once you say this you automatically become Muslim From there you start carrying on with the duties of Islam and so to be converted to Islam simply is Statement there. There's no sense of repentance. Really. There's simply an agreement that something about Allah and Muhammad that's basically how they convert and so they would use that mentality as they were speaking concerning this particular parable and They would say there's no Messiah There's no sense of repentance. He just returns and he's welcomed and they would use that in debate How did the Christian scholars deal with that? Well, I'm going to give you that perspective today I'm going to share some things with you about how Christian scholars presented this particular parable When they would argue that Jesus Christ is Messiah and that's what we'll be doing as we look at this This evening this morning so in verses 11 and 12 will begin there a certain man had two sons and The younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of goods that falls to me So he divided to them His livelihood so I'm going to start laying a foundation will move to application in a moment So the younger man in the story tells his father to give him his portion of his inheritance The son was within his rights as an heir to request his inheritance this way The problem that's being pointed to is his heart is not right towards his father in Requesting his inheritance. He was insulting not only the father, but also the older brother So that reveals a lack of honor for the father and it also reveals a lack of love for others We know that he wanted to use the money to get away from his father and to be free from his father's interference He intended to take the money and to use it that he could party So that reveals him to be selfish and without restraint or concerned for the feeling Feelings of others his chosen lifestyle would have brought great shame to his father, but he didn't care in Proverbs 1721 it says he who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow and the father of a fool has no joy And so that's what Jesus is illustrating here that this young man did not honor his father and Was a scoffer was rejecting the love and grace of his father He was selfish and he was out was with that out restraint now on the part of the father Jesus makes it clear that he was a kind and caring man You see in the Jewish way of life leaving an inheritance with something expected It revealed a proper understanding of the blessings of God on the parents and Godly parents knew the source of their blessings and they wanted to be blessings to their children So it demonstrated them to be loving and generous when they provided for the future of their kids And so he's asking for his inheritance in Proverbs 1322 It reads a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children Proverbs 1914 houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers Now he could ask for it But requesting the inheritance before the father died was unthinkable What he did would be greatly offensive to traditional Jews By asking for it while his father was alive. He was simply saying this to his dad He was saying I cannot wait until you're dead Now when he said I want my inheritance It would have been expected of the father to slap him in the face to drive him out of the house And he would not have been expected to fulfill that He would have been expected to refuse the request, but as you see in this parable, he doesn't refuse it Notice how it says in verse 12 the younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of goods that falls to me So he divided to them his livelihood Instead of driving him out He divides the inheritance and notice again Jesus made it clear that he divided to them his livelihood both the younger and the elder brother received their portion He didn't just give the one asking. He also gave to the one who was not asking and that emphasizes grace and generosity Again, Jesus made it very clear that this man is a very very wealthy man He has a home that you can have a large group of people in Large enough to eat an entire calf in one night. It's kind of like my family. He had servants He could afford to hire a band for dancing. He had herds of cattle and goats. He's a very very rich man And so when the division of the inheritance comes That's a large amount and under Jewish law the older brother could receive two-thirds and the younger would receive one-third According to Deuteronomy 21 17 that means that the older brothers inheritance was enormous and So he's dividing his inheritance to them in verse 13 Not many days after the younger son gathered all together journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living and So he liquidated his assets as quickly as he could he sold everything and got out of town That created greater shame for the father because the community now knows there's a breach between the father and the son You see the son should not sell the property until the father dies if he ever does So he has shamed his father by selling the land while his father's alive and able to farm it But selling quickly was necessary because anger in the village has risen against him And the father allows this to occur though it brings shame to him in the community You see as he leaves he knows that he's not to lose any portion of the inheritance to Gentiles Because if he does he will be punished by excommunication from the community there was a right at that time that's called Kitsatsa and That's excommunication a jar would be filled with burned corn nuts was broken in front of the individual The community would shout so-and-so has cut off from his people and he would never be spoken to Again so this boy knows that in making this request He needs to liquidate the assets and get out of town because he's going to be excommunicated That's why he's hurrying out and that's why he's leaving and this is a picture as Jesus is presenting this parable This is a picture of sin You're broken off from God and you're broken off from people Sin makes separation between you and God But it also makes separation between you and others and so that's the picture here So he's aware of this. He sells everything. He leaves as quickly as possible He gathers everything together according to verse 13. He journeys to a far country When it speaks of a journey to a far country, he's leaving Israel and he goes into a foreign land It reveals that sin will drive you from a loving father into a world That is away from God in First John 2 16 all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is Not of the father, but it's of the world and so Jesus is speaking of this young man moving out in sin Into the world giving himself over to it And he says he wasted his possessions with prodigal living the word wasted means to squander The word prodigal speaks of riotous or wasteful So he squandered his possessions with riotous wasteful living The word prodigal by the way doesn't speak of sexual immorality It speaks of irresponsibility irresponsible living in verse 30 we saw that the The older brother said that this son of yours came who has devoured your livelihood with harlots Well, that's an angry brother speaking there. There's no no Actual proof that he had done such a thing. He was living irresponsibly He was mad this older brother came from the field. He's exaggerating its brother's failures And that happens very often when someone's mad at you they exaggerate the things that you've done But it goes on it says in verse 14 When he had spent all there arose a severe famine in the land and he began to be in want as it often happens in His run from his father He ended up starving He came to see that the life that he thought he would have didn't appear He thought the good life would last forever, but the money runs out Eventually the life he was living ran dry and his so-called friends Disappear, you know, you've discovered that I discovered that when I was living in the world and As a non-believer as I was far from God myself As long as you had something there's always going to be a friend You know the way we used to do it at that time was I have a car and You've got the dope I'll give you a ride if you give me some weed. That was how we did things We were always bargaining and if I had something that somebody else wanted like when I'd buy a kilo There would be people around. I always had friends when I had weed, but when I didn't have weed I was there sponging off of somebody else. I was trying to find what they had. That's what you do in the world, right? I'm you use one another if you have something. I'll bargain with you. You need a ride I want some pot or whatever the case may have been with you it and happens But when things dry up when you don't have anything anymore your friends also leave They're not around either like it says in Proverbs 19 for wealth makes many friends Poverty drives them all away as long as this man had money. He would always have friends But when his money dried up so did his friendships Well at that point he desires to return he doesn't have any money He wants to recover it because if he returns home without money, he will be excommunicated And so he's in want In verse 15 he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate and no one gave him Anything and so he joined himself in verse 15 that word joined means to attach himself He was depending on this guy. He was holding on tightly to this person. He's famished So he's dependent on the man to help him So this arrogant son of a highly respected wealthy man has been completely reduced He's now depending on a gentile a man outside of the promises of god And he's trying to come up with ways to save enough money to go home He's trying to work hard enough to save an amount that he can never attain He can never attain the amount that he's already lost And the only thing he's got right now is caring for swine And he's starving so much. He wants to eat the big food. That's what he wants to do He has no way to recover anything. He's in complete destitution And that's again a picture. How can I come to faith? How can I have a relationship with god? I can't have a relationship with god if I try to work hard enough to gain that There's no amount of work. I can do any human being can do. This is what the gospel teaches There's nothing good that I can do that's good enough It's never enough. I can't give to god what it requires. That's the whole point God had to do a work for us that we could not do for ourselves We could not pay the debt that we owed So god took upon himself human form and he paid the debt himself And that's how christianity is and that's the point that the christian Christian scholars would be making to the muslim scholars that there's grace involved here There's a debt that cannot be repaid and that's what's taking place And that's why god is going to take upon himself human form and carry that load for us And so he's holding tightly to this gentile because he's not holding tightly to his father He's trying to come up with ways to save up enough to go home He's trying to work hard enough to save the amount, but he can never attain that what's he do? He gets a job feeding pigs Which is the lowest this jewish man could ever sink to And verse 16 says no one gave him anything So he's tending pigs for meals and no pay And this is a picture of an unrepentant person trying to save himself to replace what he had lost himself Well in verse 17 When he came to himself, he said how many of my father's hard servants have bred enough and to spare And I perish with hunger This is where many normally say the young man repented it says he came to himself But is this really a picture of repentance and and I'd have to say not necessarily Because it flies in the face of the previous words. Jesus had spoken of the sheep in the coin Remember Jesus said someone looked for and found the lost sheep Someone looked for and found the lost coin. They didn't find themselves While he comes up with a plan in verse 18 I will arise and go to my father and say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son Make me like one of your hard servants and so This is where people say see he's repenting, but this is a rehearsed speech Notice what he said. I've sinned against heaven and before you Is this genuine repentance? perhaps not If you read your bible in the book of exodus Pharaoh said this to moses when requesting the eighth plague to be lifted in exodus 10 16 and 17 Pharaoh called for moses and erin and hasten said I have sinned against the lord your god and against you Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once And entreat the lord your god that he may take away from me this death only He was just trying to buy time there in the book of exodus and that's what this young boy is doing too This is a way to get back home. He's going to work. He's going to get money. He's going to leave again So his solution is to hire on as a servant get job training gain the money back In other words, this is a way of saying he's planning on saving himself He doesn't evidence concern over his father's shame He doesn't evidence concern over his father being humiliated and he doesn't care about his broken heart You see salvation is rooted on our coming to see that we have sinned against god It's not simply a way to have a more comfortable life Today there are quite a number of people who are professing to be christians who haven't repented They haven't really turned from their sin. They go to church Perhaps they go at certain times You know, they'll they'll go on Easter. They'll go on christmas They'll go the various times for weddings and baptisms and the like and and when spoken to they'll say well Yeah, I'm a believer in christ, you know But when you begin to dig into the life and I'll have you ever found a place where you repented of your sin Wherever you said god forgive me a sinner. I I need to be right with you. I've sinned against heaven and I've sinned against you and many people say no No, not really, but I've gone through religious training or I've gone to church. That's kind of what's taking place here He's not revealing genuine repentance. He's revealing a scheming heart So in verse 20 He arose and came to his father But when he was still a great way off His father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and broke it. No Oh, you are listening. Okay Fell on his neck and kissed him And the son said to him father, I've sinned against heaven And in your sight And am no longer worthy to be called your son And so he begins to speak to him Notice that says he arose and came to his father But when he was still a great way off He's thinking of the community rejection As well as the lecture. He's about to endure He's returning home empty-handed after insulting his family and community Now why did he come home in the first place? Because he's hungry I've discovered that god can use our physical needs to awaken us to spiritual needs To the woman at the well Who had come to get some water? Jesus said to her If she drinks of that water, she's going to thirst again And he began to share with her that he could give to her living water There was a cripple on a mat who was unable to walk his four friends brought him to christ dug opened up a the roof and placed him before christ The cripple on the mat had a need to walk But jesus knew that his real need was first forgiveness So the physical need can lead you to the spiritual answer And this man's hunger and pride drove him home It also served to awaken him to what was missing And it began to humble him I want you to notice again in verse 20 It says he arose and came to his father But when he was still a great way off He was still a great way off the distance Isn't just physical it's spiritual He's a great way off from the lord He's far away from god The bible says sin makes a separation between you and your god And sin had made a separation between him and the father And that separation was more than simply distance The sheep was a ways off the coin was not in sight And the man is a distance away And that's a picture of us being lost and separated In Ephesians 2 17 it speaks of jesus coming and preaching peace to you who were far away And peace to those who were near So sin makes a distance between you and god There are times that you may be saying god i need help and how come heaven seems to be like brass and my words seem to be Just going as far as the ceiling and dropping at my feet Because the sin involved in and sin has to be resolved it has to be dealt with and there's a distance until that is resolved But as this is all taking place for his 20 says his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him So the father was waiting for him looking for him to appear on the road that led into town Just waiting Just waiting why Because if the townspeople saw his son and got to the son before the father That they would excommunicate him. He would not see his son again And so he waited there and this is the picture He's waiting and he's looking over the road that would lead into town and he's just waiting Patiently waiting waiting for his son to come home As I was going through this I made a note to myself Like my mom did When she would look out of the window waiting for me My house that I grew up in my father had Had an addition To the kitchen that had two bay windows and I can still remember As I was in my car 2 2 30 in the morning Loaded not wanting to go into the house because the light was on And I didn't want to go in until the lights were all off and I can still remember sitting in my car Watching the light Waiting for it to go off and then my mom walking up and looking out the window for her lost son I can still remember that Watching her as she was looking out the window for me And this is a picture of what I see the father doing for the son He's there looking And waiting for him to come and make his appearance In 2nd Peter 3 9 the lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. He's patient with you Not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance And so the father's there looking and he's waiting for him And it says in verse 20 when he was still a great way off his father saw him And had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him His father gathered up his robe in his hands and he runs out to meet him He needs to get to the sun before the villagers Or else he'll be banished And notice he doesn't wait for the speech He loves him before a word came out of his mouth Middle eastern men never ran in public while wearing long robes. It was humiliating And in middle eastern culture the father would wait in the home for the son to publicly beg forgiveness And so when the muslims are saying there's no incarnation There's no need for god to take upon himself human flesh This is a picture of the incarnation In philippians 2 5th their weight It says let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus Who being in the form of god did not consider it robbery to be equal with god But made himself of no reputation Taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men And being found in appearance as a man He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death Even the death on the cross. This is a picture of jesus coming and taking upon himself human flesh And this father's humiliation is a picture of christ seeking out the lost Out of love he emptied himself of his prerogatives He assumed the form of a servant He made haste to rescue his estranged son And he saved him from those who would banish him forever And as the father runs in humiliation to reconcile the sinner. He's a picture of god in jesus In 2nd corinthians 8 9 it says you know the grace of our lord jesus christ that though he is rich Yet for your sakes he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich And so as the father is running the son's watching him as he comes running to him and he sees this father humiliating himself in public And it touches him And so as he sees his father in verse 21 the son says to him father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy To be called your son He doesn't go on with his plan notice that he doesn't say therefore make me a servant His plan is now being thrown away The voluntary humiliation of the father touched the son It caused him to honestly confess and for sook his plan for job training This is honest repentance. There's no schemes just in a response to an amazing love that has been offered But the father in verse 22 says Bring out the best robe and put it on him Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet Bring the fatted calf here and kill it Let us eat and be married for this my son was dead and is alive again He was lost and is found They began to be married I should add one point to verse 21 before I move into that. I want you to see this with me The son said Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son Before I came to faith in christ I brought shame to my father my my earthly father I don't want to go into a lot of garbage. You don't need to know But I did embarrass my father When I grew up, I don't know what your upbringing was like. I had a father and a mom Some of you didn't have a dad. Some didn't have both. I understand but in my case I had a father and a mom My mom taught me from the time I was very little To respect my father. That's what my mom taught me honor your father And you know what my mom used to say to me? She would say son Your dad's name Is respected Honor your father because you carry his name. That's how my mom would speak to me I don't know how yours would speak to you, but that's how my mom spoke to me. You're a rosales Your father is respected Bear that name with dignity. That's what my mom used to say to me Because people respect your dad And if you take his name And bring shame to it. She said that's a very bad thing. I learned that from being a little boy Shame on your father's name. That's a big thing to me to this day. It's a big thing to me to shame your father's name I don't want to shame my heavenly father's name But I can remember when my father died I can remember we were sitting in that waiting room. Many of you have heard this. I'll make this brief but I remember sitting in the waiting room And then the doctor telling us They did their best, but he's he's gone And then they brought us into the room the icu room there in chino hospital And I stood my father's body before me my father's head was to my left and and I stood close to him My mama stood next to me And i'm looking at the shell Because I know that absent from the body is present with the lord and I know dad is with jesus. I knew that But as I and some of my family stood there, I still remember The first thing that came out of my mouth I still remember as I looked at my father And I reached over and I and I touched his his hair And I I caressed my father's head And I still remember saying daddy I shamed you And i'm so sorry I brought shame to your name That was the first thing that came out of my heart first thing I brought shame to your name I am so sorry Now I had already told him that I had I had changed my life was Serving the lord I had brought my dad to faith in christ my mom to faith in christ My life was not the same as it was prior to being saved But in your heart you can still carry things like that And it comes out at times you wouldn't even expect it And there I was Looking at my father and the first thing that came out of my mouth Was sorrow of not being the kind of son I should have been And the next thing I said was The lord gives And the lord take it away And my mom who was standing right next to me looking at a husband of 53 years My mom had married my father when she was 17 years old one month past her 17th birthday She was a mother of two by the time she was 19 She had lived all of her little girl life to her Older age with this one man 53 years her entire life Was this man outside of jesus And I said the lord gives And the lord take it away And mom right here at my shoulder said bless it be the name of the lord Those are memories you carry. I will carry those to my grave That you can have done things that Come out and and in in my conversion if I may What caused me to be open To the new life that christ can give Was a sense of Conviction that god placed in my heart Of what a lousy son I had been And what a lousy person I was When I got saved I didn't say oh, it was other people's fault See my mom was ill all of my life since I was four or five years old My mom would take medication when I was six seven years old and Mama would drink sometimes with the medication and she'd go into a rage and she could be abusive And you know my dad didn't know that my mom Did some of the things that she did and said some of the things that she said my dad didn't know that She didn't tell him none of us did So it was one of those quiet secrets in the house that mom could be mean she can fly off the handle She can kick you she can call your names There was a period in my life where my mom told me she hated me More than she ever said I love you that was my mom and you know you make excuses for me You say well, you know she's sick my dad used to tell me that all the time Your mom was ill your mom was ill you have to show her concern and we did But those are things that are wounds that stay inside of you And so I had lived a crazy life and when I got to the point where I realized that my life Was ruined and I was ruining other people and there was no joy in me And there was nothing but anger and hurt and and meanness You know that's where I finally got to the point where I said god I'm miserable and and I'm making others miserable with this anger that's inside of me And that's why when the spirit of god convicted me by the holy spirit's movement in my sin I didn't make an excuse. I didn't say well, you know, my dad was an absent father my Emotionally my my my mom was abusive. You know, I didn't make those excuses I just said god be merciful to me. I'm a sinner It's on me. It's on me And I need help and that's how I got saved. You see there was no scheming. There was no Well, you know, it's other people's fault and and I didn't get a good break And if I had only it wasn't anything like that and that's what this prodigal is doing here He had originally had a plan his plan was make me a servant that way I can save up some money and take off again But when he saw his father running with his robe Lifted humiliated in front of any who could see him. It broke this young man And to know that our god took upon himself human flesh and dwelt amongst men so we could behold his glory It causes people to realize what a great god a loving father We really have when we're so far away from him doing things that are wasteful and making everybody in our family and god himself look bad He's still waiting patiently He's just waiting And the moment there's a movement towards him He rushes to you And then he grabs the son and he holds him and you can almost see this where the father's just holding tightly to his son So if anybody were to come in and try and break it up any of the communities that's that's the boy that we've Excommunicated the father was holding him embracing him tightly so that no one could get to the son And that's what jesus did for you He took you in his arms and he held you close to his chest And no one can get to you because they'd have to go through him first And that's the god that we serve the god who protects and loves us and recovers us And so this is what happens is as this take place in verse 22 The father said to his servants bring out the best robe put it on him Put put a ring on his hand sandals on his feet bring the fatted calf here kill it 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 married. Let us celebrate He was lost and is found He's he didn't say he's lost and has come home. He said he is lost and is found Who found him jesus while he was still a great way off Like the sheep and like the lost coin it took someone to find him He gives him the best robe he gives him a ring and he gives them sandals So the best robe he's clothed with status a ring. He's given authority sandals. He's given freedom This is a picture of salvation and the fattened calf Is slaughtered it slaughtered for the most important guest And it's a picture of complete sacrifice that leads to celebration As this is all taking place verse 25 the older son is in the field And as he came and drew near to the house he heard music dancing So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant He said to him your brother has come And because he has received him safe and sound your father has killed the fatted calf Well the elder brother hears the sound of celebration. What's going on? Why your brother's reconciled with your father and the community His father's humiliation resulted in reconciliation Well, this is being a christian being reconciled to god and being reconciled to your community In proverbs 16 7 when a man's ways pleased the lord He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him So he says your brother has come in because he's received him safe and sound. We're celebrating Not only is he in health, but he has come to a place of peace with his father But verse 28 tells us he was angry. He would not go in Therefore his father came out pleaded with him He doesn't want to hear that he's welcomed home safe He wanted him punished and it makes him angry and he lashes out in public at his father He refuses to come in He refuses to participate and this was an unspeakable insult to the father He's angry that his father didn't make the younger brother pay for his sin He goes therefore his father came out and pleaded with him Culturally the father would have been expected to ignore the insult and to deal with it in private But by going out once again, he's humiliating himself in front of people Instead of instead of Being angry and all he shows grace to the one who thinks he's keeping the law Even as he showed grace to the one who knew he was breaking it And in verse 20 29 he answered and said to his father low these many years. I've been serving you I never transgressed your commandment at any time And yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends But as soon as the son of yours came who has devoured your livelihood with harledge you killed a fatted calf for him So he's very angry. I've been serving you all my life. I have never disobeyed He's self-righteous This is unbelievable. Frankly. He already had been assigned two-thirds of the estate when it was divided So what is this? This is a rebuke to the Pharisees. They're the older brother South righteous unable to rejoice when a sinner is saved These are the Pharisees who according to verse 2 complained This man is receiving sinners and eating with them It was the Pharisees that jesus is speaking to and he's saying listen when somebody has found you ought to rejoice When these people these tax collectors and and these and these sinners when they come and sit at a table and Hear the goodness of god coming from my lips jesus was saying instead of rejoicing when they become followers of god What you do is you get upset because they don't they don't fit your idea of what a believer should look like You're self-righteous Aren't you glad that god accepted you? I'm glad that he accepted me I'm telling you There are people who say no things are so different now than they they were when you got saved that's not true at all That's not true at all Things are pretty much the same Things are pretty much the same Where people are lost and they need to they need to be found There's rebellion. There's anger. There's a lack of love. There's open sin. I mean they need jesus christ and and You know when I got saved it's a long hair. They There were there were people who who didn't want to hear us. They didn't want to hear us speak You know what what many of you younger people may not realize And and how would you? You know what is normal for you today was completely abnormal In the jesus movement when when people like me with long hair and bare feet and and you know Hippy type kids when we were coming to faith in christ Not only was the public rejecting us, but so was the church The church the church didn't like the fact that we were they called us undisciplined They said we were bringing voodoo music into the church They thought that we were were just wild-eyed fanatics who were gonna just You know evaporate in time They they didn't have the ability to really understand that god could reach into that community Of of people that were the unwashed hordes And could actually save them and there are many believers who would watch you and would wonder whether When are you going to go back to the vomit? When are you going to go back to the mud? They would watch you and they would expect that from you because you didn't look like them And they didn't know how to rejoice they didn't know how to rejoice when some hippie kid would come walking forward at an invitation Because they were so busy looking at his feet because he didn't have shoes on that They didn't see that he was about to enter into the kingdom of god You know and that's the one thing that I bless god to be honest with you For my pastor chuck smith who said one day when when the hippies were coming in with bare feet I never wore shoes and we would come to church barefooted and when we walked in and his he had just put new carpet in And his elders wanted to to to remove the Well, they actually put a sign on the door saying no shoes no entrance and chuck happened to come early And he removed that sign and he took these men aside these ushers aside And he said if this carpet keeps one kid from coming into this sanctuary Then i'm in favor of removing the sanctuary Carpeting so we can get that one kid saved and that's what pastor chuck was like and I still agree with that You know what let's not worry about the outside because god has a way of cleaning up the inside And when the inside is cleaned up the outside goes along with it We don't want that and so this this self-righteous guy saying he's he's with those sinners He's like those sinners and jesus said let me tell you a story And then he tells them about the sheep and then he tells them about this woman and her coin And then he says and the elder brother you see it's not just the prodigal who needed to be saved It was the elder two There are two sons who are far from god the one came And the other refused the Pharisees were too busy judging jesus And those that were coming to him To see that they themselves could not rejoice when a lost person came to faith in christ They couldn't rejoice this is so pointed to them And he says in verse 31 Son you're always with me all that I have is yours It was right that we should make mary and be glad for your brother was dead and it's alive again It was lost and it's found So With tenderness the father reasons with him son. It's all about grace We had to celebrate Why won't you To have this kind of joy He must be blessed When the unlovely are saved by grace Because there's joy when a sinner repents And the older son the Pharisees Was left to make a decision Are you going to learn to rejoice when the lost are found? Or are you going to stay in your hardened sense of self-righteousness? It's up to you But there is joy in the presence of the angels of god when one sinner repents And god wants us to learn to rejoice When we see that and we do don't we we rejoice when someone comes to faith in jesus christ to see a life completely changed