LOJ #162: ‘The Prodigal Son Pt.3: Going to the Father’
Andover Baptist Church-October 21st, 2012
Opening
A. Text for today is Luke 15:20-24 and our sermon is titled
‘Going to the Father’ Part 3 of our Prodigal Son Series
B. Scripture NET:
1. What has taken place: (Luke 15:11-19)
“11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them.13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle. 14 Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and worked for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.16 He was longing to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger! 18 I will get up and go 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; treat me like one of your hired workers.”
2. This Week: (Luke 15:20-24)
“20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him. 21 Then his 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 slaves, ‘Hurry! 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 us eat and celebrate, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.”
C. Children’s Sermon(SLIDE)
1. Get some sheets of paper (some small some large) with
the word sin written on them
2. Remember what sin is? It's the things we do that God
tells us not to do, and it's when we don't do the things
God tells us to do
3. I'm going to give you each a piece of paper
4. That piece of paper is your sin, the bad things you do
5. Now I want you to erase your sins (use the big eraser)
6. What is the problem? You can't erase it? That's right
you can't get rid of your own sin!
7. Only God can do that and He does that when we accept
Jesus as our Lord and Savior
8. Then He makes us clean! (Give them a blank piece of
paper)
9. Anything you want to pray about? Let me pray with
you!
D. Introduction
1. The last two weeks we have been looking at the actions
of the Lost Son
2. Today we focus on the Father now who is mentioned
12x in this parable (really should be called the Parable
of the Searching Father)
3. In the other parables Jesus told were ones that other
people could relate too(lost lamb, lost coin)
4. But the actions of the father today in this parable, well
his love was beyond any of those human parents
5. Why with all that boy did, he should be as though dead
to the father, but thank God that is not the case
6. You see we are in the business of breaking ourselves,
the Father is in the business of fixing us, and that is
what we see today, a broken child being restored by the
father
Sermon
READ: Luke 15:20-24 (Scripture slide)
‘20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him. 21 Then his 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 slaves, ‘Hurry! 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 us eat and celebrate, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.”
A. 'So he got up and went to his father'
Isaiah 55:7 (NET)“The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.”
1. And that is exactly what the prodigal is going to do:
abandon his sinful lifestyle
2. But it’s a long journey home, remember he had gone to
a distant country (vs. 13)
a. His health has deteriorated
b. He is on the verge of starvation
c. He had no idea what type of reception he would
receive from the father, his brother or even the
village
d. But he knows that going home is better than
staying there, no matter what the consequences
might be
3. Friends, maybe that is you today, you realize how far
you have wandered from God but it seems like an
impossible journey home, may I encourage you it is not,
because the Father is waiting to draw near to you
B. "But while he was still a long way from home his father saw
him"
1. Imagine this picture: the father standing waiting and
watching hoping the son will return
2. The owners of the lost sheep and the lost coin they had
lost something of theirs yes, but it could not compare to
the losing of a child
3. Imagine the days, the hours that this father kept
searching, scanning the horizon hoping he would catch a
glimpse of his son
4. Jesus does the same with the spiritually lost for it is the
main purpose of His Incarnation
Luke 19:10 (NET)“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
5. When the father sees the son he cannot contain himself
C "and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and
kissed him."
1. The son would have much different from the time that
he left (ragged and likely thinner)
2. When he saw his son compassion and love swelled up
inside of him
3. The father could have stood where he was and said let
the degenerate come to me, but his love for the son
would not allow that and as the son drew closer to him
he drew close to the son
4. It is culturally significant that the father ran to his son
a. It was seen as undignified for an older man to run
in such a way
b. The father would have to hike up his cloak and
make a spectacle of himself in front of everyone
c. It may be too that the father ran to the son before
any of the villagers in the town could get to him
5. Before the son can even speak the father is hugging and
kissing him
a. 'threw arms around': literally 'fell on his neck'
b. Word for kissed indicates repeatedly doing so
c. Picture this: Here the son was, filthy and
unclean, in rags and covered in the refuse of this
world and the father could care less and hugs and
kisses and embraces him
6. There is no rebuking, no negative words, just joy
a. The family feud was over
b. There has been restoration of relationship
between the father and the son
7. The world likes to paint a picture of God Who is a
heartless, killjoy that relishes punishing those who
disagree with Him
a. This parable is a word picture of our God, now
where do you see the world’s corrupted view of
God in it? You don’t because it doesn’t exist!
It’s a lie from the bowels and pits of hell!
1. Yes God is Holy and yes God has
righteous requirements
2. But through His Son Jesus He has made a
way home to Him
3. God does not reject repentance but runs
towards those who run towards Him
a. There is an old proverb that says
'Who draws near to Me (God) an
inch, I will draw near to him, and
whoso walks to meet Me, I will
leap to meet him.'
b. It’s the same message of James
4:8-10
“8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.”
c. And I tell you we have no right in
and of ourselves to come before
our Holy God
d. But Father God does not see the
filth of our sin and this world on
us when we come to Him through
the Son
e. You know what He sees? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus’
Ephesians 2:13 (NET)“But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
b. There is another story the world gives that is
equally wrong
1. This one is a Buddhist story of a son who
leaves home only to come back years
latter
2. He is in such a terrible state that he
cannot recognize the father
3. The father in this story has his servants
bring him in and clean him up
4. BUT the father does not reveal himself
until the son starts showing merit and
works, then the father reveals himself and
makes the son an heir
5. That friends is a story of works and an
impossible one!
6. As hard as we try we cannot fix ourselves
and then come to the Father, we come to
Him with nothing to offer
7. We come to Him and He gives us love
and grace that we cannot earn let alone
deserve and He cleans us up and makes
us whole
8. We come to Him with nothing to offer
D. "Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven
and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your
son.’"
1. For breaking the 5th commandment and numerous
others in his wild lifestyle choice the son had sinned
against God
2. But he also sinned against the father, which had brought
hurt and pain to his father (I’m sure there is some
parents here today that can sympathize with this father
in that regard)
Proverbs 28:7 (NET)“The one who keeps the law is a discerning child, but a companion of gluttons brings shame to his parents.”
3. You see sin is really a broken relationship and we see
here in our parable that it broke the son’s relationship
with His father and God
4. And having come to his senses the boy realizes the
devastation that his sin as wrought
5. And with it comes shame
Psalm 51:4 (NET)“Against you—you above all—I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.”
6. How far this boy has come from the time he pridefully
exclaimed, ‘Father give me my inheritance’ to his
practiced speech of ‘Father make me a hired worker’
E. "But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe,
and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his
feet!"
1. 'But': The father has already forgiven his son and
interrupts him before he could make his request to be a
hired worker
2. This is totally unexpected: to the son and to those
listening to the parable
3. The father immediately makes a distinction between his
servants and the boy, showing him he was not going
to be among his servants, but his son
4. Immediately making the son’s request to become a day
labor irrelevant
5. The fact that the father told the servants to hurry shows
the father’s longing that his son need not stay in the filth
he was in any longer
6. Since the father is living he still has control over the
estate, hence is ability to do what he is doing
7. And the father wants nothing but the best for his son
a. He didn’t give him just any robe, but the best in
the house
1. ‘best’ = ‘most beautiful’
2. This robe would have been given to
honored guests in the home
3. It was a robe fit for a king
4. Some say that this signified his
reinstatement in the inheritance
b. The next give was a signet ring signifying the
father is giving the son authority in the house
Genesis 41:42 (NET)‘42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck.’
c. He then had the servants get him sandals
1. Slaves are barefoot, and this son is no
slave
2. On top of this guests removed their shoes
in a house, the masters of the house did
not
d. The robe, the ring and the shoes signify restored
status showing that the son has been reinstated
with full privileges
e. When Abraham Lincoln was asked how he was
going to treat the south when they were defeated
he stated, 'I will treat them as if they had never
been away.'
f. This is the picture of us and of those who would
come back to God
1. Those that don't deserve the grace of the
Father but come to Him and ask for the
mercy and the Grace of Jesus Christ
2. When a sinner does this, the Father, our
Father, cleans them up
3. God casts our stained sins far from us
4. And He clothes us with that which we do
not deserve: the righteousness of His Son
Jesus Christ
Zechariah 3:3–5 (NET)“3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood there before the angel. 4 The angel spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you in fine clothing.” 5 Then I spoke up, “Let a clean turban be put on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood nearby.”
Isaiah 61:10 (NET)“10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; I will be overjoyed because of my God. For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would; I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry.”
5. In our parable the son has completely
ruined his robe, so this is the Father's
robe
6. Likewise, as Christians, Jesus covers us
with His righteousness (a theme we see
repeatedly in the New Testament)
Ephesians 4:22–24 (NET)“22 You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.”
Galatians 3:27 (NET)“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
7. And once Jesus becomes our Lord and
Savior we by grace become God’s
children
Romans 8:15 (NET)“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”
8. So here in our parable the son has been reinstated, but
the father is not done blessing the son
F. "Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let us eat and celebrate,"
1. Everything that was done, was above and beyond, it was
a special day!
2. From the gifts to now this celebratory meal (reminiscent
of the banquet motif Jesus used earlier symbolizing the
Messianic banquet in heaven)
Matthew 22:2 (NET)“The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.”
3. Meat was not usually eaten at a meal but saved for
special occasions
a. This animal was specially fed for an important
event
b. Fattened calves were kept in case an important
guest came over or there was a special occasion
c. They were also sacrificed and eaten on religious
days as well like the day of atonement (and some
say it could symbolize Jesus’ sacrifice but that is
not certain)
d. A calf could have feed the entire village (points
to a very big party)
e. The son came home starved and the father called
for a massive feast, not only enough for the son