Luke 15:1-32 "Lost and Found" What is the basic shape of this story? It is about a worthless son who goes off in disgrace to a far country, and then comes back, welcomed by a loving father, only to be challenged by a "faithful son." In other words, this is a story about exile and restoration. Jesus is saying that in his day, God is restoring exiled Israel, but the Pharisees are opposing God's mercy and grace to the wayward son. Brothers and sisters, we need to take this passage to heart. Because today, we are the older brother. We are the ones sitting comfortably in our pews, faithfully holding down our place in our Father's household and yet, like the older brother, grumbling around the corners about how God hasn't given us what we want. We look down our noses at our younger brothers those who have wasted their lives pursuing their own pleasures! But if we are honest with ourselves, the only difference between "us" and "them" is that we keep our lives looking good on the outside! We are far more like the older brother than we would like to admit! What is Jesus saying to us here in Luke 15? We looked at the first 10 verses of chapter 15 last week, but we need to go back and set the stage. The question that drives this section of Luke's gospel is found in 13:23 "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" Jesus has made it clear that the judgment of God is coming against Israel. And so the question makes a lot of sense. If God's judgment is coming against Israel, then one would wonder, how many will survive this coming judgment? In chapter 14 Jesus said that the "best friends" of God (the Pharisees) would not taste of the heavenly banquet, but the riff-raff from the highways and villages would! But the only way that anyone will partake of the banquet of the Kingdom of God is if they are willing to renounce everything for the sake of Jesus. Perhaps predictably, the riff-raff are attracted to this message! And Jesus welcomed the tax collectors and sinners to his table. So the Pharisees complain, "This man receives sinners and eats with them!" And so Jesus told them this parable. You could say that he told them three parables. But each parable shares the same theme: that which was lost has been found. Today we turn to part three of the Parable of that which was Lost! 1. The Rebellion of the Younger Son (15:11-16) And in verses 11-16 we hear about the rebellion of the Younger Son. The younger son says, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. What is he saying? Give me my inheritance now. A father could give the inheritance early. That was not unheard of. And he divided his property between them. No doubt giving the double portion to the firstborn, and one-third to the younger. This brings us to our first question: why does the Father give him what he wants? Is this an example of indulgent parenting? Should we chide the father for giving in to his selfish, rebellious son? I don't think so. The father realizes that his son is already lost. Israel grumbled in the wilderness, and God gave them what they wanted. Israel once asked for a king, and God gave them what they wanted. Sometimes God gives you what you want, because he realizes that you are hopeless! You are not going to learn the easy way. You must learn life only comes through death! And the only way you will learn that is by dying! The father realizes that his son must die his son must endure the exile before he will be ready to live again. And so the younger son sells everything and takes his wealth to a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. Last week we heard the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin; today we see the parable of the lost son. But the difference between the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, is that while the sheep accidentally wandered astray, and the coin did not choose to get lost, the son did. The son was running away from his father and running into exile, running into the arms of foreigners who do not know or love the living God. This is Adam and Eve, hiding from God their Father as he walked in the garden. This is Israel, God's firstborn son, squandering his inheritance by serving foreign gods. This is Solomon, spending his inheritance on foreign wives and concubines. And how many young people can you name today whom you have seen follow this same path? Sex, drugs, parties the path of the younger son is a broad road well-traveled. But what happened to the younger son? In short, he lost his identity. He had been the son of a wealthy Jewish landowner. His was the life of privilege. But when his money ran out, all his new friends ran out as well. And when famine came, he discovered that he was alone and penniless. When famine comes, you take care of your own. Who would have food to spare for a penniless stranger? And so this son of a wealthy Jewish landowner hires himself out to a Gentile feeding pigs! There is no occupation lower than feeding pigs. And especially for a Jew, for whom pigs are unclean! He who was a son has become a slave. He who was a Jew has literally "joined himself" to a Gentile household. He had sought freedom: but he discovers that freedom from his father results in bondage! He had pursued his own dreams: but then he wakes up in the horrible realization that apart from his father, his dreams produced only nightmares! Truly he has lost not only his money, but also his very self. 2. The Repentance of the Younger Son (15:17-19) But when he came to himself... Verses 17-19 recount the son's repentance. How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.' You have to understand what the son is saying here when he says he wants to be treated like a "hired servant." Verse 22 speaks of the "servants." These are not "hired servants"-- they are household servants. "Servants" spend their whole lives with the same family. They have excellent job security, and are really part of the family. "Hired Servants" are day laborers who serve at the master's pleasure. They have very little job security, because if the master has no need of them, they have no job and no pay! A servant is part of the family. A hired servant is one who may be dismissed at any time. The hired servant or the day laborer is the lowest of the low. The younger son wishes to be the lowest of the low in his Father's employ. Because even the day laborers hired by his Father are better off than he is! The son recognizes that his Father is generous, but he does not truly understand his Father. He asks that he might be given an opportunity to prove himself: I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. (v19) He thinks that he can earn a place in his Father's house. And so he sets out on the long road to his Father's house. 3. The Compassion of the Father (15:20-24) But when he comes to his Father, his Father is watching for him. He sees him while still a long ways off. How do you picture this scene? Do you see a rural villa surrounded by fields? the son walking over a hill? a quiet reunion in a country byway? Sorry. That won't do! In the ancient world, everyone lived in the village. This is not a rural scene with only two people in view. This is a village scene a public scene. And here is the Father, one of the wealthy villagers probably one of the elders of the town running through the village. Imagine Jay DeRoos or Rolf Caylor sprinting down Main Street! But imagine Jay DeRoos or Rolf Caylor sprinting down Main Street in a long garment that reaches down to his feet. In order to run, he would have to gird up his loins, bare his legs, and make a complete scene in front of the whole village. In the ancient near east, dignified men do not run. In other words, it would be something like the public shock of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. This is just something that you do not do. But the Father ran and embraced his son. This is a public act. He does this out in the street before the whole village. He does not wait for his son to speak. He runs to him, embraces him and kisses him. This is what God has done in Jesus Christ. He came to the tax collectors and sinners, and publicly he welcomed them home. Jesus says to the Pharisees, you grumble because I eat with tax collectors and sinners? It's worse than that! I run down the road when I see lost sons, and shower them with kisses and welcome them home! Not only does the Father welcome his son with open arms, he also dresses him in the best robe, with a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. He is arrayed in the finest garments dressed like a prince. (Think of Zechariah 3, where the high priest Joshua exchanges his filthy garments for new, clean garments which the LORD provides.) And the Father invites the whole village (a fattened calf could feed at least 100 people). Remember what Jesus has been saying about the banquet. 13:28 "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out." 14:24 "For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my banquet." Now the father calls his friends and neighbors to come together and rejoice, because this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. (15:24) Notice that the Father does not say, he was lost, but he found his way home. Who found him? Why, the Father of course! Who gave him life? Again, the Father. The younger son had come to his father's house, asking that he might be a slave. He recognized that he could no longer be called "son." He had squandered the inheritance, and had repudiated his sonship. There was nothing he could do to regain his sonship. But God, who is full of mercy, gives life to the dead. The Father was the one who restored his exiled son who found the wanderer and gave him life. And called together the whole neighborhood to rejoice and celebrate. 4. The Response of the Older Son (15:25-32) And as the smell of roast meat wafted through the village, and the sounds of music and dancing pulsed out from the Father's house, the older son came in from the fields. Do you know what the Greek word for "older" is? presbuteros it is the same word used to refer to the elders of the synagogue. "His son the elder." The elder son represents the leaders of the Jews. And when he comes in, he refuses to go in to the house. As older brother as the eldest son of his father, he would be his father's right-hand man during such celebrations. But not this time! You can sympathize with the poor fellow: The family honor has been tarnished. The family name has been dragged through the mud. There should be some penalty something should be done to punish his brother! I will not come to the banquet. But now the older son is insulting his father! His father has decided to restore the younger brother. But the older brother is refusing to rejoice. The Pharisees are upset that Jesus is eating with the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus is saying, come, join me! Join in rejoicing that these sinners have repented. After all, these are Jewish tax collectors and Jewish sinners; they are wayward members of the family who are now being restored. Jesus is not yet talking about Gentiles. But Luke is. Remember that Luke writes this to Theophilus a Gentile. So while Jesus speaks of the Pharisees as the older brother, and the Jewish tax collectors and sinners as the younger brother; Luke invites us to see that the Jews in general are the older brother, while the Gentiles are the younger brother. Indeed, Luke will make this explicit in Acts 15, at the council of Jerusalem, when the Judaizers are complaining about how Paul is allowing the Gentile "younger brothers" into the church. The council of Jerusalem quotes from Amos 9:11 when God rebuilds the dwelling of David, then the Gentiles will seek the Lord. By implication we could stretch this out once more: you comfortable Christians are the older brother, while those "unclean" worldlings "out there" are the younger brother. Beware of the elder brother's attitude: Look, these many years I have served you What is he saying? Remember what happened to the younger son? He went from being a son with an inheritance in Israel, to being a slave to a Gentile. But the elder son views himself as a slave to his father. I've worked where is my reward? I've obeyed you, but you never gave me a young goat to celebrate with my friends. What does this say? The elder son is no different from the younger son. He wanted the same thing the younger son wanted he was just as selfish. (that I might celebrate with my friends!) The difference is that he was constrained by "duty." He is a foreigner in his own home alienated from his brother and now his father as well. Both the elder son and the younger son wanted to party with their friends. Both the elder son and the younger son thought that they had to earn their place with their father. There are some rebels who stray far from the fold. There are other rebels who stay at home, but in their hearts they are no different. If I just obey and do everything right, then God will reward me. Is that how you think? The Father gently corrects his erring son: Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. The younger son has squandered his portion of the inheritance. Everything else belongs to the elder son. But the elder son is bitter and hostile. He does not understand the grace of his Father. And so his Father says: It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found. Twice the Father says this. If you are going to be my son, then you need to understand my grace. You need to have this same attitude toward your little brother! What happened to the elder brother in the parable? Did he go in to the feast? Did he repent of his selfish ways? Of course, that is the point of the parable. That was the question that Jesus is asking the Pharisees. Will you repent and join the celebration? Will you come and sit at my banquet with all these unclean sinners? And, Luke says to you, O Theophilus, what will you do? Because you are the elder brother. If the elder brother was truly the son of his Father, then he should have run to his little brother when he saw him return! He should have rejoiced to restore his brother who had been lost! He should not have been preoccupied with his own agenda. Jesus is the true elder brother. He is the elder brother who did what the elder brother in the parable should have done. He is the one who showed the love of the Father to all the rebellious children. He did not begrudge us the Father's love and mercy. Rather, he is the one who went out and found us in our rebellion and brought us home. Indeed, far from being jealous about the inheritance, he has given us the right to be called the children of God! He has shared with us his glorious inheritance!