The Two Lost Sons
Text: Luke 15:11-32
Core Idea: Whether you identify as the younger brother who has gone astray or the older brother who remains distant from God, this story is for you – it’s an invitation to return to the Father who is merciful and gracious toward you. Then my prayer for you is that you’ll come and experience His extravagant love for you today.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, Lighthouse. It is great to see you. I want to welcome all of you but especially our Tugboat and Anchor friends as they will be joining us for the whole service today. As a church, we are committed to worshiping together at least once a month to remind ourselves that worship is an event for the entire family of God – not just the adults, but the children and youth as well. Then as we turn to the Word, I pray that the Spirit of God will take this truth, plant it deep into our hearts so that it’ll bear much fruit in our lives at the right time. Today, we’ll look at one of the most famous stories found in the Bible – the story of the Prodigal Son. So, please turn your Bibles to Luke 15:11-32. And I will invite Micah to the front – she will read the passage for us. And after, Pastor Cindy will share a message for our children.
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 servants 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 servants.’ 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. 25 Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Thank you, Micah, for reading the passage for us. And thank you, Pastor Cindy, for reminding us of God’s patient and extravagant love for His people. Now, to better understand this story, we need to know the context. In the first two verses of this chapter, Luke tells us that there were two groups of people who had come to listen to Jesus – Luke 15:1-2, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” As you can see, the first group consisted of the tax collectors and sinners who were both despised by the Jews for their immorality – and, in the story, they represented the younger brother who left home to engage in wild living. The second group consisted of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who were well-educated and greatly respected by the Jews – and they represented the older brother who obeyed the father to the best of his ability but was always filled with complaints and disappointment. Luke tells us that the tax collectors and sinners were constantly flocking to Jesus – and this made the religious leaders extremely angry. “How dare He call Himself a rabbi when He’s spending time with people like them? He’s making all of us look bad. These people are not to be engaged – they need to be cast away.” All that to say, the religious leaders looked down on Jesus and condemned Him for associating with these sinners. Now, Jesus could’ve exposed them to their own sins in order to humiliate them and drive them away – but He didn’t. Instead, He told them this parable. Why? Because He wanted to help them see that the love of God extends to all people – which includes them. In fact, Jesus gave this parable specifically to these religious leaders because He wanted their hearts to be transformed so that the same kind of love would be reflected in the way they led the people of God. Then this parable certainly is for those who identify themselves as the younger brother – those who feel like they’ve gone too far and can’t find their way back to God. But this parable is also for those who identify themselves as the older brother – those who may be doing everything they can to be close to God but remain distant from God. It’s an invitation to repent and return to the Lord. So, with that in mind, let’s dive into our story. Three points.
· THE YOUNGER SON
· THE FATHER
· THE OLDER SON
1) THE YOUNGER SON
Verse 11 – Jesus begins the parable by telling us that there was a man who had two sons. And right away, we’re met with a short but shocking request from the younger son – verse 12, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” Now, there was nothing wrong with his desire to receive a share of the family wealth – but the original listeners would’ve been stunned by the fact that he was asking for his inheritance when the father was living. This division of the estate only occurred when the father died – which means that for the younger son to ask this while the father still lived was the same as to wish him dead. It implied that he didn’t really care about his father – what mattered more to him was what the father could provide him. Then he was basically saying, “Father, I wish you were dead because you’re actually in the way of my plans. You’re like an obstacle that’s making my life miserable. I could’ve accomplished so much more if it wasn’t for your constant nagging. I could’ve done so much more if it wasn’t for your rules. So, give me what rightfully belongs to me so that I can be independent and be freed from your control. In fact, I want it now. It’s mine anyway. So, let’s not waste our time. Give it to me right now.” Clearly, he was entitled, self-centered, and rude.
Now, hearing this, the original listeners would’ve expected the father to punish him or even disown him from the family for dishonoring the father like that. But to their surprise, that’s not what he does – verse 12, “He divided his property between them.” To understand the significance of this, let me point out that the word “property” in Greek is bios which literally means “life” – which means that this was more than just sharing of wealth. It’s like the father was giving away a part of himself – tearing a piece of his soul to satisfy his rebellious son. I mean, this kind of love was unheard of in their culture – no wonder this would’ve left the listeners speechless.
Now, you would think that the son would come to his senses by seeing his father respond with such grace and kindness – but he does the unthinkable. Verse 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.” He left home – and away from his father, away from any restrictions, he enjoyed everything that money could buy. In fact, he recklessly spent all that he had. By the way, this is where he gets the name, “The Prodigal.” The word “prodigal” doesn’t mean “runaway” as some assume – it literally means “wasteful, unrestrained, and lavish.” Then he’s called the prodigal son because he wastefully gave away all the money he had. Now, he must have thought that he was living his life. Finally, being freed to do whatever he wanted – until he ran out of money, and everyone deserted him. To make matters worse, there was a severe famine in the country and the younger son began to be in need – so much so that he was willing to feed pigs. This describes how low he was willing to go because pigs were considered dirty and defiled – the Jews did not go near pigs. And yet here he was – living with them. And not just living with them but being tempted to eat their food because he was so hungry. Not too long ago, he thought he had everything – he was surrounded by people who constantly wanted his attention. But now, he was in need – and no one was there for him. No one cared about him.
Now, the original listeners would’ve been satisfied with this turn of events – in fact, some of them might have said, “That’s what you get for disrespecting your father.” But to their surprise, the story doesn’t end here – in the midst of his brokenness, in the midst of his hopelessness, surrounded by pigs, the son came to his senses. As he reflected on his misery and pain, he remembered what he had when he was with his father – he remembered how his servants were treated. So, he decided to go back – and he devised a plan. Verse 18, “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” The son knew what he had done – he knew that he had lost the right to be his child. So, he didn’t dare to be welcomed back into the family – he simply hoped that the father would take him in as one of his hired servants. In fact, he was ready to beg for this. He didn’t care how he would look. He just wanted to be near his father again.
Friends, do you feel like the younger son today in any way? Your sin has caused you to drift off and you’re in that distant country. You ran away from God to pursue power, prosperity, and pleasure – but the closer you got to these things, there were only disappointments and despair. In fact, everything that was promised proved to be nothing but a mirage. And to make matters worse, a “famine” has come into your life – in that, you’re experiencing intense trials and troubles that are crushing your soul. So, you want to come back to the Lord. But something has been preventing you – your guilt and shame. You say to yourself, “After all that I’ve done, how can I go back to God? How can I face Him again? How can I ask Him to forgive me when I can’t even forgive myself? I don’t deserve His mercy. I’m not worthy of His love.” So, you remain far from Him. If this is you, listen carefully because even if you feel like it’s too late for you, I know for sure that God hasn’t given up on you because you’re here listening to this message. It doesn’t matter why you came (it could’ve been because you were forced to come, because you had nothing to do, because it’s just what you do on Sunday) – what matters is that you’re here. It’s no coincidence that you’re here today of all Sundays – and it’s because God wanted you to hear this message, which means that this message has been written for you. Friends, God has never stopped loving you. He has never looked away – His eyes have always been fixed on you. Many people assume that God loves them only when they’ve returned home and cleaned up their lives – but it’s quite the contrary. Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loves us even when we wander in a distant country. Then listen to this very carefully. Your sin didn’t cancel God’s love for you – your sin didn’t diminish God’s love for you. If anything, His love for you has intensified because you have gone astray. Dane Ortlund writes, “The sins of those who belong to God open the floodgates of His heart of compassion for us. The dam breaks. It is not our loveliness that wins His love. It is our unloveliness.” Then, friends, don’t let anything hold you back. Begin the journey of repentance today because you won’t be denied – you won’t be dismissed. In fact, you’ll only be met with this extravagantly radical love of the Father – which leads to my next point.
2) THE FATHER
Verse 20 tells us that the younger son was on this long, lonely, humiliating trip back home – “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.” The detail here is really important because it implies that the father had been waiting for his son every single day – looking in the direction his son had left, scanning the horizon, hoping that he would return. And when the father saw the son, he was filled with compassion – so, he ran to him. For a man of his standing to run was considered shameful in their culture – it was a humiliating thing to do. And yet nothing else mattered. He didn’t care about his reputation. He didn’t care about how he looked. The father ran through the streets, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him over and over again. It didn’t matter how dirty and smelly the son was – the father was just overwhelmed with relief, joy, and gratitude that his son had returned. Think about this for a moment – the father could’ve waited at the door, but he went to the son to take him home. Why? Because the father knew that it would’ve been humiliating for his son to walk through the town with dirt all over his body, to be seen by the people who knew exactly what he had done and how shameful his actions were. In other words, the father ran to the son in order to bear the son’s humiliation on himself – he condescended himself to embrace the son. Can you imagine how shocked the original listeners would’ve been to hear this? But they weren’t the only ones who were surprised – the son must have been stunned as well.
But he quickly regained his composure and began to share his well-prepared speech – hoping that it would alleviate his father’s anger just a bit. Verse 21, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But even before he was able to finish it, the father spoke over him – verse 22, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” The father wasn’t just withholding punishment – he showered his son with gifts that he didn’t deserve. He was basically saying, “Son, don’t you see? You don’t need to pay back anything. You don’t have to earn your way back into the family. You don’t have to prove to me that you deserve my love. No, there’s no cost for you to come back because you are my son. You belong to me. So, I will cover your nakedness, shame, and guilt. Everything I have is yours again.” We see the extravagance of the father’s action because he commands the servants to prepare a feast of celebration with the fattened calf as the main course. In their culture, meat was often reserved for special occasions and parties. In fact, even if you do have meat, it was usually chicken or goat – calf was too expensive. But that’s exactly what the father did. He was about to throw the biggest party ever – “for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” I shared before that the word “prodigal” doesn’t mean “wayward” but “recklessly wasteful” – which means that this term can be used to describe not just the son but also the father for he radically pours out his love for the son. No wonder Pastor Tim Keller titled his book on this passage as “The Prodigal God.” By the way, if you haven’t read this book, I strongly encourage you to read it because it was one of those life-transforming books for me – and I have no doubt that God will minister to you greatly as well.
Brothers and sisters, here we see the lavishness of God’s love for us. He doesn’t just mercifully withhold His anger from us which we richly deserve because of our sin but He graciously showers us with his blessings that we don’t deserve at all. The truth is that no matter how many times we repent, we still find fresh ways to rebel against Him and resist His love. So, we hesitate to turn to God. We think to ourselves, “If we struggle with the same sin over and over again, if we feel dirty and defiled just like the son, how can we go back to God?” But look at the story again – the father welcomed the son not because he was worthy but simply because he came. This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible – Jesus says in John 6:37, “Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” Notice that He doesn’t say, “Whoever comes to me feeling bad enough for their sins” or “whoever comes to me after punishing themselves for what they have done” – no, He simply says, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” In fact, that’s exactly what we see in this story and that’s exactly what we can experience in our lives if we would simply come to Him. Then I invite you to come and receive this wonderful love that He has for you. Don’t try to finish the speech that you prepared. Don’t try to prove that you’re worthy of God’s love. Just come and let Him embrace you.
3) THE OLDER SON
Now, this would’ve been a wonderful way to finish the story – but Jesus continues. Verse 25, “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in.” The father throws one of the biggest parties (probably for the whole village to enjoy) – but the older son remains outside the party. Now, why was the older son so upset? Why did he care so much that his younger brother was welcomed back into the family? Because he felt like he deserved better. Listen to what he says to his father in verse 29, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” In other words, he was basically saying, “What about me? I’ve done so much for you – and this is what I get? What was the point of working so hard? Where’s my gift, my party, my recognition? Do I mean nothing to you? How can you care more about this rebellious one? He deserves to be punished, disowned, and cast away. I deserve your love. I deserve your blessings. This is not fair. I didn’t work hard just to end up like this. You owe me, dad.” There was no joy in his life. In fact, do you know what he was doing? He was carefully and meticulously calculating everything. “Because I did this, he better do this for me.” Everything he did for the father, he did it for himself. No wonder he was always filled with anger, disappointment, dissatisfaction, and anxiety. Yes, he was hardworking and obedient – I’m sure he had a reputation of being a good son. But he too was entitled, self-centered, and rude just like his brother. He may have been in the house – but he was distant from his father. Friends, does this describe you today? Is your heart filled with anger, disappointment, dissatisfaction, and anxiety because you feel like you deserve better? “God, after all that I’ve done for You, how could You let this happen? What was all that for? Why did I even obey?” Just like the older brother, you may have the reputation of being a good Christian but you’re constantly feeling scared, anxious, and lost because you still think that you’re not good enough for God. If this is you, I’m so thankful that you’re here because I want you to see what the father does next.
Verse 28, “So his father went out and pleaded with him. ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Just as he ran to the younger son, the father went to the older son to plead with him, to comfort him, to lead him back into the house. Then this is exactly what God is doing in your life right now as well. He is pleading with you to repent and to turn back to Him – to stop working for your salvation, to stop calculating but to find joy in Him and Him alone. Then don’t miss this opportunity. Turn to Him today.
Now, at this point, the original listeners must have been anticipating with eagerness to hear what happened to the older son. “Will the family finally be reunited in love? Will the brothers be reconciled? Will the older brother let go of his pride and celebrate with the rest of his family?” But just as all these thoughts pass through us, the story ends. And we can’t help but ask, “What happened to the older son?” Now, if I had to write one, it would go something like this, “And the older son fell on his knees before his father saying, ‘I repent of my pride and selfishness. Please forgive me, father.’ And even before he could’ve finished his words, the father embraced and kissed him, took him in, and seated him at his table by his brother – and they all rejoiced together for the ones who were lost have now been found.” That would’ve been a good ending. But the truth is that we don’t get to write the ending. Do you know who gets to write the ending? The religious leaders – and this is how they ended the story, “The older son, being outraged at his father, picked up a piece of wood and beat him to death in front of everyone.” How do I know? Because that’s literally what they did to Jesus on the cross. Now, ironically, the Bible tells us that what they meant for evil God turned it for good. They may have brought death to the Son of God but through His death, Christ brought life to His people. How? By bearing the sin on His shoulders. Brothers and sisters, Jesus was stripped naked of His robe and dignity so that we could be clothed with dignity and standing we don’t deserve. On the cross, Jesus was treated as an outcast so that we could be brought into God’s family freely by grace. There, Jesus drank the cup of eternal justice so that we might have the cup of the Father’s joy. This story doesn’t have an ending because the choice is now yours to make. You can turn to Christ and receive life, or you can remain outside and wait for His righteous judgment. I pray that you’ll choose Christ. You can trust Him with your life for He is good and extravagant in love.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, whether you identify as the younger brother who has gone astray or the older brother who remains distant from God, this story is for you – it’s an invitation to return to the Father who is merciful and gracious toward you. Then my prayer for you is that you’ll come and experience His extravagant love for you which was demonstrated through Jesus Christ who went out to find you and give you life.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) What does the younger son’s request for his inheritance while his father is still alive reveal about his character and values? How might the original listeners of this parable have reacted to the younger son’s request and the father’s response?
2) Why do you think the younger son did not realize the gravity of his actions until he had squandered all his wealth and was in dire circumstances? What does the younger son’s decision to return home and his prepared speech indicate about his change in heart? How does the father’s reaction to seeing his son coming back home reflect the nature of God’s grace and forgiveness for us?
3) Why is the older son angry and unwilling to join the celebration of his brother’s return? How does the father respond? Why does the book have an open ending?
4) Can you relate to the feelings of either the younger or older son in your own spiritual journey? If so, how? How does the parable challenge your understanding of God’s love and grace?