Sermon outline

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Sermon outline Prodigal Sin Meets Prodigal Love Luke 15:11-24 September 12, 2010

Introduction:

• Not a story of ‘THE prodigal son’ or ‘the lost son’ – but the story of TWO prodigals, TWO lost sons

• this is a story for backsliders AND the ‘righteous’ cf. Luke 5:30-32…context of the parable, along with the story of the lost sheep and lost coin is Luke 15:1-2: “now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes grumbled, saying, “this man receives sinners and eats with them”

• it is important to our time in this parable to define what is meant by ‘prodigal’ and ‘prodigality’: The traditional sense of ‘prodigal’ (-ity) in the context of this parable (the term goes back to Jerome’s Vulgate) is ‘wastefulness’ – characterized by the lost son in verse 13, ‘reckless living’ . . . but it also can mean, ‘extravagant’ or ‘lavishly abundant’; we will find that in relationship to US in our SIN and in our ‘RIGHTEOUSNESS’ prodigal (-ity) will mean ‘wasteful, wasted…spent and lost’; but in relationship to GOD, who is infinite and eternal in his character and resources and power – prodigal (-ity) will mean ‘lavishly abundant’ So, this story will tell us of the lost son and his prodigal sin It will tell us of the elder brother and his prodigal ‘righteousness’ But, Jesus uses the story of both these prodigals to show us the lavishly abundant love and grace of the Prodigal Father.

I. The Prodigal Son and His Prodigal Sin: vv. 11-16 There are four things that characterize the nature of ‘prodigal’ sin:

1. The Son does not ‘break the law’ – he is owed 1/3 of the Father’s estate; He breaks relationship…he rejects the Father

Copyright © 2010 Erik Braun

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There is a way in which Jesus is directing the ‘pharisees and scribes’ to a source of rebellion that is worse than mere ‘law breaking’; we will find by the end that the ‘righteous’ elder brother does EXACTLY the same thing in his ‘extravagant righteousness’ (prodigal righteousness) when he refuses the Father’s love. He simply doesn’t see the vanity of his ‘righteousness’ that are as ‘filthy rags’ (Isa. 64:6) before the holiness and righteousness of the Father. He rejects the Father, in fact he is saying to the Father – you are as good as dead to me (or, “I wish you were dead”); 11:12 says in Greek, “and he divided is ‘life’ (translated ‘property’ in ESV) between them’ But – in rejecting the Father, it is actually the son who ‘dies’ – rejection of God is a choosing of death (note after his return home, these words are on the Fathers’ lips twice, “he was dead, and is alive again”; the Prodigal is a parabolic portrait of Paul’s description of us in Ephesians 2:1-3 (and the Father is a parabolic portrait of Eph. 2:4a ‘but God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us’

2. The Prodigal Son displays the nature of life apart from the Father: three words I want to zero in on – ‘squandered’ (v.13)– threw it away; apart from the estate, the love of his father…his life is not of ‘worth’ it is like chaff blown away by the wind. What a depiction of the vanity of worldly pleasures apart from the goodness, and glorious design of God. ‘wasted, reckless living’ (v.13) – KJV ‘riotous living’; same root as the word in Ephesians 5:18, ‘do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation/debauchery’ – a ‘wasted’ life. He thought he was choosing happiness, pleasure – but he was choosing emptiness, vanity – dissipation. (recovered alcoholics will describe their drunken days as such – sheer waste, emptiness) ‘hired himself out’ (v. 15) – the Gk literally says, ‘glued himself’ – KJV, ‘joined himself’

3. The Prodigal Son displays the ultimate course of sin: • choosing ‘freedom’- a life apart from the Father’s boundaries • a squandered life that leads to enslavement • total defilement and misery (the son of a noble Jewish landowner to a slave of a gentile, feeding PIGS!)

• remorse- shame- desperation.

Copyright © 2010 Erik Braun

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4. The Prodigal Son displays the shame, remorse and regret of sin.

Let’s look at the remorse and desperation that brought the son ‘to himself’. Before we look at the Prodigal’s return home and the response of the Father, I want us to look closely at the plan of the prodigal in vv. 17-19. I agree with Kenneth Bailey who would say that the Prodigal’s repentance is not complete yet. At this point he is certainly full of remorse, regret, and shame – but this is not yet repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” There is ‘worldly grief’ and there is ‘godly grief’ – I think there is a ‘worldly’ grief in the Prodigal. He is merely hoping for bread, he still desires to work… this is not a ‘godly grief’ that leads to life, that is full of hope. It is worldly in that it has a ‘worldly’ hope – ‘I’ll ask to be like his skilled craftsmen’. Kenneth Bailey gives some reasons for this -1) he seeks to pay the father back; 2) he expects a master/servant relationship; 3) he does not see the real issue as a broken relationship; there is no desire for reconciliation – or hope of it. This is not to say that there isn’t sincerity in the Prodigal here. It is also not to say that the Prodigal doesn’t understand the love of the Father. It is simply to say that without some lavish display of grace (costly grace!) – the best the prodigal can hope for is a long life of indentured servitude… the slow arduous task of paying back a debt. But this is not the lesson for us in the parable. And this is where we meet the main character in our story.

II. ‘Prodigal’ Father – and the Prodigal Payment: vv. 20 -24

• A Problem – where is Jesus? Where is the gospel? Many have rightly called the Parable of the Prodigal Son – ‘the gospel in the Gospel’. An encapsulation of the Gospel in a relatively short and simple story here in Luke’s Gospel. But, Kenneth Bailey rightly asks the question – if this is so, if this is the ‘gospel’ - where is the incarnation? Where is Jesus? Where is the payment for sin? Where is the atonement? Where is the cross? Without these two themes – the incarnation and the atonement – there is no ‘good news’. We are still in our sins. The story is becomes mere sentimentality- ‘come home son! Dad is waiting and loves you!’ Or, ‘get along with your loser brother’. Copyright © 2010 Erik Braun

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That’s great – but how is the son to come home? Who pays the debt? How is the relationship restored? Is sin just put aside? How? Are the wrongs made right? The Pharisee, the older brother, is right in his protestations at the end of the parable (he simply does not see these as applying to him as much as to his younger brother): how can this be. “It is not possible to capture in any parable the mystery and wonder of God in Christ. Yet, in this matchless story we have a clear indication of at least a part of what these things mean. The father in his house clearly represents God. The best understanding of the text is to see that when the father leaves the house and takes upon himself a humiliating posture on the road, he becomes a symbol of God incarnate.” (Bailey, ‘The Cross and the Prodigal’, p.67) 2 Corinthians 5:19,21: “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them…For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” We can see this mystery of God in Christ in the ‘prodigal (remember: lavishly abundant) grace and love’ of the Father: First, we see initiating grace. A pursuing grace. 15:20 ‘while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him’ – the Father did three very unseemly things: ran, embraced, and ‘kissed tenderly’ (as a father would kiss his son, or even as a husband would kiss a wife). And while the son was ‘far off’ – still on the road, in his shame, in his sin. Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Second, we see humble, sacrificial love. In meeting the son outside the home, in the midst of the village- he bears the humiliation and shame of the son (the villagers would have taunted, berated, scorned – even beaten the son). He covers the son – declaring to the village and all who would watch on the road – this son is cared for. The father is bearing the loss here, bearing the cost of the son’s sin. Philippians 2:5-8 (and 2 Cor. 5:21) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Bailey: “The father’s suffering at the beginning of their estrangement has no effect on the prodigal. A demonstration of the father’s suffering for him must be witnessed by the son. Without this the son in his callousness will never discover the suffering of his father and will never understand that he is its cause. Without this visible demonstration the prodigal will return to the house as a servant. Quite likely he will gradually take on more and more of the characteristics of the older brother. Without this visible demonstration of costly love, there can be no reconciliation. Copyright © 2010 Erik Braun

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Isn’t this the story of the way of God as he deals with the sin of the world on Golgotha?” (pp. 69-70) Third, He demonstrates full reconciliation. The son is restored to his place in the home; even given ‘first born status’ with Father’s robe, the Father’s ring, and shoes upon his feet. This is a wonderful demonstration of the imputed righteousness of Christ – not only is the payment made, but reconciliation is accomplished, righteousness restores, and JOY is the result – worship, celebration, rejoicing. Joy, love, restoration characterizes one who has received and knows the Prodigal Grace of God.

Finally, the Father’s grace brings true transformation and repentance. I said before that the Prodigal’s plan in vv. 17-19 was remorse, worldly sorrow. Look at the main difference between the prodigal’s words in v. 19 and his words after the ‘lavishly abundant grace’ of the Father in verse 21. He says, “I am not worthy to be called your son.” But, he doesn’t say, “treat me as one of your hired servants” like he did in verse 19. He simply admits, in the face of such lavish and costly grace- ‘I don’t deserve this.’ There is nothing he can do but receive grace and love in wonder. He doesn’t try to deserve it. He doesn’t try to work it off. He simply stands there and receives. He stands there while the robe is placed on him, the ring is put on his finger, his feet are shod. He receives the grace of a Father who not only receives the sinner home, but pays for his sin, bears his shame, receives the scorn due to him. How is it that Jesus receives tax collectors and sinners (15:1-2)? Because that is what he came into the world to do… sit with them, eat with them, talk with them – and ultimately LIVE AND DIE for them. And this sacrificial life and death – this atoning, reconciling work- is the good news. Have you received the good news? Conclusion: James says to ‘be doers of the word and not hearers only’(James 1:22) and he calls this living by ‘the law of liberty’ (Js 1:25 - perfect law of freedom). The prodigal son understood the enslavement of sin by pursuing his ‘liberty’ apart from the Father. When he returned home he received entry back into his father’s home to live according to the ‘perfect law of freedom’ that comes by the lavishly abundant, ‘prodigal’ grace and love of his Father. Imagine a stranger to the estate some years later. He notes the devotion of this son to the Father. The son is almost slavishly ardent in his service to the Father and His father’s estate. He may very well ask the former prodigal son, “Aren’t you a son on this estate? Why do you work so hard for your father? Is he a harsh taskmaster? Is he a slave driver?” (Consider Romans 6:20-23) The prodigal would respond with eager surprise, “Have you not heard my story? Do you not know what happened to me? You haven’t heard of my Father’s extravagant grace and love to me? Sit down. Let me tell you!” Copyright © 2010 Erik Braun

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