The Prodigal Son - Part 1: The Younger Son

Please take your copy of God's Word, which I hope that you have with you, that it's well read and treasured in your heart, and turn with me to the book of Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

If you've been part of our fellowship for very long, it might be a little unsettling to you that we're turning to the middle of a book of the Bible.

Well, as last week we concluded our, I think, 59 sermon study of the book of Acts. We started in February of 2016 and finished up last week.

Many people have asked me, what's next? Where are we headed? What are we doing? So I'm going to tell you that.

I'll give you the plan, at least the penciled-in plan for the rest of the year, so you can take a couple deep breaths and just enjoy being here with us on Sunday mornings and hearing God's Word exposited as we study it together.

So today and the next two weeks, we're going to look at chapter 15 of Luke. It's been three weeks on the story of the prodigal son.

The five following weeks, we're going to do a topical exposition of the five solas of the Reformation.

So we're headed up to 500th year anniversary. You heard me telling that to the children earlier.

The five solas were kind of like the banner cries of the Reformation.

And I want to be really clear, just as a little primer to looking to that in just a couple of weeks,

that Christianity did not begin with the Reformation.

It began much, much further before that.

And there were groups of people that managed, right?

The truth of God went forth and managed to skirt even around what the Reformers were reforming from.

But we don't want to neglect our family history, right?

And the Reformation is part of that.

We stand on the shoulders of many of the Reformers who helped, in large measure, recapture biblical doctrine for us.

And so the solas help us to think about those things.

A sola, if you're not aware, is Latin, and it means only.

So those five solas are sola scriptura, only scripture.

Sola gratia, only grace.

Sola fide, only faith.

Sola Christus, only Christ.

And soli deo gloria, to God alone be the glory.

And so you can think of it in these terms.

By scripture alone do we know that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

So we'll spend five weeks on the solas.

Four weeks beyond that, we're just going to do some various text and topics, likely from the Psalms.

And then the rest of the year, as we've done in many years past, we'll preach through the Advent candle themes.

We're not preaching candles, but they're hope, joy, peace, love, Christ.

And we light those candles together, leading up to keeping our minds fixed on why we celebrate Christmas.

And we'll open up texts that speak of those various privileges we have in Christ and exposit through them.

So that's where we're going across the rest of the year.

But today we are in Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

And I'm going to read the entire chapter for our benefit before we narrow in on verses 11 through 19 this morning.

But all of it carries together.

So I want to read it all to you probably over the next few weeks as well.

We'll read it together at the beginning and then we'll narrow in on some verses from the text.

Before I read, I want to remind you that this is God's word to us, that it was written for his glory and for our good.

And as such, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Beginning in verse 1 of Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus.

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying,

This man receives sinners and eats with them.

So he told them this parable.

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them,

does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them,

Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin,

does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying,

Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.

Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

And he said,

There was a man who had two sons.

And the younger of them said to his father,

Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.

And he divided his property between them.

Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had

and took a journey into a far country,

and there squandered his property in reckless living.

And when he had spent everything,

a severe famine arose in that country,

and he began to be in need.

So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country

who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate,

and no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said,

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.

And he arose and came to his father.

But while he was still a long way off,

his father saw him and felt compassion,

and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

And the son said to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

But the father said to his servants,

Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him,

and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet,

and bring the fattened calf and kill it,

and let us eat and celebrate.

For this my son was dead and is alive again.

He was lost and is found.

And they began to celebrate.

Now his older son was in the field,

and as he came and drew near to the house,

he heard music and dancing.

And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

And he said to him,

Your brother has come,

and your father has killed the fattened calf,

because he has received him back safe and sound.

But he was angry and refused to go in.

His father came out and entreated him.

But he answered his father,

Look, these many years I have served you,

and I have never disobeyed your command,

yet you never gave me a young goat

that I might celebrate with my friends.

But when this son of yours came,

who has devoured your property with prostitutes,

you killed the fattened calf for him.

And he said to him,

Son, you are always with me,

and all that is mine is yours.

It was fitting to celebrate and be glad,

for this your brother was dead and is alive.

He was lost and is found.

The contemporary pastor and commentator,

John MacArthur,

has called the story of the prodigal son

the greatest short story ever told.

I agree.

This story has been often cited,

and it exists in the collective consciousness

of our culture.

You will hear,

and if you haven't already been aware of this,

you will begin to hear mention of the story

of the prodigal son in all sorts of places.

But,

this story is often misunderstood.

It is my prayer that over the next couple of weeks,

we will arrive at a clearer understanding

of its meaning

as we study it together.

This story is primarily told by Jesus

in order to address

the attitudes of the religious elite,

who Luke tells us about

at the beginning of chapter 15.

Verse 2 says,

And the Pharisees and scribes grumbled.

Those lawyers and those of this elite class

called the Pharisees.

And what did they say?

This man receives sinners

and eats with them.

So in response,

Luke records what Jesus said.

Verse 3,

that he told them this parable,

and then continues.

Verse 8,

Or what woman?

And then without skipping a beat,

to verse 11.

And he said,

There was a man who had two sons.

So we need to see

that it connects back

to the very beginning of chapter 15

and this conflict that's going on

and this type of judgmentalism

that the Pharisees and the scribes have

for Jesus,

who is gathering

with those who need to hear

the good news

of the coming kingdom of God.

Now as we look at

any of Jesus' parables,

but I think particularly this one,

there's a great temptation

to allegorize the parables,

to make everything in the text

take on some complex symbolic meaning.

If you just have some time to kill,

go search for explanations of symbolism

and the prodigal son.

You will find some crazy explanations

out there.

We need to be really careful

across these three weeks

to see that Jesus is driving

a solitary point.

He's heading us to

a particular thing

that he wants us

to understand.

And that is this.

He is juxtaposing

the attitudes of the Pharisees

and the scribes

with the rejoicing of heaven

over lost souls

being found.

That's what the drive is.

The rejoicing

of heaven

and therefore

the need for our rejoicing

in the lost being found.

We need to keep this in mind

as we consider the story

of the prodigal son.

It sits within a chapter of parables

with an even larger

cultural reality.

And we need to do some faithful work

to understand its meaning

and bearing on us today.

So, I'm going to break

across these next three weeks

the characters out.

So, we're going to look

at the younger son

who we'll call the prodigal

the prodigal son

the father

and then the eldest son

who we'll see

as really the point

of the story

this attitude

of the eldest son.

But for today

we'll look at the

youngest son

the younger of the two

and with fair ease

as we look at the prodigal

we can find ourselves

in him.

In some measure.

The word prodigal

means licentious

or lavish.

It's not a word

we tend to use very often

unless you hear it

in reference

to this particular story.

Or as the ESV translation

puts it

as I'm reading from

in verse 13

reckless.

Luke records

the ESV text

that he went

and squandered

his inheritance

and reckless living.

The prodigal son

is prodigal

he is reckless

in his sin

in his rebellion

against his father.

Now there are various

stages in the history

of a sinner.

And this is true

of the prodigal

and these stages

are worth noting

in this text

for our benefit.

This is especially

important for you

this morning

if you have not

believed

in Jesus Christ.

To take a look

at the stages

these history stages

in the life

of the prodigal.

But if you have believed

do not think

that a careful

consideration

of who you

once were

is a fruitless

effort.

It is always

good

to remember

the grace of God

to us

in Jesus Christ.

For me to remember

that I was once

prodigal

but that I have been

restored

to my father.

To be reminded

of what we were

saved from

makes us revel

in who

we have been

saved to.

So let's do that

together

in the following

outlines.

Here is the outline

for this morning

and then I will

go back to it.

Number one

independence

from God.

Number two

indulgence

of self.

And number three

insanity

of soul.

So these are the

stages

in this history

of the sinner

that we can

observe here

in the text

of the

prodigal son.

And then

fourthly

for those of us

who are in Christ

who have been

justified before God

we can readily

relate with this

fourth step

and I hope

that this will be

a true step

for each and

every one of us

repentance

and faith.

So number one

independence

from God.

Verses 11 and 12

and he said

there was a man

who had two sons

and the younger

of them said

to his father

father give me

the share of property

that is coming to me

and he divided

his property

between them.

We first learn

of a man

who has two sons.

Inheritance

in Jesus' day

was governed

by the law

of primogenitor.

You don't have

to remember that word

but there it is

for you right

this law

that governed

the way

in which

inheritance

was handed

down

and it was

strictly adhered

to.

The eldest son

under this law

received a double

portion of the

inheritance

which means

in the case

of two sons

that the older

son would receive

two thirds

of the inheritance

and the younger

one third.

You get to learn

math on Sunday

mornings as well.

Upon the request

of his inheritance

the father

not only grants

the younger brother

what he asked

for but also

the older

he also grants

it.

It says

and he divided

his property

between them.

The fact

that he does

this bears

a great deal

of significance

later on.

This morning

what we need

to understand

about the

prodigal's request

is that it

was audacious.

Under this law

of inheritance

the inheritance

was only granted

upon the death

of the father.

There was no

pre-granting

of inheritance

under the law.

So the younger

son in requesting

his inheritance

was wishing

his father

dead.

So remember

Jesus is talking

to the Pharisees

and the scribes

as he's telling

this story

and this is their

first gasping

moment in the

telling of this

thing right out

of the gate.

Greatest short

story ever told.

They are in awe.

How could a son

ask such a thing

of his father?

I wish

you were dead.

Give me

what is

mine.

And this is

the nature

of sin.

Rejection

of God's

good

loving

rule.

The pastor

John Piper

once defined

sin like this.

Sin is

the glory

of God

not honored

the holiness

of God

not reverenced

the greatness

of God

not admired

the power

of God

not praised

the truth

of God

not sought

the wisdom

of God

not esteemed

the beauty

of God

not treasured

the goodness

of God

not savored

the faithfulness

of God

not trusted

the promise

of God

not believed

the commandments

of God

not obeyed

the justice

of God

not respected

the wrath

of God

not feared

the grace

of God

not cherished

the presence

of God

not prized

and the person

of God

not loved

in our sin

we say

to God

I wish

you were

dead

and we can

observe the

prodigal's expression

of sin

in the very

first

sin

found in

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and I begin

reading in verse 1

now the serpent

was more crafty

than any other

beast of the field

that the Lord God

had made

he said to the woman

did God

actually say

you shall not eat

of any tree

in the garden

and the woman

said to the serpent

we may eat

of the fruit

of the trees

in the garden

but God said

you shall not

eat of the fruit

of the tree

that is in the midst

of the garden

neither shall you

touch it

lest you die

and here's the

crafty deception

verse 4

but the serpent

said to the woman

woman

you will not

surely die

for God knows

that when you

eat of it

your eyes

will be opened

and you will be

like God

knowing

good and evil

what was the

deception

of the devil

that Adam and Eve

could themselves

be

gods

Adam and Eve

in their

very first

sin

the start

of all

of our

problems

was that they

wanted God

dead

they themselves

wanted to be

God

verse 6

says

so when the

woman saw

the tree

was good

for food

and that it

was a delight

to the eyes

and that the

tree was to be

desired to make

one wise

she took of

its fruit

and ate

and she

she also

gave some

to her

husband

who was

with her

and he

ate

Adam and Eve

said to their

father

God

father

give us the

share of

property

that is

coming to us

they wished

they wished

God

dead

they sought

independence

from God

and his

good rule

over them

just as the

prodigal son

desired independence

from his

father

as this should

be a shock

to us

it should be

if you're not

feeling that

as a shock

I pray that

God would

stir in your

heart

recognize

the offense

of sin

as it should

be a shock

to us

that the

younger son

would ask

that it

would have

been even

greater

to Jesus

listeners

in a culture

where honor

was massively

important

and the

fifth command

and honor

your father

and mother

was not

only part

of the

moral law

but also

the

judicial

law

this request

was more

than just

a little

scandalous

listen to

the law

found in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 21:18–21

chapter 21

verses 18

through 21

this is

the command

against rebellious

children

children you

should listen

to this

if a man

is a

stubborn

and rebellious

son who

will not

obey the

voice of

his father

or the

voice of

his mother

and though

they discipline

him will not

listen to

them

then his

father and

mother shall

take hold

of him

and bring

him out

to the

elders of

his city

at the

gate

of the

place

where he

lives

and they

shall say

to the

elders

of his

city

this our

son is

stubborn

and rebellious

he will

not obey

our voice

he is a

glutton

and a

drunkard

then all

the men

of the

city

shall stone

him to

death

with stones

so you

shall purge

the evil

from your

midst

and all

israel

shall hear

and fear

so the

command to

obey your

father and

mother was

serious

and god

meant it

when he

said it

so in

this culture

insolence

was a

serious

infraction

young people

you did not

get to yell

I hate you

and slam

the door

to your

room

and your

parents just

don't know

how they

lost you

as a

friend

you were

meant to

honor your

mother and

your father

and while the

instruction of

Deuteronomy 21

was rarely

followed

please know

that

very few

sons were

stoned to

death

because they

knew what

was coming

to them

if they

weren't

obedient

a son

like the

prodigal

would be

publicly

shamed

and disowned

here however

what does the

father do

he does

something

that's so

surprising

and again

we don't

understand it

as a

culture

but what

does the

father do

instead of

public

shaming

him

and disowning

him

the father

divides his

property

between them

gives them

exactly what

he asked

for

we have

sought

the same

we have

said

to God

in our

willful

rebellion

against

God's

good

instruction

whether we

know it

from the

pages of

scripture

or whether

just the

law that's

written on

our hearts

we have

all rebelled

against God

and wished

him dead

we have

all sought

independence

from our

good father

we have

all wanted

ourselves

to be

gods

so this

is a

stage in

the history

of every

sinner as

we see it

in the stage

of the

prodigal

independence

is a desire

for independence

from God

but secondly

we see another

stage

we see the

indulgence

of self

just in

verse 13

we see that

not many

days later

the younger

son gathered

all he had

and took a

journey into

a far

country

and there

he squandered

his property

in reckless

living

so the

son leaves

which appears

to have been

his plan

all along

as Jesus

states

not many

days

later

the son

took a

couple of

days

to liquidate

his inheritance

to take all

of the things

that have been

given to him

the livestock

and the land

to liquidate

it

into

transportable

cash

needed to

take it

with him

recall that

Jesus is

speaking to

this Jewish

audience

so the

statement

that the

son took

a journey

into a

far country

while to

us that

just sounds

like well

he took

a trip

would have

been

understood

to be a

journey

to

Gentile

lands

again

the next

gasping

moment

for his

listeners

to Jesus

listeners

there is a

compounding

audacity

of the

son

going to

live

among

unclean

people

to carry

out

unclean

motives

recall that

people in

Jesus'

day when

they returned

to Jerusalem

would go

straight to

the temple

to be

cleansed

of the

uncleanliness

of Gentile

lands

so this is

an audacious

thing

that this

young man

has gone

to do

he takes

the inheritance

that the

father granted

him

and he

spends it

on himself

he spends

it on

his

desires

we find

out from

the older

son

later in

the text

that he

spends it

on

prostitutes

he does

not seek

to do

good with

it

but rather

indulges

his

every

whim

earlier

in Luke's

narrative

we find

this in

chapter 12

you may

want to

turn there

with me

to verse

13

Luke

records

another

parable

that

similarly

drives

at this

point

being

made

verse 13

Luke

records

someone in

the crowd

said to

him

teacher

tell my

brother

to divide

the inheritance

with me

we can

presume

that the

inheritance

has been

granted

at this

point

the father

has

died

but Jesus

says to

him

man

who made

me a

judge

or

arbiter

over

you

and then

he says

to them

perceiving

the motivation

of this

young man

take care

and be on

your guard

against all

covetousness

for one's

life does

not consist

in the

abundance

of his

possessions

and he

told them

a parable

saying

the land

of a

rich

man

produced

plentifully

and he

thought to

himself

what shall

I do

for I

have

nowhere

to store

my

crops

and he

said

I

will

do

this

I

will

tow

down

my

barns

and build

larger

ones

and there

I

will

store

all

my

grain

and my

goods

and I

will

say to

my soul

soul

you have

ample goods

laid up for

many years

relax

eat

drink

be

merry

but God

so

so

so

so

the

sinner

indulges

in

self

right

and

and not

just

financially

although

that's

what we

see

this

young

man

doing

right

but in

everything

they seek

their

own

pleasure

not the glory

of God

or the good

of their

fellow

man

and we

have all

been selfish

in this

way

seeking our

good

seeking our

gain

seeking our

pleasure

right

we've rejected

God

we want to live in

independence from

him

and we have

indulged the

sinfulness

of our

flesh

Paul

writes to

Titus

in Titus

3

3

for we

ourselves

were once

foolish

disobedient

led astray

slaves to

various passions

and pleasures

passing our

days in

malice and

envy

hated by

others

and hating

one another

so we

did see the

stage in the

history of

this young

man

indulging

the self

and we

have all

been and

are still

at times

guilty

of the

very same

third

stage we

see

is

insanity

of soul

verses

14

through 16

and when

he had

spent

everything

a severe

famine arose

in that

country

and he

began

to be

in need

just as

an aside

this is a

parable

clearly

so Jesus

is just

telling the

story

so we

don't

as I

said

before

we

don't

want to

extrapolate

too much

out of

it

but

had

this

happened

I

would

just

like

to

suggest

that

this

famine

the

severe

famine

was a

providence

of God

for the

benefit

of this

young

man

so the

severe

famine

arise

in the

country

he has

nothing

left

and he

begins

to be

in need

verse

15

so he

went

and

hired

himself

out

to

one

of

the

citizens

of

that

country

who

sent

him

into

his

fields

to

feed

pigs

and he

was

longing

to be

fed

with

the

pods

that

the

pigs

ate

and no

one

gave

him

anything

so Jesus

next

tells us

here

the

young

man

spent

all

of

his

inheritance

and

found

himself

in

a

desperate

spot

as

there's

a

famine

in

the

land

and

they

are

fleeting

we

don't

know

how

long

he

spends

in

the

land

in

Jesus

parable

right

but

it

doesn't

seem

to be

very

long

right

in

reckless

living

he

spends

it

all

and

finds

himself

in

a

desperate

place

the

author

of

the

book

of

Hebrews

tells

us

in

Hebrews

11

25

that

Moses

chose

rather

to be

mistreated

with

the

people

of

God

than

to

enjoy

the

fleeting

pleasures

!

!

He

experiences

the

temporal

pleasure

of

sin

in

a

very

stark

way

He

ventures

rapidly

from

reckless

living

to

abject

poverty

and

his

sin

has

placed

him

in

a

dreadful

spot

If

you

have

not

believed

in

Christ

I

pray

that

you

would

repent

and

believe

before

you

find

yourself

in

such

a

place

The

prodigal

becomes

a

keeper

of

pigs

which

I

think

to

us

has

some

resonation

sounds

kind

of

horrible

to

me

but

it

would

have

been

additionally

shocking

to

Jesus

Jewish

hearers

remember

to

the

Jews

in

this

day

and

now

for

many

the

pig

was

an

unclean

animal

so

not

only

is

he

in

an

unclean

land

doing

unclean

things

now

he's

caring

for

he's

the

caretaker

of

an

unclean

animal

the

prodigal

is

further

forsaking

his

father

and

his

nationality

and

he's

become

so

desperately

hungry

that

he

desires

to

eat

something

that

could

never

satisfy

Jesus

said

he

was

longing

to

be

fed

with

the

pods

that

the

pigs

ate

these

pods

if

you

look

at

the

Greek

you

can

understand

that

they

would

have

been

carob

pods

the

carob

plant

has

very

little

use

although

if

you

are

into

cooking

you

can

grind

carob

seeds

into

something

that's

like

a

replacement

for

chocolate

it's

kind

of

interesting

but

it's

not

an

attractive

thing

here

!

it's

a

really

hardy

plant

so

in

the

midst

of

this

famine

it

seems

that

this

is

a

plant

that

would

have

survived

and

it

produced

these

tough

leathery

pod

shells

long

shells

that

contain

within

it

a

really

hard

bean

this

carob

pod

is

barely

digestible

for

pigs

so

remember

this

is

a

famine

and

pigs

will

just

eat

anything

but

they're

being

fed

these

!

pod

!

So

catch

what

Jesus

is

saying

here

this

man

is

finding

himself

in

such

a

desperate

place

that

he

wants

to

eat

something

that

he

knows

full

well

will

not

be

nourishing

to

him

he's

that

desperate

that

soul

sick

that

he's

looking

to

something

that

is

not

the

answer

to

his

issue

this

is

the

way

of

sin

seeking

to be

satisfied

with

that

which

will

never

satisfy

and

this

is

an

insanity

of

the

soul

we

are

offered

abundant

satisfaction

in

relationship

with

God

but

we

have

turned

and

are

possibly

turning

to

worthless

things

God

writes

through

the

pen

of

the

prophet

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 2:12–13

chapter

2

verses

12

to

13

be

appalled

oh

heavens

at

this

be

shocked

be

utterly

desolate

declares

the

Lord

for

my

people

have

committed

two

evils

they

have

forsaken

me

the

fountain

of

living

waters

and

hewed

out

cisterns

for

themselves

broken

cisterns

that

can

hold