JESUS ON ANGELS AND PARTYING

Father, we thank you for Jesus.

We thank you, Father, that he left the glory of heaven

to set aside his glory and majesty and divine prerogatives

to humble himself and take into himself our human nature.

We give you thanks and praise that he came

and was born amongst us through the Virgin Mary

for his life on earth, his simple life.

We thank you, Father, for his miracles,

for his mighty teaching.

We thank you, Father, most of all,

that he died upon the cross for us,

that the cross is the power that comes from you for salvation.

We thank you, Father, that Jesus tasted all there is

to taste of death, and he did that for us.

And we thank you, Father, that he rose triumphant

over sin and death and all hostile spiritual powers

in his mighty resurrection.

Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit

would gently but deeply fall upon us this morning.

We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit

would both humble us,

and at the same time, Father,

help us to come to ourselves

so that we might turn to Jesus

ever more fully and completely.

All this we ask in the name of Jesus,

your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

Please be seated.

You're going to need your Bibles

because we're going to look actually this morning.

I'm not going to have a whole pile of points.

I have three pictures and a Bible.

So, Andrew, if you could put the first picture up,

that would be great,

the first work of art.

If you could put it up, that would be great.

We're going to be looking at Luke 15.

So, if you have your Bibles,

it would be really great.

We're going to slowly read Luke 15 this morning.

And if you don't have your Bibles with you,

there's always a few Bibles up here at the front,

and you're welcome to come and take them.

This is a...

I hope you can see it all right.

It's an interesting picture.

It shows it's a triptych.

It shows a sheep,

and then it shows the sheep.

You can sort of see a snake there at the bottom.

You can see the vulture.

You can see the sheep is caught in thorns.

And then you see a picture of a shepherd

carrying the sheep back.

And we're going to read the parable

that influenced and inspired that.

But just I want to mention something first

about the picture.

The woman who drew that,

there's a famous literary critic,

an artistic critic in England

during the 19th century,

and he believed that women couldn't paint.

And he met this young woman

and saw some of her paintings,

and he said that this woman changed his mind

on whether a woman could paint.

But shortly after that encounter,

she came to faith in Jesus,

and she continued to paint and draw.

But then she felt that God was calling her

to go to an unreached people group,

to lost sheep,

and to tell them about Jesus.

So she made several attempts

to get on with the mission agency,

and she always failed the physical.

She was from money,

and she had two other women friends

who were also of money.

So the three of them decided

that they were just going to go to Algeria.

They didn't speak French.

They didn't speak Arab.

They don't know a single person there.

They just decided they would go to Algeria

and start to share the gospel.

And that's where she spent the rest of her life.

And this picture here

and others were just part of the little notes

that she did.

She didn't do anything to get published

or become famous.

But she continued to paint occasionally

and draw occasionally,

and these are all sort of,

this was found in her notes after her death,

because she spent the rest of her life in Algeria.

So what causes people to do such things like this,

turn their back on artistic fame

and on money and comfort,

and go to a place like Algeria in 18,

I think it was 1878,

not knowing the languages,

and just determined to learn the languages

and meet the people and tell them about Jesus?

Well, these three parables,

so we're going to look at these three linked parables,

this helps us to understand

and maybe be caught by something similar,

not that God is necessarily calling us

to forsake everything

and go and do something like that,

although he may call some to do such things,

but to at least get a sense of what it is

that can come into a human heart

that could so change them.

So Luke 15,

they're sort of all famous parables.

We don't always sort of understand

or remember that they all flow one into another.

They're in fact all very specifically linked,

and it's Luke 15, verse 1,

Luke 15:1

it starts like this.

Now the tax collectors,

and in Jesus' times,

tax collectors were basically

helping the occupying power

keep the Jewish people in their place,

and they were all, as a rule,

deeply corrupt.

They were thieves.

Now the tax collectors and sinners,

and this word in Jesus' time

meant that they were,

they'd probably been,

they were people who were in and out of jail,

they were people who were thieves,

they were probably prostitutes,

or just like a whole group of people

who sort of like the underclass of society

that did a whole pile of things

connected to vices.

And so the tax collectors and sinners

were all drawing near to hear Jesus.

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled.

And in the original language,

it sort of,

they didn't just grumble once.

The grumbling was long.

It went on for a while.

In fact,

they were in danger of becoming a grumble.

You know,

some of us,

that's the danger with every grumble.

It can start as a grumble,

and before we know it,

we have become a grumble.

We're only a grumble.

And they grumble and said,

this man receives sinners and eats with them.

And so Jesus 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 note that again here.

Isn't it really interesting?

Not only does he go,

I mean,

that's this wonderful triptych, eh?

It shows the sheep getting lost.

What happens when it's lost?

It shows the shepherd.

But it's,

I have found my sheep that was lost.

And verse seven,

just so I tell you,

there will be more joy in heaven

over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous persons

who needs no repentance.

Now,

this is a pretty cool story.

It's a pretty neat picture.

And,

but,

you know,

here's the thing that really struck me.

On,

I wish I could tell you that I'm so smart

and so perceptive

that it struck me

the first time I read the text,

but it didn't

because I'm not that smart

and I'm not that perceptive.

If we were going to tell people

a story about repentance,

would we use this story

about what it means to repent?

Listen again to how the story,

how Jesus summarizes the story.

Just so I tell you,

there will be more joy in heaven

over the one,

over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous persons

who need no repentance.

But if you think about it in the story,

that sheep does nothing.

That sheep does absolutely nothing.

This isn't a parable about the sheep

doing a particular ritual,

feeling a particular thing,

feeling guilty.

It's not a story about a sheep saying,

oh, here I am caught all up in these brambles

and the little sheep falls down on its knees

and goes,

shepherd, come and find me.

The sheep does nothing.

Every single thing in the story

is all about the shepherd

with nothing left out.

The shepherd notices that the sheep is gone.

The shepherd goes looking for the sheep.

The shepherd finds the sheep.

The shepherd picks up the sheep.

The shepherd brings home the sheep.

And then Jesus says,

this is a story about repentance.

Isn't that really puzzling?

Like, this is a,

this,

if we just are honest for a second,

this actually doesn't make very much sense

to us.

Because we would think that a story about repentance

would be more about

somebody falling on their knees

or maybe somebody falling,

crying or calling out to God.

That's what we would think repentance is about.

But Jesus says this is a repentance story

and it doesn't seem as if the sheep does any repenting.

The sheep is completely and utterly helpless and passive.

Well, maybe Jesus is going to correct it

with the next parable.

But actually, in the next parable,

Jesus makes it worse

because he uses an inanimate object

as the heart of the parable.

If you could put up the next painting.

This is also by a 19th century painter.

And this actually is also one

that has a conversion story connected to it.

This fellow was the,

the illustrator,

the painter of this

was very, very successful in France.

And he's,

his big specialty was painting rich ladies

who were all dolled up.

And in fact,

now Hollywood and others

use his paintings

to try to get a bit of a picture

about what people

in the late 1800s,

how they dressed,

especially rich women.

And he had a very, very fine

and it was celebrated

and then he met Jesus.

And after he met Jesus,

after a bit of a struggle,

all he did after that

was his only goal

was to paint stories

that illustrated

and brought the Bible home.

I'm not saying

that was the right decision,

but that's what God

put on his heart.

That after making his living,

painting rich people,

that he would paint the Bible

to help us to understand

and see what the Bible

was talking about.

So here, remember,

we said that the last,

the first thing,

it's a very, very odd

repentance story.

Like, where's the repentance?

This sheep does nothing.

Well, how does Jesus fix this problem?

He tells this parable.

Or, see, Jesus links it.

Or, verse 8,

what woman,

having 10 silver coins,

or drachma,

and that means

it's the equivalent

to one day's wage

for an average working person.

Okay, that's how much

the coin is worth.

So what woman,

having 10 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.

How does Jesus

summarize the parable?

Just so I tell you,

there is joy

before the angels of God

over one sinner

who repents.

And look,

there's a couple of things

that are really interesting here.

There is joy

before the angels of God.

So in the first one,

the angels throw a party.

Who's the one

jumping up and down in joy

in front of the angels?

It's God.

In the first one,

it's angels doing,

whoo,

here it's God doing it.

In front,

the angels are watching.

And once again,

look at that.

It's over,

in verse,

look at that in verse 10 again.

Just so I tell you,

there is joy

before the angels of God

over one sinner

who repents.

Jesus says,

this is a story

about repentance.

Yet,

it's a coin.

But what's that coin doing

to be found?

That coin's not calling out

to the lady.

Come on, lady,

please find me.

I'm way here in the corner.

I feel really lonely.

I feel broken.

I feel depressed.

I need you, lady.

Like,

the coin's not doing

anything like that.

The coin's a coin.

It's just sitting there.

The lady does everything.

Like,

even more than the sheep.

At least you could say

with the shepherd

that maybe he'd help

to find the sheep

because it's going,

bah,

bah,

two terrible sheep.

Bah.

And that helps the shepherd

to find the sheep.

But that coin does nothing.

In fact,

in this picture,

it's not even glinting.

It's just off

in a dark corner.

And yet,

Jesus says,

this is a repentance story.

So here's the first thing

that's going to rock our world.

Okay?

Um,

you see,

one of the problems

that I have in this church

is that I believe

that I'm the center

and everything else

has to revolve around me.

It's a problem

in my family as well.

If the family

would just get on the page

that I'm the center

and everything revolves around me,

everything would go far easier.

See,

the problem is

everybody in my family

thinks the same thing.

And the other problem

is that everybody

in the church

thinks the same thing.

You know,

if the pastor

would just do everything

exactly the way

I want it to be done,

things would go a lot smoother.

You know,

if the Sunday school,

if the singers,

if everybody's just...

See,

that's the problem.

We're so deeply entrenched

in thinking

that we're the center

so that even

when we think

of repentance,

we think it's all about us.

That's why

there's lots of people

in Canada

who asked Jesus

into their life

27 times

and have been baptized

five times

because the first time

they didn't have

the fine emotional feelings

they had to have

or their baptism

wasn't the profound

religious experience

they thought it should be.

And so,

therefore,

their repentance

is all ultimately,

ironically,

about me.

Now,

isn't that absurd?

If repentance

is about coming to God

and it's all about me,

like there's something

deeply out of whack

about that.

But the fact of the matter is

is that we can be

out of the whack

about ourselves

most of the time

and think it's normal

and not even be shocked.

You see,

the very,

very first thing

that these first two parables do

is they want us

trying to communicate

several things.

First,

to rock our world,

to knock us off balance,

to understand

that one moment,

this is all about repentance,

but I do nothing.

I do nothing.

I do nothing.

The first thing

is to understand,

the Bible's trying

to understand it

is that Jesus

left heaven.

He set aside

his glory

and divine prerogatives.

He set aside

his appearance

as God,

his majesty.

He still remains

fully God.

He brings into himself

our human nature.

He's born

of a young woman

in a remote part

of the Roman Empire

at a time

that the Jewish people

were under occupation.

He lives a normal

working class life.

He has three years

of teaching.

He has very few possessions.

He teaches.

He does all of this thing,

but it's all a story.

Jesus knows we're lost.

Jesus knows

that we were made for God.

Jesus knows

that we don't know

that we're lost.

Jesus goes seeking for us.

Jesus is the one

who provides

everything that is needed

for us to go home

to where we truly belong.

And Jesus is the one

who finds us.

And our repentance

is just us

entering into something

that Jesus does.

In a sense,

the emotions

we might or might not

feel in repentance

is the emotion

we get

when the coin

feels the hand

of the lady

on it.

It's

the sheep

being found,

but it's all

from first to last

the work of Jesus.

And we,

in a sense,

are brought

into that story,

brought into

what he does,

and repentance

is just that

being brought

into it.

It's something

that Jesus

does it all.

You can imagine

how terrifying

this would be

to the Pharisees

and Sadducees.

Good grief.

Does that mean

we don't have

to do anything?

Does that mean

we can live

completely and utterly

immoral,

dissolute lives?

Jesus,

you are telling

something which is

deeply troubling

and worrying

and will only lead

to a completely

terrible thing.

Jesus,

the stories

aren't going to deal

with that.

Jesus just stays

on his own track,

and that's the

first thing

that we have

to see about

this story.

It's all done

by Jesus.

And then Jesus

tells the third

parable,

because obviously

there's some

other complexities

to this image.

If you could put up

the third and final

picture,

and it's just

the very,

very,

very famous

picture by Rembrandt.

17th century,

the return

of the prodigal.

Beautiful picture.

Beautiful,

beautiful painting.

Quiet colors,

tenderness.

And this is inspired

by the third parable

that Jesus tells.

Verse 11.

And he said,

there was a man

who had two sons.

Let's sort of pause

there for a second.

There's some things

in the original language

which we can't get

in English.

I suppose if we wanted

to try to play around

with the Bible,

you'd maybe be able

to do it,

but it would still

confuse people.

It would look very,

very odd.

But in the original

language,

there was a way

that a particular

word or phrase

could be made

emphatic

so that people

who are reading it

would understand

that,

whoa,

okay,

this is like,

it would be as if,

you know,

it would be as if

you're reading this

on the page

and as the cursor

touches it,

it blows up

so that you realize

it's emphatic

or it's bolded

or that there's

arrows towards it.

And in this story,

the way it begins,

there was a man

and man,

the father,

is emphatic.

See,

in fact,

some ways,

you see,

Rembrandt catches

that just a little bit,

not as much as he should

because,

you see,

really,

your eyes are naturally

drawn to the face

of the father

in that picture,

aren't you?

In some ways,

in a very deep way,

Rembrandt got it.

that this is actually,

even though it's called

often the parable

of the prodigal son,

it's actually the story

of the father.

The father is the key actor

in the story,

the dad,

not the two boys.

And so here's,

so here,

now that there was a man

who had two sons

and the younger said

to the father,

father,

give me the share

of property

that is coming to me.

And he divided

his property

among them.

Just sort of pause

there for a second.

In the original language,

the word property

is actually the life.

Give me the share

of the life

that is coming to me.

So what he's actually

asking is

that the son

wishes that his father

was dead

so that he could

collect his inheritance.

inheritance.

That's,

that's what the son

is asking.

The son is really

saying to the dad,

dad,

I wish you were dead

so I could have

the inheritance,

that share of your life

which is due me.

And this is a,

you know,

it's,

once again,

it's a very,

very apparently

unspiritual idea.

But one of the things

that the Bible

is trying to communicate

to us all the time

is that

a deep part

of every human being

wishes God dead.

A deep part

of every human being

is wishing God dead

and that we could

have his stuff.

And many of us

go to work

Monday to Friday

with a boss

that acts that out.

I'm God.

Many of us maybe

are in marriages

or have friends

like that.

But the Bible

is going to try

to communicate

to us

that every single

one of us

at some level

desires God dead.

God is dead.

I want his stuff.

I want his job.

Who better than me?

No, you can't say

that to yourself.

I'm saying that, okay?

I'm going to be one God.

So the young son

wants the father dead.

Verse 12 again.

And the younger of them

said to his father,

Father,

give me the share

of property,

the inheritance

that is coming to me.

And this is

just a parable.

It's really funny

reading academic commentaries.

They get in long discussions

about completely irrelevant

parts of the story.

Jesus isn't asking

you to start to analyze

all the different intricacies

of how this would go about.

It's a story.

Get to the point, okay?

So anyway,

I had to keep reading

the commentaries.

Good grief,

you missed the point.

Anyway,

not many days later,

the younger son

gathered,

verse 13,

all that he had

and took a journey

into a far country.

And there he squandered

his property

in reckless living,

in riotous living.

In other words,

he did a lot of

very, very naughty things

and completely blew

all the wad of money.

In verse 14,

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 field

to feed pigs.

And he was longing

to be fed

with the pods

that the pigs ate

and no one

gave him anything.

And in the original language,

no one

is emphatic.

It's bolded.

So the story

is trying to say

that this young guy

there in the rags,

he blows everything

and now he has to go

and hire himself

out to a pagan

and the pagan

gives him a job

feeding the pigs.

He still doesn't

get enough to eat.

The famines come.

He's completely

and utterly alone.

Now, here's a little bit

of a pause.

I like reading

movie reviews.

I like watching movies.

And there's one

movie reviewer

that I read

fairly regularly

who will remain nameless.

But this particular

movie reviewer,

I know that

if they don't like

a movie,

it might mean

I like it.

If they really

like a movie,

I probably won't

like it.

Because this movie

reviewer,

the type of movies

that they like,

I'm trying to make sure

you can't figure out

who it is.

You know,

if it ends

with everybody

depressed

and committing

suicide

and lives ruined,

it gets lots

of stars.

Generally speaking,

I don't want to

watch a movie

that's all about

complete and utter

failure

and depression.

There's enough

depressing things

in the world,

I don't want to

usually spend

two hours

watching a movie

that wants to

make me depressed.

But if we were

watching one of

those types

of movies,

it would end

right here.

Young guy

starts off

rich,

privileged,

the party guy,

the fraternities,

he wishes

the dad dead,

he wastes his money,

the famine comes,

he's completely

and utterly

desolate,

and then the

credits roll.

And this movie

reviewer will give

it five stars.

Maybe you like

movies like that,

that's fine,

we can all like

different types

of movies.

But the parable

could end there,

and some people

think it would be

a better story

if it ended there,

but the parable

doesn't end there.

The parable

is going to go

to another part,

and here's what

happens in verse 17.

But when the

young guy

came to himself,

you might not

have noticed

when I was,

I mentioned this

a little bit

in my prayers.

One of the

interesting things

about this story

is that coming

to ourselves

and coming

to Jesus

aren't

contradictions,

but fit

together.

You see,

it's part of

this biblical

idea that

just as on

one part,

there's part

of every single

human being,

it doesn't matter

if you're

Pope Francis,

it doesn't matter

if you're Billy Graham,

it doesn't matter

if you're George

Sinclair,

it doesn't matter

if you're Mother Teresa,

it doesn't matter

if you're Joe Blow

or Susie Smith,

that there's part

of every single

human being

that is in rebellion

against God

and wants God dead.

But the other part

of the biblical truth

is a deeper,

older truth

that God really

did make us

for himself,

that he made us

to fit into

this created order.

And so at a

very,

very deeper level

that when we

start to come

back to God,

we're also

actually coming

into our right

mind.

What we were

made for,

what really

fits us.

Verse 17,

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.

Just sort of

notice two things

in that text.

It's a whole

other series.

It's a whole

ethics lecture.

But one of the

things which

distinguishes the

Christian understanding

of the world from

non-Christian

understanding of the

world is that

every wrong act,

if I steal money

from this congregation,

I've not only

harmed you,

but I've wronged

God.

That every wrong

act is not only

something wrong

against a person

or an animal

or the created

order,

but it's always

as well a

wronging of God.

That's why the

young son says,

father,

I've sinned

against heaven,

in other words,

you,

and you.

I've sinned

against you,

dad,

and I've sinned

against God.

And then he's

going to go back

to his father.

He's not going

to make any

excuses.

And in fact,

in the original

language,

there's three levels

of servants

slash slaves.

And the word

which is used

here is the

lowest of the

three.

But he's going

to go back

to his father

and he's going

to say,

father,

here's what

we see,

right?

Part of that.

Just take me

back as the

lowest servant

you possibly

have.

Verse 20.

So he arose

and came

to his father.

But while

the young man

was still

a long way

off,

his father

saw him

and felt

compassion

and ran

and embraced

him

and kissed

him.

That's

obviously

going to happen

just after

this picture

right here.

in the

original

language,

the father

seen

is emphatic.

In other

words,

Jesus is

telling the

original

hearers,

one moment,

remember this,

this is not a

story about

the younger

son,

this is a

story about

the father.

That's

emphatic.

And so

what's

emphasized

is not

so much

the journey

of the

son back,

but that

the father

sees the

son long

before the

son sees

the father.

And long

before the

son realizes

that the

father is

there,

the father

does something

which an

ancient Jewish

father would

not have

done,

he runs.

And he

runs to

the son

and throws

himself upon

the son.

And if we

were watching

a typical

Hollywood movie,

that's how

the movie

would end,

right?

I mean,

if the

movie can't

end with

everybody

clapping,

or if the

movie can't

end with

the guy

and the

girl kissing,

then the

movie will

end with

some type

of reconciliation

like that.

That's the

type of movie

that Disney

likes.

That's the

type of movie

that's very,

very popular

in our

culture.

It ends

with the

father and

the son

reconciled,

hugging,

and all that

other messy

stuff is not

necessarily

discussed,

and the

credits roll

and some

nice piece

of music

that hopefully

will end up

being very

popular goes

in the

credits,

and we all

get up and

walk out of

the theater,

and we've

now watched

a Disney

film.

But Jesus

doesn't end

the parable

where Disney

would end

the parable.

Jesus is

going to go

after the

heart,

not the

emotions,

but the

center of

who we

are.

He's going

to figure

out a little

bit more

fully what's

going on

with the

son,

and that

continues in

verse 21.

The son

has his

sinner's

prayer all

prepared.

I don't

know if

you're from

an evangelical

type of

background,

but one

of the

reasons that

sometimes people

feel they

have to keep

asking Jesus

into their

life to

save them

or be

baptized is

because he

didn't quite

get the

words of

the sinner's

prayer right.

As if

sinner's

prayer is

like one

of those

long

passwords you

get from

a bank

that has

15 different

characters,

and if you

don't get

every single

character right,

the web

page doesn't

let you

log in.

And a lot

of people

think that

the sinner's

prayer is

like a

long,

complicated

log

in

ID and

password,

and you've

got to get

it all

right,

or God

will just

go,

good grief,

I'm going

to shut

this page

down,

they can't

get the

stupid

web address

right.

And that's

how a lot

of Christians

somehow

think.

So the

son has

his sinner's

prayer ready,

and he

starts into

it in

verse 21,

and the

son said

to him,

I guess

that's what's

going on

right now,

the son's

kneeling,

and says,

Father,

I have

sinned

against

heaven

and before

you,

and I

am no

longer

worthy to

be called

your son.

And you

know what's

really,

really neat

is that he

gets two-thirds

through the way

of the prayer,

and the

father interrupts

him.

Father

stops him.

Word for

word,

two-thirds

of it is

word for

word what

was just

he prepared

his sinner's

prayer,

and the

father

interrupts

him.

You see,

God is

not waiting

for you

and me

to get

a sinner's

prayer

right,

like it's

some password

to log

into a

web page.

Why?

Because it's

not really

a story

about the

younger son,

it's a

story about

the father.

Why?

Because remember,

the sheep

did nothing,

neither did

the coin,

it's all

the shepherd,

it's all

the woman,

and here

the father

is the

center of

the action,

and it's

all because

of what

Jesus has

done for

us on

the cross

that we

can be

reconciled

to him,

and it's

all because

he has

sought us

that we

can be

found.

The father

has to come

and realize

that he's

part of

this drama

that's all

about Jesus

coming and

seeking us

in the

father's

heart for

us,

and that's

the overwhelming

heart,

the overwhelming

action,

and we get

included,

we get

found,

and so it's

showing here

a little bit

of the inner

dynamic,

but we only

start to go

a little bit

of the way

through it,

and the father

doesn't even

say,

well,

actually,

son,

you should

have said

this.

It just

starts,

and the

father says,

and the

father says,

bring,

verse 22,

bring quickly

the best

robe,

the best

robe would

have been

his.

He clothes

his son

with his

robe.

I mean,

good grief,

you can just

imagine when

St. Paul

heard this

later on,

and now you

can understand

a little bit

about the

book of

Galatians,

and the

book of

Romans,

and the

book of

Philippians,

and the

book of

Colossians,

and you

can understand

Thessalonians,

and you can

understand this,

that you can

understand other

Christians,

Hebrews,

and John,

and they all

talk about

being clothed

with the

righteousness

of Christ,

that we do

not,

in a sense,

come before

God with

our own

good deeds,

our own

discipleship,

our own

exemplary

conduct,

that we only

come before

the father.

He does

not weigh

our merits,

but pardons

our offenses.

He clothes

us with

his righteousness,

and this

story of

the father

and the

two sons,

and this

image that

the son,

who's completely

and utterly

destitute,

who can't

even finish

the sinner's

prayer,

that before

he finishes

the sinner's

prayer,

the father

clothes him

with his

robe,

the best

robe,

and so he

will stand

before the

father,

clothed with

the father's

robe.

in the

father's

embrace.

That's what

Jesus does

for us on

the cross.

And our

repentance,

our

repentance,

our

repentance,

it's really

just God

doing all

this stuff

for us.

You know

when I say

the mission

statement of

this church

is making

disciples gripped

by the gospel

living for

his glory.

What a

difference it

makes to be

gripped by a

story like

this.

To be

gripped by a

story like

this will

change how

we live.

It doesn't

mean we

live a

certain way

so that the

father will

put his

robe upon

us, but

to understand

that he

sees us,

he finds

us, he

clothes us,

as that

story grips

us, we

are changed

in how we

act.

But it

goes on,

so verse

22 again,

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.

Remember

the earlier

stories of

the shepherd

and the

celebrations

all the way

through it

and they

celebrate.

Now you

know,

remember I

said to

you, my

movie reviewer

who likes

dark, depressing

movies and

they would

stop movies

at one point

and Walt

Disney would

say, no, no,

no, no, you

don't stop

movies then.

You keep

going, oh,

and the

hugs.

You stop

the movie

there.

Soundtrack,

theme song,

inspiring music

and then, you

know, us

evangelicals

will say, no,

no, no, you

don't stop

the story then.

You keep

going and you

stop the story

with the

sinner's prayer

clothed and

the robe

and then we

would want to

stop the

story there

but Jesus

doesn't stop

the story

there because

Jesus is going

after our

heart.

And so Jesus

continues the

story because

there's another

brother.

Now, his

older son was

in the field

and as he

came and drew

near, that's

verse 25,

near to the

house he heard

music and

dancing.

one 19th

century commentator

had a long

aside on

whether or

not this

Bible passage

justified

Christians

dancing.

He tried to

show that it

didn't.

I'm neutral

on the

subject.

Although if

you ever saw

me dance,

you'd say

Christians

shouldn't

dance.

This is how

I dance.

I just jump

up and down,

probably not in

rhythm.

But anyway,

we won't go

any further

with that.

And he

called one

of the

servants and

asked what

these things

meant.

This is the

older brother.

And the

servant said

to the

older brother,

your brother

has come

and your

father has

killed the

fattened

calf because

he has

received him

back safe

and sound.

But the

older brother

was angry

and refused

to go in.

His father

came out

and entreated,

implored the

older son.

But the

older son

answered his

father,

look,

these many

years I have

served you and

I 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.

What is it,

the heart of

the older

son?

For it's

all I,

all me.

You know

what?

he understands

that all

the years

he was

serving his

father and

with the

father,

it was

like being

an unpaid

slave.

He

portrays

his time

with the

father as

if he