"The Parables of Jesus" | Luke 15 & Matt 18 Part 2 | Pastor Keith

Luke chapter 15, remember we were doing the three parables,

Luke 15 · chapter mention

we're in the parable series of Jesus and we looked at the lost

sheep, lost coin and we got part way through the prodigal son and

we learnt that it's prodigal son's plural.

So open your Bibles to Luke 15 and we'll catch up from where we

were because remember the youngest son has returned home.

And in verse 25 it says now his oldest son was in the field and

as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and the

brother dancing. So he called one of the servants

and asked him what's going on? And he said to him, your brother

has come because he's received him safe.

Your father has killed the fatted calf.

He was 28, but he was angry and wouldn't go stop there.

So the parables, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly

meaning. And in these three parables that

Jesus is speaking, and he's speaking to the Pharisees at the

time. They're the listeners and and

it's about God is the seeker who finds us and then rejoices

greatly in heaven. Mentioned that twice and

rejoices. The seeker is God, the seeker is

God. So we've dealt with the youngest

son and the narrative then takes up the oldest son.

Verse 25, we read that. So the oldest son had received

his inheritance too. Remember we read last Wednesday

that the dad had divided up the inheritance.

He didn't just give the youngest son he's inheritance, he gave it

to them. So they both got their their

money before dad died, but he stayed around the house.

The older brother, his oldest son was in the field and when he

came and approached the house, he hears the music, there's joy,

there's dancing. And I really got the party going

really quick on the return of the son before even get get in

from the from the field before the day it even ended, he was

still working. So he summoned one of the other

workers. He said, what's what's, what's

going on? What's all the, all the noise

and all the, the joy going on. Your brother has come.

Your father has killed the fatted calf because he has

received him back safe and sound.

Verse 27, They're having a celebration because your sinful,

wretched, vile, polluted brother who lived in dissipation has

come home. This is so emblematic, isn't it,

of the tax collectors? That's the audience that's

hearing these three parables and sinners because they said,

Jesus, you're always hanging out and eating with sinners.

That's where this Jesus said then began to tell them the

stories, the parables to the Pharisees and all the sinners

came and hung out with Jesus. So the first son is so

illustrative of the outcast, the sinners, you and I and son

number 2 is definitely an illustration of the Pharisees,

the religious leaders in verse 28 it says, but he became what,

overjoyed. Oh my brother's son, awesome.

What angry he goes angry and he he said, I'm not going to the

party. He's really ticked off.

He's not about to eat dinner with a Sinner.

Notice the connection. I'm not eating with a Sinner.

He says dad came out and began entreating him.

Lo, these many years that I have been serving you verse 29.

I've never transgressed your commandment at any time.

Sounds like the rich young ruler, doesn't it?

Came to Jesus, said I want to follow you, and yet you never

gave me, not even a goat, that I might make merry of my friends.

But as soon as this son of yours said the language, as soon as

this son of yours came, who was devoured your livelihood with

harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.

And he said to him, son, you're always with me, and all that I

have is yours. It was right that we should make

merry and be glad. For your brother was dead.

He's alive again. It was lost.

And he's found many people have sympathy for the older brother.

Go. Yeah, well, he did the fair

thing now. Read the text.

Come and join me. Your brother's home.

You should be happy. That's it.

The Son did not have the heart of his father like that.

John picks that up. He loves his brother, has the

love of God within him. The Son rejoiced not in the

salvation of a lost and outcast brother, because he had not the

heart of his father. He did not love his father.

For if he'd loved his father, wouldn't he love what his father

loved? He would have entered into his

father's joy. Love does that.

Oh, Dad, you're so happy. Were you happy?

You're so. Oh, isn't that awesome?

I see, Dad. So good to see you happy.

You've been sitting out on the road waiting for him to come

home. And And now you can redo.

You don't have to sit out there all day and wait and watch.

Dad. So good.

So many years I've been serving you.

I've never neglected a command of yours.

Always been right on. As I said, sounds like the rich

young ruler. I've done all of these things.

Jesus, you've never given me even a goat, a kid.

But when this son of yours, he didn't say when This brother of

mine, it's his brother, blood brother whom I missed and loved.

Oh, great to see you home, man. I love he's devoured your wealth

with hearts. You've killed the fatted calf

for him. He's the Pharisee.

He doesn't know the heart of his father.

He has no compassion for the lost because the God the Father

3 parables The story is father has compassion for the lost.

He too is a lost son and the father seeks him as well.

Dad says, hey, why aren't you coming?

Come and join us, my child. You've always been with me.

Verse 31. All that I have is yours.

Everything that I have, I possess.

You can, you can have, but we had to be Mary and rejoice for

this brother of yours. That's what he says.

Not the son of mine, but this brother of yours is dead now.

He's alive. He's been found.

He was lost and he's been found. That's the key in all the three

parables. But self righteous people, self

righteous people cannot tolerate the forgiveness of sinners,

especially flagrant sinners. And so in this young man's heart

there is not the heart of his father.

He had no love for his father. He served only for out of duty.

For many years I've been serving him and I've been doing the

right thing. I've never neglected it.

It was all duty. That's what the religious

Pharisees do. They just do it because it's the

job. It was perfunctory duty.

And so there's no repentance in the older brother.

There's no confession of sin, no confession of sin.

And the older brother, all of sin, have fallen short of the

glory of God. There's none righteous, No, not

one. The Bible says there's no

submission to his Father's will. I'm not going.

I'm not hanging out with him. I'm not eating with him.

I'll do what I want to do. There's no entering into his

father's joy. Dad, just so wonderful.

You're happy. I'm happy.

God the father. If God's happy, I'm happy.

He doesn't know the heart of his father.

The first son in the story sees his sin.

Remember, he's sitting in the pig pen.

He feels the sorrow he repents. He humbles himself.

He says, oh man, I'm not even worthy to go home to be son.

I'm not even worth. If he could give me a job as a

worker, then that's all I hope can hope for.

And he receives the grace of his father.

He enters into the joy of his father and is restored to

sonship, the second son. No repentance, no confession of

the cold deadness of his own heart.

You know, Dad, you know I've been too much.

I should. I should be happy.

You're happy. My brother's home, man.

I I should be happy, shouldn't I?

What Luke is telling us is he gives us those 3 parables we've

done of our dear Lord is that the Lord seeks and to save those

who recognise their lostness. We're going to do chapter 4

Daniel on Sunday, one of the great chapters in the Old

Testament where a Sinner tells us about coming, coming to the

Lord. King Nebuchadnezzar comes to

comes to the Lord the apostle Paul who was so remember

snorting and breathing on his way to Damascus to get more

Christians arrested and put to death and he finds God.

You see what it is. This is that you and I if we had

the heart of the Father. We see the lostness in everyone

and we see God's heart for them. But self righteous Pharisees

notes, he's that person, my next door neighbour, that person

unsavable. Well, Nebuchadnezzar was

unsavable, greatest tyrant in the world.

Saul was unsavable. He could become Paul.

Guess what? You and I were unsavable.

But even for them, the Father says, you've always been around

and what is mine has always been available to you.

For God so loved the world. The invitation to come to

Christ, to the cross is open to everyone, to all our family, to

all our friends. The invitation, whosoever will

come, the heart of God is to seek and save the lost.

The Bible says God desires that, that all should come to

repentance. That is to be our heart today

who know Christ. The lost who come to Christ come

in recognition of sin. Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are they who mourn. That's mourning over that.

Look, look at, look at who I am. You see, if you're a genuine

Christian, then you recognise that you're a genuine Sinner in

the 1st place. You can't come to Christ until

you recognise I'm a Sinner lost and I need a saviour.

The problem with many church services today is they allow

people to make a prayer to to God in Christ's name and they

haven't mentioned anything about repentance or confession of sin

and they have a religious experience.

They leave and go away and nothing changes in their life

because they haven't become born again.

The lost to come to Christ come in recognition of sin, in

humiliation. Are you humiliated by your old

life, by your old ways? I'm humiliated even now when I

sin and I go, God, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that.

I grieve the Holy Spirit. I'm humiliated when I grieve the

Holy Spirit. I have a repentant attitude.

It's with me all the time because I know I don't deserve

his mercy or his grace, and I desire to submit to the leading

and guiding and sobering work of the Lord.

It's not like, well, if I become a Christian, do I have to give

up? Well, stop.

Then you're not ready because all you got to give up, as Paul

says, is manure. Remember, you got a bucket of

manure. And you mean I can't keep this

bucket of manure if I become a Christian.

And I will be happy to come to Christ and be nothing but a

slave. I think that would be wonderful

to be a slave for God. That's what Paul says.

Now that is the meaning in the parable form of this statement

for the Son of man has come to seek and save that which is

lost. Now jump with me back, turn left

and go to Matthew 18 where we continue in this, the series,

Matthew 18 verse 21 to 22 tonight, where there's been talk

Matthew 18:21–22

and, and it's been discussions about forgiveness.

Matthew 18, verse 21 and it talks about we're dealing with a

Matthew 18:21

sinning brother discipline in the church.

We're two or more gathered. In other words, we'll let's,

let's go and see our brother. He won't listen to me.

Well, it's two of us. Go, let's go and see our

brother. Mate, you're living in sin.

You can't do that. Oh, sorry, I repent.

We're two or more gathered. This is what it's about.

It's about discipline, but it's being righteous and it's been,

it's been forgiven to a brother. So it's talking about brothers

in the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ

is the background. So let's read verse 21.

And Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother

sin against me? And I forgive him?

Seven times. Jesus said to him, I did not say

to you up 7 times, but up 70 * 7.

Yeah. The the Jewishness behind this

is interesting because the rabbi's taught that anyone who

had been wronged was to forgive the perpetrator to and at the

most three times Peter being generous, he said, Lord, seven

times I could do 7 times, Jesus says to Peter, not seven, 490

times Peter, Peter's gone. How in the world are I'm going

to keep track of that? Laptops haven't been invented.

I can't, you know, I don't know how to use an Abacus yet.

That, in fact, was the point that Peter was being taught by

Jesus in this parable. Peter was thinking in the

measurable. How many times must I think of

the parable of the prodigals? How much you know, how much

forgiveness. It's the, it's the old brother

coming in. It's the Pharisee coming in

again. It's limited terms of law, not

the immeasurable and unlimited terms of grace.

Because grace is, we see it, an ocean and I'm drowning.

Grace is unmeasurable. Law keeps account.

That's six times you offended me.

Grace doesn't keep count. Jesus was not extending the

legal limit of forgiveness, not giving him a bigger ruler.

Jesus was teaching that a Christian with a forgiving heart

thinks nothing about forgiving, that he forgives the 100th

offence or the thousandth offence just as readily and

graciously as the first. Why?

Because that is the way he or she is forgiven by God.

How many times have you been forgiven by God since the day

you got saved? How many times have you been

forgiven today by God? Every time someone says

forgiven, the little bell goes up.

I just heard it, Tinkerbell. Another forgiveness tonight.

God wants to impart you something that has the power to

change lives. And I mean this to men, hearts

to bring healing to hurts and to release joy and strength because

there's a lot of unforgiveness around.

Remember the song 1965? Those are old enough.

Hal David wrote Burke Bacharach did the music.

What the world needs now is love.

No, what the world needs now, what marriages need now is

forgiveness. What your sons and daughters

need forgiveness. What you and I need from one

another is forgiveness. It's it's the most gracious gift

that you can give. It's godly.

It's wrapped in in the love of God.

Proverbs 15 one says a soft answer turns away wrath, but

grievous words stir up anger or what is forgiveness or to

forgive to It means to admit neglect, let go, give up a debt,

forgive to remit, to give up, to keep no longer, to allow, not to

hinder, to give up a thing to a person.

Forgiveness is surrendering. Listen to this.

I like this. Forgiveness is surrendering my

right because you've hurt me to hurt you for hurting me.

Say that again. Forgiveness is surrendering my

right to hurt you because you've hurt me.

So the background again to this parable.

Jesus has just finished teaching about discipline within the

church, verses 15 to 20. Peter himself obviously was a

believer, and his reference to a brother, if a brother sins, so

it's about fellow believers, is the context here, especially in

the light of the fact that chapter 18 focuses in on

believers, the Lord's little ones who believe in him, verse 6

and 10. So Jesus is illustrating in this

whole context of this chapter the need for believers to

forgive each other. I can't get over how many people

lead churches and I won't mention any details, but people

leave churches because someone in church offended them.

I'm going what is going on with that?

Because the first thing that you should do is the 2 of you should

get together, go to God and get it sorted out.

Well, I'm going to another church because I'm offended.

That's wrong. That's not biblical.

So we have verse 23. We go, Jesus gives us the

parable. Therefore the Kingdom of heaven

is like a certain king who wants to settle accounts with his

servants. When he had begun to settle

accounts, one was brought to him and owed him 10,000 talents, but

he was not able to pay his master commander that he be sold

with his wife and children all that he had and that payment be

made. The servant therefore fell down

man he put on a show before him saying master, have patience

with me, I'll pay you all. Now he can't because the 10,000

talents here in today's the people investigated.

It's between 10 million and and and and on up to 250 million.

It's a lot of money so he can't pay it.

Then the master of the servant was moved with compassion,

released him and forgave him the dead.

But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants

who owed him. 100 denari, it's 100 days, it's a denari, it's a

day's work, 100 days, third of a year's salary.

He laid hands on him, took him by the throat, saying Pay me

what you owe. So his fellow servant fell down,

and his feet begged him, saying, Patience with me, I'll pay you

war. But he would not went through

him in the prison until he should pay the debt.

Debtors Prison. So when his fellow servants saw

what had been done, they were grieved and came and told their

master all that had been done. Then his master, after he called

him, said to him to the guide, being forgiven a lot.

You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you

begged me. Should you not also have had

compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on

you? And his master was angry and

delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was

due to him. Notice what God says, what

Christ says there. So my heavenly Father also will

do to you, if each of you from his heart does not forgive his

brother, his trespasses. This is not the unforgivable but

sin by the way. But it's a classic story of a

man who was forgiven the dead of 10 + 1,000,000.

Just think 10 million but it's way more.

And then cast into prison because of his failure to

forgive someone who owed him roughly today 17 bucks.

So really, what is the story about?

It's we're in the story, the parables about us again.

We owe a debt we have no possible way of repaying.

What is that? Our sins we can't repay, but we

have been graciously forgiven, as was the servant by his

master. And his debt was enormous.

And it's been, it's all gone. So is yours and mine.

Verse 28 to 30. He sees a much smaller debt than

somebody else. This guy has been figuring of

everything. He savagely condemns this

fellow. It says notice, it says a fellow

servant. No.

Verses 2829, but condemns him brutally for something much less

than when he when he was in debt.

Verse 31 to 35, the servant who was first forgiven much finds

himself due to his own forgiving heart.

Now he's in prison. Note that because of his

unforgiving heart, he's in gaol. That's where unforgiveness.

It locks you up. So what's the application?

We live in a world that is void of forgiveness.

I'll get you. I owe you.

Revenge is mine. The question and context of this

passage is that sadly and often, the world has invaded the church

and the church has become a place void of forgiveness.

If ever there was a place to find forgiveness, it should be

here now. But let me qualify.

This is not excusing a sinful of offence.

Sin is always sin, and true love and mercy never try to make sin

anything but what it is. But forgiveness does not

involve. The forgiveness does does

involve, I should say, ending the bitterness, the anger, the

resentment that not only does not remove a sin, but rather

adds to it. You see, heart forgiveness is

not possible for you and I. In our own powers.

We can't do that. We get hurt, well, I'm done.

Genuine forgiveness is not natural, it's supernatural, and

it's possible only as the indwelling Holy Spirit empowers.

The wife of Charlie Kirk forgave the person openly who shot and

killed her husband, William Arthur Ward said.

We are most like beasts when we kill.

We are most like men when we judge.

We are most like God when we forgive.

Only as we walk by the Spirit are we able not to carry out the

desires of the flesh, which among other things, is to hold a

grudge rather than to forgive. What unforgiveness does to those

who withhold forgiveness, It's self torment.

If you notice with me, the king originally delivered him from

prison. The first one owed a lot of

money, but the servant put himself back in.

The servant exercised justice and cast his fellow servant who

owed him 100 dinari into prison. So the king said to him, so you

want justice, you want to live by justice, Then justice you'll

get and threw him into gaol. You want to live by justice,

Here's justice. You're going to gaol.

I will do to you as you've done to others, the world's worst

prison. Prison is that prison of an

unforgiving heart. I remember doing a funeral, and

as I'm about to enter in, the son of the guy that we're

burying said to me, you know, I hate my dad.

I hated him. I still hate him today.

He's dead. I'm thinking, man, the problem

is not with a dead person because there's no problem

there. This person is is angry and and

the person that he's angry against is is dead.

You see, if we refuse to forgive others, then we are only

imprisoning ourselves and causing our own torment.

You see, remember Jesus gave the story of who forgives much.

He's in the house having dinner. The woman came in, wept over

him. Jesus said you know you, you

haven't given me a kiss. She never washed my feet.

This woman, she's not stopped. She loves me much because she's

been forgiven much. That's the problem for you and

IA Loving church is a church that recognise we're sinners and

God loves us and only by God's grace are we here.

A church that is unloving to people as they come in and to

one another is a church that hasn't recognised that they've

been forgiven of their sins. So the context of this parable,

remember, is not salvation, but it's forgiveness between

brothers and sisters. I want to clarify something as

we draw a close to this part because people say, well I won't

forgive and they think incorrectly, God doesn't forgive

me without my repentance. Therefore, I must withhold

forgiveness from others who sin against me until they properly

repent. Correct to like change.

That thinking is wrong because I do not stand in the same place

as God in the equation, and I never can.

God stands as one who has never been forgiven and never needs

forgiveness. I stand as one who has been

forgiven and needs continue forgiveness.

So it's important to understand too, there's a distinction that

we need to make between forgiveness and reconciliation.

Reconciliation forgiveness is like, oh, let's be mates and

great, you know, we're all doesn't work that way.

We're talking about you forgiving.

We're not talking about what the other person does at all.

We're not talking about what the other person does at all.

True reconciliation of relationship can only happen

when both parties are agreeable to it, and sometimes people

aren't, and this may require repentance on one or both of the

parties in the conflict. Forgiveness here.

This can be 1 sided for God so loved the world, but not

everyone has received it. Furthermore, forgiveness does

not necessarily shield someone from the civil or practical

consequences. The person that shot and killed

Charlie should go to gaol, should be in gaol for life.

As a matter of fact, you should get capital punishment as far as

I'm concerned. In that regard, level and

societal level should be punished by the magistrates.

Romans chapter 13 tells us that. Nevertheless, the principle

Romans 13 · chapter mention

stands clearly. The parable This parable was

given to make us more forgiving, not less forgiving.

No one could reasonably read this parable and think that

Jesus was trying to restrict the forgiveness of his disciples.

How? How far do I go, people who read

this? Therefore, sometimes maybe

somewhat stingy with forgiveness.

As your father in heaven is somewhat stingy with

forgiveness. Miss the whole point of the

parable. Instead, therefore, be merciful,

just as your Father is also merciful.

It's from the heart too. You see, if we forgive in words

only, but not from our hearts, we remain under the same

condemnation. And so the last line.

But let's wrap that up. So my Heavenly Father also will

do to you. It would be wrong to make this

into the idea that unforgiveness itself is the unforgivable sin.

It's not. It is better to say that

forgiveness is evidence of truly being forgiven, and that

habitual forgiveness may show that a person's heart has never

really sorry. Habitual unforgiveness may show

that a person's heart has never really been touched by the Lord.

If someone is just, you know, they just, well, obviously God's

their heart's not touched. Those who will not forgive

cannot expect to be forgiven. As James later wrote, judgement

is is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.

James 213. And here's the deal.

What's the greatest gift you can receive off someone?

I love it when Helen forgives me, makes me love her even more

and more. I love it when God Forgives me.

It makes me love him more and more and more.

Maybe sometimes his love is not flowing from us because we're

holding on. Guess what?

You're not forgiving someone. They're not getting hurt by it.

Like that dead person. The son person was dead.

But the son who still hated his dad even though he was dead?

He's in gaol, he's dead and he's living.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your

word. It's a lamp unto our feet and a

light unto our path. Lord, help us to be forgiving.

We can't do it when we're hurt. It hurts and we we want

vengeance sometimes. God help us not to be that way

and help us not to be like animals.

Help us to live like you and Lord, help us to be gracious.

Father, anyone here tonight and watching who's in a gaol that

they put themselves in because they're unforgiving.

Lord, I pray that they'll release, be released, that they

have the key to open the door to walk out of that prison cell

they've made for themselves. I pray that you would do this

Father now in Jesus name.