Home • Preaching the Word • Luke
The Parable of the Prodigal Son, or the Everlasting Love of the Father
Preached March 11, 2010 at a Mission in Downtown Birmingham, AL by Jake Hanson.
Luke 15:11-32
This parable is most often called the parable of the prodigal son. A parable is a natural story that tells us something about the spiritual world—the kingdom of God, ourselves, or God Himself. There are many ways we can look at this parable, but tonight, I want to look at this parable in light of what it tells us about the Lord God, our heavenly Father. For in this parable, we get a glimpse of the everlasting love of the Father for His children.
Let’s walk through this story and see the nature of this love.
First, we learn from this parable that the Lord God, the Father, in His loving compassion allows us—by our own choice—to taste the complete and total emptiness of life apart from Him. (vs 11-19)
Jesus tells us the story of a man with two sons. The younger son who is apparently dissatisfied with his life with his family, asks his father for his inheritance so that he can leave. / The story does not tell us what the father thought about his son’s request, but I imagine he was very disappointed. Perhaps he thought that the only way to win this son’s loyalty and love was to let him go and see how good he has had it at home.
Let me just say that I do not think Jesus is telling us here how to be parents, or that this is the one appropriate response to a child who is unhappy at home. Jesus is using this earthly story to teach us spiritual truth.
The young man gathers his possessions, in verse 13, leaves for a distant country—as far from his father as he can get—and there he squanders and wastes all his money in sinful living.
And then in verse 14, the fortunes of this young man change. We are told that he had spent all his money and now there was a famine in the land which would have crippled the economy far worse than what our economy is today. He was without money, without food, and so he went to hire himself out to one of the citizen’s of the country and was given the least desirable of jobs—the feeding of pigs.
Pigs are those disgusting animals that role around in the mud, snort, rub their noses in everything, and will eat whatever scraps and rotting vegetables that are set before them.
We get a glimpse of how desperate this young man’s situation is in verse 16 where we read that “he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods [those rotting vegetables and leftover scraps] that the pigs were eating.”
He had left his father’s house for this? In his father’s house, he ate regularly, and had need of nothing. But now he longed, not for the comforts of home, but for the disgusting slop reserved for the pigs!
The text tells us that he came to his senses and thought, “Even the workers at my father’s house are eating well, but I am dying of hunger.” So in verse 18, he resolved in his heart to go back to his father and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”
Some of you tonight might be spiritually in a distant country. You have run away from the Lord God to wander around in the lusts of your flesh, and the Lord has let you. But He has not let you go to this distant country to make you suffer forever. He has let you go so that you might see how empty life is apart from Him so that you might return to Him with all your heart.
You will soon find, if you have not found already, that what the distant country of sin has to offer is so lacking and miserable that you will long for the rotting scraps reserved for pigs. But what you may not realize is that there is available to you a feast—a magnificent feast of living bread—if you would just return home to the arms of your loving Lord.
For, The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Second, we learn from this parable that the Father longs for the return of His wayward children. (vs 20)
Look at verse 20. “So [the younger son] got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him…”
For loving parents whose children have run away or been kidnapped, every time the phone rings, they wonder, “Is it my child?” Every time they here the door open, a car pull up, a creak while they are sleeping, their heart beats a little faster as they think, “has my lost one returned?”
The father in this story was looking for any sign of his son’s return as he looked toward the distant horizon. The Lord also is looking for any signs of His wayward children’s return. No matter how far you have gone. No matter the darkness and distance of the country of sin you have ventured, Jesus is watching and waiting and longing for your return that He might run to you and embrace you in His most merciful and loving nail-pierced arms.
For the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Third, we learn from this parable that the Father is rich in mercy, ready and willing to restore His wayward children to the full blessings and rights of children in the household of God. (vs 21-24)
The young son was back, but he no longer felt entitled to the privileges of being a son. Before, he had demanded what was due to him. Now, he felt unworthy to be his father’s son, and indeed his father had every right to make him a second-class member of the household—a slave or a worker. But this father would have none of it. This was, and always would be his son. So we read in verse 22 that he clothed him with the best clothes, with a ring that made clear he was a son with the full authority of the father, and sandals to show that he is not a slave. And finally, he ordered a feast, a party, to celebrate his son’s return. His father was demonstrating to him that he accepted him fully, unquestionably, unequivocally back into his household as his son.
And this is what the Lord God does for those children who return from the distant country of sin. The Bible teaches us over and over again about the mercy of God. He is able, willing and faithful to forgive you all of your sins and to cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness if you would just confess and repent of your sins. Just as this earthly father clothed his son with fine linens, so also the Lord clothes His children with righteousness through the blood of Jesus Christ, and grants us His authority through the power of the Holy Spirit, and our feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace that we might declare the excellencies of Jesus Christ to this world in need of His mercy and love. // No mercy is withheld from the children of God, for our God is “rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.” And the Lord, and the holy angels all celebrate, for His children were dead and have come back to life, they were lost and have been found.
Oh the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Fourth, we learn from this parable about the surpassing riches of the Father’s grace toward all of His children. (vs 25-32)
Before we walk through the last section of this story, I want to share with you the difference between mercy and grace as I see it. Mercy, like we just talked about is not getting the punishment that you deserve. (Repeat) Grace, on the other hand is receiving the blessings which you did not earn and do not deserve. Our God is exceedingly rich in both mercy and grace.
But let’s look at the rest of this story starting in verse 25. The story turns to the older son—the son who stayed with his father. Notice, though, that even though he stayed close by, his heart was in a distant country. When he returned from the field to hear the celebration, he was angry and would not come in to join the celebration, even though the father himself implored him to come in.
Why would he not go to the party? We find the reason in verse 29. We read, “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends.” Do you notice the shift? The father, in verse 23 had said, “Let us eat and celebrate.” But the older son was so self-centered that he wanted a party thrown for him, so he could celebrate with his friends.” One of the most dangerous words we ever learn as children is “me” and “mine.” We become little monsters, going around saying, “That’s mine. Me. Me. Me.” And often we carry this self-centeredness through our whole lives.
But this feast, this party, this celebration was not just for the younger son. It was for the whole household to celebrate—including the older son. And it was a reminder of the tender mercy and grace of the father and all his benefits. And it was a time to celebrate the fact that his brother had returned. / The older son was too concerned with himself to celebrate the return of his brother. You see, he had forgotten to look at how gracious his father had been to him through the years, and took for granted the daily bread and shelter he had received. He had forgotten to look to the faithful love of his father. He had failed to celebrate in the wonderful mercy and forgiveness his father had for his wayward brother. And he neglected the fact that this mercy and forgiveness would be equally extended to him if he wandered off and was in need of forgiveness and restoration.
It’s tempting to think this is not a temptation for any of us in a spiritual light, but I am afraid it is. How many times when a politician falls ethically or morally before our eyes, and then claims to turn to the Lord will we not celebrate the politician’s return to the Lord? Or what about the preacher who falls and who has squandered so many of the Lord’s blessings, and how slow we are to celebrate when he repents. Or how about when we are in church and see the person beside us, or in front of us, gaining the pastor’s favor even though we know the person was living a life of sin only months before? Or what about here at Bro. Br? How eager are you to celebrate your brothers who were once wandering in a distant country of sex, alcohol and drugs? Are you too busy celebrating yourself and your own supposed faithfulness to celebrate with the Lord that one of his children, and your brother was once dead, but is now alive, was lost but has been found? If you cannot celebrate, it might just be that your heart is in a distant country, and you too must come home.
And why would you not want to come home to this loving Father? In His compassion, as this story shows, He has allowed us to see life without Him, and to see how empty it is. And He has waited longingly for our return, not to punish us, but to embrace us, to forgive us, to restore us completely and totally into the household of God and all its blessings. And this should make our hearts sing with wonder as Scripture sings, and our songs sing. For “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.” “How great is the Father’s love for us, that we should be called children of God.” “How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure.” “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me.”
“The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.”
Indeed, The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. If you are not home with this Father, the Lord God, He is calling you, to come home.