A Father and His Sons -
Luke 15 v 1-7
So, what triggered this Parable from Jesus Christ?
15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3 So Jesus told them this story:
What is a Parable? – A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.
Matthew 5 v 17 – 18, & v 20
The Younger son – Sinners
Pro 14 v 12: There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.
Pro 3 v 5-8 : Consequences – v 14
Stranded – He ran out of money. His own ideology about wealth couldn’t sustain him.
Disappointments – A great famine swept over the land (I’m sure he wasn’t expecting that) and he began to starve.
Degradation – From son to slave – He was hired to feed pigs
Desperation - He became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
2. What did the younger son do to seek reconciliation? - He repented – v 17-18
Breakdown:
He confessed his sin
He didn’t blame-shift
He took full responsibility
He recognized whom he has sinned against i.e., Heaven and his Father
He realized what he deserves - I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”
Psalm 51 v 17
You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering 17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God
2 Peter 3 v 9
Galatians 4 v 5-6:
Luke 15 v 7
“The graceless service of a self-righteous person is more hard duty than a joyful service in thanksgiving”
29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. .......The story of his younger brother revealed what’s going in his heart.
The older son believed so much in himself and his ability to keep up with the law. He seems to be angry because he thinks he’s not getting what he deserved for his faithful service. He refused to admit he couldn’t do everything on his own. Hence, the reason why he won’t go in. He refused to enter his Father’s love, the very thing he was trying to earn.
Eph 2 v 8-10 : 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Our service will never be a substitute for what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Rather, it is expected to be an act of thanksgiving for what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Heb 6 v 10:
2.He wanted judgement –30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that his father could love unconditionally, love without anything in return.
James 1 v 20:
20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
“Anger is an emotion that humans feel, and sometimes struggle to process and cope with. What we learn from this letter written by James is that anger rooted in human pride, logic, or evil intentions will not produce righteousness because it is not in line with God’s love, goodness, or justice. God does not want our anger, or any emotions, to get in the way of doing what is good and right in His eyes”.
Anger is the feeling that you are not getting your way now. Resentment is the feeling that you did not get your way in the past. These feelings are therefore based on selfishness (the need to get your wants fulfilled).
The Father’s reaction to the Older son
