The Parable Concerning The Prodigal Son
Lk. 15:11-24
IntroductionLook at verses 1-3 of chapter 15 and you will see why Jesus spoke the three parables of
this chapter. 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: NKJV
In the verses 4-10 we have two parables. Look at this comment by Warren Wiersbe: “Like sheep gone astray, some sinners are lost through their own stupidity; and, like coins, some are lost by the carelessness of others. But the son was lost because of his own willfulness, and the father had to wait until that will was broken and submissive.”
In my Opinion The Elder Brother has an attitude like the Pharisees which is a lack of concern for the lost. And the whole point of these parables is to point out the concern of the Father.
1. Note The . . Rebellion Of The Prodical Son. 15:11-13a
A. Rebellion In . . Demand Of His Father. 15:12
12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me
the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.
Life App. Bible This showed arrogant disregard for his father's authority as head of the family.
B. Rebellion In . . Disrespect For His Father. 13a
13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country,. . .”
Isa 65:2 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; NKJV
Illustration Clenched Fist Toward God
A story I heard personally from Malcolm Muggeridge (that stirred me then and still does even yet) was his account of a conversation he had with Svetlana Stalin, the daughter of Josef Stalin. She spent some time with Muggeridge in his home in England while they were working together on their BBC production on the life of her father. According to Svetlana, as Stalin lay dying, plagued with terrifying hallucinations, he suddenly sat halfway up in bed, clenched his fist toward the heavens once more, fell back upon his pillow, and was dead.
The incredible irony of his whole life is that at one time Josef Stalin had been a seminary student, preparing for the ministry. Coming of Nietzschean age, he made a decisive break from his belief in God. This dramatic and complete reversal of conviction that resulted in his hatred for all religion is why Lenin had earlier chosen Stalin and positioned him in authority—a choice Lenin too late regretted. (The name Stalin, which means “steel,” was not his real name, but was given to him by his contemporaries who fell under the steel-like determination of his will.) And as Stalin lay dying, his one last gesture was a clenched fist toward God, his heart as cold and hard as steel. Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, (Word Publ., Dallas: 1994), p. 26.
Application
Rebellion Of The Prodical Son.
2. Note The . . Riotous Living Of The Prodical Son. 15:13b-13c
“. . . and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
A. Riotous Living In His . . Waste Of Possessions. 15:13b
“. . . and there wasted his possessions . . .”
B. Riotous Living In His . . Wild Prodigal Style. 15:13c
. . . with prodigal living.”
He went the limit of sinful excesses
ATR GREEK asootos a, the alpha privative ("no"), and soozoo, " No Saving.
Illustration
Sarah Winchester lived back in the 1800s. She inherited 20 Million Dollars. In addition she received 1,000 a day which is a lot of money today but even more so back then. She moved to San Jose and built a mysterious mansion.
The completed estate sprawled over six acres and had six kitchens, thirteen bathrooms, forty stairways, forty-seven fireplaces, fifty-two skylights, four hundred sixty-seven doors, ten thousand windows, one hundred sixty rooms, and a bell tower.
What an excess
Illustration An Old Country Western Song: I’m In The Jailhouse now. An Example Of Access
Well I went out last Tuesday I Met a Gal named Suzie
I told her I was the swellest man around.
Well she started in to spend my money,
Started in to call me honey
We took in every Honky Tonk in town
We’re in the jailhouse now. We’re in the jailhouse now.
They told us once or twice, To quit playing cards and shooting
dice. We’re in the jailhouse now.........
That could very well have been the Prodigal son.
C. Riotous Living In His Lack Of . . Wise Planning. 15:14
14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
Application
Riotous Living Of The Prodical Son.
3. Note The . . Remorse Of The Prodical Son. 15:15-17a
A. Remorse In His . . Working with Swine. 15:15
15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
B. Remorse In His . . Willingness to Eat Swine Food. 15:16
16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
Contrast the prodigal’s spending and the words:
“and no one gave him anything.”
Life App. Bible Jews would not even touch pigs. For a Jew
to stoop to feeding pigs was a great humiliation, and
for this young man to eat food that the pigs had
touched was to be degraded beyond belief. The
younger son had truly sunk to the depths.
Sin Will Take You Where You Do Not Want To Go.
Sin Will Cost You More Than You Wanted To Pay.
Sin Will Keep You Longer Than You Want To Stay.
C. Remorse In His . . Willingness to Think Sensibly. 15:17a
17 "But when he came to himself,
Life App. Bible like many who are rebellious and immature,
he wanted to be free to live as he pleased, and he had to hit
bottom before he came to his senses.
Application
Remorse Of The Prodical Son.
4. Note The . . Repentance Of The Prodical Son. 15:17-20a
A. The . . Pondering Thoughts Of Repentance. 15:17-19
17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'
B. The . . Procedure Of Repentance. 15:20a-21
20 "And he arose and came to his father.. . .” 21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
1. It is one thing to think about repentance.
2. It is one thing to talk about repentance.
3. It is another thing to ACT on repenting.
4. The actual statement and action of repentance.
Illustration Repentance an about Face
Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada, was completely isolated for some time. But recently a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has one road leading into it, and thus, only on one road leading out. If someone would travel the unpaved road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only way he or she could leave—-by turning around.
Each of us, by birth, arrives in a town called Sin. As in Wabush, there is only one way out—a road built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around. That complete about face is what the Bible calls repentance, and without it, there’s no way out of town. Brian Weatherdon
Application
Repentance Of The Prodical Son.
5. Note The . . Reception Of The Father. 15:20b-25
A. The Father Received Him With . . Compssion. 15:20a
“. . . But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion,. . .”
1. The Father never gave up hope for his son to come home.
2. Song: If I can come home tie a yellow ribbon on the tree.
B. The Father Received Him With . . Concern. 15:20b
“. . . and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”
1. He ran to receive his son.
2. He kissed him, – Greek Says He continued to kiss his son.
C. The Father Received Him . . Completely. 15:22
22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring* out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on
his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us
eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. NKJV
Illustration General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, “I never forgive and I never forget.”
To which Wesley replied, “Then, Sir, I hope you never sin.”
Illustration
James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek, with one hand and Latin with the other.
In l880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn’t find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn’t locate the bullet. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak.
Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over.
In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president’s body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died—not from the wound, but from infection.
The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually killed him..
So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God. - Roger Thompson
Illustration
A little boy visiting his grandparents as given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma’s back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead.
The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, Remember the duck! So Johnny did the dishes.
Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing, Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, finally he couldn’t stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he’d killed the duck.
I know, Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug.
“I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love
you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a
slave of you.
The
. . Reception Of The Father. 15:20b-25