“The Parable of the Lost Son” – 3.21.21

March 21, 2021
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“The Parable of the Lost Son”

1 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! Luke 15:1-2 NLT

  • Religion and culture can cause us to miss God. 

We often refer to this parable as “The Prodigal Son.”

“Prodigal” means being wastefully extravagant, spending money in a recklessly extravagant way. 

 

The Parable of the Lost Son

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.”.   Luke 15:11-16 NLT

  • Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we see clearly our true condition.
  • Once his wealth was gone, so were his friends.

 

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’  20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’”  Luke 15-17-21 NLT

  • The loving Father is watching, waiting, and filled with compassion.
  • To repent is to change your mind regarding sin and Jesus Christ.
  • The prodigal son’s painful circumstances help him to see his loving father in a new light.

10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.  13 The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Psalm 103:10-13 NLT

 

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.’”  Luke 15:22-24 NLT

 

  • What we uncover, God covers with his grace. 
  • When we confess and repent, we experience God’s amazing grace.
  • Whether it was a lost sheep, a lost coin or a lost son, there is rejoicing when that which was lost is recovered.

 

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’  28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 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. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ 31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” Luke 15:25-32 NLT

  • The oldest son illustrates the Pharisees and the scribes.
  • Just like the Pharisees, the older brother was defining sin by outward actions, not inward attitudes. 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NLT

Next step for me today…

  • To repent and experience God’s amazing grace!

 

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