Today we are going to take a look at one of the most well known parables Jesus told. We all know the story of the prodigal son and how a very lost sinner was saved. It is a story of a very shameful son who was completely reconciled back to his father after his complete repentance.

However, as much as we have all heard this story there really are two other characters in this story who we read over and kind of just ignore since we focus so much on the prodigal son. Today instead of looking at the prodigal son I want to focus primarily on the Father in the story and in a few weeks we are going to focus on the second son. The son who stayed home with the father but was just as lost as the prodigal. People will think the second son represents Christians and is saved but he is lost. We have missed represented this parable by calling it the Prodigal Son and it should really be called the Story of the two sons and their gracious, loving and merciful Father. As we study this passage I hope the richness of what God has done for us as believers encourages your heart. I hope it gives a little glimpse into His love for us.

Just like we learned in the Rich Man and Lazarus this is a story where one man is justified and another is not and ends up in hell. But in this story it also tells us who God is and what He is like and more importantly what He has done for us or what he can do for you. Just like the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Jesus is telling this story to the tax collectors, sinners and to the Pharisees who were all part of the crowd drawing closer to hear Jesus speak. Jesus is warning the lost, but he is really warning primarily those who were the religious leaders of that time, the Pharisees and the Scribes. They were lost and causing many people to be destroyed by their teachings.

Jesus even warns them in Matthew 23:13
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

So like the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus we need to see this story how the people in Jesus’ audience would have understood it. There are such incredible nuances that we just don’t understand unless we understand the time and customs of His audience. Obviously Jesus has given us the ability to understand his main point of this parable but we miss some of the subtleties in the story. With that being said I hope we can see some of those smaller nuggets in the bigger story of a lost son who is restored completely to his father and another son who never is restored to his father.

Please open your Bibles to Luke 15:11-31 and lets read.

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to [2] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [3] 22 But the father said to his servants, [4] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

We find a man who has two sons in verse 11 and in verse 12 this prodigal son makes an outrageous request of his father. He tells his father to give me my inheritance today. Why is this such an outrageous request because it is essentially telling the father I wish you were dead. But since you are not dead yet just give me what I want so I can get out of this place and spend my money the way I want to. He wants nothing to do with the father and he begins his complete rebellion against his father. It is a shameful request by the son. The Pharisees who would have been listening to this request would have been thinking that this son needs a good slap across the face but what happens? The father gives him what he wants. This is another shameful response according to the Pharisees. There is no honor by the son nor is their any honor by the father.

Just as the father in this story: God gives us free moral will to choose between right and wrong.

Verse 13 tells us after just a few days he leaves his fathers house. He liquifies all the assets he received and turned everything into cash. He is living up to his name Prodigal which essentially means waste as we see in this verse. He squandered all that he had on parties, prostitutes and who knows what else. But we see he wastes it all. He has nothing left to show for and the depth of his sin is deep.

Verse 14-16 Tells us a great famine hits and he began to be in need of everything. He has nothing and he hires himself out to a man as a pig feeder and he is so hungry he is desiring to eat the pig food himself but no one gives him anything. The Pharisees would be thinking in their head this is exactly what he deserves. He has made his own bed now he needs to sleep in it. He is a shameful son.

But in verse 17 and 18 the light goes off in his head. What on earth am I doing. My fathers hired help live and eat better than this. He starts devising what he is going to tell his father and at this moment is when the sinner who is at his very lowest point comes to a realization that I can’t fix this situation on my own. I have made a mess of everything and I need you. This is where this son is at. He confirms what David writes in the Plsalms 51:4 that he has sinned against heaven above and his father.

We see in verse 20 that he arose and started for home. All of this was just to get us to the point of what I want us to truly look at today and that is the Father and what he does for his son. Because what he does for the son in this parable is the exact same thing God has done for us who are followers of Christ. I want to glorify our God today and have us realize what he has done for us and the amazing love, grace and mercy He has for us just as this father does for his son. It is amazing gentleman.

Here enters the Father into the story in Verse 20. The father sees the son far off and and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. It is interesting how the father saw him far off. He must have been looking for him. The son doesn’t show up as a surprised guest. The father is not in his house and the son comes banging on the door asking to come in. No the father is searching out his son, he has his eyes out for him he is expecting him. He is not surprised that the son has returned but was seeking after him. He was looking for him.

How do we know this simple fact is by looking at the two previous parables Jesus gives in the beginning of Luke 15.

The first is the parable of the one lost sheep. And how the shepherd goes after the one lost sheep and leaves the other 99 and when he finds the lost sheep he calls all his friends to celebrate. And Jesus said in 15:7

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

And then he tells us about the women and the lost coin. How she searched her whole house and found the lost coin and rejoiced.

And Jesus says in that parable in 15:10
Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Let us not not think that God does not search out those who he saves. You were not searching for Him but he was searching for you.

Paul quotes the author of Psalms in Romans 3

as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

How awesome is our God that He saves sinners by seeking us. Not only is he seeking after us but in Ephesians He tells us that we are predestined as adopted sons. We were Chosen before the foundations of the world.

Ephesians 1:4-8

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

We see the father comes out to him to kiss him and lavish the son with grace. He meets the son in his worst possible condition. The son is filthy.. poor.. destitute in need of everything and has nothing. The son knows only the father can provide for his needs and that there is no one else who can save him. And the father meets him right there. The son is tells the father I am a sinner and I have sinned against you and heaven. And guess what? The son’s original plan back in verse 19 was to become one of the hired servants. He was planning on working for the Father to earn himself back into the family. But he never needs to say it to the father because he becomes fully restored.

And this my friends is exactly where each of us need to be when we come to Christ. Now maybe we have not committed all the same sins the prodigal son and maybe we were fortunate not to have to go through the things he did. But if we do not come to God in complete need of Him and rely on any of our own righteousness then we are not saved. But if we do come to Him and repent and believe He restores us in an instant. He forgives us and reconciles us to Him through the greatest miracle of all. Our salvation.

The Prodigal son didn’t clean himself up. He didn’t try to make himself presentable, he didn’t get things right he just came to father begging for mercy. And he received it just as God promises us.

Back to the story we need to understand a few more things about what the father did and how it really relates to what Jesus has done for us. In verse 20 it tells us the Father saw him far off and RAN to him. In the culture of that day it would have been shameful for the Father to run after his wayward son like that. He would have had to lifted up his robes and expose his legs. Now today we would think nothing of that but back then that would have been outrageous. He ran to the son to protect him from what the town folks would have said about him. Because if the son had walked through the town without being fully restored by the Father they would have shamed him. But instead of him being shamed the Father wanted to protect him from the Shame so he began shame for him. It is the same thing for us gentleman. Jesus took our shame on that cross. He was shamed on that cross for us. He took our punishment, he took the shame we deserved. How loving is our God?

Well we see in the next few passages what God has done for us as what the father in this parable does for his son. He gives him three items, his robe, his ring and sandals.

The Robe, this is the most important article of clothing owned by a family in that day. This is the robe the father would wear at prestigious events. This is the article of clothing that would bring honor and recognition to the Father and He gave it to the son.

His Ring, this ring would be used by the Father to stamp all official documents with. It gave all authority to act on behalf of the family with all the family resources. He placed the ring on the son.

The Sandals, he placed the sandals on the sons feet. Servants are barefoot, hired men are barefoot, but masters and rulers and sons wear the only ones to wear shoes.

John MacArthur writes.

When the sinner comes bankrupt with absolutely nothing, cast himself on his father’s mercy, says “I’ve wasted everything, my sin is as high as the heaven. I have sinned against God, I have sinned against you. I can offer you nothing. I’m willing to work.” Then the father embraces him in love and says, “You don’t need to work, I give you full sonship with all rights and privileges, all honors, all authority. That is salvation. Why does the father do that? Because it gives him joy.

Verse 23 tells us the father had an incredible party for his son. and Verse 24 tells it all. He was dead in his sins but now he is alive again, he was lost and is found

AND THEY BEGAN TO CELEBRATE This is heaven we began to celebrate and the party never ends. All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents and believes. Has heaven rejoiced for you? have you come to the Father in complete need of everything?

If you have... praise God for his greatness, if you have not then today is the day to turn to him and he will meet you exactly where you are at, you just need to repent and believe in Him to provide you with salvation and let the celebration begin.