Unit Four:
and he said, “A certain man had two sons. 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. “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. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 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. “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! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”‘ “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. 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.’ “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. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 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. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 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. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 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 15:11-32
Interesting isn’t it, as I have already pointed out, that there are indications all over this “parable” which point to this whole chapter being one and having one purpose. Not only that, but there are repetitive elements all over the parable showing us there is something operating at a higher level. Remember the patterns we observed in Gems 1031.
- Something is lost
- Great effort is made to get it back
- The lost is found
- Friends and neighbours are called to rejoice
- Repentance is emphasized
- There is great rejoicing in heaven
The three elements of lostness are all bound together. But as I indicated in earlier Gems there are pieces of the puzzle missing.
“Suppose”
- The first story about the lost sheep starts with “suppose”.
- The second story about the lost coin starts with “suppose”.
- But the third feature story has no “suppose”.
It does not start, “Suppose there was a man with two sons”. Now I wonder why that is! This lost element is not set in the realm of possibility or probability, but factuality. No suppose about this one. This is fact. Ah, but what is in focus? Who is Jesus pointing to with this real life example? What is the real life example and who is in the focus? Again, I will leave you to ponder what or who is in focus here. I will share my thoughts at the right time.
There are other elements which we expect, but surprisingly we don’t find. Remember the pattern of the children’s story in Gem 1032. So predictable in its pattern that we know what to expect with each segment, which in turn draws us into the story even more. But when those expected portions are not there, they jolt us to ponder the why-not at a deeper level.
Notice we have been privy to the younger boy’s dilemma of going back and facing Kezezah. He knows what is waiting for him back at the village. He comes up with a plan to placate his father. To get back in his good books. So we are there looking over his shoulder when he comes to his senses. “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!I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”‘
But when he came to himself (ASV et al)
He finally came to his senses (NLT et al)
Luke 15:17
The son had a bit of self revelation like what Ray Stevens was singing about in Gem 394. He came to his senses, came to himself. Had a little talk with himself and realised what an idiot he had been. But he has a mammoth obstacle in front of him at this point. So he comes up with a plan to sort out things with his father. He knows now where he is better off and it is not feeding pigs and longing for what they are eating. Even if he goes back to the village and takes his punishment, he still has to be better off. He has lost his sonship but even as his father’s slave, he is better off than being a lackey feeding pigs in this foreign land. So he plans to say: “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”
There is much debate over this response. Did the younger son repent? Is this statement of his a valid statement of repentance or is it inadequate? Or is he merely playing his father for a fool, saying the right words but with no heart behind them? Opinions are divided. My summation on it all: I think he is genuine when he makes the statement, “I have sinned against heaven and you”. Heaven is a circumlocution for God. One would not normally include God unless one was serious. Not wise. But irrespective of how he started out, I am sure his heart was won over when he witnessed the outrageous grace of the father, oops the Father. The end result is restored relationship.
Why doesn’t he finish his speech after going to all the trouble of rehearsing it? The Father doesn’t give him a chance. The son doesn’t have time to finish the speech before the father lavishes him with love. The enormity of the grace offered to him outweighs anything else on the agenda. God is like that. He is just waiting for you to take one little step toward Him and He will run a mile to you. To have finished his speech the way he rehearsed it would have been to throw his father’s grace back in his face. Many of us react like that toward God. We have to feel like we have to do something to earn it. But we can’t earn it; it’s a free gift! To try again to earn it is to spurn the grace offered.
As Philips, Craig and Dean sang it –
- He held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again”.
- Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
- With forgiveness in His voice He said, “Son.
- He called me Son He said, “Son do you know I still love you?”
- He ran to me, I saw Him run to me
- and then I ran to Him.
It is like that between you and God. Are you running from Him or is He running toward you? Or are you safe in His arms with your head on His chest?
The Church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent.
Andy Stanley
You say, “if God loves me?” There is no “if” or “suppose”about it.
Ian Vail
Don’t you know it is the kindness of God that leads you to repentance?
Paul of Tarsus
When He created you, you were “the apple of His eye”; nothing has changed. Apples are still apples.
Ian Vail