The Lost Sons, Part 5

If you got your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15. Most people call this the story of the prodigal son. John MacArthur has written a book called A Tale of Two Sons. If I was going to write a book, I'd call it the story of three sons. Really? Yeah. It's really a story of three sons. It was Samuel Chadwick who got up to preach one day. He said these words, I'm going to preach on the third son in the parable of the prodigal son.

Then he showed the two, the younger breaking his father's heart and the elder out of sympathy with his father's heart. And then he said, isn't there another son? Yes, there is. He is a man who was uttering the parable. He was God's son, his ideal son on the human level. He never broke God's heart with a sin, but he was so in sympathy with God's heart that he died to save sinners. That is the third son in the parable of the prodigal son.

It's a story of three sons. One son, a sinner. One son, self-righteous. One son, the savior of sinners and those who are self-righteous. And so many times we miss the importance of a parable that Jesus tells. Parables are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning, helping you understand the reality of what heaven's like. And this story in Luke chapter 15 is about heaven's joy. What happens when one sinner repents of a sin. And so we have looked at the parable of lost things, the parable of the lost sheep, the lost silver coin and the lost sons.

And in looking at these stories, we come to understand the heart of God as he demonstrates for us his rescue mission. Luke 19 10. He came in to seek that which was lost. He came to save lost people. And that's the whole story of Luke chapter 15. He declares to us the necessity of repentance. He demonstrates to us the reality of repentance and then describes for us the joy of the one who repents. It's a beautiful picture of what takes place in heaven as lost sinners are found. It's a story of redemption.

It's a story of God's glory. It's a story of how it is God's mission was fulfilled through his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Isaiah 43 verse number 25 states it this way. I, even I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake. God forgives sinners for his sake. God redeems lost people for his sake. Salvation is never about men. Salvation is always about God because it's about his glory, his honor, his praise. And you would think that after this lost son was found and they began to be married, it was the beginning of the joy for this boy, his family.

You would think that that would be the end of the story. I mean, that's how the first story ended with the lost sheep being found.

And there was more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 self-righteous. But there was great joy and then the story ends. And then Christ goes to another story about the lost silver coin. And this girl who, who looks for it, searches for it, finds it. And the joy that she has and her friends over that which was lost being now found. And now the lost son has come home. He now who was dead is now alive. The one that was lost has now been found. Therefore the whole home erupts with joy.

You would think that would be the end of the story, but it's not. It's really the beginning of the story. Because the story has to include the self-righteous Pharisees. The story began in Luke 15 verse number one with all these tax gatherers and sinners coming to eat with Christ.

And how it is these scribes and Pharisees, these self-righteous individuals were upset that Jesus, this self-proclaimed Messiah in their mind, would settle and eat with sinners. And so Christ begins to tell them the story of lost things and what his mission was all about. And so he couldn't end the story with the lost son being found and the house erupting in joy without pinpointing the hardness of heart of the self-proclaimed righteous people, the Pharisees. And so he has to drive the point home.

And he drives the point home by concluding the story with the Pharisees. This is how it goes. Luke 15 verse number 25. Now his oldest son was in the field and when he came and approached the house he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things might be. They said to him, your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound. But he became angry and was not willing to go in. And his father came out and began entreating him.

But he answered and said to his father, look for so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours. And yet you have never given me a kid that I might be married with my friends. But when this son of yours came who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him. He said to him, my child, you have always been with me and all that is mine is yours. But we had to be merry and rejoice for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live and was lost and has been found.

We see in the story of lost things, particularly of lost sons, how Christ responds to the repentant heart. And now you're going to see how Christ responds to the resentful heart. This is so important because you need to get the clear picture of Christ, his mission and ministry. We know how he responds to the repentant heart. I mean, the young boy received the robe, right? He received the sandals, he received the signet ring, the fattened calf was killed for him. And we talked about the dignity and the royalty and the purity and the hospitality and the joy that was all the young boys because he repented of his sin and how he is received by his father.

But what about the resentful son? What does the father do with him? Because when the older son returns, what does he hear? He hears a celebration. He hears all the joy. He hears the merriment. He wants to know what's going on. And so he asked the question, what's happening? I've been at work all day. I've been doing my duty all day. I've been doing what I've been commissioned and called to do all day. Why is it there is so much joy at home? What's happening at home? And one of the servants tells him, your brother, your brother has come home.

That's very important. Why? Because the older son never calls the younger son his brother. He calls him to the father, your son, but he doesn't call him his brother. Very important to understand the story in his resentful attitude. The young man, the older son comes home. He summoned one of the servants inquiring what might be. He said to him, your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he was, he has received him back safe and sound. Your brother is home. There is great joy.

He was lost. Now it's found was dead. Now it's alive. There is great joy. And you'd think that the older son would enter into the joy, but the Texas, he became angry, really angry. And the Texas, he was not willing to go in. So the question comes, why is the oldest son angry? And why is the oldest son unwilling to go in? And by the way, he never enters in, in the story, into the house. In fact, the story ends before there's ever a decision by the older son to either enter or stay out. Very important to the story.

So the older son hears what's happened. He becomes extremely angry. He refuses to go in. And the question comes, why is the brother angry? Why won't he go in? Here's the answer. It's because he does not understand the character and the nature of his father. That's why he does not go in. He does not understand the character and nature of his father. So the question comes, how is it this older son does not understand the character of his father? Did he not eat with his father while growing up? Yes.

Did he not work for his father while growing up? Yes. Did he not work with his father while growing up? Yes. Did he not listen to his father? Did he not learn from his father? Did he not grow up in his father's house? The answer to that is yes, he did. But you can know the analogy. You can go to your father's house and you can eat with your father and you can learn from your father and you can listen to your father and you can do even the father's chores but never know the father. The evangelical church is filled with those kinds of people even as we speak today.

Maybe you're one of them. They go to church, they hear the word, they participate in the work of the father but they never understand the character and nature of their father. And that's why this young boy is extremely angry. He never knew his father. In fact, as he responds to his father, you will note he never gives him a title, he never gives him a name, he never shows him affection and he treats him with disrespect because that's the self-righteous pharisee. The younger son when he returns and repents he says father I have sinned.

The older son says look here, look here, look what you have done as if to reprimand his father. That's what self-righteous people do. They reprimand God, they speak out against God but when you're repentant you humble yourself before God. And so this this older son is representative of all the self-righteous people in evangelical churches today who go and do for God, who serve God, work for God but never have that relationship with God. He doesn't know the character and nature. If he knew the character of his father he would know that his father was merciful, he was kind, he was compassionate, he was loving, he was forgiving and because he would have that same mind as Christ he too would be loving, forgiving, kind and compassionate and merciful but because he doesn't have the mind of Christ, he doesn't have the heart of Christ, all those things are far from him.

See that? Now turn with me to first Corinthians chapter 2. First Corinthians chapter 2 verse number 14.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishest to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised but he who is spiritual appraises all things yet he himself is appraised by no man for who has known the mind of the Lord that he should instruct him but we have the mind of Christ. You see the oldest son was a natural man, he wasn't a spiritual man, he was as Jude says the sensual man devoid of the Spirit therefore he can't know the mind of Christ.

The oldest son was a natural man therefore he could not appreciate the things of God nor could he appropriate the things of God. The natural man never appreciates God or his work and the natural man never appropriates that work in his own life and that's what the older son was. He is the Pharisee at the table, he is a self-righteous Pharisee who condemns Christ for eating with sinners and so Christ goes into this long story that can be read very simply in a matter of just a few minutes. It takes us quite a while to get through it because we don't understand the culture of the day and we don't understand all the surrounding elements of the story so it's taken us you know six, seven, eight weeks to get through Luke chapter 15.

We'll be done today if you listen quick and I speak fast. There's no problem me speaking fast the problem is with you listening quick but we're going to get through it today Lord willing because you need to understand the implications of the self-righteous Pharisees. They were the natural man. The spiritual man appraises all things, he accepts the things of God, he appreciates the things of God, he appropriates the things of God but the natural man he doesn't. Why? Because the word of the cross is foolishness to him.

The work of the cross is foolishness to him and this young man, the young son who repented of his sin and was experiencing the joy inside the house did not know the conversation outside the house and so when the older son arrives he is so angry and so resentful of his father and the reason so is because he is a natural man. He doesn't know the things of God. He says very simply this son of yours, not my brother because they're not brothers spiritually speaking, this son of yours, oh by the way he is a son of the father, the younger son is in an intimate loving kind of way.

The older son is a son by physical birth but not spiritual birth. That's important to the story. You need to understand that. See well how can that be? Simply this, God is the father of all creation, is he not? Sure he is. In fact the bible says these words in Malachi 2 verse number 10, have we not all one father?

Over in Acts 17 28 Paul says we are all his offspring. There is a thing called the fatherhood of God. That's important to understand that. God is the father of all people. In the story God is the father of both boys in a physical sense but there is only one who is a son in a spiritual sense and that's the one who repents. The one who doesn't repent is not a son in the spiritual sense. He's a son in the physical sense because he's the son of his father. He's the offspring of his father. Very important to understand.

People get it all mixed up. Well if these boys are both in the same house, they're the same father, they must both be believers. No. Both of them are unbelievers until the younger son repents and then he becomes a believer. Very important to get that. And so here's this older son who comes who is a representative of the natural man. The natural man and has no understanding of the things of God. He cannot appropriate the things of God. It says in first Corinthians 2, he does not accept the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them.

He cannot know them. You see the believer, the spiritual man knows God and understands why God does what he does but the natural man doesn't get it. It's all foolishness to him. The word of the cross, the work of the cross is all foolishness to him. So when the older son comes back, he says this son of yours who spent your money on harlots who did what he wanted to do, you receive back. Why? Because the older son knows nothing of grace and mercy and love and forgiveness. Doesn't get it. Why? Because he has a workspace system.

He never had to earn his way back. He should have had to earn his way back into the family. That's how he gets sonship and you just bypassed all that works and you accepted him freely by your grace and received him into your home. And that made the self-righteous son angry. He was furious with his father. So furious he wouldn't even enter the doorstep of the home. This is his reaction to the father's mercy. How do you react when the Lord God shows mercy on someone? Listen, the older son, understand this, the oldest son was obedient.

The older son was dependable. The oldest son was trustworthy, industrious, thrifty, exemplary, a solid citizen, and even saint-like. That's the older son. He never brought reproach upon the family. The younger son did that. He never defamed the name of the family. The younger son did that. The older son was the model son. The older son was the right good son, but the older son was a self-righteous son. The younger son was a sinner who repented and found grace and mercy and forgiveness. See that's what happens in the church today.

There are solid citizens in the church. They're trustworthy. They're dependable. They're reliable. They're there all the time, but because of their works-based system of trying to earn favor with God, and this boy's whole life was about earning favor with God, they have no joy. But the young son who repented experiences all the joy. The best son by appearance was the worst son. The best son by appearance was the worst son because he was the self-righteous son. The other one repented and number one son comes home.

He needed a change of heart. Mr. Performance was angry and unwilling to darken the doorstep of his father's house because the older son had no mercy, had no grace, and was unforgiving of his younger brother. You know we can kind of understand how he would feel. I mean after all when the apostle Paul was born again, he was a violent aggressor. He was a persecutor of the Christian church and when God told Ananias that he was to go and receive Paul or Saul at that time and disciple him, Ananias was like, are you kidding me?

I'm not going to him. He's a killer of the Christians. And then the disciples were to accept him too and they were like, are you kidding us? We're not going to accept this guy. He kills all of us. So we understand that sometimes we don't really grasp all of the wonderful mercy and kindness of God toward sinners. But when they repent and are truly broken over sin, we begin to understand more of the greatness of our God and how he deals with people. All the older son understood was works and on the basis of works, the younger son did not deserve to be in the house.

On the basis of works, the younger son didn't deserve to have a calf killed in his name. On the basis of works, the younger son needed and got nothing. But salvation is not based on works. It's based on grace and mercy and the forgiveness of God. So the reaction of the older son leads to the resentment of the older son. Listen to what he says. His father came out and began entreating him. This is important. We see God's heart toward the repentant. What's God's heart like toward the resentful? The father comes out of the celebration.

He comes out of the house and he begs him to come in to the house. God's heart toward the resentful person is one of pleading and begging for them to come. He pleads with them. But the son's heart is seen by his bitter spirit when he says, look, for so many years I have been serving you. He doesn't say, dad, father of mine. He didn't call, he has no affection, no title, no name. He just rebukes his father. Look, he says, I have been serving you all these years. Duloss is the word. He says, dad, I have been a slave of yours all these years.

What I've done, I've done out of compulsion. What I've done, I've done because I've had to. I have to gain your favor. I have worked hard to gain your favor and you did this for the son of yours who defamed the name, who disgraced the family. You did this for your son and you didn't do anything for me. That's because God doesn't do anything based on your works. Never has. Look, I've done all that. There's no joy in his voice. I have been doing this and that's what happens with workspace people. They have no joy.

You ever seen people who have no joy? They're always bitter, resentful. They have no joy. It's because they live by a workspace system. They don't experience the grace and mercy of God, where God has freely given to them the joys of heaven. They are so busy working for approval and acceptance that they can experience the joy of heaven. That's what the older son was doing. I have served you. I have been your slave all these years and I get nothing in return. Nothing, he says. I have never neglected a command of yours.

I've done everything and that is the classic self-righteous Pharisee. I have done everything you have asked and I have never neglected one command of yours. You see, the Pharisees, they were so self-righteous. They were so arrogant. They were so prideful. They were so jealous because their whole lives were centered around a workspace system. And that's why Jesus, when he came, said in Matthew 5 verse number 20, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of God.

And the people on the Mount of Beatitudes would hear those words and say, are you kidding me? These are the most studious, the most diligent, the most dependable, the most reliable, the most trustworthy religious people we have ever seen. And you expect that our righteousness should exceed their righteousness? Exactly. Because their righteousness was won by human achievement and God's is by divine accomplishment. They worked to achieve their righteous standing, but in God's kingdom, you can't do that.

And that's why he goes to that long liturgy. You have heard that it was said, you shall not murder. And all the Pharisees would say, you're right. You can't murder anybody. And Jesus would say, yeah, but if you hate your brother in your heart, you've already murdered him. And then he would say, oh, you've heard that it was said by the ages of old, you can't commit adultery. Amen, brother Jesus, you can't commit adultery. Ah, but I say to you, if you look at a woman in lust after you've already committed adultery in your heart, see Christ went right to the heart of the matter.

He drove everything to their hearts because you see, as he said in Matthew 23, they clean the outside of the cup, but inside they were filthy. They were dirty. And he kept calling them to a place of repentance. They were unclean, but all their external trappings made them look like they were clean. And see, that's where Christ drives the story home because the Pharisees are listening to the story. They're there with the sinners and task gatherers. They're all there. They're hearing what Jesus is saying.

He says, as he entreats him to come in, the older son was prideful, self-righteous, angry, stubborn, resentful. And his father says to him, in spite of his anger, in spite of his stubbornness, in spite of his resentful spirit, his father says to him, these words, my child, you have always been with me and all that is mine is yours. That's the heart of God toward the resentful heart. All that is mine is yours. Will you receive it? Will you embrace it? Will you accept it? Will you come after it? It's all yours.

All you have to do is decide whether or not you want it. He says, but we had to be merry and rejoice for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live and was lost and has been found. What a merciful father. It wasn't like, don't you disrespect me. I'm your father. Don't you disrespect me with your words. He didn't say that. Although the son did disrespect him, he said, come in. All that I have is yours. It's all available to you. I want you to have what your younger son, my younger son has.

I want you to embrace all that I have for you. It's all there for you. All that I have is yours. Dwight Pentecost would say these words about that phrase by this Christ was revealing that the same privileges that were afforded the younger son were always available to the older son, but the oldest son had never availed himself of what the father would have bestowed upon him. Therefore, the oldest son could not blame the father for the fact that he did not have what the younger son was now enjoying.

The father had provided these blessings for the oldest son who had never availed himself of what the father had made available. The fault then was not with the father, but with the oldest son. In this part of the parable, Christ was seeking to convey to the Pharisees that even though they called themselves the servants of God and the sons of God, they were revealing by their attitude toward God that they were not true servants and they were not considered sons. God had made available to them the same privileges that he made available to the sinner who returned home.

However, the Pharisees had not come to God in order to receive from him the benefits that he had provided. In spite of their profession of sonship, they were not considered sons. If they would do as the younger son did, that is come to God and acknowledge their sinfulness and unworthiness, they could receive from him the same blessings and privileges conferred on the sinner who repented. He's right. And that's why Christ says, all that I have is yours.

You come. But you see, we had to be merry because that's what heaven's about. We had to be overjoyed because a sinner repented. And I came to redeem lost men. And you can experience the same merriment. You can experience the same joy if you repent. We had to do this because this is what heaven is all about. This is what my house is all about. And then the story just ends. With no conclusion. Why? The story just ends. What happens to the older son? Does he go in? Does he stay outside? Why does the story just end?

It just ends because the Pharisees have not yet made their final decision. He's leaving it open-ended. They still have an opportunity to repent. They still have an opportunity to come to him. They still have the opportunity to embrace all that he has for them. He said, I've been out working all day. Was he tired? Yes. And what does Jesus say? Come unto me all ye that labor and heavy laden, I will give you rest. But the rest is in my presence in my house. The younger, the older boy is out all day working.

Was he hungry? Yes, he was. And the Lord God says, I am the bread of life, but you only partake of that bread in my presence.

The older boy was thirsty. And Christ says, I am the living water. If you're thirsty, come to me. Everything the boy needed was that his father's presence, rest, food, water, life. If he would but come with a repentant spirit. So the story ends because the story had yet to be written at that point. It was done. The story would soon be written, would it not? So you conclude the story by saying that at the end, the older son took up a piece of wood and beat his father to death because that's exactly what happened.

The Pharisees would incite the nation to crucify the Messiah. But that wasn't the end of the story either because he would die and rise again as victor over sin, death, and hell, because that was the Messiah who willingly gave his life away so that he could redeem those who would take the beam and beat him. That's a story of the lost sons. It's a story of three sons. One is a sinner, one who was self-righteous, and the one who was a savior, Christ himself. And I read this story and I think of all the people in evangelical churches today who are dependable and reliable, trustworthy, solid citizens of the church, who have done their work for the church.

Everything is based on their self-righteous lifestyle. And here they sit, week after week, after week, after week, appearing to be the best Christians, appearing to be the best sons, but are so far from the heart of God. And Christ would say to the Pharisees in John chapter 5, oh, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and a disease that bear witness to me, and you are unwilling to come to me that you may have life. Unwilling to come. All that I have is yours.

Will you come? And they were unwilling to come. And so Christ would weep over Jerusalem. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, oh how I wanted to gather you together as a mother hen would gather her chicks, but you were what? Unwilling to come. You would not come to me that you might have life. Oh I plead with you, I beg with you, even the self-righteous Pharisee, I say come to me, come into me. But you will not come. You will not come. And therefore you will perish in your sins. Isaiah 45, 22 says, turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth.

That's the plea of God. Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth. The story is a classic closing on why people are not saved. You ever wonder why they're not saved? It's simply because the father stands and says, all that I have is yours. And they are unwilling to come. That's why people aren't saved. They're unwilling to come because the same pleading. In fact, the older son received no, the younger son received no pleading, but the older son did. Did he not? A begging, a pleading, an entreaty, come, all that I have is yours.

I want you to embrace it. And Christ wants people to come. That's why the book of Revelation 22, verse number 17 says, come, all you are thirsty. The spirit and the bride say, come. It's an invitation to come to the one who gives the water of life. Isaiah 55, ho, everyone who is thirsty, come and receive the waters of salvation. If you're thirsty, come. That's the plea. This is what God wants to do. This is what God wants to do. I, the Lord, am your God. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. That's what God wants to do.

But my people did not listen to me and Israel did not obey me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart to walk in their own devices. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways. I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries. Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to him and the time of their punishment would be forever. But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock, I would satisfy you.

That's what God wants to do. That's what he wants to do. So he pleads and says, come, listen to my voice. Follow me. This is what I want to do. But if you don't come, this is what he will do. Turn, oh, because I called you, I'm sorry, and you refused. I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof. I will even laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distrust and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer.

They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own ways and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them and the complacency of fools shall destroy them. What does God want to do? He wants to grant you mercy, but what will God do to those who do not come? They will be miserable even throughout eternity.

And that's why the concluding words of Solomon were this, but he who listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease from the dread of evil. Oh, God wants to embrace you. God wants to embrace you and accept you into his family that you might be the sons of his father in heaven. That's why he stands and pleads, all that I have is yours. It's all yours, but you got to come. You must, you must come. Which prompted Charles Wesley to write these words. Depth of mercy, can there be mercy still reserved for me?

Can my God his wrath forbear me the chief of sinners spare? I have long withstood his grace, long provoked him to his face, would not hearken to his calls, grieved him by a thousand falls. Now incline me to repent. Let me now my sins lament.

Now my foul revolt deplore. We believe in sin no more. There for me, my savior stands holding forth his wounded hands. God is love. I know, I feel Jesus weeps and loves me still. That's our God. He wants to embrace repentant sinners. Have you repented? Have you truly repented of your sin? Have you given your life to Jesus Christ, the king of the universe? Or are you like that older son on the outside of the presence of God, resentful and bitter at the mercy and grace he bestows. So angry because you have worked so long to gain his acceptance, work so hard to gain his approval.

And he says, that doesn't matter. All that I have is yours. If you just fall on your face before me and repent of your sins, my grace will be yours. My mercy will be yours. My love will be yours. My forgiveness will be yours. It's all yours. Story didn't end at that point. Like for you today, the story hasn't yet ended for you. Maybe you need to make a decision that today's the day I turn from the error of my way and give my life to Christ. That's my prayer. I hope it's yours. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today. All that you've done, the joy you've bestowed upon us through your word. Our prayer, Lord, is that if there'd be one unrepentant person among us today, that today would be the day of their salvation, that they would give their life to Christ and follow you and serve you. We thank you and praise you for all that you do in Jesus' precious name. Amen.