Luke, chapter 15, verses 17 through 32. Hear now the word of almighty God, inspired by his spirit, profitable for us. Luke 15, verse 17. And when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare? And I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field. And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry and would not go in. Therefore came his father out and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee. Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meat that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again, and was lost, and is found. Thus far the reading of God's inspired word from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 17 through 32. May the Lord bless us in the reading and hearing of his word, and now in consideration of its teaching. Christ, the friend of sinners and publicans, the gospel in a parable of the lost sons, the second part. Many people call this the parable of the prodigal son, which is half of the parable. The parable is of two sons, the prodigal and the self-righteous, and both are dealt with. Notice here, we considered the son who was prodigal, wasteful, who gave away all of his inheritance and as soon as he spent it, there was a great famine in the land, a mighty famine. He went and joined himself to a heathen and was sent out to feed the swine and he wished he could dip his nose into the swine's feed, into the pig bucket. He had a strong desire, oh, if I could at least have those husks that the pigs feed on. Now he comes to himself. He came, verse 17, to himself, and then he said, the Westminster annotations concerning him coming to himself, hitherto he was beside himself, like a mad or drunken man, not knowing what he did. But necessity brought him to his right mind, happy affliction which brings men to God by serious repentance and newness of life. Here he thinks better of his father's house, doesn't he? Because he's seen the rest. He's seen the outside. When I'm out from my father's house, what do I have? Nothing. I don't even have pig's feed to dip my nose into. He says, I perish with hunger. This is the present tense. I am in process of perishing. And this verb means to be destroyed. I am being destroyed. I run to perdition by these evil deeds of mine. I lack bread. I have no nourishment. This hunger, this famine will destroy me, is destroying me, he says. I note then that true repentance begins by seeing our current condition. If you think you are full of bread, if you think you have need of nothing, if you think you are well clothed and rich, if you see yourself in that light, will you run back to the father's house? No. Not until you see, well, I am poor, I am naked, I am wretched, I am blind. Then you will come and you will say, I who am of no nation, I must be engrafted into God's nation. I who am without a family, I need a father to adopt me and give me an inheritance. He had no bread. He had to confess this. He had to know this. Let us make use of our misery. When you see your misery, you can see your sins. They might be written for you in your misery itself. See your sins, feel the sting of your misery. See the vanity and lack of satisfaction in the swinish worldly pleasures that this man had. Let them bring you to yourself so that you might say, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. Now, heaven is the place where God dwells and in the Bible often stands for God who dwells in heaven. So here. I have broken both tables of the law. Here are the aggravations of my sin, Father. I sinned directly against God. I made war against heaven. Furthermore, Father, before you, whom I ought to honor and love and cherish, I have sinned. You see, he's broken both tables of the law. Notice what he did not say. Well, you know, you gave me the goods. You know, you enabled me. You know what else? There's lots of temptations in that land. I had a really bad older brother. He was always breathing down my neck, always so hard and judgmental. You know, who's to blame me? After all, maybe I did some bad things. Is that what he did? Is that what he said? Did he soften his sins? Did he apologize? You know that's what an apology means, right? It means defending yourself. Speaking from your position to show why it's not really that bad or it might be good. That's an apology. Repentance is where you confess. You say what God says about your sin. I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, Father. That's what he's going to do. He's planning his repentance. He's planning his confession. Let us confess our sins. Not to be mealy-mouthed. What did you do? No, I have sinned, he says, against heaven and before thee. He does not speak with half his throat open. He acknowledges plainly his sins. This is what the publicans and the sinners were doing. They repented. They confessed. They didn't cover their sins. Well, yeah, but you know, people were really mean to us, Jesus. No, they confessed. They repented. They turned from their sins. Here, the prodigal will point to the aggravations of his sins. Not the reasons why they're not so bad, but the reasons why they are awful. You can't imagine how bad it is to fight against heaven. What sort of lunatic does that? So he's going to confess it. He plans to confess to his father, I am not worthy of the least of your mercies, father. That's what Jacob said. Genesis 32 verse 10. He plans to say, you know, I'm not worthy to be your son. Can you just make me like a hireling? I have no possessions here anymore. I'll acknowledge that. I own nothing. I'm just here to work. I want some food. That's all. Can I work for you? That's what he's saying. His unworthiness. He arises and comes to his father in verse 20 and notice his father saw him and had compassion. The construction in the Greek is like this. At the very moment he saw his son, he was moved with bowels toward him. As soon as he saw that miserable wretch coming up his walkway, Filled with filth. Imagine this. The man didn't have enough food to eat like a swine. What do you think he looks like? Emaciated? Perhaps filled with filth all over his clothing? A stench coming forth of hogs and swine from this boy? He's moved immediately with compassion on his miserable son. The Lord is full of compassion. As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. These are like these publicans and sinners. Filthy, right? You can smell the stench of their life, but they're coming to hear what Jesus has to say. They came forth for to hear Him. That was their purpose, was to hear Jesus, to turn from their sins upon hearing the gospel and the stench. What does the Father say to the stench? Ha! Go clean yourself up first. Then you come on my property. Not until then. No. He had compassion and he ran. Imagine a wealthy man in a long robe running. They don't do that. A servant. Go see what that beggar wants. No. He saw his son. He had compassion. He ran and fell on his neck. And rather than kick him, he kisses him. This filthy wretch, he kisses him. He shows him his love. He receives the repentant. He restores. He forgives. He kisses. The Lord Jesus is slow to anger and quick in mercy. The son begins his confession of sins with all of its aggravations in verse 21. He acknowledges he's unworthy to be reckoned among the sons. And the father does what? Verse 22, he doesn't even talk to his son. Servants, quick, not kick him off the property. Go get the primal robe, the number one, the best robe. Not only so, give him the signet ring of the household. He's not a hireling, is he? He's a son. Bring him shoes for his feet. Here, notice, all of his filthiness is being washed away. The shoes for the ground that he treads on, perhaps he didn't even have shoes at this point. I want him to tread upon this property as an owner with the symbol of his ownership and royal dignity as my son. Go quickly, do this, he says. The grace of God. Urgently. Now bring it forth. Remember this aorist imperative? That's what the son used when he said, give me my inheritance. Now the father says, bring me this robe. Bring it to him right now. Hurry up. Get him the ring. Let's go. Put it on his hands. Get the shoes for his feet immediately. Urgently. Right now. Do it, he says. The gracious reception. He receives wretched, miserable sinners as righteous in his sight. He adopts them and says, that's my son. Put the ring upon him. Let us rejoice in so great a salvation. Do you see your unworthiness of God's goodness? Do you confess your sins? Do you turn from them? Then rejoice, I say, for God receives sinners. He receives those who turn from their sins, who draw near for to hear the Lord Jesus Christ. God adopts, he appoints heirs in his Testament. He forgives all of our iniquities. He gives us the rights and all the privileges of the sons of God. He's not done yet. Verse 23, bring hither the fatted calf. This comes from the word for grain. The grained calf. At the end of a cow's life, been out on grass all the time, their muscles get a little hard. What you do is you feed them with grain and then fat goes into their muscles and the meat is very nice. It's the best. If you have one that's been raised on grain, oh, that meat is delicious and tender. Bring me the best of our meat that we have for this son of mine. The fatted calf, the grain fed, the corn fed, the most prized meat. Just like the robe was the best, so is the food. Let us eat and be merry. As the man-friend said to his man-neighbors concerning his sheep, as the woman said concerning her lost coin to her woman-friends, let us be merry, let us rejoice. The father is pleased with repentant sinners. For this my son used to be dead, That's what that word means. And is alive again. He was lost in perdition. Now he's found. Here's why we're making Mary. Here's the call for jubilation. My son, dead emphatically, used to be, and now he is living. He used to be lost and destroyed and undone, but now he is found. You see, passive. just like the coin, just like the sheep. So the Son is found. He has been found. He did not find himself. I note then this doctrine that the saving response of sinners to the gospel is the result of God's prior work. The saving response of sinners to the gospel is the result of the Father's prior work. He's a lost sheep found by the shepherd, a lost coin found by the woman, a lost and dead son found and raised again by the father himself. Let us rejoice in our father of mercies, our God of all consolation, who has prepared for us a kingdom from the foundation of the world, that we might be heirs of his testament. joint heirs with Christ, who raised us from the dead, who found us when we were lost. Now at this point, put yourself back in the original audience. You're listening to Jesus. He's got a parable for the men, the lost sheep, a parable for the women, the lost coin, a parable for everyone in the household, the lost sons. Now whose side are you going to take at this point? Well, I'm on the side of the father at this point. I'm on the side of the lost son who lived in riotous living and was received back. What a glorious thing! And now Jesus trumps before them a mirror that they might see themselves. Here's what you look like. Now his elder son was in the field, a dutiful hypocrite, a merit monger. Who thinks that this work in the field is going to get some reward. Certainly I am worthy of some great thing. That's how he thinks. He says as much. He hears the joy. He inquires of a servant. Verse 26. What are these things? The servant narrates the joyous return of the brother, the father's gracious, gracious reception and the good grounds for him to receive him. Because remember, he used to be dead and now he's alive. He used to be lost and now he's found. Shouldn't you be glad about your brother? This is what the servant is doing here. Verse 28. And he was angry. He flew into a rage, literally. He would not go in. Moved with wrath and indignation, I will not so much as go to that assembly where they're rejoicing and dancing. The Geneva Bible notes say the following, those who truly fear God desire to have all men join them in fearing Him. Is this man truly fearing God? His father comes out to entreat him, to implore him, to urge, to encourage him. And he answers and says to his father, this is his judgment. This is the word answering. It means to speak from your judgment, from your rational faculty of judgment. Here's the verdict. What's in this man's heart? What are his thoughts? What does he choose? What does he delight in? What are his affections? Where does he set his heart low? Here's what he answers. Look at this, low. These many years do I serve thee. And the verb is from the noun slave, doulos, douleo. These many years do I slave for you. Look at all the hard work. Look at all the blood, sweat and tears. What do I get out of this? Nothing. I never even transgressed your commandment. No, not even once did I do something that you didn't tell me I was supposed to do. Not even once did you say, don't do this and I did it. You see his view of himself. Is he a swine feeder? Is he a prodigal? No, I'm righteous, he says. I'm righteous and I deserve things because of the good that I do. That's why he flies into a rage. And yet, here's how you wronged me, dad. Let me show you how you wronged me. After all the good I did for you as your slave, for all these years of obedience, Not even once would you just bust out a little tiny sheep for us so that we could have a party. Not even once did you do that for me. You see what I deserve? You see what I deserve? Let alone the best and finest calves, not even a little baby sheep for us. Beware, brethren, of the Jews' spirit. seeing yourself as good, as worthy to be the father's son. Then you see this filthy swine herd. He comes in with the stench of pigs on him. Did he obey your commandments? No. No. Did he slave for you like me? No. Why are you receiving him back? Beware of the spirit of judging those who come to repentance, of seeming to think of yourself, well, you know, I'm actually pretty good. I deserve things. And when people don't pay me back, or God doesn't pay me back how I think, what do I think? I've been wronged. Not even once did you just give me a little lamb for me and my friends. Not even once after all my slavery for you. Beware of this spirit being blind to your own sins, ungrateful to God for all of his benefits showered upon you. That's what the Father says. I'm always with you. Everything I have belongs to you, son. Do you not see all my goodness to you? As soon as this thy son was come, he says. This is your kid, dad. You did this to him. This is your doing. He's your son. And as soon as he comes back, what do you do to him? Look at what he did. I'll tell you what he did. He devoured your living with harlots. Now read the first part of the chapter. Do you ever read the word harlot? No. Says he didn't save his money. He wasted it on riotous living. Could there be harlots in there? Maybe. Do we know that there are harlots in there? No. You know what the self-righteous person does? He puts the worst construction on the other man's deeds. Oh, he had to have hired harlots. I know him. He must have done that. You see, I know how evil he is. I'm here slaving for you, he's off with whores, wasting all your money, and now he comes back, and what do you do? You see, the fault-finding spirit is the self-righteous spirit, the spirit that makes much of my goodness and much of others' sins, rather than vice versa. Son, the father says, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. The word here is child, begotten of me. My bowels move for you too. I love you too. Everything I have is yours, son. Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten all that I did for you? All the means I put at your disposal, the grace I showered on that visible church. Do you forget my oracles, my ordinances, Christ after the flesh? Do you forget that I adopted your nation? Did you forget all these things? And if this could be said to the Jews, what of Christians? What do we have? The Son of God in the flesh, not types and shadows. Not David who has his flaws, the Son of David who has none. Not a paschal lamb once a year, a once for all redemption of God in the flesh, the very blood of God spilled for our redemption. We have the bread of life poured into our ears, upon our tongues, chewed with our teeth. That's what we have. What did they have? Types, shadows, preparations, maybe someday, annual sacrifice, morning and evening sacrifice, twice on the Sabbath. Because why? Redemption hasn't been accomplished yet. There's no manumission just yet. Wait, it's coming. It's coming. No, it's here. It's past. It's already done. Once for all. The blazing light of the gospel. The more sure word of prophecy. The signs and seals of God's testament. God is ever with us. All that he has is ours. What will we do with that inheritance? Grumble? I'm just here slaving for you God you better pay me back and if you don't you wronged me no The father reminds him, this filthy swine herd. He's my son. It was meat. It was morally right that we should make merry and be glad. It was required. It was a duty that God imposes to rejoice when this filthy son of mine comes to repentance. He was dead. Now notice verse 32, for this thy brother was dead. That's the same construction in Greek. Thy son, this son of thine. Well, this brother of thine. Should you not have compassion on your brother? Should you not want the best for your brother? Is he not your flesh and bone? Should you not desire his salvation? You should have compassion like I had compassion. You should recall that he's connected to you. You should wish him well. You should rejoice in his resurrection, in his recovery from perdition. Let us then rejoice in the progress of the gospel. Let us beware of our feelings of self-righteousness, our reliance upon our own deeds, our ingratitude if we are not given what we think we deserve in this life by God or by others. Let us not forget the grace that God has showered upon his visible church. Let us rather justify God and not ourselves. Let us be neither the lost son, the riotous liver, nor the self-righteous formalist, his brother. Amen. Thus far the exposition of Luke 15, 17 through 32.