May 4, 2014, Luke 15:19-24. Hope
Personified.
The Point. God welcomes us because of His deep love for us.
Overview:
The events of this passage take place in the area of Jerusalem at the house
of an unidentified wealthy Pharisee. The Pharisee, having as a dinner guest,
the noted, famous and sought-after Rabbi Jesus, would have invited all his
friends to dine with him. The house would have been filled with like-minded
Pharisees who, by this time in history had gained control of the Sanhedrin.
Luke 15 begins with the disapproval of Jesus by those present. The specific complaint was not that "sinners”
flocked to Him but that He “welcomes sinners and eats with them” (v. 2). They believed God wanted the righteous to
separate themselves from sinners. Here we see the strong influence of the
Pharisees, the "set apart ones."
Confronting the Pharisees, and demonstrating what God was really like and
what God really wanted, Jesus told three parables. The parables of the lost sheep, lost coin,
and the prodigal son all convey the same message. God loves the lost and wants to see them come
to repentance and salvation. Jesus’
revelation of how the Father really felt about the lost subjects shocked His
contemporaries in Judaism and unfortunately continues to shock some in modern or
post-modern Christianity.
INTRODUCTION: Everyone’s
perception of God is colored to some degree by his or her attitude and
relationship with their father. Even those who never knew their father might
see God as an absentee God, or they will paint God as the type of father they
wish they had. Throughout the Bible, God is referred to as our Father. Jesus
used an illustration of a father in His parable, some say inaptly named, the Parable
of the Prodigal Son to help us grasp the depth of God the Father’s love for us.
Jesus told a story about a father and a son
that illustrates how God’s “yellow ribbon” is always out as a welcome sign for
sinners.
Luke 15:11-12.
11 He
also said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father,
‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he
distributed the assets to them.
For the
younger son to request his property in this manner was an act of extreme,
almost unheard of, disrespect to the Jews of Jesus’ day. For the son
to ask for his share of the inheritance was more than a request for
independence. It was a confession that
he could not live at home. Sons were
expected to live at home and work for their father until they married. Then they were expected to work with the
father until the father’s death. The
concept of a son striking out on his own when he reached a certain age is a
concept unique to our culture, not that of Jesus’ day and time. The request made no provision for the upkeep
of the father or others in the family. It presumed that the father were dead.
In fact, it is tantamount to saying to his father, “To me, you are dead!”
In verses 13-19,[1] we see
the younger son’s rebellious and wasteful living that led to his losing
everything and hitting rock bottom for a Jew: living and eating with pigs. This
is a picture of humanity left to its own selfish devices. This is where man is
today – working in a pigpen and wishing for the pig slop – but not even being
able to get it!
True, he lost all his material possessions and
his self-respect, but the most important thing he lost was his relationship to
his father. We, ourselves can sometimes be tempted to want God’s blessings more
than we want a relationship with Him the “stuff over the Savior.”
The son saw his need to repent and told himself
that he must return home even though the best he could expect in returning home
would be to become one of his father’s slaves. He was sure he had forfeited his
place in the family by his humiliating his father and showing such disrespect
for him. But here is where Jesus would shock his listeners again as He has done
in previous two parables.
Luke
15:20-21.
20 So
he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms
around his neck, and kissed him.
21 The
son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m
no longer worthy to be called your son.’
[2]Note that the first
thing the son did after he came to his senses was to “get up.” If we are to
repent and turn to God, we must first realize our wrongdoing and “get up” -
make a move toward going in the right direction. The ancient Chinese proverb
says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Likewise, a
spiritual journey into Heaven first begins with our “getting up” out of the
pigpen.
Jesus’ Jewish audience would never have
expected the father to respond as he did.
There is great significance in the father seeing his son coming toward
him. Apparently, he had been watching for him and waiting, knowing that he
would come home. The father did not give up on his son. He was looking and
longing for his son to return, even though his son had shamed him and himself.
People may give up on us, but God never will.
Next, we see the father running to meet him. A dignified Middle Eastern man would never
lift his skirts, thus exposing his legs, to run for any purpose, let alone this
"blackguard" [3]of a
son. Moreover, he embraces his pig-slopped son, thereby defiling himself and
making himself ritually impure. Not only that, he “keeps on” kissing him, a
repeated action in the Greek text. The kiss is a sign of respect, greeting and
acceptance. Here, the father is not ashamed to condescend to the level of his
lost son to save him.
[4]On July 21, 1961, Astronaut
Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom was the pilot of NASA’s second Project Mercury flight,
Mercury-Redstone 4, popularly known as Liberty Bell 7. This was a suborbital flight that lasted 15 minutes and 37 seconds. After splashdown,
emergency explosive bolts unexpectedly fired and blew the hatch off, causing
water to flood into the spacecraft. Quickly exiting through the open hatch and
into the ocean, Grissom was nearly drowned as water began filling his
spacesuit. A recovery helicopter dropped Air Force Pararescue Swimmers (PJs)
into the water successfully to save Grissom. Had they not descended to
Grissom’s level, he would have drowned because his water-filled suit made it
impossible for him to swim and thus save himself.
Likewise, in Jesus’ parable, without such a
condescension by the father, the son would not have been saved, but would have
been drowned in a life of slavery brought about by his selfish decision.
Verses 22-24.
22
“But the father told his slaves, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on
him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23
Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a
feast,
24
because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found!’ So they began to celebrate.
[5]“But.” One of the most important words in the Bible is
small word, ”but.” It is an adversative and is used to indicate that the whole
direction of the story is instantly changed. Such is the case here. The father
did not even give his son the opportunity to share the humble speech he had
rehearsed while he was in the pigpen. Note the amazing extravagance of the
father’s love. To underscore his decision, the father tells the servants to
move “quick” or quickly.
“Best robe.” These words
indicate something I had never known about this well-known passage. The two
words translated “best robe,” in the Greek are protos stolais. This phrase can mean either “first robe” or “the
robe of first authority.” Protos means
literally “first” and stolais is a
long outer robe worn by the rich and powerful. It is likely here from the context that the father is bestowing
on the son, not the son’s old robe – the robe he possessed first, but the robe of first authority, signifying
not only taking him back, but making him pre-eminent even over his older
brother.
The term robe often evokes images of long flowing robes. Such a
robe was an indicator of a person’s elevated status. Jesus on one occasion
criticized some of the Pharisees because they showed off their status by displaying
their stolais, their “flowing robes”
(Mark 12:38). This robe was quite a contrast to the Roman toga, which showed the
status of a common Greek or Roman citizen.
Giving a robe to symbolize one’s status brings to mind a number of
stories in which robes were given as gifts that also signified pre-eminent
authority. Jacob groomed Joseph during his teenage years to serve as the
steward of his large household, a task for which Joseph later showed repeated
aptitude in Potiphar’s house, in prison, and in Pharaoh’s court. Jacob’s gift
of a magnificent, long tunic (traditionally translated “coat of many colors”)
that evoked much jealousy on the part of Joseph’s older half brothers was a
symbol of that stewardship. That’s why they hated Joseph so – his father was
planning to place Joseph as the pre-eminent brother. The robe signified this.
In a similar act, Pharaoh later placed a royal signet ring and linen robes on
Joseph when he elevated Joseph from his prison cell to a position of virtual
royalty in Egypt (Gen. 41:42).
During the early days of the Israelite kingdom, Saul took David into his
service and Saul’s son Jonathan gave David the honor of wearing his robe and
weapons (1 Sam. 18:4). Jonathan thus showed his recognition that David would be
king over him.
During the period of the exile, Persian King Ahasuerus elevated Esther’s
uncle Mordecai from the shame of sackcloth (Esth. 4:1) to a royal robe
(6:7-10).
During the period between the Old and New Testaments circa. 300 BC to 2, perhaps 6 BC[6], the
Syrian King Antiochus, nearing the end of his life, made his friend Philip
king, conferring on him a signet ring, a crown, and a robe (1 Maccabees 6:15).
[7]Application to us. When we
return to God in answer to His call, he restores us not to our former place,
but to a place of honor and glory. We are made, in fact, saints.
I note the recent elevation by the Roman Catholic Church of Popes John
XXIII and John Paul II to the office of "saint." May I submit that they
and we, have been saints a lot longer than that - and it was not by the decree
of any man, Pope or otherwise.
Sandals.
Historically, the Jews wore sandals. Foot covering in Middle Eastern culture
was very important. Exodus records even the Hebrew slaves in Egypt wearing
sandals. A Jew would not go barefoot except for one of three reasons: he was
somehow dishonored, he had chosen to show mourning or humiliation or he had
lost in battle. To show the foot, especially the bottom of the foot is a sign of disrespect.[8]
However, in Greek and Roman culture, it was not common for slaves to wear
sandals unless they had an occupation that needed foot protection. [9] It
could be conjectured that part of the reasoning for this was to separate the
slave from the free man in the eye of the public and to emphasize to the slave
that he was, in fact, a slave. When Jesus told this story, the Greek and Roman
customs regarding slaves would have been firmly in place and known by all, Jews
and Gentiles alike. Thus, Jesus is addressing the Roman custom, not the Jewish
one.
Ring. The
finger ring was not a decoration. It was also a sign of plenary or supreme
authority. To give someone the signet ring was to give him “power of attorney”
to do all things the principal could do.
When King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, he did so with the gift of a ring
(Esther. 3:10). When Haman’s treachery was outed and he was hanged on his own
gallows, this same ring King Ahasuerus later gave to Esther’s cousin Mordecai,
indicating Mordecai’s rise to power and Haman’s downfall (8:2). We have seen
above how Pharaoh gave Joseph a robe to signify his royal authority and can add
here that he also took the signet ring from his own finger and gave it to
Joseph, conferring authority to him over all Egypt. (See Gen. 41:42.)
Feast. The command
to kill the fatted calf is actually a command to prepare a feast. In Jesus’
day, people ate mostly grains, vegetables, fruits, and fish. Most people could
afford to eat meat only during feasts and festivals. The rich (as undoubtedly
the parable presents this family) might also eat meat on the Sabbath.7
In the first-century agrarian society in which Jesus lived, some families
kept and fed a calf – fattened it up – specifically for a festive occasion or
celebration. Jesus’ hearers then likely understood that the father expected his
son to return and thus had the fatted calf ready for the anticipated
celebration.
They would have roasted the calf all day and it would have fed up to 200
people. It is, thus obvious that the father wanted not only receive the son
back, but to announce this to the entire village who would have been invited to
the all-day feast.
The Older
Brother. He is the Pharisee, leader of Israel. Jesus, as He did so many times, was speaking
to his host but He was also addressing those others in the room. Here, He is telling them that they are going to be
passed over by God like so many earlier instances where God passed over the
older brother. Abel over Cain, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over the other brothers,
Moses over Aaron, and David over his brothers. These older brothers were always
angry at losing their positions. However, God is sovereign. He grooms people
for particular jobs and chooses whom He will. We can always find hope in God’s
deep desire to forgive and redeem. All of heaven rejoices when a lost one is
found. We should do the same.
Celebrating the homecoming. It is
incumbent on the Christian to celebrate someone who embraces hope and comes
back to the Father. We should always be joyful when a sinner repents. It is
said that in heaven, there is great joy over such an one. We should do no less.
Certainly, we should never disparage such an one. Sometimes, however, when a
“sinner comes home,” that is, turns her life over to Jesus, while we may not
act with indignation, neither do we get very excited. This may be for the
reason that we are inoculated to the occurrence. However, when we do not honor
the God who has just snatched this sinner from the pit of hell, we, like the
Pharisees, dishonor not only the person, but also the God who saved her.
If you find yourself jaded on this point,
perhaps you should ask God to help you re-orient yourself to the gravity of the
event so that you can rejoice with the newly saved person. Sometimes, life is
not about you![10]
Grace. This
passage is all about the grace of the father pictured here—undeserved
forgiveness, undeserved honor, and undeserved responsibility. God welcomes us
because of His deep
love for us. We do not have to be afraid to turn from our sin and return to the
Father. God is not surprised when we come home. In fact, He knew we would and
he stand there with arms outstretched, waiting to hug us kiss us and place on
us a robe, a ring and new shoes.
By linking
the three parables of Luke 15—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost
son—rather than telling only the third one, Jesus gave a higher profile to the
celebratory nature of the son’s return. Both the shepherd who found his lost
sheep and the woman who found her lost coin invited their friends to rejoice
with them. (See vv. 6, 9.)
However, the
invitation for others to rejoice reached a zenith with the father’s invitation
to the whole village in a celebration because his son who was dead is now alive! When the younger son left, he
wished his father dead, and the family and village treated the son as dead.
However, now the one who had “died” was
alive again. Who brought him back to life? Did the son earn it? No, his
father gave him his life back with all the rights and privileges. His father
had embraced him, kissed him, and made him fully a son, so they all began to celebrate – all except the
Pharisee who sees life in one of two ways. Either it is selfishly about
himself, his status and his fear of losing both or it is about his wrongly
placed adherence to a tradition that maybe once was intended to honor God but
now no longer does so. In either case, he
is really the Prodigal.
John
R. Wible, Editor. Sources: Southern Baptist Uniform
Sunday School Lesson and Commentary, Spring, 2014; Southern Baptist Advanced Bible Study and Southern
Baptist Biblical Illustrator,
selected articles; Herschel Hobbs Commentary; Family Bible Study,;
and William Barclay’s Commentary on the selected passage, a portion of the Daily Bible Study Series, except where
noted.
[1]
Quotations omitted.
[2] Editor’s
comment.
[3] To
use Barclay’s word.
[4] Editor’s
comment.
[5] Editor’s
comment.
[6] Everyone
knows we date history from the birth of Jesus. However, because of calendar
errors, Jesus was born a few years before the year 1 AD.
[7] Editor’s
comment.
[8] You
will remember on April 9, 2003, when the statute of Saddam Hussein was toppled,
the people (possibly at the instance of US troops) took off their shoes and hit
the statute’s head with them. This was a sign of the most extreme disrespect.
[9] This custom was carried through to African
slavery in the United States. However, the custom originated with the Greeks,
not the Jews. Thus, it was the dream of African slaves to have shoes signifying
freedom – “All God’s Chillun Got Shoes,” is the title of an old spiritual
making this point.
[10] Your
editor humbly says this to himself.
