Word of Salvation – Vol. 48 No.13 – April 2003

 

The Father’s Love for Sinners Who Repent

 

Sermon by Rev J Zuidema

on Luke 15:11-32

Scripture Readings:  Ezekiel 33:1-11; Romans 5:1-11; Luke 15:1-32

Suggested Hymns:  BoW 399; 416; 476; Rej 387; 389

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When you are in the ministry, you often get people who say that God cannot possibly love them anymore because they are such terrible sinners. When people say this to me, then it usually indicates three things. First, there is often a false piety involved – a reverse psychology; second, that the person thought they were lovable before they committed whatever bothers them; and thirdly, they have no understanding of the depth of God’s love for sinners.

Sometimes we like to measure God’s love for sinners by our own criteria! Well, let me assure you that we would often fall far short. I know it is hard for some to realise, or perhaps accept, that God loved us before we were lovable. In fact Romans reminds us that He loved us while we were His enemies – children of wrath!

That God in His immeasurable love, would send His only beloved Son to be hung on the cross to die for sinners should never be underestimated for a moment. Our Father’s love for sinners is so great that He weeps over the lost and celebrates when one is saved. His pain is profoundly deep over humanity’s lost condition, and His joy is full when a sinner repents.

The three parables before us this morning illustrate our heavenly Father’s love and compassion for lost sinners and His rejoicing over their salvation. They give us a window into the heart of a loving God, who pursues lost souls and, as the Apostle Peter reminded us, “(He) is patient… not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Notice the setting of Luke 15, and it is important! “All the tax collectors and the sinners were gathering around to hear him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them'” (Luke 15:1-2).

Wherever Jesus went, a crowd of undesirables gathered around Him. These were people who made no effort at all to live by the standard of Jewish law. And this very thing troubled the self-righteous Pharisees a great deal. They were so hopelessly preoccupied with the legalistic keeping of the law that they had no time to be concerned with serious sinners.

The Pharisees had no idea what it was to show grace, or the depth of God’s love for sinners! Nor could they stomach a Messiah who was popular among the outcasts of society and who at the same time was critical of the rabbinical traditions. And so, Jesus, knowing the Pharisees’ hearts, rebukes them through three parables.

All three parables make the point that God does not sit passively by while people are going to hell. He does not delight in the destruction of the wicked. Instead, He loves them, pursues them, and longs for them to be saved. And He is jubilant at the redemption of even one lost sinner. Before we get to the prodigal son, allow me to just briefly touch on the previous two parables.

The first of the three parables (Luke 15:4-6) implies the compassionate behaviour that would be expected even of a common sheep farmer. No shepherd worth his salt would be satisfied with ninety-nine sheep if he had one hundred. He would leave the ninety-nine safe in the fold and go out to search for that one lost sheep.

For many shepherds, this was not only a duty; it was also a matter of their love for the sheep. Each sheep would be known to the shepherd by name (cf John 10:3). Every night he would count and examine them when they came back into the fold. If one was lost, he would go out into the night to find it. When the shepherd in the parable found the lost sheep, he would call friends and neighbours, and together they would celebrate the sheep’s homecoming.

The key point of this parable is the overflowing joy of the shepherd over the salvation of the sheep. Jesus’ emphasises the point in verse 7: “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents rather than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” In other words, when one sinner repents, God calls for a celebration in heaven.

He is a seeking Shepherd whose desire is to rescue lost sheep. He so longs for the souls of the lost that He will go out and pursue them. And when the lost lamb is brought into the fold, heaven itself is barely big enough to contain His joy. How deep is the love of God for sinners!

The second parable (Luke 15:8-10) makes the same point with a different metaphor. This time it is a lost coin – a denarii. It was a very good wage! When this woman lost one of her ten coins, she lit a lamp, swept out her house, and searched until she found the one that was missing. When she found it, her joy was as great as the shepherd’s. She, too, like the shepherd, called a group of friends and neighbours together to share her joy. She could not conceal the gladness in her own heart.

And this parable makes the same point as the one before: “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (vs 10).

Note that verse 10 says, “joy in the presence of the angels.” It does not actually say the angels were joyful. Whose joy is this? It is the joy of the triune God, existing in the presence of the holy angels. Of course, the angels share in the celebration, but the emphasis in both parables is on God’s joy. What touches the heart of God most deeply is the salvation of sinners.

If only the Pharisees and teachers of the law had been more careful students of Scripture, they would have better understood this side of the character of God. Even the Old Testament revealed Him as a God of compassion. Ezekiel 33:11 says, “‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked’.” Isaiah 62:5 says, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” Hosea 11:8 says, “How can I give you up – how can I hand you over – my heart is changed within me, all my compassion is aroused.”

That is exactly the image of these parables. It is uncontained joy, pure bliss, unrestrained celebration. That is how God views the salvation of a sinner.

Let us now focus on the most familiar of all three parables, the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Although it goes into far greater detail than the previous two, it makes exactly the same point. The loving Father is God, who rejoices to see the homecoming of a son once lost.

The first half of the parable focuses on the contemptible behaviour of the younger son. For this son to demand his inheritance was like saying he wished his father was dead. Yet, the father is gracious and gave both his sons their shares of the family wealth (vs 12). Though his heart was surely broken by the son’s request, he gave him what he asked. His great fear must have been that the impetuous boy would squander it.

And that is exactly what happened. The son went to a distant country, blew the money through loose living, and wound up so poor he had to feed pigs to make a living. In the finish he was so hungry he wanted to eat the pigs’ slop. Was there anything worse for a Jew? Of all animals, the pig was seen as unclean by all Jews. Approaching starvation, he finally came to his senses.

It is noteworthy that what ultimately brought him to his senses was sorrow over his predicament. At this point, let us remember that this process is also part of God’s plan. This is also part of God’s work in pursuing lost souls. The sorrow itself was not repentance, but it led to deep repentance.

Paul writing the Corinthians says, “yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor 7:9-10)

The prodigal son began with a sense of his own need. He admitted he had offended not only his human father but he freely acknowledged his own guilt before God (vs 18). He was determined to ask forgiveness and take the consequences. He even planned his repentance carefully, rehearsing what he would say when he got home. He would ask his father to appoint him a place with his hired servants (vs 19).

Here is a perfect illustration of the nature of saving faith and repentance. Observe the young man’s unqualified compliance, his absolute humility, and his unequivocal willingness to do whatever his father asked of him. He had done a complete turnaround. His demeanour was one of unconditional surrender, a complete resignation of self and absolute submission to his father. He mourned over his sin. His arrogance gave way to meekness and humility. That is the essence of saving faith.

And so the prodigal son got up and returned to his father. While the son was still far from home, his father saw him and came running to greet him. How was it that the father was so quick to recognise him? Surely he must have been out looking for him, watching in the distance to see if indeed the lost son might be coming back. Here again is a picture of the seeking heavenly Father.

Now some people like to make much of the fact that this parable is different than the previous two, for whereas the shepherd and women actually go out and searched for what they lost, the father doesn’t. Well, a careful reading of the text, as well as the Greek grammar, indicates that the father was looking for him to come back, and was even looking at the very moment he came into sight! And the fact is when a repentant sinner comes to God he learns that God is already looking for him to come. The Father is eager to run and meet him. Before the sinner ever gets near to the Father, he discovers that God has first come to him to embrace him!

By the way, we need to remember the cultural setting in this story. This man’s house wasn’t out in the countryside somewhere, as we see farmer’s houses today. In those days the landowner’s house was part of the village and everything that happened would be in full view.

And it wasn’t the done thing that an affluent Jewish landowner should run – especially if it occurred in public view – towards a wayward son! Yet the father doesn’t care; he sees his son from afar and runs to meet him! He ignores decorum and dignity. This father runs to meet his barefoot son dressed in rags! And when he reaches him, he kisses him. Again the grammar in the Greek tells us that he kissed him much, in other words again and again!

Before the Son had a chance to fall on his knees before him as a slave and kiss his feet, the father embraces him as a son. “Get a new cloak, put a ring on his finger, sandals on his feet, kill the fatted calf!” Instead of punishment for waywardness and loose living, a banquet is prepared! The issue wasn’t about a squandered inheritance with loose living, but a lost son had been found! And there is great rejoicing! How deep the Father’s love for sinners!

All three of these parables have as a common theme a seeker finding what was lost and rejoicing at it being found. In every case, the seeker is God, who rejoices over the salvation of sinners.

The story of the prodigal son takes an ugly turn as we meet the jealous older brother (Luke 15:25-32). Remember, the older brother had received his inheritance, too (vs 12). Instead of squandering it, he had stayed home, serving the father. In fact, he was out working in the field when the prodigal returned. When he heard the music and laughter, he asked one of the servants to explain.

This older son was furious that the father would celebrate the homecoming of his wayward brother. The jealous son would not even go inside, for he was not about to eat with a sinner. He totally lacked the compassion of his father. He was playing the part of a Pharisee.

This son’s behaviour might seem more socially acceptable than his younger brother’s debauchery, but it was just as outrageous. The older son had no real love for his father, or he would have shared his father’s joy. In serving his father all those years, he had just been going through the motions. He served out of duty. His chief concern was what he could get for himself (vs 29). He had no understanding of his father’s heart. He, too, was a lost son.

And the father sought him as well (vs 28). His father went out and pleaded with him! The Lord always seeks to save the lost, but they must see themselves as lost. Come and celebrate with me – you brother was lost, dead, now he is found and alive! Often the most flagrant, irreligious, repugnant sinners are quicker to understand their depravity than people steeped in religious achievement and self-righteousness.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law cannot tolerate the forgiveness of sinners, especially flagrant ones. They do not understand repentance. Far from rejoicing, they are repulsed when a sinner confesses his sin. They take great pride in their own apparent righteousness, but in their hearts there is no sense of submission.

God is seeking the lost. Sinners need to acknowledge that they need a Saviour! Those who acknowledge their sin and turn from it will find Him running to them with open arms. Those who think they are good enough to deserve His favour will find themselves excluded from the celebration, unable to share the eternal joy of a loving Father.

The lesson is one that we shall all do well to lay on our hearts. Nothing ought to give us such pleasure as the conversion of souls. It makes angels rejoice in heaven. It ought to make Christians rejoice on earth. But what if those converted were the vilest of the vile? What if they served sin and Satan for years and wasted their lives on riotous living? It matters nothing.

Has grace come into their hearts? Are they truly repentant? Have they come back to their father’s house? Are they new creatures in Christ? Are they dead made alive and the lost found? If these questions can be answered satisfactorily, then we ought to rejoice and be glad!

Don’t worry about the world which sneers and mocks at such conversions. Don’t worry about the self-righteous if they murmur and find fault and deny the reality of all great and sudden changes. Let us who read these words of the prodigal son remember not to be like the Pharisees and scribes, but to thank God that one more soul is saved.

We can have many interests, but if we have none in the conversion of souls, then we are no better than the Pharisees and scribes and we are not true Christians! When we remember that we were lost once, but have been found only because our Father in heaven was rich in mercy and did not wish us to perish forever; when we remember that in his great love He sent His Son to live, die and live for us, so that we may have eternal life; when we remember that, then surely we can have no less a desire to reach those who are lost today.

Are you busy with that? Or are you snubbing your nose at sinners? Is your Session encouraging you in that task and encouraging you to be active participants? May we be like our Saviour, who came to seek out and save the lost and then rejoice when one sinner is saved!

Amen.