Portraits of our Father - Luke 15 - Part Four

If one thought the Jews didn't like Jesus' stories about a shepherd and a woman, then wait for the fury as Jesus talks about a Jewish father.  No, the idea of it being a Jew and a male is not the issue, but rather what this Jewish father did.  

Jesus moves on to tell a story that surely ranks as one of the best-known of all Jesus ever told. This further reveals the receptivity of God for sinners as He tells the story of the youngest son of a father who essentially said, "I wish you were dead so I could get my inheritance."  The father relents to the wish and gives him his inheritance to wish the son leaves home and wastes it all in unrighteous and unruly living.  When all his "money friends" leave him, the boy finds himself taking a job feeding that which every Jew hates - pigs.  But it was there "he came to his senses" and saw himself resulting in him going home willing to be just a servant, not a son.  That is when the father saw him coming and met him with hugs, kisses, and all kinds of restoration to the family as a son.

So what about this story would raise the fury of all the Jews.  This father should have never given the boy the inheritance, instead, he had every right to disown him, going to the public square to publicly announce his verdict, assuring the boy never got a penny.  Instead, the father took the disgrace of the son and to make matters worse, when the boy came home, he ran to him, kissed him, and restored him.  It was beneath the dignity of a Jewish man to run.

This father acted in such a disgraceful and undignified way causing every Jew hearing this story almost want to throw up.  And yet Jesus is saying, "This is what God our Father is like."

Our Father has given us so much that we squandered on ourselves and others leaving us bankrupt and broken.  We feel as low as we could go without any hope of ever being restored to a right fellowship with God. But God did not further push us down but instead was there to meet us when we came running back to Him.  He graciously and gloriously forgave, kissed us, and restored us to sonship with all its rights and privileges.  He further throws the biggest party to celebrate the return of this son who disgraced and humiliated him.  What a Father!!

If you would like to read all nine sermons I preached from Luke 15 in 2016, simply click here.