Luke 15 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Luke 15:1
2. 0:03Now all the tax collectors and the
3. 0:05sinners were coming near Jesus to listen
4. 0:07to him.
5. 0:09Both the Pharisees and the scribes began
6. 0:12to grumble, saying, "This man receives
7. 0:16sinners and eats with them."
8. 0:21So he told them a parable saying, "What
9. 0:24man among you, if he has a hundred sheep
10. 0:28and has lost one of them, does not leave
11. 0:31the 99 in the open pasture and go after
12. 0:36the one which is lost until he finds
13. 0:39it."
14. 0:41When he has found it, he lays it on his
15. 0:43shoulders, rejoicing.
16. 0:46And when he comes home, he calls
17. 0:49together his friends and his neighbors,
18. 0:51saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I
19. 0:55have found my sheep which was lost."
20. 0:59I tell you that in the same way, there
21. 1:02will be more joy in heaven over one
22. 1:04sinner who repents than over 99
23. 1:07righteous persons who need no
24. 1:10repentance.
25. 1:13Jesus is giving us a powerful insight
26. 1:18into the heart and character of God.
27. 1:21And he's saying
28. 1:24God is going to go after these tax
29. 1:28collectors and sinners who are coming
30. 1:30near him. He's going to reach for those
31. 1:32who are broken. He's going to reach for
32. 1:35those who are lost. And when he finds
33. 1:38them, he places it on his shoulders and
34. 1:41he comes back and he throws this big
35. 1:43party because the one that was lost is
36. 1:46found.
37. 1:49This is the view of the shepherd.
38. 1:51Pastoring is not going out to harass the
39. 1:54sheep. Pastoring is going out to find
40. 1:58the sheep that is lost and bring him
41. 2:00back into the fold. The word pastor is
42. 2:03the word for shepherd.
43. 2:06to bring it back into the safety of the
44. 2:08fold. That lamb thought it was freedom
45. 2:11to get away. That lamb thought there was
46. 2:15more food. There was more liberty. There
47. 2:19was more adventure
48. 2:21outside the fold. But what that lamb
49. 2:24found out there was isolation
50. 2:27and fear and wolves and lions and
51. 2:30threats.
52. 2:31And the heart of God is come back home.
53. 2:34there's still a place for you right back
54. 2:37home where you were meant to be.
55. 2:42So now he's going to give another image.
56. 2:46Remember that the there's a contrast
57. 2:48here. There's the the Pharisees and
58. 2:53scribes, okay? They are still in the
59. 2:56fold.
60. 2:58And there's
61. 3:00the sinners and tax collectors. And
62. 3:02they're asking why is he doing this?
63. 3:06This man receives sinners and eats with
64. 3:08them. They are indignant.
65. 3:13So Jesus gives another metaphor of what
66. 3:15he's doing.
67. 3:18Or what woman, if she has 10 silver
68. 3:21coins and loses one coin, does not light
69. 3:25a lamp and sweep the house and search
70. 3:29carefully until she finds it.
71. 3:34When she has found it, she calls
72. 3:36together her friends and neighbors and
73. 3:39says, "Rejoice with me, for I have found
74. 3:42the coin which I lost." Picture
75. 3:47yourself today walking down the road
76. 3:50coming home from getting your pay
77. 3:54and you were given $100
78. 3:59and you lost $10 on the path.
79. 4:03You would walk back and forth on that
80. 4:05path over and over and over. You'd ask
81. 4:08your brother or sister, "Could you come
82. 4:09help me? I know I lost $10 out here. I
83. 4:13think I might have put it here. Is it
84. 4:15behind the seat?
85. 4:17Did it blow over here? I mean, you would
86. 4:19look for $10.
87. 4:22And when you found it, you would be more
88. 4:25happy than if you had never lost it. And
89. 4:28again, that's what Jesus is bringing
90. 4:30home here to his listeners.
91. 4:33That God is happy. God calls a
92. 4:36celebration. God is thrilled at the
93. 4:39return of what was lost
94. 4:42because that was his. He bought that. He
95. 4:46paid for that. He birthed that.
96. 4:51In the same way, I tell you, there is
97. 4:53joy in the presence of the angels of God
98. 4:56over one sinner who repents. Now, he's
99. 5:00going to tell another story. It's the
100. 5:02same metaphor.
101. 5:04We have an equation.
102. 5:07We have the Pharisees and scribes on one
103. 5:10side and we have the sinners and broken
104. 5:13on the other side. Okay?
105. 5:16And he said a man had two sons.
106. 5:23Now it's getting very close. First we
107. 5:26started off as sheep. Then we thought of
108. 5:29it as coins. Now we're going to go ahead
109. 5:31and talk about it as a family. two sons.
110. 5:36The younger of them said to his father,
111. 5:39"Father, give me the share of the estate
112. 5:44that falls to me."
113. 5:48So he divided his wealth between them.
114. 5:52And not many days later, the younger son
115. 5:55gathered everything together and went on
116. 5:58a journey into a distant country. And
117. 6:02there he squandered his estate with
118. 6:06loose living.
119. 6:11Now when he had spent everything,
120. 6:15a severe famine occurred in that country
121. 6:18and he began to be impoverished.
122. 6:21I want you to think about this. Who are
123. 6:23the two sons?
124. 6:27>> Tax collectors. The younger son is the
125. 6:30sinners, the tax collectors, those
126. 6:32who've ruined their life. And the older
127. 6:36son,
128. 6:38he's the scribes, the Pharisees,
129. 6:41those who are doing it just right. And
130. 6:44then I want you to think of two
131. 6:45categories.
132. 6:48The what and the who.
133. 6:52The what
134. 6:54represents the blessings, the
135. 6:57opportunities, the good things that God
136. 6:59gave us. The inheritance,
137. 7:03all the stuff,
138. 7:05maybe it's good stuff, maybe it's happy
139. 7:07stuff, maybe it's fruitful stuff, but
140. 7:10it's still the what. And then there's
141. 7:13the who, the person, the eternal soul.
142. 7:18Which one does the father care more
143. 7:20about? The what or the who
144. 7:24is the father happy that his son asked
145. 7:26for his inheritance and then went and
146. 7:28took a big vacation and fell into sin
147. 7:31and threw his whole life away.
148. 7:34Does that make the father happy? Not at
149. 7:36all. It's it's horrible. It's sad.
150. 7:41But the father will not let that sadness
151. 7:45over the what become a barrier to loving
152. 7:49the who.
153. 7:52Now when he had spent everything a
154. 7:55severe famine occurred in that country
155. 7:58and he began to be impoverished.
156. 8:02So he went and hired himself out to one
157. 8:05of the citizens of that country.
158. 8:08He's in a foreign land. He's not even in
159. 8:11Israel anymore. He's He's out of the
160. 8:13covenant. He's lost.
161. 8:16And he sent him into the fields to feed
162. 8:18swine.
163. 8:21Boy, what a parable of what happens when
164. 8:24we squander our inheritance. When we
165. 8:27throw away the life God gave us.
166. 8:30Now we're in a foreign land. And what is
167. 8:33our purpose in life? We're feeding
168. 8:35swine.
169. 8:36Gh.
170. 8:38and he would have gladly filled his
171. 8:41stomach with the pods that the swine
172. 8:44were eating and no one was giving him
173. 8:47anything. Is this about physical hunger?
174. 8:50No, it's not about physical hunger.
175. 8:54This is not about physical hunger.
176. 8:57This is about
177. 8:59how love can deepen, appreciation can
178. 9:04deepen in someone's heart
179. 9:08for what the father gave them and how it
180. 9:10can even deepen through the agony of
181. 9:14losing what the father gave them.
182. 9:18So he's saying, "I'd rather fill my
183. 9:20belly with the pods." But he can't eat
184. 9:25what these people eat. He can't be
185. 9:27nourished by this shallow world. Video
186. 9:32games and violence and foolishness and
187. 9:35carousing and drunkenness.
188. 9:38It It's pig food. It does not resonate
189. 9:41with me. I've known better. I've known
190. 9:44other. I can't eat this. I would gladly
191. 9:47fill my stomach. But the hunger in me
192. 9:50cannot be satisfied with pig food.
193. 9:55But when he came to his senses,
194. 10:01he came to himself.
195. 10:04He said,
196. 10:06"How many of my father's hired men have
197. 10:10more than enough bread?
198. 10:13But I am dying here
199. 10:16with hunger.
200. 10:18I will get up and I will go to my father
201. 10:22and I will say to him, father, I have
202. 10:26sinned against heaven and in your sight.
203. 10:32So this is what the tax collectors and
204. 10:34sinners are doing. This is what the
205. 10:36Gentiles are doing.
206. 10:39They are acknowledging
207. 10:41I'm I blew it all. I have sinned against
208. 10:45God and heaven and in your sight, but I
209. 10:49can't be satisfied
210. 10:52with pig food anymore.
211. 10:57I am no longer worthy to be called your
212. 10:59son.
213. 11:02Make me as one of your hired men.
214. 11:07give me the lower place.
215. 11:10Just let me be part of the household
216. 11:13again.
217. 11:16So he got up and came to his father.
218. 11:22And here is an image of God.
219. 11:26We break his heart when we take our
220. 11:29inheritance and throw it away on our
221. 11:34pleasures
222. 11:35and we end up starving in a foreign land
223. 11:39surrounded by pigs and pig food, right?
224. 11:45But he got up and he came to his father.
225. 11:47But
226. 11:49while he was still a long way off,
227. 11:53his father, God in heaven, saw him
228. 11:59and felt compassion for him
229. 12:03and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
230. 12:10This is the only place in all the Bible
231. 12:12where we see God running.
232. 12:18God runs toward the person
233. 12:23who turns toward the father's love. God
234. 12:26runs toward the person
235. 12:29who remembers
236. 12:31and wants to come home.
237. 12:35He embraced him and kissed him.
238. 12:40This word embrace, it doesn't mean that
239. 12:44the father stiffly did a sidehug.
240. 12:48Lit the literal in the
241. 12:51Greek is he fell on his neck.
242. 12:56The father fell on his neck. Oh my son.
243. 13:03And the son said to him, "Father, I have
244. 13:08sinned."
245. 13:09Here is acknowledgment. He's not
246. 13:12pretending that God's love cancels out
247. 13:14consequences.
248. 13:16He's not pretending that he hasn't been
249. 13:20wicked
250. 13:21and destructive.
251. 13:23He says, "I have sinned
252. 13:26against heaven and in your sight.
253. 13:30I am no longer worthy to be called your
254. 13:33son. I acknowledge I've lost my place.
255. 13:39But the father said to his slaves,
256. 13:41"Quickly,
257. 13:44bring out the best robe and put it on
258. 13:47him and put a ring on his hand and
259. 13:50sandals on his feet."
260. 13:54This is a sign of covenant. The ring on
261. 13:57his hand was a sign that he was his
262. 13:59father's son. With that ring, that was
263. 14:02like his father's signature. He could
264. 14:05seal documents with that ring. He was
265. 14:07giving him authority to be an expression
266. 14:10of the family again.
267. 14:12Put a ring on his finger and sandals on
268. 14:15his feet.
269. 14:20And bring the fatted calf.
270. 14:23Bring the animal that we've been saving
271. 14:25for Thanksgiving, for the best feast of
272. 14:28the year, and kill it, and let us eat
273. 14:33and celebrate.
274. 14:37For this son of mine was dead
275. 14:42and has come to life again.
276. 14:46He was lost
277. 14:48and has been found.
278. 14:52and they began to celebrate.
279. 14:56So when this son went away,
280. 14:59did God ever stop loving him?
281. 15:03Did God say, "Well, you've spent you've
282. 15:05made a lot of mistakes, but you're still
283. 15:08my son?" No. He was dead.
284. 15:12When you walk away from God,
285. 15:15when you reject his household, when you
286. 15:17walk out of his country, the covenant of
287. 15:20Israel, you're dead.
288. 15:24You've ceased to be his son until the
289. 15:27day when you say, "I'm going back to my
290. 15:30father on whatever terms I can. I want
291. 15:34to be part of his family again."
292. 15:37And then he says, "This my son," he does
293. 15:40not say, "this my son was gone and has
294. 15:42come home." He says, "This my son was
295. 15:44dead, but has come to life again."
296. 15:49So now we're going to turn toward the
297. 15:51Jews, toward the religious people who
298. 15:55were challenging Jesus.
299. 15:58Now his older son was in the field and
300. 16:02when he came and approached the house,
301. 16:05he heard music and dancing.
302. 16:13How is the sound of joy going to affect
303. 16:16him?
304. 16:20And he summoned one of the servants and
305. 16:23began inquiring
306. 16:26what these things could be.
307. 16:29What's going on?
308. 16:32Why is it so rous in there? Why is there
309. 16:35music and dancing coming from the house?
310. 16:40And the servant said to him, "Your
311. 16:44brother has come, and your father has
312. 16:48killed the fatted calf because he has
313. 16:51received him back safe and sound.
314. 16:59But he became angry
315. 17:02and was not willing to go in."
316. 17:08So his holiness
317. 17:11becomes what prevents him
318. 17:15from entering the same house that his
319. 17:17brother has returned to.
320. 17:21He thought he was so much wiser. He
321. 17:23thought he was so much better. He kept
322. 17:25himself and that was good. But did his
323. 17:29holiness turn into superiority? and his
324. 17:33superiority block him from entering the
325. 17:37house of God.
326. 17:39So now he is in exile, too.
327. 17:43Do you see it? He's in exile because the
328. 17:46exile has been forgiven.
329. 17:50Exiled by God's love. And his father
330. 17:54came out and began pleading with him.
331. 18:00So the same father who came out and ran
332. 18:04to the son who was coming from
333. 18:05prostitutes
334. 18:08and debauched living
335. 18:11that same father comes out.
336. 18:14But see he's still putting his trust in
337. 18:18what he hasn't done in who he hasn't
338. 18:20been in the mistakes he hasn't made. He
339. 18:24doesn't love the father most. He doesn't
340. 18:28long to be in the house above all else.
341. 18:33You see? So his father comes out to him
342. 18:35and begins pleading with him.
343. 18:40But he answered and said to his father,
344. 18:42"Look,
345. 18:45for so many years I have been serving
346. 18:49you, and I have never neglected a
347. 18:53command of yours."
348. 18:56And yet you have never given me a young
349. 19:00goat so that I may celebrate with my
350. 19:03friends.
351. 19:05He has observed commands and he has
352. 19:09worked hard.
353. 19:10But does he love?
354. 19:14Does he love the father?
355. 19:18But when this son of yours came, who has
356. 19:22devoured your wealth
357. 19:27with prostitutes,
358. 19:29you killed the fatted calf for him.
359. 19:33The father doesn't care about the
360. 19:35wealth.
361. 19:36The father doesn't care about the stuff
362. 19:39in comparison to how he cares about the
363. 19:41son. All he wants is to love the son.
364. 19:47And he said to him, "Son,
365. 19:51you have always been with me and all
366. 19:54that is mine is yours." Now, I want you
367. 19:57to think why Jesus told this to the
368. 19:59Pharisees.
369. 20:02Jesus is saying to those hotty,
370. 20:06judgmental Pharisees
371. 20:09who boast about
372. 20:12what commandments they obey and what
373. 20:15works they perform. Jesus is saying to
374. 20:18them, "Son,"
375. 20:21Jesus is telling them, "Pharisees,
376. 20:25my sons,
377. 20:27you have always been with me, and all
378. 20:30that is mine is yours."
379. 20:33But we have to celebrate and rejoice for
380. 20:37this brother of yours was dead and has
381. 20:41begun to live and was lost and has been
382. 20:45found.
383. 20:49Do they enter the house? Jesus leaves
384. 20:52the parable. He ends the parable with us
385. 20:56wondering, will they enter the house?
386. 21:00Will they say, "Okay, Lord, let's go on
387. 21:04in and rejoice in what God is doing.
388. 21:08Let's celebrate in the power of grace,
389. 21:11in the miracle of unfailing love." Is
390. 21:14that what the Pharisees are going to do?
391. 21:16Jesus ends the parable right there and
392. 21:19we're wondering what are they going to
393. 21:20do?
394. 21:23Did they go in the house? No, they
395. 21:26didn't. No, they stayed outside. So the
396. 21:29parable is that
397. 21:33the people
398. 21:35who see how rotten and wicked and
399. 21:39undeserving they are
400. 21:42find a permanent place inside the house
401. 21:45of the father's love.
402. 21:47And the people who think they are secure
403. 21:51by what they've done
404. 21:54and the commandments they observe are
405. 21:56ultimately going to be the exiles.
406. 22:01One man starts off as the prodigal.
407. 22:04He's the one who spins everything and is
408. 22:07proflegate and doesn't care. But because
409. 22:11his sin broke his pride, it led to
410. 22:14repentance. and repentance led to
411. 22:17appreciation, to devotion, to love, and
412. 22:21to union in the father's house. He's
413. 22:24never going to leave again. But the
414. 22:26other man who never leaves,
415. 22:30he's the one who ends up being the
416. 22:32prodigal. He's the one who ends up
417. 22:35exiled outside looking in. But even he,
418. 22:39the Lord, is saying, "Son, everything I
419. 22:42have is yours. Just step across that
420. 22:45threshold and rejoice in me. Not in what
421. 22:48you've done or what you haven't done,
422. 22:51but in the love that we can have
423. 22:53together. In the union that we can have
424. 22:56together.