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Sharing in the Father’s Heart for Lost Sinners

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Clément Tendo
September 24, 2023

Sermon Manuscript

Sharing in the Father’s Heart for Lost Sinners


Luke 15:1-24
Clément Tendo, pastoral intern
Sermon for September 24, 2023
Today we’ll be taking a break from our series on the book of Acts.
We’ll be looking at Luke 15, where we find a set of three related parables in which Jesus offers us the Father’s Heart for Lost Sinners.
Jesus was often criticized by the religious leaders in Israel.
They considered themselves to be moral people.
But Jesus spent time with tax collectors and sinners, people viewed as immoral people in the Jewish community.
The Pharisees and scribes couldn’t understand God’s heart for lost sinners.
So, they grumbled about Jesus and his friends.
In response, Jesus tells them three stories.
In these three parables, we’re cautioned that people “can avoid Jesus as Savior by keeping all the moral laws.”
At some point in the future, I will preach a second sermon on Luke 15.
For today we will focus on the third and climactic parable while keeping in mind its relationship to the previous two parables.
We’ll only read verses 1-24.
Now hear God’s Word from Luke 15:1-24.

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.
2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered:
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.
Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
6 and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says:
‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.
Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says:
‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father:
‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’
So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said:
‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him;
he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants:
‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it.
Let’s have a feast and celebrate.

24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
So they began to celebrate.


Together we read Isaiah 40:8:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Let’s pray.
Loving Father, as we come to Your word this evening, we pray that you’d enlighten our hearts and minds.
We pray that, by the power of Your Spirit, we’ll see and share in God’s heart for lost sinners.
What we don’t know, teach us.
What we are not, make us.
What we don’t have, give us.
We pray all this trusting in Christ, our Savior and Lord, Amen.

The third parable in our passage is sometimes called the “parable of the prodigal son.”
“Prodigal” is an old English word that means “lost.”
But notice what Luke 15:11 says:
“There was a man who had TWO sons.”
In that sentence, the father is the subject and the main character.
In the previous two parables, the main characters were the shepherd who sought the sheep, and the woman who sought the coin.
Today I want to focus our attention on the one who does the seeking, rather than the one who was lost.
The father in Jesus’ parable is God the Father.
The younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners.
The older son represents the pharisees and religious teachers.
Jesus tells this story to help these religious leaders have a different view of God, sin, and salvation.
He also wants you and I to see that to enter God’s salvation feast, our righteous deeds are inadequate.
No one is good enough to deserve salvation; we are all lost.
As Isaiah 64:6 says, “all our righteous deeds are filthy rags.”
Luke 15:12-16 shows us a very self-centered younger son.
At the time when Jesus told this story, a child would never ask for his inheritance while his father was alive.
This would have been to wish him dead.
A father shared his property between his sons only when he saw the time of his death approaching.
But because the younger son can’t wait, he selfishly asks for his share now.
This shows the younger son’s self-centeredness and impatience.
The younger son thought that escaping from his father would be the road to happiness.
But he soon realized that money only buys fleeting pleasure and not love.
He realized that money couldn’t buy his father’s loving heart.
The son recklessly spent everything, so that when a severe famine came, he was not able to provide for his basic needs.
Verses 15-16 read,
15 “So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”

In Israel, pigs were a symbol of uncleanliness.
To live in a Gentile land and feed pigs is one thing.
But longing to eat pig’s pods is to reach the epitome of uncleanliness.
This explains why in Luke 15:31 the father says that his son was dead.
Verses 17-19 show us that after remembering the abundance in his father’s house, the younger son realizes how unworthy he is.
He is unclean and undeserving, and he knows it.
How can he go home and share in his father’s loving heart?
Is it even possible to go back home to his father?
Yes, because repentance is the path that leads sinners to share in God’s heart for sinners.
Dr. Edmund Clowney suggests that the younger son’s repentance “began not in the depths of his heart but in the pit of his stomach.”
He realized his heart’s great need after experiencing great starvation.
The younger son says, “I have sinned against heaven.”
He acknowledges his sin against his father and also before God.
The younger son shows a broken and contrite heart.
He no longer has a sense of entitlement as he did when he hastily left home.
He now longs to be made a “hired servant.”
In verses 20-21, we read,
20 “So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him;
he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’”


The father here is doing what his older son should have done.
It was the responsibility of the strong older son to go and seek for his younger brother.
But instead, the older son acted like Cain.
He was not his brother’s keeper and helper.
The older brother failed to welcome his brother.
But in the father we see the seeking heart of God.
In this culture, it was a shameful thing for a grown man to run.
However, because of his deep compassion, the father couldn’t just sit and wait.
He jumped up and ran without shame to his beloved son, and kissed him repeatedly.
Friends, this is no human father.
This is the seeing and compassionate God.
This is the heavenly Father who sees lost sinners in their misery and goes to meet them where they are to bring them in His salvation feast.
Friends, God’s heart for sinners is so large that he always yearns for the return of lost sinners.
In verse 21 the younger son begins his long-prepared confession.
But the father doesn’t let the younger son add, “Treat me as one of your hired servants.”
The father interrupts his confession, because he is so eager to welcome his son.
Verses 22-24 say,
22 “But the father said to his servants:
‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it.
Let’s have a feast and celebrate.

24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
So they began to celebrate.


Friends, a human father would be considered very merciful if he welcomed a son like this.
But he would have had to be prudent, so the son didn’t take advantage of him again.
But the father in the story told by Jesus is different.
This father lovingly welcomes, forgives, and restores the lost son immediately.
The undeserving younger son is quickly accepted beyond his own expectation.
He is restored not as a servant but as a free son.
There is immediate reconciliation where there was alienation.
Confidence is restored.
The fattened calf is slaughtered and a joyful celebration of the son’s return begins.
Friends, this is God’s amazing grace for sinners of which John Newton sang:
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found
I was blind but now I see.”

Only by this amazing grace, a saved sinner can say:
“I was dead but now I’m alive; I was lost but I’m found.”
What does this have to do with us?
Friends, in Adam, all human beings left God’s loving presence and recklessly squandered everything God had given us.
The key to salvation is to realize that we’re all like this lost son.
And this has implications for our lives.
First, if you feel like this younger son, Jesus invites you to share in the Father’s heart.
Maybe you’ve done terrible and shameful things.
Maybe terrible things have been done to you.
Maybe you want to keep all those things hidden inside.
But Jesus wants you to realize that you can open your heart to God the Father.
Before the Heavenly Father, it is safe to repent of your sinful defiance.
When you do, you will be immediately restored as a son, and freed from all your shame and guilt.
Tell God your secrets, open your heart.
He has already promised to receive you.
So, why wait?
TAKE A MINUTE TO TALK TO HIM NOW.
Second, realize that while forgiveness is free for us, it is costly to the Father and the older brother.
The younger brother has already wasted his share of the father’s property.
In verse 31, the father told the older son, “all that is mine is yours.”
Whatever remained belonged entirely to the elder brother.
Therefore, the father must spend some of the older brother’s inheritance, to restore his younger son to the family.
That’s one reason the older brother in this parable resents his father for restoring his younger brother.
Thankfully, our True Older Brother, Jesus Christ, doesn’t resent his Father for restoring younger brothers and sisters.
Instead, Jesus joyfully and willingly joins in the business of seeking and saving lost and dead sinners.
And God the Father gives us much more than a robe, a ring, and shoes.
He gives us Jesus, His only begotten son.
John 3:16 says:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
For us to inherit eternal life, Jesus did what no man could do.
Romans 5:7–8 says:
7 “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”


And you know what?
Hebrews 2:11 tells us that Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters.
What a LOVING elder brother we have!
Finally, our loving elder brother wants us to imitate Him.
We can do that by sharing in the Father’s heart for lost sinners.
God doesn’t want us to be self-centered younger brothers or self-righteous elder brothers.
The gospel excludes the SELF by pointing us to God and His love in Christ.
The gospel we believe and share with others is all about “God’s willingness to accept the unacceptable.”
How about you?
Do you feel more like the younger or elder brother?
Do you feel like the younger brother who doesn’t care about God’s law?
Do you feel like the self-righteous older brother who thinks he’s the obedient one?
Do you ever resent God for welcoming “big sinners” into Christ’s body?
Or maybe you swing between these two types of people.

Never forget that everyone in God’s family is here because Someone came looking for us, to free us from our sin and misery.
Before any of us ever came to Christ in faith, Christ came looking for us in love.
Christ and only Christ is able to save you from your destructive reliance on yourself.
Will you put all your trust in Jesus today?
Will you invite others to share in the Father’s heart for lost sinners this coming week?
Let us pray to him now.
Loving Father, we thank you for speaking to us today.
We pray that, by Your Spirit, you will help us grasp the height and the depth of Your heart for lost sinners.
Just like you have loved us in Christ, our elder brother, help us to love lost sinners in what we say and do, so that they too may join Your salvation feast.
Be with us this coming week in our families, communities, and workplaces.
We pray this trusting in your faithfulness in Christ Jesus, now and forever more, Amen!


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