The Prodigal's Redemption
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Exploring the dramatic return of the prodigal son to his father-- expecting judgment but receiving grace!
Text: Luke 15:20-24
Date: 06/23/2024, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 154
Description:
In our study of the parable of a loving father and his two wayward sons, we have reached the end of the second scene when the recalcitrant but now repentant son returns home to his father. In perhaps the most beloved scene in all of Jesus' parables, the boy is stunned when his father sees him from afar and runs to embrace him, kiss him, shower him with gifts, restore him to the family, and joyfully celebrate his return. The young man's faulty understanding of repentance is overwhelmed by his father's compassionate forgiveness, restoration and grace. We will find tremendous significance in the various elements of the scene, including the willingness of the father to cover the boy's shame with his own and the eschatological imagery of the gifts. Ultimately we will explore the reason the father did not follow his son into the far country to "seek" after him and how this relates to the prodigal's redemption and the evangelistic outreach of the church.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 15:20-24.
A. Context
1. The preceding parables, Luke 15:10.
2. The prodigal's rebellion.
3. The prodigal's repentance, Luke 15:17,19.
B. The love of the Father, vs. 20-24.
1. Turning to his father, vs. 20a.
a. The marks of a true conversion.
b. The fallacy of the plan.
2. The compassionate greeting, vs. 20b.
a. The father had let the son go.
b. The father awaits the boy's return.
c. The joy of the father.
i. When a nobleman runs, John 20:4.
ii. Actions that speak louder than words.
1) The embrace, Gen. 45:14, Luke 15:10.
2) The kiss(ing), Acts 20:37.
d. Covering the shame of the son.
e. The love of our Heavenly Father.
i. An objective of the Cosmic Initiative, Luke 11:13, 12:6,7,32.
ii. Covering the shame of humanity, Gen. 3:21; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 12:2; 1Pet. 2:6.
iii. Embraced by the Father's love and joy, Zeph. 3:17.
3. The slightly modified speech, vs. 21.
a. The modification.
b. Face to face with grace.
i. The son's surprise.
ii. The father's desire for relationship.
iii. Something the son cannot earn.
c. Redemption through grace, Isa. 12:2; Jonah 2:9; John 14:6; Matt. 5:3; Acts 4:12.
4. The gifts, vs. 22.
a. The command for immediacy.
b. The best robe.
i. The robe of righteousness, Isa. 61:10; Mark 2:21; Matt. 22:11; Rev. 7:14.
ii. The restoration of relationship.
c. The signet ring.
i. The symbol of authority, Gen. 41:42.
ii. A process of adoption Gal. 4:4-6.
d. The shoes.
i. The meaning of providing shoes.
ii. No longer a slave to sin, John 8:34; Gal. 4:7; Rom. 8:15.
5. The celebration, vs. 23, 24b.
a. The nature of the celebration.
b. The eschatological significance, Luke 14:15, 15:10; Rev. 19:9.
6. The application, vs. 24a.
a. The son that was lost.
b. The son that is found.
c. The nature of fallen soul, Eph. 2:4-7.
d. The rebirth, John 3:6,7.
e. The emphasis on sonship.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
