Day #194: Luke 15:11-32

BACKGROUND:

Jesus continued with another parable to illustrate the point further that God rejoices when lost sinners repent and find forgiveness. A man had two sons, the younger of whom wanted his share of his father’s estate (inheritance). This would have been one-third of the total estate, with the older son receiving two-thirds, a double portion of the other as prescribed by the law

In most cases, the son would have received this at his father’s death, although fathers sometimes chose to divide up their inheritance early and retire from managing their estates. What is unusual is that the younger son initiated the division of the estate. This showed arrogant disregard for his father’s authority as head of the family.

Within just a few days, the younger son was on his way—indicating that this had been his plan when he had asked for his inheritance in the first place. He packed all his belongings and traveled to a distant land. The young man apparently had wanted to live his own way, be his own master, get out from under the rules of his home and his father. Money was his ticket out, so he took it and ran.

In this distant land, he wasted all his money on wild living. But then his money ran out. To make matters worse, a great famine swept over the land and the boy did not even have money for food.

The young man became so desperate that he began to work feeding pigs. According to Moses’ law, pigs were unclean animals (Leviticus 11:2-8; Deuteronomy 14:8). To protect themselves from defilement, Jews would not even touch pigs. For a Jew to stoop to feeding pigs would have been a great humiliation. The pods were the seeds of the carob tree, which grows around the Mediterranean Sea. That no one gave him anything shows that he was neglected and insignificant; he had truly sunk to the depths.

Sitting among pigs that were better fed than he was, he reflected on life back home. With no money, no dignity, and, so he thought, no claim to sonship in his father’s household, he decided to go home to his father, confess his sin, and ask to be taken on as a hired man. At least there he would not go hungry. The key lies in the words that he planned to say to his father, “I have sinned against both heaven and you.” He wanted to tell his father he was sorry. He wanted to repent of the selfishness that had led him to leave and spend all the money that his father had set aside for his future. Even if it meant living as a hired man in his own home, he would return there in order to say these things to his father.

So the son returned home to his father, not knowing what to expect—the best he could anticipate was a cold shoulder, a halfhearted welcome, or a chance to be hired as a slave. The father, however, seemed to have cast his eyes on the horizon many times since his son had left, hoping one day to see him returning. Finally, his father saw him coming even while he was far away. The father ran, embraced, and kissed his son. He was filled with love and compassion at the sight of his son who had come home. The son began to give his father the speech he had prepared, but he didn’t even get to the part about asking to be hired, for the father wanted to welcome his son back into his home with a grand celebration.

The father immediately restored this destitute and humbled young man as his son. Then the calf that was being fattened up for the time when a special feast should be prepared was to be killed—the father could think of no more fitting celebration. His son had been as good as dead to him, but now had returned to life. He had been lost, but now was found. As the shepherd celebrated upon finding the lost sheep, and the woman upon finding her lost coin, so this father celebrated at “finding” his “lost” son.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Today I will conclude giving you the biblical reasons why the mission of Jesus - "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10 (NIV) - must become our life mission as well. Let me continue with those reasons now;




#5. God wants everybody saved. 1 Timothy 2:4 says, “God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” God wants everybody to know Him. Every human being. 2 Peter 2:9 says, “God doesn’t want anyone to be lost. But He wants all people to change their hearts and live.” God wants us all to know Him in a personal way.


#6. God’s timetable for history hinges around us completing our mission. A lot of people are really interested in the end of the world these days - they’re thinking, “Is Jesus Christ coming back?” They’re all upset and wondering what they should do. Particularly unbelievers who don’t know the Bible get a little nervous about this. It’s interesting that Jesus is very clear about when He is and when He is not coming back. First look at these verses.


Matthew 24:14 says, “The good news about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world to every nation.” The word “nation” doesn’t mean a political state like we have today – like the nation of Egypt. In those days there weren’t such things. There were people groups. For instance in the nation of Egypt there might be a hundred different people groups. In American there are thousands of different people groups. For instance, in Los Angeles alone they speak 187 different languages. So this “to every nation” means “ethnic” – to every ethnic group. Jesus Christ is not coming back till the good news has been shared to every ethnic group, every tribe, every language in the world.


Right before Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven, He met with His closest disciples. This subject was on their mind, “Lord, when are You coming back?” Obviously they wanted to know when He was coming back.


He says in Acts 1 “Then they asked ‘Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?’ Jesus replied, ‘It’s not for you to know the time and the dates that the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.’ After He said this He was taken up before they very eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up in the sky as He was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them and said, ‘Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who’s been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen Him go.’”



This is a very profound passage of scripture. Notice: when the disciples asked Him a prophecy question, “When are you coming back? When is the Second Coming?” Jesus didn’t want to talk about that. He said, “It’s none of your business.” When they wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus wanted to talk about missions and evangelism. That’s how important this is. They said, “Lord when are You coming back?” He’s getting ready to leave so that’s a natural question. He says, “It’s not for you to know the times or the seasons but go out and witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world.” He says, “It’s none of your business so drop the issue. Instead of focusing on when I'm coming back, I want you to focus on taking My message to the whole world because then the world is going to come to an end.”


He’s saying don’t focus on prophecy. Focus on the purpose that I left you here on earth for. What is that? Your mission. Let me spare you some fruitless speculation – When is Jesus coming back?


In the first place, anytime somebody sets a date you can know that’s wrong. Because Jesus said in Matthew 24, “No man knoweth the day nor the hour, neither the angels nor the Son of man but only the Father which is in heaven.” Jesus said, “Even I, while I'm here on earth, don't know when I'm coming back.” If Jesus didn’t have it figured out you’re never going to figure it out either. If somebody says, “He’s coming back on ‘this’ date,” you can know for sure, “That’s one day I can be relieved.” He’s not going to come back on that date because no one knows the day or the hour.


But we do know what’s got to happen first. “The good news about God’s kingdom will be preached into all the world to every people group and then the end will come.” If you want Jesus Christ to come back, just go out and start witnessing. The moment the last person receives Christ that Jesus knows is going to receive Him, then Bam! It’s over. And nobody knows who that person is, or when it’s going to be.


#7. I will be glad when I see people in heaven. Luke 15:7 says “I tell you there is much joy in heaven when one sinner changes his heart.” Did you know that every time somebody steps across the line, they throw a party in heaven? Maybe a hundred people got baptized today and they were publicly saying to the whole world, “I'm not ashamed to say I'm a believer in Jesus Christ.”


When you get to heaven and you see people that you had a hand in bringing there, you’re going to be glad you did it. You’re going to be glad that you took the time, that you moved against your fear and in love shared the good news with your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your friend, your relative, your neighbor, the person you work with or go to school with and next door and even that stranger that God just brings into your life by chance. When you see them in heaven you’re going to be glad you shared with them. They’re going to be glad you did too.



Knowing this what should be my response to my life mission? I should do everything I can to fulfill it. Paul says in Acts 20:24, “I want to carry out the mission I received from the Lord Jesus, the mission of testifying to the good news of God’s kindness.”



I am praying that our church - Church of the Valley - will be a church that takes the mission of Christ to heart. I am praying that you will take the mission of Christ to heart. God bless you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.