Lost and Found

What is Lost and Found? Well, the title of our main message today is... Lost and Found. Lost and Found. And we're gonna explore perhaps one of my favorite chapters in all the Bible. So if you have your Bibles, let's turn there. Let's open them up and turn to Luke chapter 15. Luke 15. And we're gonna begin in verse 1. And we're gonna stay for the entirety of today's study in this chapter. And in opening to this chapter of Luke 15, what we find is that Luke is recording Jesus Christ now speaking three parables in a row. Three parables in a row.

What are parables? Well, parables are stories, of course, that... Stories that have a physical connection. Stories that play out on the physical realm. But of course, they point to a spiritual reality. They have a broader context. And any time parables are employed in Scripture, and any time Jesus Christ gives these parables, they can really serve two things. One way is a parable can actually mask the true meaning that's looking to be put forth. We know that God is not calling everyone today.

Only some, a first fruit harvest. And earlier in the moment that we come to here, Jesus Christ, in leading up to these three parables, has said, Let him who has ears to hear, let him hear. And we know that there are those who... Well, everyone has ears, of course. But not everyone has ears to hear. So many times these parables, if the individual is not being called, or if the individual has a hardened heart, resistant to hear God's word being given by his son, they won't hear.

They will hear it, you understand, but they won't hear, hear it. They won't understand. They won't have ears. They'll have ears, but not ears to hear. But it is to those that have ears to hear, that have had the calling to understand, that parables can actually provide incredible insight and depth to the lesson that Jesus Christ is looking to impart. So perhaps in turning to Luke 15, perhaps first and foremost, the most important thing to figure out is, who's listening to these parables? You know, what individuals have gathered around to hear these three parables? And what Luke does for us is that he identifies for us right from the beginning, who was gathered around to hear Jesus's words.

And we find that revealed to us in verse one and two, verses one and two, where Luke records really two groups that have gathered together. He says, verse one, then all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to him to hear him. That's one group. They're drawing near to Jesus Christ.

They want to hear him, tax collectors and sinners. We have this other group, verse two, and the Pharisees and the scribes, though, were they drawing near to hear? No, they were complaining. They complained, the Pharisees and scribes complaining, saying, this man, Jesus, receives sinners and eats with them. Stop there. Perhaps they followed with, can you imagine that? You know, you imagine this man eating and receiving sinners. So again, we have this one group, tax collector, sinners.

They were drawing near to hear. Many times, these individuals would have had some openness in their heart to realize they needed help. They needed Jesus Christ. They wanted and needed his words. They were drawing toward him. But this other group, the scribes and the Pharisees, would have been those who very quickly would have recognized, we don't need this guy. So they would have had their fingers in their ears more than likely, you know, here.

So these are the two groups. Again, perhaps one receiving and looking to listen, to hear, and others, frankly, that were just complaining here. They had no need of any of the words that Jesus Christ was gonna put forth. So we have these two groups here. That's who he's speaking to. As he begins to give these three remarkable parables, remarkable parables. And we're gonna see in these three parables, there is this overarching theme of lost and found.

Lost and found. See if you can pick up on that. Let's get right to the first parable. The first two parables are fairly short and brief, but have incredible meaning, we'll see today. Verse three, he spoke this parable first. Verse four, here it is. Verse four, here's the story. "'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, "'if he loses one of them, "'does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, "'and go after the one which is lost "'until he finds it?'" Let's stop there. He's going after the one, and he's gonna keep searching until he finds it, right? Leaving the ninety-nine, going after the one. If there's anyone that's worked with sheep, those there listening at that time, any shepherd of any worth is gonna understand this.

The absolute connection, love, and relationship you have with each of the sheep that you tend. So perhaps the shepherd was putting together his gear and getting his staff, and the shepherd's family might have said, "'Dad, why are you going out at night? "'Why are you...' "'We have the ninety-nine. "'Can't it wait? "'Why go after the one, you know? "'Can't it wait till in the morning?' "'And the shepherd in this circumstance "'would have said, no. "'No, absolutely not. "'It can't wait. "'I love my little lamb.' "'I'm sure he had a name for it. "'Penelope will give it a name today. "'I've gotta go after her. "'I love my little lamb.' "'For the shepherd, "'there is no trouble too great, "'no sacrifice too significant, "'no suffering too much to endure, right, "'for their little lambs.' "'And he goes and he searches and he finds this little lamb, "'and then there's rejoicing.' "'Look at verse five and six. "'So when he had found it, "'he lays it on his shoulders, "'and I'm sure the little lamb "'nustled in his neck there, rejoicing.

"'And then the shepherd comes home "'and he calls together all of his friends "'and neighbors, saying to them, "'rejoice with me, for I've found my sheep, "'which was lost.'" And then here's the application. Of course, we know what a parable is. It has this, even though it's earthly played out, it has a heavenly application. Verse seven, here it is. "'I say to you that likewise "'there is more joy in heaven "'over one sinner who repents "'than over 99 just persons "'who need no repentance.'" Stop there. So we understand now with this broadening of this understanding of the parable that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. He gives his life for the sheep if necessary. There's a broader connection here. And just understand, this is the first of three parables. Each parable is gonna have this broader understanding. Jesus Christ is searching and seeking out to those who are lost, and he's gonna keep searching till he finds them, all right? And this is a very impactful first parable because I almost think that Jesus Christ would have looked at the sinners, those who were drawing near that perhaps knew their life needed change. Perhaps the tax collectors were feeling pinged in their hearts that they were part of a system which regularly took advantage of people at that time, the tax collectors. They were always taking things off the top. So they perhaps were drawing near to Jesus to know, I don't wanna be this way. I want help. I feel lost in my purpose in life. So I think perhaps Jesus would have directed this parable to them and letting them know, if you think I've only come for the so-called religious section of these scribes and Pharisees, you'd be wrong, because I'm actually coming for you. I'm actually coming for you. This would have meant very, just so much to those sinners. And I wanna find you, and I want to put you on my neck, and I wanna rescue you. And there's gonna be rejoicing in heaven.

He says much more rejoicing. I think there's a little tongue in cheek here when he says, more rejoicing. And I'm sure he looked at the Pharisees and the scribes. Then over 99 just persons who have no need of repentance. You see, that's a little bit tongue in cheek. Everyone has a need for repentance, right? Everyone's a sinner. That's the irony of it all. But a little tongue in cheek, you know, 99 just persons over here, you know, the scribes and the Pharisees who were so blind in their self-righteousness. They had no need of rescuing, you know? They're not lost. They're not lost. What does this first parable mean to us? You know? So it's just one, my little lamb needs help. He goes, he searches, and he finds her, brings her home.

Second story. Second story is the story of another lost and found story. But it's the story of a lost coin, verses eight through 10, verses eight through 10. Perhaps this might've been more directed to the scribes and Pharisees. See if you can see a connection with this. Or, verse 10, he says, here's the second parable, or what woman, having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, search carefully until she finds it. He's gonna keep searching until she finds it. And when she has found it, she calls her friends also, and neighbors together, saying, rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I lost. Application, likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Let's stop there. The lost coin, the second parable, the lady has lost it. She's not content with just the nine that she still has. Here, she's gonna light a lamp, she's gonna sweep thoroughly. She may take the couch cushions off, you know, and dig in there, and I don't recommend this, doing this at our house, you don't know what you'll find, but you might have found somebody, who knows? But here is the physical representation connecting us to a broader spiritual understanding. This is Jesus Christ sweeping the halls of your life, right? This is Jesus Christ searching the corners of your life. He lights a lamp, he's gonna keep searching until he finds this lost coin.

And this is, we could say we really wanna broaden it. This is, with the sheep story and now the coin story, it really is a, really is a healing, broken relationship.

So the relationship between the shepherd and the lamb is mended and restored. The relationship between the woman and the coin is restored, that which was lost is found. So the coin search is in the house, right? It's under the household. How would that relate to the scribes and Pharisees, you think, under the household? Well, I might have you think about that a little bit, and maybe we'll come back to that. How would this relate to the scribes and Pharisees more? And we're now then going to move into the third story, and we're gonna see that there is a search to go out and find a little lamb, except it's gonna be one of a lost boy. And then we're gonna find that there's actually another lost boy, another brother, that's lost in the house at home. Both are lost, both need to be found. But I can tell you when Jesus Christ here, now beginning in verse 11, when he probably pauses and says, now a certain man had two lost sons.

Here, their ears would have been a father, really perked up here, a story about a father with two lost sons. This is quite dramatic here. The lost sheep with its shepherd, lost coin with his owner, now two lost boys. You know, it's quite, the heat's turned up with this story here. Now this story of lost and found, but it's playing out with two boys in this parable. And what we're gonna see is that both are lost, both are isolated from their father, but in different ways. And the story that Jesus Christ begins with addresses the younger of the boys. So two brothers, there's a younger and there's an older one. Jesus Christ is gonna speak first about the younger one, and he is identified as the prodigal son, the prodigal younger boy. What does prodigal mean?

It just simply means reckless. It means careless, careless. So he's a careless boy, he's a reckless boy, he's the younger boy, and he's now about to leave his father and be lost in the process. So let's begin with the third lost and found story. Here it is, verses 12 through 16. Verse 12 through 16. And then Jesus said, "'A certain man,'" was verse 11, "'a certain man had two sons,'" verse 12, "'and the younger of them said to his father, "'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' "'So he divided to them his livelihood, "'and not many days after the younger son, "'the careless son, the prodigal son, "'gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, "'and wasted his possessions with prodigal living.'" Verse 14, "'But when he had spent all, "'there arose a severe famine in the land, "'and he the prodigal son began to be in want. "'Then he went and joined himself "'to a citizen of the country, "'and the citizen sent him out to the fields "'to feed swine, to feed pigs. "'And he would have at this point "'gladly filled his stomach.'" This young man, he gladly filled his stomach with the pods, with the food that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. Let's stop there.

So, remember who Jesus Christ is speaking to? Senders, tax collectors, Pharisees, scribes. I think this first son perhaps would have most connected with this younger boy, living carelessly, living recklessly, wasting their life perhaps with that kind of living. And again, what he's gonna show here, just as he showed with the lamb, is Jesus Christ is gonna say, "'If you think I didn't come to search out you, "'you're wrong, and I'm gonna tell you this story "'about this young man who you're gonna relate to here.'" And here's the story. So perhaps the senators and tax collectors would have certainly identified with this first younger boy here. Classic scenario of a young man or young woman rebels against their father.

Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me, and I'm out of here. What is he saying here? Well, I think we can confidently say he's saying, I don't want your authority. I don't want your influence. I don't want your rules.

I don't want you to have say over my life. Now, I do want your inheritance, right? I do want that. So give me that, and I'm gonna be on my way.

I'll tell you just very quickly, I connect with this story. I grew up with an incredible inheritance available to me, not physical inheritance, spiritual inheritance. I grew up and I have access to the relationship with God through my parents, and I did this. I headed out.

Didn't want authority, didn't want any rules.

I wanted to stretch my wings. I wanted to go this prodigal son, give my inheritance, and I'm going. So this is not the normal evolution of life where a young man, a young woman says, Dad, Mom, thank you for your guidance. Thank you for your love. I still am going to need you. I'm gonna forge out my own life, but please know how thankful I am for the foundation you gave me and how thankful I am you're with me throughout this. This is not that. This isn't the normal maturation of relationship where a young man or a young woman goes out. This is an abandoning of a relationship here, turning his back on his father and his father's house. And likewise, what Jesus Christ is masterfully painting is this is the picture of a declaration of abandoning of our spiritual father, God the Father. I wanna live by myself, for myself, free of any rules or authority, right? I don't want your interference or involvement here.

So verse 13, not many days after, the younger man gathered all together and journeyed to a far country.

So this was probably permanent in his eyes. I don't know what I was thinking when I headed out and did this was in this space as a young man. I probably wasn't thinking. I think I just didn't wanna think about many things as I headed out away from God the Father.

I don't know if I thought I would ever come back. It seems like this young man thought he's taking everything and he's out of here and he's finished here. And what's so remarkable to consider here is for all of us to consider, everything we have in this lifetime is the provision from our Father in heaven. Everything we have, everything we have, our life, our breath. So the very mind of God, mind we use to reject and deny God, that very mind is a gift from God. You see, so we use the very, it's irony, there's an irony there. The very talents that a man or woman might stand upon to move out by themselves away from God, those very talents that give them the security and the confidence to move away from God, those very talents, ironically, are talents from God. You see? So the very provisions from God we use to deny Him. And it's a very tragic thing, a very tragic thing.

God didn't give us these gifts to say, well, I'm done with you. He gave us these gifts to come to Him and to receive our inheritance. But this young man cashed out his inheritance here. Second half of verse 13, journey to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

Oh, this is the longing of every father or mother who has lived a little bit of life. We know going down that prodigal road, it goes nowhere. It goes absolutely nowhere. And it's actually the harder way. And we long to tell our young men and young women this. That's the harder way. No, stay with your father and enjoy him and that relationship with him. It's actually the easier and more joyful way. We long to express our relationship with Him. To express that to our young men and women. We would have longed to express that many times to ourselves who have been through that earlier in life and continued to go through it in different measures where we turn from God and the ebb and flow of life.

But the inheritance of the world is fleeting and things get really bad for this young son. Verses 14 through 16 here.

Verses 14 through 16. When he had spent all, he spent it all. Imagine his whole inheritance. There arose a severe famine in the land and he began to be in want. Then he joined himself with a citizen of the country. That citizen sent him out in the fields of the pig's stye to feed them. And at this point, the young man would have gladly filled his stomach with pods that the swine ate and no one gave him anything.

So it's really bad at this point.

When I was in my worst state, I remember thinking, I just, there was lots of, there was so much depression and sadness. I didn't like myself. I hated myself and what I was doing. I was going through self-destruction. I can relate with eating pigs' food. It's like I can relate that to what that would mean in today's context. Just self-destruction. I didn't like who I was. I put on a guise, an image that I was headed all together. But at night, when I laid my head on the pillow, it was like all this sadness and depression came into my experience. And I just didn't like myself. And so I can relate to that part of this passage.

And it's so interesting to think about this severe famine. There arose a severe famine in the land.

Very interesting, because this is a spiritual concept that we understand. Often God will, in those times that we're in that space, where we're not living according to the way we should, He will pull things back from us. He will cause a famine in our lives, withdraw blessings. And you almost think, well, that doesn't seem like a very loving God to withdraw blessings. But the purpose of creating a famine in someone's life that is in the pigsty is for the purpose that they would move toward Him, move toward Him.

So this prodigal son, probably, if you would have told him, this is where you're gonna be when he was leaving his father's house, he would have said, no way, you're crazy. But look at him now, standing in the pigsty here.

And now this famine has moved him toward that. I think the famine would have probably had several layers of purposes, but certainly in this young man's life, in knowing the rest of the story, what a profitable famine. What a wonderful thing that this famine came into his experience so that he would get him into the pigsty.

How could the pigsty benefit this young man?

Well, we're given a little indication here in verse 14, just a very tiny phrase that has incredible impact. Because when he was moved by this famine, ultimately into the pigsty, there in verse 14, it says what? It says, and he began to be in want. In want. I remember the time and where I began to be in want. When I laid my head on the pillow at night, away from all the carousing of life, and I began to ask questions like, what am I doing? Who am I? What am I?

Is this me?

Boy, I identify with that want in my heart, in need here.

Beginning to be in need. Beginning to need or to want his father again.

When I am counseling for baptism, one of the absolute requirements for a man or woman to grab onto is just that. They have to be in want of their father, of God the Father, in want, in need. They can't even breathe. Where they even say, I don't care if my family's here. I just, I need to get baptized. I need this. I have just such a want in me. Such a valuable position to be in, has great opportunity. There's incredible opportunity for an individual in the pigsty when want begins to arise in their heart.

And it gnaws at them. And they begin to ask those questions. What is all this about? Is this who I want to be?

Now, I'll tell you just before we move on, I mention this to our young people often. One thing to recognize is there is a temporary pleasure in an immediate gratification, in cashing in your inheritance for the things of this world. There's an immediate gratification. There's an immediate satisfaction. When that boy left that father's house, and I'm sure some coins, some gold coins were falling out as he went on his way and his buddies, new buddies, made lots of friends, came into the picture. There is an immediate gratification. There's an immediate pleasure from that kind of living, cashing in your inheritance for today rather than the inheritance to come. Immediate. But in the end, there's destruction.

I was trying to think, how can I explain this? It's kind of like if you were hiking on a really hot day, not like today, where it's cold. Say you were hiking on a really hot day and you hadn't had a drink of water. And the day half the days passed and you've been going up and down the mountains and someone comes, you finally get to the truck and you're just so thirsty and they have a nice big glass of water for you. And they handed to you and you immediately begin to gulp it down. But about halfway through the glass, you realize it's salt water. Salt water.

Salt water, which will kill you. But the immediate half the glass, it felt refreshing. It felt pleasurable. That's kind of the best way I can explain cashing in your inheritance, living for today, living for those things which are temporary, not sacrificing. Not adhering yourself under the rules of the Father, the spiritual Father, for the eternal future inheritance to come. It's like drinking salt water.

And this is the experience that many of us had, have had spiritually speaking. So we lost it all.

No satisfaction, no self-respect even. He fell for the lie, you know?

Perhaps no hope, no hope.

But what's remarkable is to continue to read and to understand that that want, he's gonna grab on to that and he's gonna respond to it. And there's gonna be a dramatic turn for this young man. Verse 17, it continues this just dramatic story when verse 17 says this want began to build up in his heart. Verse 17, but when he came to himself, there's another impactful little phrase, when he came to himself in the 21st century, that would be, we would say it like, I'm trying to find myself. The 21st century verbiage would be like, I found myself. And this is what I went through when I was going to that prodigal living, that reckless living. I began to find myself and I began to acknowledge who I'm not. I'm not this individual who's in the pigsty. And I began to answer, who am I? Who am I? And this is what the prodigal son was beginning to go through. He began to start asking himself, who am I? What's my identity? I haven't found it outside my father's house. And what he came to realize ultimately, which I did too, and I know many of you as well, he accepted and began to realize who he is. And who he is and who he was is a son of his father.

That's who he is. That's his identity. And that's our identity, where you receive and you accept and you say, I am a son or I'm a daughter of my father, God the father, that's who I am. And what God the father would say then, if you accept that, then be who you are. A son of mine, a daughter of mine, should not be in that pigsty. Be who you are, that's not who you are. You know that's not who you are. Be who you are. You're a son or daughter of me, God the father tells us through this story. You don't belong in the pigsty, the mud and the muck. And this was beginning to hit this young man, just when he thought all was hopeless and all would have been hopeless, unless he finds waiting for him, a searching, seeking, loving father.

And this is what he came to realize. So verse 18, verse 19, here it is, a dramatic moment here for this young man. Verse 18 and 19, I will arise, he says, so the want, the coming to himself, and now led to this, I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.

And verse 20, and he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, just like he rehearsed, Father, I've sinned against heaven and your side, and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father stops him before he gets to the, make me like your hired servants. So the son had rehearsed this, right? He doesn't even get through the spiel. When the father says, verse 22, but the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe, put it on him, put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry for my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they began to be merry. What a moment. There, what a moment. I love that he rehearsed first what he was gonna say, you know, and then the father didn't even let him get through it, you know, at all.

I don't know, so any of us earthly fathers and mothers, I don't know if we would have had that reaction. Can you imagine what we would have done? We would have been tempted, I think, to say, to not have this reaction, but actually to say, I told you so, you know. Man, look at you, you know, horrible. I told you, I told, son, I told you this would happen. Why didn't you listen to me? But what you find is none of that's here. None of the, couldn't you have done this at night so the neighbors wouldn't see, you know, this is embarrassing, you know, none of that's here. In fact, think of the father that we see here, and I'll just tell you, this is our heavenly father. This is what he's like. This is what he's like. While the son was still far away, the father saw him. While he was still away. So this gives the picture of a father coming out every morning out onto the porch. I like to picture he had some coffee, perhaps. Comes out on the porch to look down the road and he sees some dust stirring up down the road and he thinks, oh, I wonder if that's my son. Oh, but it's not.

The father lowers his head and goes back into the house. Next morning he comes out again, expectant, disappointment.

Who knows how many mornings that occurred for this father until one day the father comes out, expectant, hopeful.

He looks and there's his son. There's his son. He's coming and off he goes.

Maybe he didn't even finish his coffee. I would have drank it real quick.

Off he goes. He's gathering up his clothing. The neighbors are coming out. What is going on here?

And he's running after his son and he falls on his son and he embraces his son. He falls on his neck and kisses him.

Pictures the lamb there over the shepherd's neck.

Wonderful picture here. Embraces his son after intently looking for him all those days there, throws his arms around him.

All the love, all the love that sought this young man.

And I want to encourage you to know this love deeper and deeper from this point forward. This is the love that our heavenly father has for us. It is a seeking, searching, running toward, throwing arms around, kissing on our necks, welcoming love. That's the love. How do you explain this kind of love? Well, verse 20 gives us the understanding of our, ultimately, our heavenly father. Verse 20, it says that he was filled with compassion. Compassion. That is a overarching quality of our heavenly father, compassion for us. And I have some measure of this, and I know you do too. If any of us have been on the receiving end of grace, undeserved grace, when I was in the pig's pigmire, so to speak, I didn't deserve to be rescued, to be a pastor standing before you today. When you've received that kind of undeserved grace, it changes you. And I actually have this compassion deeply in me for others who find themselves in the pigsty. I have a deep compassion. And the first thing I tell individuals that are going through the heaviest of life and their relationship with God is broken, I first want them to reveal to them or remind them of this, their heavenly father. This is who he is. So there's hope. There's always hope. There's always hope. There's hope in my life. There's hope in your life. You know this. Many of you have been on the receiving end of that undeserved love and grace. And it changes you.

I have such a eternal hope in me.

I am such an optimist for anyone going through trouble because I've been there. And in a way, I'm so grateful for the love that's been given me because I want to express this and give this understanding to others. Now, his buddies, I can imagine his buddies came along. This is not the story, so this is a little bit of conjecture here. His buddies would have come up and no doubt said, "'What is going on here?'" They knew him in the pigs' mire, right?

Why are you all dressed up? You know, whose robe is this? Whose ring is that? Where did you get those sandals? How did all this happen? And the prodigal son would have been able to give it his hope that lied in him. Well, it all began. I can't quite explain it to you guys, but it all began when I began to be in want in need of my father. And I longed to be with my father.

And I gotta tell you, if you're in this state or if you know someone in this state, there's a very important understanding that comes along with this. Understand that it didn't start and stop with a want or a coming to yourself. It doesn't start and stop there. You'll notice that the robe, the sandals, the ring did not come to this young man while he was still in the pig's stye, the pigmire. The robe, the ring, the sandals did not come to him there. It came to him when he brought himself out of it. And this that he rehearsed here to tell his father, it's really, it's a prayer of repentance. I'm not worthy, Father, but this is what I'm going to pray. If I could just in any way be back in your household again, even as a hired servant, I'm sorry, I've sinned against you and against heaven, he says. This is a prayer of repentance, a desire, a prayer to God that he wants to change. And then he gets up and gets out of the pig's stye there. He gets out, very important.

And it is then and only then that he found this running, loving, compassionate father ready to put his arms around him. So there was, in my life, there was a need for me to go from those questions laying my head down at night to actually doing something about it. And it was the hardest thing in the world. But man, once I did, I found this kind of grace waiting for me. And that's my counsel to anyone who finds themselves in an area where they're distant from their father, God the father, they make this prayer, pray for a want, pray for an understanding of who you are, and then pray for the ability to get yourself out of it. And he will. So these tax collectors and these sinners, I'm sure many were so moved by this story here.

It certainly would have connected with them. Now, it's not the story of just one son, of course. Perhaps some there would have wondered, where's the other son in this story? Well, the other son comes onto the stage in verse 25, you'll notice. Verse 25, so the younger son restored, he's been brought back in the house. Now the older son who had stayed with his father, verse 25, he was at that moment out in the field, he came and drew near to the house, but he heard music and dancing.

No doubt he heard cool in the gang, celebrate good times, come on.

I don't know if that song was around back then, but. And I think the brother just had a, this older brother, so that was the younger brother, this is the older brother, always stayed in his father's house. Outwardly was not reckless, outwardly was not careless. He hears this celebration and he is, has a sinking suspicion of what he's about to find. So verse 26 and 27, the older brother, verse 26 and 27, he called for one of his servants, he's not even willing to go into the house, asked the servant what these things meant. And he said to him, the servant said to the older brother, your younger brother has come home and your father has received him safe and sound and your father has killed the fatted calf for him. Celebration here. You would have thought this was wonderful news. Verse 28 though says, the older brother became angry and would not go in the house. So this is not the shepherd and the sheep. This is not the woman with the coin where rejoicing followed. Not for this older brother, no rejoicing. I'm sure the servant that explained this to him was perplexed. He thought he was gonna join the celebration, but that doesn't happen here. So this is strains of Pharisee. This is strains of the Pharisees. Those, that religious, quote, religious sector of back in Jesus's time, who were self-righteous, righteous in their own eyes. And they, and this older brother, did not want to accept repentant sinners.

They didn't wanna accept repentant sinners. Why would someone not want to accept someone who's repenting? It says, I wanna change. Well, unless you have some understanding of your own need of forgiveness, you will not acknowledge someone else's need of forgiveness.

You will not acknowledge someone else's need of forgiveness as well, and you will become self-righteous. That's why we go through the Passover every year to dig in, do a self-analysis, ask God to reveal in us where we need to change. It's part of that process, because we want an understanding of our own sin so we can understand our need of grace.

Understanding your sin is very important in going through that process of self-analysis, because if you don't recognize that you need to be saved, why would you need a savior? You see, if you don't need to be saved, why would you need a savior? So this is where the brother is. Verse 28 through 32 would not go in. And what a heartfelt interaction this is. So verse 28, the father comes out to the older son, and the father pleads with him. So he, the older son, answered the father and said, lo, these many years I've been serving you, I've never transgressed against your commandment at any time, and yet you never gave me a young goat, or that I may be married with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours, not my brother, as soon as this son of yours came, who devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.

Verse 31, and the father says to him, oh, son, son, you've always been with me, and all that I have is yours. It is right that we should make merry and be glad for your brother, because your brother was dead and alive again, and was lost and is found. Let's stop there. So the Pharisees at this time would have really been pricked at the heart here with this second story here. And just know, God the Father goes out to both, and he longs to find both.

To the one he went out and found him, brought him back to the older brother who stayed home. You know, they were both lost. The one who went out was lost. The one who stayed home was lost.

The father extends love to both, goes out to the streets to meet the one, comes out of the house to plead with the second one here.

So we see the connection with the lost sheep, and we see the connection with the lost coin in the house as it relates here.

You know, I think of this older son, and I just think he never entered into the fullness of God's forgiveness. He never entered into the fullness of God's grace and is in need for the father. So you can't just come to Sabbath services. You can't just merely come to Holy Days and check off a list. Now, this has to be a need for you. Yes, you come to services. Yes, you come to the Holy Days. Yes, you pray day. But it has to change you fundamentally inside, or you will find yourself like the older brother not recognizing your need for this.

You know, he lived outwardly. He lived a pretty good life. He wasn't outwardly as reckless as the younger brother. No way. But we could say the difference between the two sons is relative because the brother on the inside was in the pigs' mire.

He had mud and gunk, the mud and gunk of pride and bitterness in the jealousy.

All those things. That was the muck inside. He needed to realize, wow, I need to come out of this just as much as my younger brother needed to come out of his pigsty, you see.

And the fact is, the brother is putting forth in his sincere, but it's off conversation with his father. He was saying, I deserve more. I deserve more than what I'm getting. He was saying, hello, these many years, he says. But the mystery is we don't get what we deserve. Christ came, he died for us. He paid the penalty of sin, which is death, opening up eternal life to us. So the mystery is we don't get what we deserve, which would be death. No, we get more than we deserve, which is the opportunity for eternal life after this physical life. So that's the wonderful thing.

The younger brother did not deserve the compassion. The older brother did not deserve the compassion from his father, but I just love that the father comes out and pleads with him.

So this is the picture as we begin to conclude here. Where do you fall in this picture, perhaps? You fall in a little bit of both. I know I do. I can take lessons from both of these sons, both of these brothers. The boy went out, became lost, had a loving shepherd come and put him around his neck and bring him home. The other boy was lost at home and had a picture with the woman searching and lighting up, searching, looking under everywhere until the coin was found.

To those who, in either circumstance, find yourself in either circumstance, may we come back? And I pray we come back more and more each year. And on the strength of Scripture, I can tell you when you do come back, you will find a loving, compassionate, arms open, hug, kiss on the neck. Father, we will come to greet you. So may we discover more and more this kind of searching love. It's there for you. May we take a step toward him this year more than ever. And may we all who have been lost, may we continue to be found.

Will connect with Him? We hope new things will be right for marriage.

Happy weeks from home. Happy new year Jesus!

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