Luke 15 The Parable of the Dutiful Son

Podcast: Download (33.7MB)

The Parable of the Dutiful Son

Luke 15

Introduction: This is one of the most well-known parables Jesus ever told. It is so well-known that it is easy to miss its message, or at the very least, minimize the teaching. But that would be a mistake because few teachings of Jesus are more challenging than the one taught in this chapter.

This parable is commonly called “the Parable of the Prodigal Son.” It is not hard to see why it would be called that. We are all somewhat amazed and comforted by the love a father who receives back his son who had wasted his possessions on sinful living. That is what certainly stands out to us above all else. But from the point of view of Jesus’ purpose in telling the parable, it is not really about this sinful younger son. Let me tell you the story…

1. The Story
   1. Actually, as we follow Luke’s account in this part of his letter, we see Jesus telling a number of parables in which He tries to penetrate the hearts of the outwardly religious of the day. He told a parable of the Great Supper and then warned the crowds that if they wanted to come to Him they would have to hate family, their own life, forsake all they have, take up their cross and follow Him. The result? 15:1 His offer sounded good to the tax collectors and sinners – that is, the most notable sinners of the day. One would not need to go further to find a great lesson – the challenge of Jesus is attractive to the sinner.
   2. But 15:2, the Pharisees & scribes complained about Jesus association with these sinners, and their complaining & murmuring is what motivated Jesus to tell the parable. And please note, it is just one parable (vs. 3). Yes, it has 3 parts, but it is still one parable.
   3. Jesus began by asking questions. First it is about sheep. A man has 100 sheep and one has gone astray. As sheep do, it just wandered off eating grass wherever it could find it and suddenly the lamb was lost. The shepherd did what any good shepherd would do. He was not satisfied that he had lost only one out of a hundred and further, as anyone would do who does not want to see an animal suffer, he left the 99 safe in the sheepfold and went hunting the lost sheep. Again, Jesus is making an appeal here. Which one of you Pharisees would not do the same? To not do it would be unheard of. And when he finds it? Well, he throws a party! Jesus says that’s the way heaven is when a sinner repents. Heaven throws a party.
   4. Jesus continues with another question, this time about a woman who had 10 coins and lost one. The coins were valuable (worth about 2 weeks wages each) and losing even one was devastating. There is no way the Pharisees could miss the point of why such a woman would tear her house apart looking for the coin. The woman simply will not rest until she finds it. And what does she do when she does find it? She throws a party. And Jesus says, when a sinner repents, the angels are likewise throwing a party.
   5. Jesus continues with a man who has two sons. One hundred sheep, 10 coins, & now 2 sons. One of his sons, the older one, was a dutiful son. He was one of those kids you could always count on to do the right thing. A son like that makes a parent think that raising kids is a piece of cake. That kind of son makes a parent want 10 more. Well, this father just had one more and he wasn’t at all like his brother. No, this younger son wanted to live. Dad’s house was boring to him and working in the field was certainly not the life for him. So he asked his father for his 1/3 share of the estate that he had coming to him. The father gave it to him and also gave his oldest son his share.
   6. Well, the younger boy went off and had a blast with the money. He was one of those kids who didn’t think very long about tomorrow or consequences; he just wanted to live for the here and now. And live he did, until the money was gone.
   7. But when the money was gone, all his friends left him too. In fact, as fate would have it, a famine arose in the land and he couldn’t find food anywhere. He finally got a menial job feeding pigs (for a Jew, as low as you can get), but it wasn’t enough to sustain him and he found himself wishing he could eat the carob pods being fed to the pigs. But no one would even give him pig food.
   8. One day, he came to his senses. (And I’ve just got to stop here and say, this boy would have never come to his senses if there had been some government program to bail him out or if his father had of been sending him money). You see, this boy has now discovered how good he had it back home. He left to find fun and wealth & to get away from boring old Dad, the boring old field work, and the boring old house. But now in his pitiful state of poverty, he realizes that the true wealth, the true enjoyment in life, was all in the Father’s house. But how could he return? He has shamed his father’s name & is not worthy to be called his son. So, he thinks, “I could be one of Dad’s servants! That would be wonderful!” he thinks. How much better off he would be as just a hired hand. Finally, he knows what he will do, he will confess to his father what a bum he has been and just ask to be a servant. So he heads back home.
   9. Now this boy’s father had been in pain ever since he left. I’m telling you, nothing is more painful. Every free moment that father had he would find a vantage point from which he could see way down that road leading to his house. Everyday he looked and hoped and prayed and everyday the road was empty. Then one day he saw him. He was a way far off, but this father would know that walk even from such a distance and even in tattered clothes and barefoot. Well, the father couldn’t wait. I don’t know how long it had been since that father had run, but this day he ran. This old man pulled his robe up into his belt and started running like he never run before. And when he got to his son he threw his arms around him and started kissing him.
   10. Well, the son started blubbering out his confession and asking to be made a servant. But the father ignored the request and started giving orders right and left. “Bring the best robe, put a ring on his finger, give him sandals, kill a calf! Let’s have a party! My son was dead and is alive!!!! – Do you like happy endings? I do, and I would like this story to end right there. That is a happy ending. But that is not where the Lord left it.
   11. You see the older brother wasn’t around when all of this was happening. Do you know where he was? He was out in the field. Yep, remember, he’s that son that Dad never had to worry about. And he is out in the field doing his work. The dutiful son, never transgressed his father’s commandment and out working hard. Well, when he came in out of the field and found out what all the partying was about, he was angry and refused to go in the house. His Dad didn’t reprimand him, he just pleaded with him – he went out to him and pleaded with him. That’s the end of the story and its not a good ending. At that point, Jesus is looking at these scribes and Pharisees and hoping that His story of the dutiful son reminds them of someone they know.
2. The Lessons
   1. This is not the parable of the prodigal son, this is the parable of the “dutiful son.” Ladies and gentlemen, there are dutiful sons and daughters in every church. They’ve been there from childhood, they are good people, and they do good works. But there is something in which they do not share.
      1. Did you notice what was going on in each part of this parable? First there is great concern & agony of heart for that which is lost. The shepherd leaves to find the one sheep. The woman turns her house upside down. And the father beats a path to the top of a hill hoping to catch a glimpse of his son returning. The dutiful son did not to share the agony of the father.
      2. And then there is rejoicing. Rejoicing in heaven. Angels rejoicing, & the Father throwing a party. Look at what all the hopes and dreams of God’s heaven are about!
      3. But these are the things that the “dutiful sons & daughters” of our churches do not share. They do not share in the agony; they do not share in the seeking; and they do not share in the rejoicing…but they are dutiful sons, and this is the Parable of the Dutiful Son.
   2. I am impressed with the way the father goes about pleading with his dutiful son (vs. 32) – “this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” That’s the second time the father said it. He said it first in verse 24. Have you thought about that word dead when it comes to a living human being? “Dead,” without God, without hope, without direction, without knowledge, without forgiveness, to whom is “reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (2 Pet. 2:17). But dutiful sons and daughters do not really care to be around people like that – there’s no agony, no seeking, no rejoicing. But they are dutiful sons.
   3. Those of us who have been Christians for a long time have a strong tendency in this direction.
      1. It is easy for us to become self-absorbed and think that all we do here is just about us and our group. We forget about leaving the 99. We easily forget about the grief of a Father. Did you hear what the older son said? “You never had a party for me.” To him, it was about the party, his party. 
      2. And it’s easy for us to complain. That was the first word of this text. Jesus is doing something that was quite unorthodox for His day, and the “dutiful sons” complained. And that is the same thing that causes us to complain. Something is not just the “way it has always been.” And then there are always those reaching out to the nameless faces of the world and not seeming to care about US here and what WE want and what WE need and what makes US comfortable.
   4. Yes, this is the Parable of the Dutiful Son. Now how long do you think the Father will stand outside the house and plead for us to come in to the party?

Conclusion:

1. 1. “Spreading the gospel message” should never be considered a duty that Christians have. Spreading the message is the way in which we express our love for the world, our love for those whom God loves, and for whom his heart is broken. It is the way our hearts are in unity with the Father’s heart. This is what heaven and heaven’s angels are all about.
   2. Maybe you are here this morning like the youngest son; you left the Father’s house and realized the world is but a hog pen in the middle of a famine. We are glad you are here and will rejoice when you come to the Father. But more likely, you may be in the category of the dutiful son and it is time to come to the party. 
   3. You have a friend, someone you know who has not come to the Father’s house, and you need to ask him to read the scriptures with you. We need to bring the straying back to the party, and we as dutiful sons need to join the party!

Berry Kercheville