many do not realize that Luke chapter 15 is actually a three-act formula. It's actually a cycle of three parables, right, that lead up to the one that is so famous. In fact, Luke introduces the first parable, if you're looking here, Luke introduces this first parable in such a way that the other two just flow from the first. So he introduces this first parable of the lost sheep. And that paves the way for two more. It's like he just keeps on going. He's on a roll. And so he builds up. And then he closes with that famous parable that everyone knows. What's the context? This is so important for understanding this, and it's a shame. This is one example in the Gospels, and there are many, where often the context is neglected. And this is so important, it's so rich when you understand the context into which Jesus is preaching. The context into which he delivers this parable. So let's read these first four verses here. Should have that. I believe I've got that on the overhead. Yes, thank you, man up there in the booth. That's an unsung ministry up there. For those that work in the booth, people don't usually acknowledge you until you mess up. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them. So he told them this parable. Again, this is a three-parable journey. Now, why? Why three parables? I would submit to you the three parables here for the sake of emphasis, for the sake of emphasis. In the Hebrew mindset, to mention something three times, and I wouldn't say that this is just reserved for Hebrew folks either. Parents, sometimes you have to say things multiple times for emphasis, firing for effect. But in the Hebrew mindset, to mention something three times is to really drive home a point It's more than an exclamation point. Those of you who have spent a great deal of time in your Bibles know that this method is there already. We see this phenomenon at play, for example, in what theologians call the trisagion, the three times holy statements. Three times, hagios, the Greek word for holy. So when the four living creatures, or the seraphim, surround the Lord God Almighty high and lifted up, what do they say? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Emphasis on the holy. So what's Jesus about to address? All three of these parables carry the same theme. There's been some pointed criticism we just read about. Jesus, he's been slumming. He's been hanging out with tax collectors. He's been hanging out with sinners. He's hanging out in the wrong places with people that the religious community has excluded. He's eating with such people. And when you do something like that in that first century context, you have to remember that these folks are people that had mixed with sinners in the past. They had mixed with the other nations before. And they had been disciplined for that. And they said, by goodness, we've learned our lesson. We're not going to do that again. We're going to do it right this time. And they took it to an extreme. And so eating with such people communicated or connotated acceptance of those people's lifestyle. So you see the rub here. That's why they're grumbling. They're asking this question. So these three parables are essentially a response to that criticism. that's been lodged by the scribes and Pharisees who are grumbling about Jesus' behavior. So what ensues is Jesus doing what Jesus does so well. He does what any good evangelical does and makes already hardened, angry people more upset. He makes mad people more mad and simultaneously communicates a call to repentance to those who had what? Ears to hear. You'll remember that at the outset of our Prince's Parable series, we talked about how to interpret parables and what the emphasis, what the reason behind the parables for. Jesus, why do you teach this way? Well, those who have ears to hear will hear. Those who don't continue to be hardened. So it's kind of got this dual purpose. It calls people to repentance, but at the same time, it hardens those who are already hard and rebellious and don't want to hear. There's another interpretive principle that we talked about that's paramount in understanding these parables. These parables are theocentric, as are all the parables. But it's especially important to note that here, because these three parables are not really about a lost sheep, a lost silver, or lost sons primarily. They're part of the story, but truly, these parables are about a pursuing shepherd, a pursuing woman, and a pursuing father. In fact, this concept of the parable of the prodigal son, that's a rather English phenomenon. If you look at other translations in different languages, Some of the pericope headings will include things like the parable of the benevolent father. So it's not as much. I mean, the emphasis, we put the emphasis on lost sons. We put the emphasis on lost sheep. But really, this is about God. The parables communicate things about God and his kingdom. So bear that in mind as we go through these three parables. So they really are then an apologetic, and not an apology in terms of apologizing for what Jesus is doing, but a rationale, a defense for Jesus associating. Why is Jesus meeting with these sinners? Why is he associating with them? Father, give us wisdom as we unpack your word tonight. Your word is truth. Lead us into all truth. Lord, give your servant utterance tonight, grant ears to hear, and help us to be doers and not hearers only, in Jesus' name, amen. So the first thing, as we look at these tonight, the first thing I want us to see in these parabolic pictures that explain the Lord's passionate pursuit of the lost is the shepherd's uncompromising chase after his lost sheep. the shepherd's uncompromising chase after his lost sheep. So we'll continue on in chapter 15, verses 4 through 7. What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Amen. Y'all know that sheep are just dumb. Perhaps some of you animal lovers are out there thinking, well, you're just mean. You don't like animals. I know we don't have any pets at home, but I had pets growing up. I like animals, too. But it's true. They're really, really, really dumb. They're so dumb, they're actually entertaining to watch. They say that a picture's worth 1,000 words. And if that's the case, I want you to get a load of a couple of videos that I have before us here, because they're worth more than 1,000 words. So if you'll cue those up, those two videos. So here's a man getting a sheep out of trouble. Oh, yay, he's free. Good. Good job, Mr. Farmer. Uh-oh! And I love what the farmer does now. He just gives up. That's sheep. OK, one more. There's another. Look what he's done. Oh! So I'm not being unfair. This happens. That's what sheep do. They're just really so dumb, they can't help it, I suppose. Their brain-body ratio is one of the lowest for mammals. It's something that's referred to as the encephalization index, body mass versus brain size, right? They're just not real smart. In fact, they're the only mammal that will not run away from a wildfire until it's too late. Think that through. You got a mental picture there? They literally catch fire. They're not only dumb, they're defenseless, aren't they? Another fun tidbit about sheep, when frightened, as we saw here, they tend to run in circles. And that tendency makes things rather convenient for predators. I suppose they're like McDonald's to Mr. Wolf. Fast food, right? Oh, all that section, man. And you bachelors know about this. There's a section at the store. where you can go where the food's already made for you. You always see toward evening time, there's a rush of men, and those rotisserie chickens are snatched up. That's what the sheep are in the animal world. They're that rotisserie chicken that's sitting there waiting for you. You probably know that they're also prone to being lost. Often, sheep will stray, get stuck, or get isolated in an area in which they can't get themselves out of, as we've seen here. And at times, they can even tip over. This phenomenon is called casting. They actually tip over with their feet straight up in the air without the ability to right themselves, kind of like a turtle or tortoise. While their bodies are upside down, their stomachs fill up with gases they won't release, plus their little hearts. And if they're not turned right side up, they'll die within a 24-hour period. So if you're a shepherd, you know that when you see a cast sheep, you've got to hurry up and get them turned around. So not only are sheep dumb, defenseless, they're utterly dependent. Is it any wonder, beloved, that the scripture likens us to sheep? Are you surprised by that? I'm not. I can identify with that sheep, with what he did in the video, both of them. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. The folly of sheep is compared to all waywardness in the scripture, isn't it? We stray, we get lost, we sin. And sin is dumb. Sin is stupid. It really is. We're like those sheep that jump right back in the ditch, and all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and then finished the passage. The Lord has laid on him, the Lord Jesus, the iniquity of us all. That's the good news, the good shepherd. There's the good shepherd who lays down his life for us. Do you see how Jesus begins in this first analogy here, in this first parable? He says, what man of you or which of you? And this is intended to be one of those dark questions. You're supposed to know the answer. Jesus uses that which of you formula elsewhere. Remember when he says earlier in this very gospel, he says, which of you, if your son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion, right? Duh, you wouldn't do that. So the answer is supposed to be obvious here. Which of you having 100 sheep, if you lost one, won't leave the 99 and go after the lost one till he finds it? And so Jesus expects this to be the reasonable thing to do here. A lot of people have concluded in this passage, and I think Unfairly so, unreasonably so. A lot of people have concluded that this behavior that Jesus is engaging in as he talks about the reasonableness of leaving the 99 for this one is reckless and irresponsible. And there have even been questionable songs that have been produced based upon this concept. But friends, this is not the point that Jesus is making. Remember, one of the other principles that we had as we looked at parables is not to press them too hard. Every analogy breaks down to some degree, but don't overthink it. If you have a $10,000 stack of $100 bills, for you being counters, you know that that's $100. $100, $100 bills. You drop one, you go after the lost $100 bill, right? You do that. You don't just say, well, I guess so long, farewell. That's reasonable. It's lost. You go find it. A good shepherd, by the way, is not lazy. He'll go after that one sheep. It's valuable, but he knows that that sheep is vulnerable and needs the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd, Jesus, is intimating that these tax collectors and these sinners he's breaking bread with are those lost sheep. This is the same good shepherd who said, I lay down my life for the sheep. He said, the hired hand is the one who's unconcerned. The hired hand is the reckless one. It's the hired hand who abandons the sheep and runs away. This good shepherd is the one who said, this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, John 6. When the sheep is found, that's a picture of repentance. Right? Do you see that in verse 7? Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Truth is here, and some people get kind of flummoxed by this, but the truth here is we must all repent, right? Jesus is not here suggesting that there are those who get by another way. There are those who go along thinking they need no repentance, right? There's been no change in their lives. Jesus is rejoicing over that change which has happened. Jesus makes a statement about those not needing repentance, and he's gonna get to that in a moment, those who arrogantly think that they don't need repentance. The second parabolic picture Jesus offers here has to do with a woman and her lost silver, her lost silver coin. So notice the woman's unrelenting concern for her lost silver. Verses 8 through 10. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. We've heard this before. What do we learn in this parable? Well, I suppose we learn that women lose things. The scripture could have used the example of a man here, but it doesn't. This is the inspired and errant word of God. I mean, I dare you to challenge it here. After all, it's the divine and final authority for all matters of faith in Christian life. We men don't lose things. We may become temporarily spatially disconnected from our belongings, but we know where our stuff is. We also don't get lost, right? So Jesus pictures a woman here who has lost her silver coin. One of these coins would have been roughly the equivalent of a day's wages. And some have suggested that this would have been part of a necklace or a headdress, and it may have been. The text doesn't tell us that, though. It may have been her kechebra, her dowry, but that's not the point here. The point is, she has only 10 coins, and one of those 10 is gone. That's what Jesus is after. Remember, get the big picture as we're looking at the parables. That's what Luke gives us. One thing I do believe that we are supposed to notice. This is more desperate than the prior situation. than the first story. So you're going to see that in these parables, that they're building up in their level of severity. We've gone from 1 100th to 1 10th. In a moment, we'll get even more serious in the final parable. In any case, she goes to great lengths to recover this coin. She's relentless in her pursuit of that coin. She could be busy with any number of other respectable activities, but she busies herself with the hunt for the silver. She values that silver, and so she lights a small handheld oil lamp in what is likely a poor windowless home with a rough stone floor, diligently scouring the floor in crevices that would hide such coins. No LED lights back then, just this little tiny lamp. So she has to diligently seek this thing. She keeps after it until she finds it. She labors to find this. So too, our savior. What crevice did he find you in? Many of you know the darkness and squalor the Lord pulled me from. Once again, this finding is analogous to the repentance that we see, and that's mentioned there at the end of the parable. The joy of that salvation, the joy of that repentance is once more highlighted. More on that in a moment. Let's move on to the lengthiest, most elaborate, and most well-known parable in this trio where we find Jesus picturing his pursuit of sinners like that of the father, the father's undignified compassion for his lost sons. Plural, S-O-N-S. So long passage here. Brace yourselves. Verses 11 through 24 first. And he said, there was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country. And there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his field to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread? But I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate. Praise God. That never loses its power, does it? Love that story. So we're used to it, though. So it probably doesn't hit us quite like it should, because it's familiar. But Jesus means for the story, remember the audience here, the scribes, the Pharisees, and those that are listening as well who Jesus is just preaching to, right? And they're just watching. They're bystanders. Under the Jewish laws of primogeniture, though, the oldest son would be, in an estate, would be awarded 2 3rds of an estate. So assuming there were just these two sons, that would leave 1 3rd for the younger son. The younger son asked for his portion of the inheritance. He'd be entitled to that 1 3rd of the estate upon what? The death of the father. Is that a problem? It's shocking that the father would even entertain this idea. The fact that he agrees is mind-blowing. I think that's lost on us. The man divided his very livelihood. Your livelihood, your identity, your bios was tied up in your land, right? And what is this son essentially saying? You're dead to me. Are you wrapping your minds around the utter disdain this younger son has for his father? That's what we're supposed to see. It's supposed to be shocking, remember? His father is, for all intents and purposes, dead to him. The younger brother wanted what his father had. He wanted his father's things, but what didn't he care for? What didn't he want? His father. He didn't care for his father. How many people like the trappings of what, you see the analogy? How many people like the trappings of what the Lord offers, but they don't want anything to do with the Lord? Again, the shocking part of this request is, dad gives it to him. This had to be unbelievable as they're listening to this story. He gives him one third of the estate and big brothers like, good riddance, right? Dad's devastated, his son's gone. Dad's no dummy though. He knows his son's only use for him was the wealth tied up in that estate. How heartbreaking that had to feel, the feeling of that. The abandonment, the sorrow. Imagine one of your children doing the same. His older son now stays with dad, and the estate's value has fallen by some 33%. You know the story of the son, the son goes on and he blows the premature inheritance and reckless living, scripture tells us. And this is interesting to note. Squandering, both in the Old Testament and the New, is something that's considered to be the height of rebellion. It is the squandering that gives us the English title of this parable. Many don't know that. Modern people only know this word, prodigal, really in connection to this famous Bible story. Christians are not. Consequently, we generally think that prodigal means wayward. or sinful. In fact, the definition of prodigal as an adjective is to spend money or resources freely or recklessly, right? And so it's lavish spending, unwise, lavish spending. That's what prodigal means. It doesn't mean wayward, but that's what it's come to mean. That's why, I mean, it shows us how popular this and well-known this parable is. The scriptures, indeed the Hebrew culture, take squandering resources to be one of the most egregious, ungodly, sinful activities that one can engage in. And so should we, by the way. This prodigal behavior is indicative of utter rebellion. And this is important, because from the beginning with Adam, that's the problem. When we look back to the garden, what did Adam do? He squandered. His God-given status. He had been given everything. He had it all. But he wasted his opportunity as an image bearer. A lot of people take this story and say, kids, learn your lesson from this story. Don't become like the prodigal. Or we refer to our kids that have gone astray and they live wildly, we call them prodigals. And so we warn them when they're young, don't become prodigals. But guess what? It's too late. That's what sinners do. We're a prodigal. That's us. In Adam, all die. We do the same thing that Adam does. We squander what's been given to us. We've all squandered our birthright, as it were. We've all rebelled. It took the good shepherd coming after us, if we know Christ, laying his life down for us, for the dividing wall of hostility to be broken down so that we might be at peace with God, with whom we wanted nothing to do. Sure, we might have wanted his stuff or associated in some loose way, but none of us really wanted him or desired him. We are born prodigals. That's what the scripture teaches. The situation here is dire, though. Now, we're not talking about, in this parable, a lost sheep or a lost coin. We're now talking about a lost son or lost sons, as we'll see. So there's a famine. This prodigal son starts to spiral. He's working as a Jew. With pigs, could it get any worse? Like, Jews wouldn't even hold it, if there were such a thing as a piggy bank. They didn't want a piggy bank, right? That was the level of their disdain for pigs. It was the height of the unclean animal, right? They didn't want to say the word pig, let alone work with them. But what's this Jewish boy doing? He's working with pigs. He gets so hungry in the midst of this famine that he longed to eat what they ate. Is that the providence of God? Does he do that for us, take us to a point? Oh, this is offensive, eating with pigs for a Jew. Then it comes to him. My father's workers have it better than I have it. Wow, change of mind happening here. See it happening? You see what's taking place? He says, I'll eat curl. I'll go back. I can't expect dad to take me back as I was though. So what shall I do? What shall I do from here? I'm going to work my way back in. Notice he doesn't say he'll become his father's slave. He wants to become a worker. He's going to work himself back to a certain status and pay it back. But notice what's going on here. If you're thinking theologically, as I believe we should, You're seeing a change of mind here. You're seeing the Holy Spirit work. This is the providence of God, the Holy Spirit chastening this individual, cricketing this individual, and faith and repentance. All those things are happening all at once. Do you see that happening here? What's repentance but a change of mind? It's imaginary. I was thinking this way, and now I'm turning and changing my mind and thinking this way. There's a change of mind taking place here. Faith, repentance, regeneration. Do you see what dad does here as this story continues, progresses? The father who you would think would be seething and ready to lay it to his son at this point. Wouldn't you be hot, dads? He has the nerve to show back up. What does the father do when he sees him a long way off? In a very undignified manner, this distinguished Jewish landowner, this respectable man, has to hike up his road, and he runs, runs to his son, kisses on him. This is silly. This is supposed to make you like, what? What's this father doing? This is ridiculous. It's so undignified, but he feels compassion and the father lays his dignity aside just like Jesus does as he sits down with the tax collectors. Notice that the father doesn't beat his son. He doesn't chastise him. The son starts to get out that rehearsed speech that he has. The son acknowledges the horror of his sin. It's part of repentance. Recognizes that he sinned against heaven. It's not just against dad. It's against heaven. Good. And his father. And he acknowledges his unworthiness. Right? He acknowledges his unworthiness. And he's about to communicate now. Remember those plans he had? To pay it back as a hired hand. Work his way back up. He's going to earn his way back into dad's favor. Build himself back up. And what happens next is even more scandalous. The father won't have it. The son can't even get the plan out. Dad interrupts him. The father orders the best robe to be placed on his lost son. He orders a ring be put on his finger, probably a ring that carries with it the authority of the estate, like a signet. He orders his feet to be covered, which brings dignity to an impoverished young man who is already very humiliated. So he takes him and covers him with his own robe. And he also kills the fattened calf, right? He orders that the fattened calf be killed. It's going to be a feast. This isn't something that you have on Tuesday night. This is a full-on feast, y'all. This is something you invite guests to. You're not having beef every night. It's certainly not the fattened calf. This is a special occasion. The meat was special. That's the best. Why? The father's not bringing his son back as a servant or a worker, you see, but as a son. He's essentially saying, you are once again a partaker in all that is mine. You are my son. And there's a celebration. And that's the end of the story, right? Nope, it's not the end of the story. Pick up in verse 25. Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. And he said to him, son, you're always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found." How does that make you feel? Is there, friends, beloved, is there something in you that's like, I get it. I can identify with that brother, that older brother. That's not fair. If so, Jesus is here to tell you and I, here to tell us, that's the scandal of the gospel. If you identify with the older brother, you are identifying with whom in the story? Scribes and the Pharisees at the outset, they were grumbling. How does that feel? If you're identifying with this older brother, how does that feel? If I'm honest with myself, I feel that sting of this indictment. It's not fair. It doesn't seem fair. It's that same struggle that some of us have with that parable of the laborers, you know, with the guys who show up at the beginning of the day. They get promised a certain amount, and then there are guys that come much later in the day, at the end of the day, and guess what? You get paid the same amount. That's not fair. The older brother friends represents church folk. The older brother, friends, represents all of us that think that we deserve something special because we're faithful. We tithe, we give, we serve, we teach, we volunteer. Don't you see that this is just another way of getting at what the father has without really wanting the father? You can be estranged from the father while being in his house. The older brother is no better than the younger brother. All that he has that older brother has is because of the father's goodness, just like the younger son. And I want you to realize that being the older brother is actually more dangerous than being the younger brother. Why? For the younger brother, there's no question in his mind or the minds of others, for that matter, that he is walking in rebellion, utter rebellion. Everyone could see it. He embraced it. He owned it. He walked brazenly in it. For the older brother, however, he was self-deceived. He considered himself to be a solemn and good standing. But at the end of the day, he did not have the heart of the father with whom he supposedly identified. Church people, who are we most likely to be? The older brother. Who is the scripture, who is the Apostle Paul harder on? The church in Galatia. Bunch of church people, want to get everything right. Or the church in Corinth. Who has bewitched you, oh foolish Galatians? There's words of condemnation in that book of Galatians. In the church, we're more prone to look like Galatians than Corinth. I mean, that's good and bad at the same time. This is hard, especially considering Jesus reserves his harshest words for whom? The scribes and the Pharisees. Read Matthew 23 if you're not convinced. But I don't want you to lose hope. Though we're prone, as church folk, to being more like the older brother, right? Perhaps that's some of us in here. I want you to see the grace and the goodness of the Father, even in this parable, to the older brother. It's a both-and proposition. There's hope for some of us older brothers. When we consider how the older brother responds, he storms off, so to speak. He won't go in, right? He throws a fit. He acts like a jerk. What would the normal response be from dad? Party's just been ruined by a party pooper. He's making a scene. Most dads would say, you get your hide in here. You get right, right now. But notice how gentle the father is. What does the scripture say? He entreats him. It's his kindness that leads to repentance, right? He reasons with the older brother. And even when the older brother mouths off, when he's direct and ugly with his dad, he says, look, you don't talk to your dad like that. Calls his brother, what's he call his brother? The son of yours. The father's yet gentle. You want to know the good shepherd's heart or the father's heart? What does he say? Son, daughter. You were always with me, older brother, older sister. You were always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad. For this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found. Rejoice. That's the gospel. This leaves us with kind of a cliffhanger, because it just stops there. The parable stops there, and we want to know the outcome for the older brother. And Jesus doesn't offer that, per se, and that's on purpose. He who has ears, let him hear. the Gospels for both sons and Jesus will eventually go to the cross and there'll be a couple of Pharisees that do hear this message. And they're part of Jesus' burial, you'll remember. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. There may have been others we don't know about. But what's the Lord like? He's like the shepherd who chased after that dumb sheep. He's like the diligent woman who wouldn't give up until she found her coin. He's like the father who patiently pursues unbelievably wayward children, those who are lost in their lust and in their pride. Why does he do it? It tells us here a few times, joy. Look at the rejoicing at the sheep that the shepherd found. Look at the heavenly host in verse 7. What kind of activity is afoot? Rejoicing. Exceeding joy over one sinner repenting. We see the same thing in verse 10, one sinner repenting. What happens in the prodigal story? Rejoicing at the return of the loss that was found. The fattened calf, the robe, the ring on the finger, an all out party. I think, beloved, that we assume that God gets the greatest joy over a sinner not sinning than anything else, if we could just not sin. And that's not the case. Where is the greatest rejoicing? When the status quo changes, right? When the lost are found, when sinners repent. To be sure, God is grieved by sinners and sinning, don't get me wrong. But his greatest joy is not when a sinner is not sinning, but his greatest joy is when a sinner comes home. Who are you in this story tonight? Are you lost? Did you bow your heads? Maybe as you consider this story, you recognize Either I'm like that older brother, or maybe you say I'm like the younger brother. I have considered the things that God has, but I haven't really had time for God. And in fact, I've been kind of repulsed by it and wanted to go my own way. My word to you, my charge to you, my exhortation to you tonight is that the Lord of these parables is pursuing you, will pursue you, and I pray that you would turn from the pig's peapods and turn to him who will make all the difference. If there's anyone in here tonight who would say, I'd like to talk to someone more about that. There are a couple of our elders here who are ready to talk to you about what that looks like. to surrender your life to the Lord. Count the costs. It's costly, but it's worth it. Is there anyone in here tonight that would say, I want to know more about a relationship with this Lord Jesus Christ who is seeking lost sheep? Is there anyone in here like that here tonight? Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, Jesus says, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me, for I'm gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Don't run any longer. Don't be like that sheep. You'll do just like those sheep we watched in the video, if left to yourself. He says, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Consider this. Seek the Lord in prayer while he might be found. Don't harden your heart, as in the rebellion. Perhaps there are some of you in here tonight that would say I identify more with that older brother in the story, Will. I hear the story of what this father did, and I can identify with that older brother and say, that's not fair. Look at all I've done. I've given my life. For the church, I've given my life for God's people. But you recognize that there can be a spiritual arrogance and a spiritual pride in that that keeps us actually far from God and can cause us to be self-deceived. And as our pastor has said time and time again, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Is there anyone in here that would say, will pray for me? That's me here tonight. I see that hand. Yes, thank you. Just being honest. See another hand over here. Father, it's stories like these. And if we have ears to hear, and we're really hearing you, they cut to the quick. We recognize our need for the gospel. We recognize that we are sheep that have gone astray and will continue to go astray. And without you, we can expect nothing but condemnation of our own doing and undoing. So Lord, call younger brothers and older brothers alike unto yourself. It's only through the blood of the cross that that's possible. Thank you for it in Jesus' name.