Jesus: The Shepherd Father

Transcription

1 Jesus: The Shepherd Father A Comparison of Psalm 23 with Luke 15 One of the benefits of living in Chicago was free, over-the-air WGN, channel 9 - because it carried every game of the Chicago Cubs. I didn't grow up a Cubs fan, but learned to appreciate the announcing team of Jack Brickhouse and Lou Boudreau. I'd played Little League and Pony League baseball as a boy, and thought I knew the sport. But listening to Hall-of-Famer Lou Boudreau discuss the complexities of the game opened up a whole new appreciation for the sport. It's a lot more than pitching, hitting, catching, and throwing. Because of his baseball knowledge, (having been a player-manager for the Cleveland Indians in the 1940s) Lou had an uncanny ability to predict the next play, whether it was a steal, a pitch-out, a hit to the opposite field or a double-play. I won't bore you with some of the intricacies of the game Boudreau shared, but let's just say that when it's played a high level, it's a lot more than meets the eye. There's much more going on than the casual fan realizes. The same thing is true with Bible study. We can casually read a Scripture passage and think "I get that." But we can miss a lot. The vibrant message and poignant challenge of those verses may fly right over our heads - due to 2000 years worth of cultural changes. Of course, translators strive to make it plain and readable, and a good Study Bible with notes can help explain the original context and cultural setting. But a pastor/teacher is to the Bible and his congregation what Lou Boudreau was to baseball and the fans. When we read the words of Jesus, we should consider how the original listening audience would have responded. Then, imagine how the original reading audience some twenty or thirty years later would have reacted. Finally, we must understand and apply it to our own lives. When we take the time to meditate on a text in that manner, we begin to peel back layers of meaning, discover various ways of applying the truth, and view it in relationship with other passages in the Bible to gain an accurate overview. For instance, last week we considered the parable of the Prodigal Son. Who was the older brother in the story? For the original audience it represented the Pharisees and scribes who criticized Jesus. But the original reading audience would have viewed Jewish Christians in the church as the "older brother." Today, we understand the "older brother" as Christians who are apathetic about evangelism.

2 As we revisit Luke 15 this morning, I'd like for us to see how the actions of the loving Father who restored his son clearly relates to the Shepherd of Psalm 23. Jesus was answering his critics with these parables of seeking the lost. It was a masterstroke of storytelling and a brilliant defense of his mission to draw from a psalm the Pharisees and scribes knew and loved. In the parable, the younger son humiliated his father by demanding his inheritance, traveled to a far country, and wasted all his resources. A famine hit, endangering his very life. In desperation, he limps back home. 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. 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 are 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. In his wonderful book Finding the Lost, Cultural Keys to Understanding Luke 15, Kenneth Bailey highlights a number of striking parallels between the ever-popular Psalm 23 and Luke 15. For the next few minutes I'd like to point out a few, to help us better understand what Jesus was saying, and apply it to us today. Each passage opens with a story about a good shepherd and ends with a gracious host who prepares a banquet. But let's just focus on the parable of the Prodigal. Something is Lost In Psalm 23:3 the sheep is presumed lost. How do we know? It says the sheep was restored - brought back to the "paths of righteousness." The sheep had obviously wandered away. In the parable, as we noted last week, both sons are lost - one

3 because of rebellion, the other because of self-righteousness, his arrogant sense of moral superiority - the enemy of grace. The Bible describes "lostness" alienation from God, distanced, groping in spiritual darkness, or lying in a state of spiritual death. Jesus' purpose for coming to planet earth was to "seek and save the lost." (Luke 19:10) So as the shepherd saves the life of the sheep, the merciful father saves the life of the Prodigal, Jesus "saves" sinners. The lost are found, reconciled, brought from darkness to light, from death to life. Jesus viewed people as being in either one of two categories: "lost" or "saved." In which category are you? God Restores the Lost In the Psalm, God restored the soul of the psalmist. He found the lost sheep who wandered away and brought him back to the fold. In the parable, the father does not say "This my son was lost and at last has made his way home." Instead, he says, "This my son was lost and is found." We have to ask "Found by whom?" In another book of his books, The Cross & the Prodigal, Bailey explains that if a Jewish son lost his inheritance among Gentiles, (as the younger son did in this parable) and if he returned home, the community would perform a ceremony, called the kezazah. They'd break a large pot before him and yell, You are now cut off from your people! The community would totally reject him. So, why did the father do such an undignified, unmanly thing and run to his son? Around 195 BC, the Jewish scribe Ben Sirach wrote: "A man's manner of walking tells you what he is." And Aristotle had earlier noted: "a slow step is thought proper to the proud man...and a rapid gait is the result of hurry and excitement." Owners of estates did not run - their servants ran. The other night Debra and I had parked the car in a parking lot downtown. We were about five minutes late, so instead of walking down to the light and the crosswalk at River and Falls Streets, I decided to jog across the street. I thought Debra was there with me. She wasn't. I asked her to "run" because I saw that the light had changed, cars were coming, and we were jaywalking. She refused to run. Three and four-thousand pounds of steel were bearing down on us, but she wouldn't pick up the pace. I figured it must have been undignified for the Queen of Terra Lake Dr. to run! We made it - barely!

4 Middle Eastern men do not run for another reason. Because they wore long robes, hiking them up would expose their bare legs. That was considered shameful! I don't have time to cite all the cultural prohibitions about keeping your legs covered, but trust me - there are a lot! This was such a big deal that for a thousand years, Arabic versions of the New Testament refused to describe the father as running. One says simply "he went." Others say "he presented himself" or he "hastened" or "hurried." They did it to avoid the humiliating truth of the text. They agreed the father figure represented God, and they couldn't bring themselves to portray God as running. But in broad daylight, with the mortified villagers looking on, the father gathered his robes and in an embarrassing display took upon himself the role of a servant and ran down the village street to his son. Why did he run? He ran to reach his son before he entered the village, to spare him the humiliation and disgrace of the community's taunts and rejection. As the son approached the village, he was as urgently in need of someone to find him as was the lost sheep and the lost coin. If he got to the village first, he'd still be lost, for they'd publicly, ceremonially reject and humiliate the young man. The village would have followed the running father, witnessing what took place at the edge of the village with his son. And after the emotional reunion they saw, clearly there'd be no kezazah ceremony; there'd be no rejecting this son regardless of what he had done. The son had repented and returned to his father. The father bore the full shame that should have fallen on his son, taking the role of a suffering servant to show the whole community that his son was welcome back home. The robe, the ring, and the sandals confirmed it. Jesus willingly emptied himself and endured the cross on our behalf. He bore the public shame and humiliation our sins deserved. As a result, we can be forgiven, accepted, and restored. We don't have to fear going home to our Father and confessing our sins, no matter what we've done, or how many times we've done it. Have you received Jesus as Savior and Lord? If so, are you confessing and repenting of your sin daily? Female Imagery Bold positive female images are set forth in each passage. Where do we see it in Psalm 23? God does the work of a woman by preparing a great banquet where

5 heads are anointed and cups overflow. In the East as well as in most of the West, women prepare banquets - not men. For example, when Abraham entertained angels unaware, he directed Sarah to prepare some food for his heavenly guests. In the parable, when the father welcomes his son home, we see clear overtones of the acts of a mother or sister. In that culture, the village would expect the father to wait back at the house with an emotional detachment. But society allowed for a mother to run down the road to greet her son and shower him with kisses. Danger and Survival The psalmist was in danger - he traversed the valley of the shadow of death - a place so dangerous that a leader armed with a rod and a staff was needed for protection. Because of the shepherd, the sheep survive and pass through safely. How was the prodigal son in danger? He was the victim of a great famine in a distant land. He admitted to profound hunger, craving the food fed to the pigs, yet no one gave him anything. Like the sheep in Psalm 23, he too survived - because of the father's provision - not just a meal but a feast! Protection and Comfort The psalmist faced two types of danger - the valley of the shadow of death was one. But there's another - his enemies at the banquet table. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Those who wished to inflict harm upon the psalmist were restrained. It drew upon a time-honored, unspoken pledge on the part of a host to protect his banquet guests from any enemies. What dangers did the young prodigal son face? Besides the severe famine, he faced the hostility of his older brother and the community. They'd have mocked and ostracized him - cut him off with the kezazah ritual. He'd have been dead to them. He would have been a perpetual scandal - but for the actions of the father. The Bible says of God: For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Heb. 13:5-6). He will never leave us - not for any reason; not our sin, our selfishness, nor our stubbornness. He will never abandon us. So when the Enemy comes against us with accusations, trying to create doubt and fear - with the full armor of God and prayer, if we resist him in Jesus' name, he will flee. (James 4:7)

6 Holiness and Honor The psalmist said: "He leads me in paths of righteousness for his names' sake." God is all about preserving His holy name. He works not only for our ultimate good, but for His own glory. The father restored the good name of the family by forgiving and reinstating his son. He didn't tell his son to get cleaned up. He told the servants to dress him in the "best robe." That would have been the father's robe. Everyone who saw the young man wearing a beautiful robe would respect him because of his clothes. The ring for his finger may have been the signet ring of the house - which, when engraved in hot wax sealed important documents. It symbolized that he could be trusted to represent the family and the estate. Slaves wore no shoes, but they were a necessity for a free man. One rabbi wrote "One should always sell even the beams of his house and buy shoes for his feet." So the prodigal has bestowed upon him by sheer grace: honor (the best robe) trust (a signet ring) and self-respect (sandals.) A Banquet Prepared Psalm 23 speaks of a banquet, a formal lavish banquet where oil is poured on heads and wine is plentiful. It's a banquet that is not in secret, but in the open, where it could be observed by his enemies. In the parable, a banquet is prepared. There was music and dancing and great celebration. A fatted calf would feed around two hundred people. Prominent people from the village would be there - as would extended family. The father wasn't just reveling in his son's return - he was formally reconciling the younger son to the family and the village. After such a celebration, no one would shun the younger brother. The banquet honored the father and the reconciliation he'd achieved at such great cost. By including the banquet scene in the parable, Jesus explained why he shared meals with tax collectors and "sinners" - reconciliation, restoration, redemption. But not all were happy - not the older brother and his friends. They seethed with anger. The older brother had already made a terrible scene, publicly shaming and rejecting his father.

7 Reversal of Roles In the Old Testament, worship leaders were expected to "prepare a table for God" by placing cakes and incense on the table (Ex. 40). It was a simple offering. But when God prepared a table for the psalmist it was a lavish banquet! The parable features a reversal too. The sons should have honored their father with a banquet - after everything he'd done for them. He'd given them their inheritance. He'd demonstrated costly love. Instead, he hosted a banquet where they were the guests. The House In both the psalm and the parable, the house is a hub for safety and restoration. After the banquet, the psalmist said "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." In the parable, the younger son leaves the house/home. But the father waits at home. And he pleads with the older brother to enter the house, but he refuses. Each passage concludes with life in the house. Jesus said: "In my Father's house are many rooms..." Jesus is the Shepherd who saves and the father who restores. He suffered the shame and pain we deserved by his death on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sin and rebellion. He rose from the grave to prove it was all true. He ascended to the Father to be our great high priest. He is preparing a place for all those who believe and receive Him as their life and as their Lord. He will prepare a banquet in our heavenly home where there will be music and dancing and the Heavenly Father will be honored forever. Do you know this Shepherd/Father known as Jesus? Will you tell others of the great things He has done?