WHAT MOTIVATES GOD S WORK IN OUR WORLD? LUKE 15:1-32 SEPTEMBER 23, 2007 In 2001, H. R. Block Inc. offered walk-in customers a chance to win a drawing for a million dollars. Glen and Gloria Sims of Sewell, New Jersey, won the drawing, but they refused to believe it when an H. R. Block representative phoned them with the good news. After several additional contacts by both mail and phone, the Sims still thought it was all just a scam, and usually hung up the phone or trashed the special notices. Some weeks later, H. R. Block called one more time to let the Sims know the deadline for accepting the million-dollar prize was nearing and that the story of their refusal to accept the prize would appear on an upcoming NBC "Today Show." At that point, Mr. Sims decided to investigate further. A few days later he appeared on the "Today Show" to tell America that he and his wife had finally gone to H. R. Block to claim the million-dollar prize. Just as the Sims doubted H.R. Block s motivation for contacting them, so we doubt God s motivation for working in our world. The Sims wrong assumptions about H.R. Block s motivation almost cost them a million dollars and a whole lot of embarrassment. In the same way, we can make some wrong assumptions about why God works in our world. Those wrong assumptions will cost a lot more than a million dollars. So, I want to consider God s motivation for working in our world. If you have a Bible please open it to Luke 15:1-32. We will look at this passage and consider the question, What motivates God s work in our world? These last 3 weeks, we have talked about God s work in our life as an answer to our life being out of control. But before we submit ourselves to His work, we want to know His motivation. I believe God s motivation will become clear in our passage. Our passage opens with a disagreement. Let s read verses 1-2. 1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. Jesus invites the worst of the worst into His presence. Tax collectors worked for the hated Romans. They made their money by cheating people. The term sinners probably refers to prostitutes or other disreputable people. We recall from chapter 14 that the religious leaders used social gatherings to enhance their social status. So sinners are not welcome in the presence of the religious leaders. They are shunned by the religious leaders. It bothers the religious leaders that Jesus eats and interacts with such people and they voice their displeasure. Instead of starting an argument with the religious leaders about whether or not He should interact with such people, Jesus tells a series of 3 stories. He will use these three stories to say, Yes, I should interact and even welcome such people into My presence. Remember as we look at these 3 stories, the issue the religious leaders have raised is, Should Jesus mix with sinners? Jesus starts the first of these 3 stories in verse 4 with these words, What man among you. With these words He draws His listeners into the story. In a sense He says, Think with me, if you were a shepherd, what would you do in this situation? Let s read verses 4-7. 1
4 What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 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 which was lost! 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. If a shepherd has 100 sheep and loses one, he doesn t say, Well, 99 sheep are not bad. I ll let the one go. No, he leaves the 99 in the care of another and frantically searches for the lost sheep. You can see the people in the audience nodding their head, yeah, that makes sense. If it makes sense for a shepherd to go after a lost sheep, wouldn t it make sense for God to go after a lost person? Jesus is building His case that He should spend time with sinners. Once the shepherd finds the sheep, he calls his neighbors and friends to celebrate. In the same way, there is a huge celebration in heaven when a wayward person returns to God. The religious leaders consider these sinners an anathema, not worthy of their time. Jesus says, Hey, we celebrate in heaven when one of these people returns to God. Can you feel the tension in this discussion? There is a huge value difference between Jesus and the religious leaders. Jesus tells a similar story in verses 8-10 8 Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost! 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Last time, it was 1 of 100 sheep that was lost. This time, it is 1 of 10 coins that is lost. So, the search is a little more desperate. The woman lights a lamp, sweeps and searches for the coin. When she finds it, like the shepherd in the previous story, she calls her friends to celebrate. And like He did in the previous story, Jesus says, just as this woman celebrates, so the angels of God celebrate when one sinner turns back to God. It makes sense that a shepherd would search for a lost sheep and a woman for a lost coin. Aren t people more important than sheep or coins? If you are one of the religious leaders, you are had. But Jesus isn t finished. He tells a third story, a story that many of us know as the Prodigal Son. But as commentator Darrell Bock says, we could easily name this story The Forgiving Father or The Begrudging Brother. There are 3 characters, each representing 3 different people. The first is the younger brother who represents a sinner. We read about him in verses 11-20. 2
11 And He said, A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me. So he divided his wealth between them. 13 And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14 Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17 But when he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men. 20 So he got up and came to his father. This young man represents the worst in a sinner. Common Jewish wisdom taught that a person never divides their estate until after death. However, this young man demands half his father s estate and foolishly blows it. Then a famine hits and he is in trouble. So, he takes a job feeding pigs. This is a reprehensible job for a Jew. The young man realizes the error of his ways and returns home. He will ask his father to hire him on as a worker. But how will his father respond? He has wasted half of the family s resources. He s been an embarrassment to his father and to his family. In his book, The Man with Dirty Hands, Curtis Liens tells how ancient Asian legend suggests how a father should deal with a son who shames him. Let me read an excerpt from the book. The boy became involved with the ruffians of the village who persuaded him to join them in a robbery of his own father's treasury house. After the robbery was over, his friends fled with the stolen treasure and left him to face the guilt of the crime alone. The young man was desperate. He was deserted by his friends, and he had betrayed the trust of his father. But his greatest crime was that he had brought public dishonor on the family name. And, in a culture where ancestors are worshiped and family integrity is a sacred trust, this was the worst wrong of all. Broken and deeply repentant, he went to his father and begged forgiveness. Graciously, it was granted. The father called all of the members of the family together to celebrate the reconciliation and return of his son. When all had enjoyed the banquet to the fullest, the father stood and lifted his cup of rice wine for a toast. But, as the son drank deeply the contents of his cup, he grabbed his throat and fell lifeless across the table. The son had been poisoned. The father, with ceremonial dignity nodded to the guests. Each in turn graciously and politely bowed to the father as they silently left the banquet hall. All was now put right. The son had paid the price of his pardon with poison. His honor had been restored. The family integrity and honor were reestablished. The unfortunate incident was closed. Is this what we should expect? Everything is put right. The rebellious son dies a humane death. Let s read verses 20-24. 3
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 22 But the father said to his slaves, Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found. And they began to celebrate. We notice that the father is looking for his son. And when he sees him, he runs. In Jewish culture, men didn t run. It wasn t dignified. This man threw dignity out the window; he was overjoyed that his son returned. He couldn t control his impulse. He rejects his son s request to be treated as a worker. Instead he orders a party to celebrate his son s return. The young man reminds us that as long as we are alive we always have the option to return to God. It is never too late. No sin is too great. The father shows us that God offers lavish forgiveness to those who are willing to accept it. Like the prodigal, we all deserve separation from God, spiritual death. We were created in God s image. We were created to live in relationship with God. But, we ve all gone our own way. We ve done our own thing and in the process have offended God. But we don t have to suffer spiritual death, which is relational separation from God. Jesus died in our place. Because of Jesus death, God the Father offers lavish forgiveness to any who will accept it. The question is, have you accepted the forgiveness God offers by putting your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, for living life your own way. If not, you can do that right now. Put your trust in Him and He will forgive your sin and begin the process of changing your heart. We started this passage wondering about God s motivation for working in our world. Jesus fleshes out God s motivation for us. He uses three stories to lead us down a path. If a shepherd would pursue a lost sheep and a woman search for a lost coin, doesn t it make sense that God would pursue a lost person? Doesn t it make sense that God would pursue a person who is cut off from Him? And the story of the prodigal son reminds us that no offense, no sin will keep Jesus from pursuing us, from reaching out to us. What is the motivation for God s work in our world? God works to restore people s relationship with Him. God works to restore people s relationship with Him. We have answered our question, but we haven t finished the parable of the prodigal son. There is still one more person, the older brother. Let s read verses 25-32. 4
25 Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. 27 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. 28 But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; 30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. 31 And he said to him, Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found. The brother is enraged. He works all these years, doesn t blow any money and now his reprobate younger brother gets a party? Life isn t fair. The father pleads with the older brother, telling him that everything he has is his. And he asks the older brother to join the celebration. And the parable ends. We don t know what the older brother does. Considering Jesus audience, the older brother represents the religious leaders. They sit and watch, angry that these sinners return to God is marked with a celebration. In their opinion, these sinners should have to earn their way back into God s favor. They must prove themselves. Jesus invites these religious leaders to see sinners from God s perspective. We don t know how these religious leaders react to the character of the older brother. But there is a more important question. What do you do with the older brother? We ve all got a little older brother in us. We want justice. We want sinners to show themselves worthy of God s approval and certainly of our approval. But Jesus invites us to join the celebration. In fact, He invites us to join the pursuit of lost people, of people separated from God. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said to His disciples, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Jesus calls His followers to join Him in the pursuit of people who are separated from Him. He wants to use us in the process of restoring people s relationship with God. He wants to live out His passion through us. How can you make yourself available to Jesus? Be in contact with people. Pursue friendships and relationships with those who are in your sphere of influence. Tell them the story of Jesus restoration in your life. With whom can you make contact this week? With whom can you set up a lunch? Jesus longs to live out His passion through you. 5
In a message entitled Living a Life of Integrity George Munzing shared this example. Ernest Hemingway wrote a story about a father and his teenage son. In the story, the relationship had become somewhat strained, and the teenage son ran away from home. His father began a journey in search of that rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, Spain, in a last desperate attempt to find the boy, the father put an ad in the local newspaper. The ad read: "Dear Paco, Meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father." The next day, in front of the newspaper office, eight hundred Pacos showed up. They were all seeking forgiveness. They were all seeking the love of their father. In the same way, people are desperate to reconnect with God. They want to know they are forgiven. Jesus passion is the restoration of that relationship. And Jesus wants to work through us to live out His passion. What is the motivation for God s work in our world? God works to restore people s relationship with Him. God works to restore people s relationship with Him. 6