Old Jewish men don't run

Luke 15:1-2- Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Catch the tone of their ‘muttering’- it is not as observation, it is an accusation. It is one of outrage, condemnation and contempt. They are speaking out of the overflow of a hard heart towards the lost- one that finds it completely unacceptable that Jesus would socialize with lost sinners and receive them as friends.

Jesus responds by telling 3 parables to teach them and us about the Kingdom of God; the third of which being the famous ‘Parable of the Lost Son’. In this parable, the elder son represents these religious leaders.

Luke 15:11-16- Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. (that’s sin and rebellion- where we turn our back and God and separate ourselves from him). After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. (What a fall from grace for a Jewish boy to covet pig's food- sin leads to slavery and bondage) When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'

Luke 11:20- ‘’So he got up and went to his father …’’

That repentance- that we turn away from sin and our slavery to sin and go to the Father.

But how will the Father, whom we have sinned against, receive us?

Luke 11:20- ‘’…But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’’

Now, a little cultural nuance here- it is considered outrageous and shameful in Jewish culture for an older Jewish man to run.

This from the commentary on this parable from Kenneth Bailey, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem-

‘’The prodigal son is on his way back home! What can he expect from the people of the village? They will mock him, laugh at him, scorn him. The children will throw stones at him or spit at him. Some will turn their backs. This young man who brought so much shame on his family will never again find his place in the village. But suddenly the people of the village see something totally unexpected. The father who was so scorned by his younger son, does something himself that will make him a laughingstock. He picks up his garment and runs! He is making a fool of himself. That is unheard of for a man his age in that culture. Now the children will mock him, too! And so these two, father and son, come together, both objects of scorn, back into the village. The father was willing to sacrifice his own honor, so that his son would not have to come home alone in disgrace.’’

So when the father runs, this is outrageous, humble, impressions-be-damned grace extended towards undeserving sinners like us.

Luke 15:21-24 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

Now, here the older son enters the parable;

Luke 15:25-30- "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. (that is precisely the attitude demonstrated by the muttering religious leaders) So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders (that’s what a religious attitude will do- it will turn this loving father into a slave-driver and his loving guidance into grievous orders in your eyes) Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends (as if the father owed him something). But when this son of yours (notice that he does not say ‘this brother of mine’) who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

The tragedy is when a lost son turns from sin and slavery and comes to the church or to the Christian, where they should be greeted by outrageous, humble, impressions-be-damned grace extended towards undeserving sinners by undeserving sinners and instead they meet the condemning, contemptuous, hard-hearted religious elder sons.

This elder son lived in the Father’s house, by the Father’s rules, but never knew the Father’s heart- which rejoices for His son that ‘was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'

And he is deceived, and deceiving, if he is professing to not be lost, but be found, and to know the Father- He is a liar.

1 John 4:19-21- We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

How does God feel about this attitude? God is angry and deeply grieved by the hard-hearted, merciless attitude of the religious who look at the lost with contempt. Let me show you this in Scripture- remembering that Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being.

Mark 3:1-5- Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

If we love God, we must love others- we must share His heart for the lost and reach out to them on His behalf. And when one lost sinner repents, and turns their back on sin and comes home, heaven shakes with delight.

Luke 15:3-7- Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

So, this says something of the ‘attribution of value in heaven’- and therefore what we should value on earth, in the church.Jesus loves the 99. He cares for the 99. He rejoices in the 99. He does not neglect the 99. But He will not rest while one of His lost sheep, called by His name, is lost.

I love serving a God that refuses to cut His losses.

And when He finds that 1 wayward, rebellious, lost person, and puts them on His shoulders, the shoulders that bore their sin, to carry them home- the Bible says ‘that heaven rejoices’.And hopefully, we as the 99 will not only rejoice with Him, but we will involve ourselves in His search and rescue effort as we have been commanded.