Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.He said, “A certain man had two sons.And he said, A certain man had two sons:And he said, A certain man had two sons:
4 sermons cite this verse
… It's a passage that may be familiar to some of us here. Luke chapter 15 and verse 11. Jesus continued, and 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. And 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. 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. When he came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's hired servants 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. …
… and here comes the next story the infamous story about the lost son we pick up in verse 11 and Jesus continued to speak to them there was a man who had two sons the younger one said to his father father give me my share of the estate how many of y'all are the youngest the babies in the family raise your hand and how many of y'all think you're the smartest one. No, I'm playing. Don't answer. The younger one said to his father, father, give me my share of the estate. So he divided his property between them. More context. When you're reading the Bible, you need context. I got to do it. I got to Google. I got my study Bible. No, it's like I need it. Context. The younger son is asking for his share of the estate and his inheritance. Do you know what that means? He's basically saying, dad, I don't need you no more. I got this. I got a better plan for my life. Father, forget this. I don't need this. …
… let's see what Jesus actually said about this story. Jesus continued, there was a man who had two sons. this was never a story about one son this was always a story about two sons so if you write in your bible what I've actually done is marked out where it says the parable of the lost son and mine says the parable of the two lost sons this story was always about two sons at some point we decided to call it the parable of the prodigal son or the lost son but that's not what Jesus said Jesus knew in front of this audience of sinners and Pharisees, in front of the tax collectors and the people who taught the law, Jesus was saying, I want to tell you about two boys. There are two sons in this story. And I think what will happen today, hopefully for you, that it's happened for me, is that you will have compassion for every character we meet. There are going to be three main characters, the younger son, the older son, and the father. And we are going to see in each of them, they're each going to teach us about sin and grace and home. And I find myself in this story in every seat over and over again. I wonder if you will too. Let's start with Luke 15 verse 11. …
LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 11. HE SAID, A CERTAIN MAN HAD TWO SONS, AND THE YOUNGER OF THEM SAID TO HIS FATHER, FATHER, GIVE ME THE PORTION OF GOODS THAT FALLETH TO ME. AND HE DIVIDED UNTO THEM HIS LIVING. NOW WHAT DID HE MEAN, GIVE ME THE PORTION OF GOODS THAT FALLETH TO ME? IN PLAIN ENGLISH, HE WAS SAYING, FATHER, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MY INHERITANCE NOW. WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE ME WHEN YOU DIE, I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT NOW. IF YOU REALLY THINK THROUGH THAT, HE'S SAYING, I WISH YOU WERE DEAD. I wish you were dead. I don't want you. I want yours. He's like a lot of people today. They don't want God, but they want to breathe God's air. They want to eat God's food. They want to walk on God's green earth. Some of them even want to live forever, but they don't want God. Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. AND HE DIVIDED UNTO THEM HIS LIVING. …