 | When Pastor Ellery approached me just a couple of weeks before Father’s Day Weekend about delivering the message for that Sunday, the first thing that crossed my mind was that this speaking on holidays must be the start of a trend, seeing I was asked to preach on Mother’s Day the month before. |
So in keeping with the theme, I thought about calling the message “The Law and the Gospel – The Holiday Series Part 2.” But after a few lighthearted remarks about what to preach on upcoming holidays, the Lord turned my thoughts to a more serious subject and title: "A Reflection of the Father" (watch here).
I shared the story we commonly call "The Prodigal Son" from Luke 15. But looking closely at this parable, you can see that this story is just as much, if not more, about the father and his reactions to the very difficult personal and social challenges brought about by his two sons, than it is about the two sons themselves.
I shared the story we commonly call "The Prodigal Son" from Luke 15. But looking closely at this parable, you can see that this story is just as much, if not more, about the father and his reactions to the very difficult personal and social challenges brought about by his two sons, than it is about the two sons themselves.
At the end of the service the pastor asked me to adapt my message as a three part blog post (sorry it took so long, Pastor Ellery!), each post covering a different point:
1) The Father’s Pain
2) The Father’s Patience
3) The Father’s Proclamation
1) The Father’s Pain
2) The Father’s Patience
3) The Father’s Proclamation
To place this in a culturally proper perspective, the younger son basically said: “Dad, I wish you were dead."
In this first post, will explore the father’s pain as the younger son makes a brash demand, and how we can see a reflection of our Father’s pain that we humans have continuously heaped upon Him. In the second post, we will see the father’s steadfast endurance as he waits for his son’s return and how this is an incomparable mere shadow of our Heavenly Father’s patience with all of us, saved and unsaved. Then in the third and last post, we will see the reunion that caused the father to proclaim a celebration, and what had to take place in order for us to be reunited with our Father.
But first, if you haven't read the The Prodigal God by Tim Keller, I would encourage you to do so as it really opened my eyes to some things in this parable. It is my prayer that you will learn some things by the Spirit as well. For those of you that have read the book, I’m sure you will see some familiar material.
1. The Father’s Pain
As we take a close look at the first portion of this parable in Luke 15:11-32, Jesus immediately snatches everybody into rapt attention (Luke 15:11-12). The son’s demand for his portion from his father had much more serious implications during the time and in the culture that Jesus was addressing than it does in our modern western culture. Much of the middle eastern cultures, including the Jews, were and still are, to some degree built on a patriarchal family and society. The authority of a family and community was firmly in the hands of the male heads of the households. The people around Jesus, from the tax collectors and sinners to the Pharisees and scribes, would have gasped in shock to hear of the insolence of the son. To place this in a culturally proper perspective, the younger son basically said: “Dad, I wish you were dead. In fact, you are so dead to me that I don’t want to wait for you to actually die. I want my inheritance now."
In those days and times, the son would have been driven from the house and property by physically beating him (Tim Keller, The Prodigal God, pg 21-22). He would have been disowned by the entire family, no going to spend some time with that weird cousin on the other side of town. This could have been legal grounds for stoning the rebellious child. (Lev.20:9, Deut. 21:18-21) Most people back then and today could not imagine the pain that this inflicted upon the father. The familiar words "disappointment," "shame," and "failure" seem pale, shallow, and woefully inadequate to portray what the father felt in this parable. In spite of this egregious behavior, the father actually grants his request. This would have been a major sacrifice as in those days most wealth was tied up in land and livestock. He had to divide everything he had, and sell one third of it all to accommodate this brash demand.
This is just a drop in the emotional ocean in comparison to the real pain that God had to endure because of us. Before time began God knew what we would do, and yet He still created the heavens, the earth, and us. We cannot possibly imagine the heartache that Adam and Eve caused Him when they chose to disobey His word. It is a little different in the parable than it was for us. Adam and Eve were already given everything they could possibly need – their inheritance as it were. They chose to give it all up to pursue a false desire. Please don’t get all pious and self-righteous on me here; if it were any one of us in that garden we all would have made the same choice. It did not stop with Adam and Eve; sin continued as Cain murdered Abel. On and on God endured the anguish and grief we caused Him until He - with the exception of Noah and his family - wiped the earthly slate clean with a worldwide flood.
But even after that physical cleansing, we still continued to provoke and grieve Him. The internal rottenness of our sin lasts through today and beyond... but not forever.
And here is where we begin to delve into the Father’s patient response to the pain we all have caused Him.
Until next time, be blessed and let us all remember that because of the pain God endured, we have access to His grace that can get us through any pain we may encounter.
John Clark
But first, if you haven't read the The Prodigal God by Tim Keller, I would encourage you to do so as it really opened my eyes to some things in this parable. It is my prayer that you will learn some things by the Spirit as well. For those of you that have read the book, I’m sure you will see some familiar material.
1. The Father’s Pain
As we take a close look at the first portion of this parable in Luke 15:11-32, Jesus immediately snatches everybody into rapt attention (Luke 15:11-12). The son’s demand for his portion from his father had much more serious implications during the time and in the culture that Jesus was addressing than it does in our modern western culture. Much of the middle eastern cultures, including the Jews, were and still are, to some degree built on a patriarchal family and society. The authority of a family and community was firmly in the hands of the male heads of the households. The people around Jesus, from the tax collectors and sinners to the Pharisees and scribes, would have gasped in shock to hear of the insolence of the son. To place this in a culturally proper perspective, the younger son basically said: “Dad, I wish you were dead. In fact, you are so dead to me that I don’t want to wait for you to actually die. I want my inheritance now."
In those days and times, the son would have been driven from the house and property by physically beating him (Tim Keller, The Prodigal God, pg 21-22). He would have been disowned by the entire family, no going to spend some time with that weird cousin on the other side of town. This could have been legal grounds for stoning the rebellious child. (Lev.20:9, Deut. 21:18-21) Most people back then and today could not imagine the pain that this inflicted upon the father. The familiar words "disappointment," "shame," and "failure" seem pale, shallow, and woefully inadequate to portray what the father felt in this parable. In spite of this egregious behavior, the father actually grants his request. This would have been a major sacrifice as in those days most wealth was tied up in land and livestock. He had to divide everything he had, and sell one third of it all to accommodate this brash demand.
This is just a drop in the emotional ocean in comparison to the real pain that God had to endure because of us. Before time began God knew what we would do, and yet He still created the heavens, the earth, and us. We cannot possibly imagine the heartache that Adam and Eve caused Him when they chose to disobey His word. It is a little different in the parable than it was for us. Adam and Eve were already given everything they could possibly need – their inheritance as it were. They chose to give it all up to pursue a false desire. Please don’t get all pious and self-righteous on me here; if it were any one of us in that garden we all would have made the same choice. It did not stop with Adam and Eve; sin continued as Cain murdered Abel. On and on God endured the anguish and grief we caused Him until He - with the exception of Noah and his family - wiped the earthly slate clean with a worldwide flood.
But even after that physical cleansing, we still continued to provoke and grieve Him. The internal rottenness of our sin lasts through today and beyond... but not forever.
And here is where we begin to delve into the Father’s patient response to the pain we all have caused Him.
Until next time, be blessed and let us all remember that because of the pain God endured, we have access to His grace that can get us through any pain we may encounter.
John Clark
John Clark is a husband to Julie, a father of one son living in Valrico, Florida. He has an Associate Degree of Theology from Life Christian University, and serves at Life Center of Brandon where he is a teacher and writer.