Sermon Notes, March 10, 2019 AM
A Distant Country
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. In
an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show.” Andy’s son Opie meets a new friend. The
new friend is a little boy from a
neighboring town who has decided to run away to
Texas. He wants everyone to call him,
“Tex.” The plans to run away suddenly diminishes as supper time rolls around and “Tex” begins to think about his mother
and father waiting for him to come home.” At the end of the show Opie tells Andy that
he, too, might run away from home one day and adds, “You can come too.”
Unfortunately, all of us know that running away from home is not a laughing matter.
It’s hurtful, dangerous, costly and even deadly.
B. In Luke 15 there are three parables, Two of the three are recorded only by Luke.
(Luke records seven parables not found in any other gospel “Two Debtors”- Luke
7:41- 43; “Good Samaritan” – 10:30-37; “Rich Fool” - 12:” “Lost Coin” – 15:8-10; “Lost
1. In Luke 15:4-7 there is the parable of the lost sheep (also recorded in Matthew
18:12-14).
2. In Luke 15:8-10 there is the parable of the lost coin.
3. In Luke 15:11-32 there is the parable of the prodigal son.
C. Would you agree that the third of these is one of the most familiar parables told by
Jesus?
1. Many of us are familiar with this story. Some would even say we know it quite well
and have heard dozens of sermons preached about it. It would be tempting to
think we could put our minds in neutral because we have heard all of it before and
know everything there is to know with regard to this parable.
2. May I challenge your thinking by saying that this parable may contain much more
than you have ever thought?
1. It is not the parable of one lost son but of two lost sons. One was lost in his sin,
the other was lost in his righteousness.
2. It does not have a happy ending. At the conclusion of the story one of the sons
has not come back into the house.
3. To those who first heard it, this parable challenged everything they thought they
knew about God.
a. It redefined God.
b. It redefined sin.
c. It redefined salvation.
4. Will you open your heart and allow this familiar story to challenge you with fresh
insight?
I. A DEFIANT SON
A. Jesus said that a man had two sons.
1. The younger son asked his father for his share of the inheritance.
2. His share would have been one third of his father’s estate. The older son always
received a double portion of the inheritance. In this case he would have received
two thirds and the younger one third.
B. This younger son was not asking for a loan or an advance on his allowance. He
wanted his inheritance. How does a person receive an inheritance? Someone must
die. In essence this son was saying to his father, “I want you dead. I want you out
of the picture. I want your stuff but I do not want you.”
1. Is this not characteristic of many people today?
2. We want the blessings God gives but we do not want God.
C. Jesus said that the father divided his wealth among his sons (verse 12).
1. The word used here is “bios” meaning “life.”
2. In other words, the father not only gave up possessions and wealth, he gave up
a part of himself. When that young man headed down the road he took his
father’s heart with him.
3. This son’s heart was so full of rebellion, rejection and resentment there was no
turning back. He wanted a one way ticket away from his father.
II. A DISTANT COUNTRY
A. Where did this young man go? Jesus did not give the name of a particular country
or region (that was not the point). This young man went to a distant country. Upon
what basis did he choose to go the distant country wherever it may have been?
B. Here are the characteristics of the distant country.
1. A poor promise. It offered the promise of fun, enjoyment, happiness and
satisfaction. Ultimately it could not deliver any of those things.
2. How many people do you know who have journeyed to a distant country of sin
because it promised happiness, enjoyment, satisfaction and fulfillment?
a. Once there was a man who lived in a house on a hill. Each morning he would
look across a large valley and see a house with golden windows on a nearby
hill. One day he left his home and made the treacherous journey through the
valley and up the other hill. When he arrived he found that the house was an
ordinary house. As he looked back across the valley at his own house in the
evening sun he noticed that it now had golden windows. He was seeing the
sun’s reflection. So many people are never content with what they have.
b. Husbands / Wives leave their marriages and children to go to the distant
country of adultery in search of a spark of youth or happiness.
c. People turn to alcohol hoping it will solve all of their problems. Even our
communities turn to the sale of alcohol promising that it will solve all of our
economic woes. The end result is always the same. Life in the distant country
is hard.
d. This young man was looking for pleasure and happiness. Always remember
Hebrews 11:25, “pleasure of sin for a season.”
3. A perilous plight.
a. Can you imagine a reckless young man with a pocketful of money? The wine
flowed freely. He had women draped around his neck. He visited prostitutes.
He spent his money to fulfill every lust and desire he had.
b. Then one day after he had said, “the drinks are on me,” he reached into his
purse to find it empty. Nothing was left. He asked his “friends.” They all left
What was he going to do? Who was going to pay his debts? How was he
going to live? Suddenly the happiness faded. The pleasure ceased. Despair,
loneliness, heartache and hunger set in.
4. A pitiful picture.
a. On top of everything there was a famine. There were no crops. Without crops
there were few jobs and very little money. He lived on the streets as a
eggar.
b. He found a job feeding pigs. Here was young Jewish man feeding swine. It
was the most incredible insult imaginable.
5. A precious promise.
a. In the squalor of a pig sty the younger son found two qualities you and I need
today: humility and repentance.
b. He said to himself, “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.”
c. On any estate there would be servants who lived on the premises. There
would also be “hired men” who
did not live there but merely worked there. The
son was not asking to be
restored as his father’s child. He wasn’t even asking to be a household slave. He just wanted to work as a hireling.
d. When the father saw the son coming he did something unheard of. Older men
did not run. Running required them to raise their garments and tuck the hem
of their tunic into their belt. Older men did not do this. This one did.
e. He hugged and kissed his son. When the boy started to give the speech he
had practiced the father stopped him. “Come in!” He called for the fatted calf
to be killed and a robe placed on his shoulders and ring on his finger.
1.) The calf was eaten only on the most special occasions.
2.) The ring signified that he was part of the family.
3. The robe – the father’s robe – was placed on his shoulders covering the
old, dirty, town, ragged clothing.
III. A DISGRUNTLED BROTHER
A. Can you imagine how the older brother felt when he came home and saw the
celebration that was occurring?
1. Can you imagine his reaction upon hearing of his brother’s return?
2. His father had never thrown a party for him. He had been faithful. He had been a
hard worker. He had remained with his father at home. As he thought about his
rebellious little brother he became angry. Even his father’s reassurance that he
was always loved was not enough to calm him. Why? There was no love.
a. The irony of the story is that both of these boys were using their father to get
what they wanted.
b. The young brother demanded his inheritance. The older one worked
begrudgingly because he had no love. He had an undercurrent of anger
towards his father and towards others.
c. The younger brother was totally dependent. The elderly brother had plenty
and resented the prospect of sharing what he had.
B. The story ends with the rebellious but repentant son on the inside of the house and
the disgruntled righteous son standing outside. What a powerful message for the
two groups of people who comprised Jesus’ audience (verse 2).
CONCLUSION:
A. Did you notice that the father went out to both sons? He took the initiative and
reached out to both of them. The difference was that the rebellious son recognized
his sinfulness. The self-righteous son never understood his sinfulness.
B. God reaches out to all of us.
1. He reaches out to those who have gone into a distant country of sins.
2. Just as importantly, He reached out to those of you who have remained at home
but in the process have come to trust in your own self-righteousness while
sneering at others.
y we all be willing to come to the Ma
