Chris Gnanakan

Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s criticism of him fraternizing with outcasts and unclean tax-collectors and sinners is in not one, but three parables. Its trajectory is deliberate to radically redefine what it means to be ‘lost’ and to reveal God’s heart for the lost. The prodigal asks for his portion of the inheritance prematurely, goes to a ‘far away country’ and squanders it. Then he is destitute, in desperate need and no one helps him. He ends up feeding pigs where he comes to his sense, repents and returns to Father’s house.

The father takes several steps that teach us how to reclaim a ‘lost’ loved one: (1) In truth he allows his boy to make his choice to leave, yet waits in hope (2) In loving compassion he suffers with the wayward boy and never gives up on him (3) In faith, he prepares for his return and takes giant strides to welcome, pardon and receive him back (5) With unrestrained joy he publicly display his acceptance and invites others to join the celebration. Compared with the former two, the second half of this story focuses on the older son or ‘elder brother’ and has three surprises with regard to the prodigal’s return:

The reaction of the elder brother is detailed for us. Notice his stubborn withdrawal and anger, not managed (v.28). He flaunts his self-righteous, good works through which his selfish motive for service is exposed (v.29). He nurtures an unforgiving, judgmental spirit toward his brother and is full of self-pity believing he deserved more (v.30). His holier-than-thou attitude reveals he was jealous of goodness shown to ‘this son of yours’ and envious of ‘worldly’ experiences his brother has had with pigs and prostitutes? What unfolds is his true relationship with his father is: he is bound to publicly shame him, in thought, word and deed [Hey you, listen] and has served him with a ’slave’ mentality trying to gain acceptance through accomplishment.

The reasoning of the loving father pervades the story: ‘we had to celebrate!’ This patriarch, doubly dishonored, takes the brunt yet lavishes his love, this time on his older son. He leaves his guests at home to go out and look for this one son, then pleads with him to come in to fulfill his honorable duties. He doesn’t punish, intimidate, or argue but extends his mercy; grace upon grace! He assures him: ‘everything I have is yours’ and shows him why joy is naturally called for when something lost is found, certainly when someone thought ‘dead is now alive’! The father clarifies how acceptance and sonship is not based on what one does, but whether one desires what the father has done (‘in Christ’ cf. Rom.7:25;8:15). Did the elder brother go in, or not?

The response of sincere listeners is solicited by the story’s unfinished ending. Jesus abruptly stops and leaves his audience dangling so they can write-in their own ending. He challenges all self-righteous ‘Pharisaic’ people with a performance-driven faith. Such socially and morally revered ‘teachers of the law’ represent religious, hard-working, tax-paying, friendly, tolerant, neighbors who find their identity, security and worth in good works. This son was in the father’s house but far from the father’s heart and also ‘lost’. He was ’enslaved’, an enemy of his father’s grace for if he shared his father’s concern and did his duty, he should have gone looking for his brother. Are we respectable ‘elder brothers’ but irresponsible in our mission to seek the lost? For in Christ, we are our brother’s keepers! Imagine what the story would look like if the prodigal had a ‘true elder brother’!

Jesus’ parable reveals both sons as valid caricatures for lostness, though at extremes. We may find ourselves somewhere in between yet are more sinful than we are willing to admit and more loved than we will ever imagine! The only way anyone is accepted before Father God is by abandoning one’s self-pursuit, admitting sins and acknowledging the need for his forgiving grace. This parable is about three sons: the prodigal son, his pouting elder brother and a third ‘Son’ – our true Elder Brother who the Father did send to seek and save all the lost (19:10). It is the Story-teller, God’s perfect Son who is not ashamed to call us his ‘brothers’ (Heb.2:11-12).

Our Brother and Lord Jesus, commissions us, in turn, to go be ‘elder brothers’ to lost humanity(Jn.20:21). I’ve had three ‘conversions’: from external ‘prodigal sinfulness’, from self-righteous ‘elder brotherliness’ and from a heartless Church-ianity to a mission of compassion for the lost! How many turning points have you had?

Having examined Jesus’ short story called ‘the Prodigal Son’, I want to show how in reality Luke 15:11-32 is about ‘A Compassionate Father’. A good teacher is someone who takes listeners from: (1) the known to the unknown (2) the text into their context and (3) where they are to where they ought to be, by the grace of God. First, allow me to attempt to do just this with this familiar story and encourage us, the Church, to do “whatever it takes” to see those, especially in our immediate family, without the hope of salvation and eternal home, return and be reconciled to God.

I am surprised how few know what ‘prodigal’ means! No, it is not about a dirty, rotten, scoundrel who is altogether ‘wicked’ but rather refers to a reckless person who is extravagant or ‘wasteful’. Observe the responses to the ‘prodigal’s return’ by the compassionate Father, then the judgmental brother. We still have our ‘prodigals’who were once part of our fellowship or the ‘house of the Lord’ but have gone wayward and are ‘lost’. I’d like to consider the Father’s response as the way God desires to work in and through us to reclaim such a loved one. This will certainly entail developing a heart of compassion! Studying the ways of the Father’s heart and his actions can inform and inspire us in this direction

NB: (1) the Father’s love was willing to let go of the young man adamant to exercise his own freewill, yet it was a love that tarried or waited with longsuffering (2) The Father was not distant or indifferent but demonstrated com-passion literally he ‘suffered with’ this young man. Whatever the answer is to ‘why suffering’, Christianity starts with a theodicy that factors in a God who himself [in Christ] suffers with/for humans (3) The Father never gave up on the son or held his past against him. His compassion was marked by deep burden, anticipation, prayer and preparation for his boy’s return (4) He was more than ready to receive the errant son, convinced he had suffered enough in the world for his delinquent ways (5) Touching is the father’s unrestrained public expression of emotions as he embraces, literally envelops him and floods him with kisses! I am convinced, this boy always knew his father’s nature and I know, if we have this same nature (2Pet.1:4) many a ‘prodigal’ in our families will be back home!

This dear son once lost, now found, demanded a grander reception & celebration than the case of a dumb sheep or dead coin. Before the party, note what the Father symbolically supplies for this boy’s ‘homecoming’: (a) a gold Ring indicating a royal relationship, sense of belonging and authority [signet] in the house. (b) a Robe, of righteousness, that special garment reserved for an exclusive guest of honor (c) Shoes for his feet, slaves didn’t wear, yet implying responsibility and service go hand in glove with household privileges (d) a fattened Calf of rejoicing prepared for this momentous, festive occasion. The badge of all true followers of Christ is that we are forgiving and no matter what, seek to love others as we have been loved! May God give us his compassionate heart to win the lost at any cost!

 Two pertinent ‘why’ questions help us understand the nature of Biblical compassion portrayed by the ‘prodigal Father’ who lavished love on his wayward son. (Lk.15:17-24). There is a definite progression, logic and climax in this story. One out of 100 sheep is lost. What does the shepherd do? He leaves the 99 to search until the one is found and then has a party! One of 10 silver coins is lost and the woman makes similar painstaking efforts and then the celebration! Now, one of the Jewish Father’s two sons is lost, the elder son seemed to know his whereabouts, so (1) Why didn’t this loving father go looking for, send a search party or rescue mission to get his boy back? (2) When the prodigal eventually appears, why does this elderly father go running to meet him?

NB: The father did not have to give this son his part of the inheritance that was his only after his dad died. In Ancient Near Eastern, shame-honor culture, in effect the boy was saying to his dad: “I wish you were dead!”. For this he would be disowned by family members and excommunicated from the community. Found again in the vicinity, the vindictive society could spit on or throw stones at this disgraceful boy. This is why on seeing the son’s faint steps the father takes giant strides toward him. Now, have you seen a dignified, rich, head of a house, run on a public road? Never! Who did this kind of thing? The household slave! This explains why the boy doesn’t complete his confession, asking the father to make him one of his hired servants (cf: v.19, 21). His father had already taken on this role of a slave in order to reclaim this reprobate son. Further the father envelops him and keeps kissing him, so if someone spat or threw a stone, guess who it will have to first hit? – the forgiving, reconciling Father of all grace and mercy, so full of compassion.

Compassion is that intense emotion which beyond feeling, shares in and sacrificially ’suffers with’ (Latin com=with, passio=to suffer) and on behalf of the one in pain. Such love is divine. It refers (Hebrew rachamim) to the womb of Yahweh, and (Greek, splanchma) denotes the intestines or what we would call, guts. I am convinced there can be no mission without compassion and the father’s actions teach us what this implies: without giving up on his boy lived with burden and expectant hope. He publicly unleashed his emotions for him and throws the grandest party inviting others to share in His joy! Moreover he went out to his elder son to get him also to reconcile with this son. This story is really about three slaves: a wasteful prodigal who set out to find his freedom and was enslaved feeding swine; a father becoming a slave in order to win his son back and a self-righteous older brother working with the mentality of a slave in his own house!

So, why didn’t the father go searching for the lost son? The answer is in recognizing who is telling this parable and to whom? Again the clue lies in that this is also a story about three sons: the prodigal son representing lost sinners, the pouting son characteristic of the critical ‘lost’ Pharisee and the perfect Son– Jesus the narrator, who the heavenly Father did send to seek and save the lost (Lk.19:10). Christ is the concrete embodiment of divine compassion. His compassion is depicted on the cross and ‘in Christ’ we can face our sinful selves and return to the Father’s love and house. Did you know that Jesus’ Spirit of compassion is shed in our hearts (Rom 5:5) so then we can win the lost at any cost!

If the parable of the lost sheep (Lk.15:1-7) is about being ‘lost and desperate about it’, this coin was ‘lost and couldn’t help it’. Comparisons can be made between the lively sheep that willfully strayed away from the flock of 100 and this inanimate coin that a woman ‘lost’ of 10 she possessed. Jesus may have deliberately picked a woman to serve his purpose as she would passionately express the deep grief and exuberant joy in finding what is lost. The point remains: We have a searching God, who actively seeks after lost souls, and rejoices whenever the ‘one’ is found.

1. The Woman’s Silver: This poor, peasant woman lost one of her 10 coins – a drachma, a Greek silver coin, equivalent to a Roman denarius worth roughly a days’ wage. It is notable Jesus’ audience; the cold-hearted, self-righteous Pharisees were generally unimpressed with the moral character of women and wouldn’t readily identify with this lead character. Interestingly in Hebrew drachma means desirableness and there were reasons this woman beyond the cost, knew its true value. It was probably the poor woman’s ketubah – like a dowry, and may have been tied as a headband or placed within a necklace. She apparently had lost this modest silver (v.9), felt responsible for it and considered it precious enough to search out for it.

2. The Work of Seeking: More detail is given on the search here than the previous parable; various means are used, care and pains taken in the quest. The woman shines a candle – a small handheld oil lamp, needful as the Palestinian house had usually one tiny window, if any. Though hardly sufficient, light was necessary to look in between the dark crevices of the dirty, stone floors. ‘Light’ represents divine ‘revelation’ that leads to redemption. Jesus the Light (Jn.8:12) left us as the ‘light of the world’ to so live among unbelievers that they see our good ‘works’ and come to know and glorify God as Father of all lights (Matt. 5:16). Second, she sweeps the house and seeks diligently. Notice physical effort is involved with the hope to hear coin rattle on floor. There’s perseverance and endurance of hope ‘until’ the coin is repossessed.

3. The Witness in Sharing: The silver found, the woman’s mission is accomplished. Yet part of the mission is an invitation and a celebration with her neighbors, which Jesus uses to illustrate the party angels have in heaven over one repentant sinner. The salvation of a soul is always accompanied by joy. Jesus (means, Savior) is the Joy of all the earth and his presence brings ‘joy to the world’ – a joy that the world can not give nor can take away! Such joy cannot be kept to oneself; it must become our strength and be shared with others, as it is contagious! Joy is the outcome of the woman’s hard work and becomes, as C.S. Lewis puts it, ‘the serious business of heaven’.

In Matt.9:35- we see Jesus’ mission in the marketplace. His work is his witness: preaching, teaching, healing and thereby ushering in God’s kingdom. He presented the Gospel as it is, to people where they are: in the synagogue, on the streets, to the sick at home, to friends on a summit or people at work by the sea. Jesus wanted his followers to be salt; not in the salt-shaker but effective in the soup (real world)! Two questions to introduced the place where I’m convinced the cutting edge of mission is today. (a) how many of the disciples Jesus chose were ‘full-time’ pastors or ministers? Less than the number you guessed – none! (b) On an average, who comes in contact with more ‘lost’ people in a week: your pastor at church or the business or lay person at the office or workshop? Of course, the latter!

Evangelism has moved from the nave to the neighborhood, from Cathedrals to Call Centers and is best realized in the market square and office. I believe missions today is not from the South to the North, nor West to East or vice versus. It is ‘from everywhere to everywhere’! Our day-to-day work, marked by commitment, integrity and excellence must be that shining witness in the workplace that attracts and wins the ‘lost’ at any cost, while we can!

Something is said to be ‘lost’ if it is missing and the plain inference is that it needs to be found and put back in its rightful place. Yet, in our selfish, materialistic world, we don’t see the obvious, nor consider the serious consequence of losing something valuable. Jesus was accused by the religious leaders of his day for associating with and working for those who morally were considered the last, least and lost of society! Jesus silences his critics by telling them a story of the lost sheep (Lk.15:1-7). He wanted them to catch a vision – God’s vision – of helpless people without hope who are desperate. This parable can then promote Christian mission as we examine what was lost, why and how was it recovered?

1. The Wandering Sheep: Why care? Notice at least three facts about the one, lost sheep. First, by its own will, it had wandered away from the shepherd into mountainous wilderness (v.4). Next, the sheep was helpless and desperately needed to be sought after by a shepherd. Finally, this sheep may or may not have been found by the shepherd, and if not, perished (cf. Matt.18:13). For Jesus, this highlighted the condition of all humans, who like sheep, have gone stray from God, each turning to their own way (Isa.53:6). Sheep are known to be dumb, defenseless creatures that need to be directed daily. Importantly, the story reveals how each of us like this sheep cannot rescue ourselves and need to be sought and found. This certainly reveals the need for God’s unmerited favor – grace! While we were yet sinner, God commended his love toward us, in sending Jesus to seek and save us ‘lost sheep’ (Rom.5:8; Mk.10:45).

2. The Winsome Shepherd: What care! ‘Can any good shepherd avoid the cry of a lost sheep?’ was Jesus’ argument to his accusers. The shepherd’s love, concern and efforts are evident as he leaves the other ninety nine to ‘go after’ this one lost ‘until’ he finds and recovers it. Notice how he not only finds and fetches but gently lays it on his shoulders and brings it back to the fold. Yet he does more – he finds enough cause to celebrate the lost, now found. He greatly rejoices and he must share with others. Jesus no doubt wanted his listeners and critics to understand that God, the Father was a searching, who cared for lost souls. Did they, at that point, grasp the fact that the Story-teller was the good shepherd who came to seek and to save all ‘lost’ people? (Mark 10:45). He not only the Good Shepherd as he laid down his lay down (John 10:11), but the Great shepherd since he arose from the dead to protect and provide for his life (Heb.13:20-21). Besides Jesus is the soon-coming, Chief Shepherd who will reward all those who pastorally care for his sheep (1Pet.5:4).

3. The Work of Shepherding: Who cares?! How did Jesus perceive the multitudes of people? As lost sheep, without a shepherd, helpless and harassed. Nobody cares how much we know until they know how much we care. The verb to ‘pastor’ (Gk: poimen) comes from the task being a shepherd. It becomes clear that God, the Shepherd of our soul, is a missionary God (Latin missio = to send) who sent Jesus to find, fetch and folk us in his fold (the church). The church ought to be the most ‘caring place’. Notice this God of compassion (com = with, passio = to suffer) who himself, ‘in Christ’ suffered for the lost is not willing a single one of his sheep be lost (Mat.18:14; 2Pet.3:9). Just as he sent his Son, he sends us, his servants, out of love to seek and save the lost (Jn.20:21; 21:15). Jesus now commissions us, his sheep to go in the midst of wolves; wise as serpents and harmless as doves, to win the Lost at any cost’. But, first we must see what Jesus saw and know there is no mission without compassion.

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!

How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And which every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about.

- Author Unknown

Christians seems to have worn out the verse ‘Nothing is impossible with God’. Did you know the ad for the footwear Adidas claims: ‘Impossible is Nothing’! We can demonstrate God’s power at work on behalf of people if only we learn how to put feet to our faith and this is no small challenge. Abraham’s call to obey God (Gen 12) came in the form of ‘tests’ that help us examine and prove our own faith and commitment to God and His purposes. While there are distinct steps in Abraham’s life of faith that tested him, in Hebrews 11:8-19, there are at least four that challenge us:

Test-1 A Major Change: (v.8) Have you been in some way re-located and feel ‘rootless’? Abram lived in the famous Ur of Chaldea in Mesopotamia. This ancient business centre was his life, workplace and ‘comfort zone’. God asked Abram to: Get Up, Get Out and Get Going to a place he had never seen before, that He now promises to give him as an inheritance. Abram had directions  without knowing the destination, yet he simply trusted and implicitly obeyed. The acronym for F-A-I-T-H, Forsaking All I Trust Him is evident in Abraham’s life. He relied totally on a trustworthy God who he knew was with him. God’s Mission (missio = to send) implies movement  and change is that sure constant in a life of faith. Believers today need to ask: Am I willing to follow and obey God’s Call even though I do not know where?

Test-2 A Delayed Promise: (v. 9-10) Faith acts upon God’s Word, yet is willing to wait for God to act, in His time! Abram lived in tents for over 100 years, waiting for God, in His perfect ‘time’ to give him the Promised Land. His focus was on his God – the object of his faith, not the Promised Land, because ‘by faith’ he looked for a lasting city, which God himself had planned and built! Waiting is never easy, but is essential for the life of faith, for only those who wait on the Lord will be renewed and strengthened (Isa. 40:31). While God’s clock and calendar are not the same as ours, remember His timing is perfect and He is never late or too early. Am I willing to wait for God’s promise though I don’t know when?

Test-3 An Impossible Plan: (v.11-12) God’s promise to Abraham not only was about a physical inheritance but a spiritual heir – a son and a nation, through which God planned to bring the blessing of His salvation to all the peoples of the earth! For this, Abram (father of many) had a major problem – he was childless! To make matters worse, God changes his name to Abraham (father of multitudes!) and promises him a son through Sarah, who was well beyond child-bearing, right – Impossible! Abraham and Sarah try to help God out and get Hagar to bear him a son but this was not faith or God’s way. Yet, God in due time gave Sarah a son and ‘this kids was (not) a joke’ and called Isaac (Laughter!) Be careful what you call impossible. Am I willing to accept God’s methods without knowing how?

Test-4 A Senseless Tragedy: (v.17-19) After proving his word, God continues to test Abraham’s faith in the never failing power of His love. Would Abraham willing give up all to God in the sacrifice of his ‘only begotten’ son – Isaac!? The ultimate test in any relationship is ‘love’ and ‘sacrifice’ and NB: these always go together. Did you know, child-sacrifice was a common practice among the pagans in Abraham’s culture? Would his faith in YHWH, the true and living God, be comparable? Abraham’s obedience demonstrates how believers are but clay and must allow God, the Potter to have his way in their lives.

Abraham didn’t understand ‘why’ God would want Isaac sacrificed, but had resurrection faith in Jehovah Jereh who not only ‘provides a way, His Way’ but literally, gives life to dead people! His faith was anchored in what God said (His faithful Word) what God can do (His mighty works) most importantly who God is (His matchless worth)! Spurgeon put it well: ‘When we cannot see God’s hand, we can always trust God’s heart’. I’m proving how “God is too good to be unkind to me; and too wise to make any mistakes in my life!” The question is: Am I willing to trust God’s heart without knowing just why?

Abraham’s life reveals what genuine faith in God can do. This man whom 3 world religions claim as their ‘father of faith’, died in peace, satisfied; full  and importantly ‘in faith‘ (Gen.15:15; Heb.11:13ff). The heritage he left for Isaac, his son and us, is pictured by 3 icons: an altar, a tent and a well that symbolize a godly example of faith in God’s promises (Gen.26:25). Spiritual blessings meant more to Isaac than material and their significance can help us find our future, make a mark, and leave a legacy of ‘faith in God’ for our generation.

I find it intriguing how Isaac was the son of a famous father (Abraham) and the father of a famous son (Jacob)! Due to his quiet, peaceable life, he often gets ‘lost’ in between the two patriarchs. Yet in the Bible, it is Isaac who is a type or representation of Christ. Let us consider these 3 emblems that marked Isaacs’ life of faith and allow them to increase our own faith in God (more…)

Have you been in a situation where you were asked not to talk about ‘faith’, or come across someone who told you they don’t have faith or lost their ‘faith’? But first, do you know the one thing that pleases God and is the only thing that also challenges him? The answer is ‘faith’ in who God is and what he has done for you!

The Bible teaches that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), which is the reason human’s were created. Many of us are privileged to have been brought up by, lived with, or been influenced by some great men and women of faith – ‘faith in God’, a God who is faithful, who can be trusted, counted on to keep his word and fulfill his purposes in our lives. Therefore to live a ‘life of faith’ in this God is indeed life’s ultimate goal and the precise way we bring God glory. Let’s talk about what ‘faith’ is, and what faith in the God of the Bible look like? (more…)