05-06-07
Sorry, you must have Windows Media Player 9 or higher. This is a large file which may take a few seconds to start Windows Media Real Audio MP3 (Luke 15:11-19) And 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. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. (Luke 15:11,12) And he [Jesus] 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 [i.e., blessings]. 1. living = Gk: life, i.e. (lit.) the present state of existence; by impl. the means of livelihood: good, life. 2. The Living Bible: What is unusual here is that the younger son initiated the division of the estate prior to the death of his father. This showed disregard for his father’s authority as head of the family. 3. What blessings, what gifts has Father God given to you? 4. Commentary: The son is motivated by the greed and lust (“iniquity”) inherent within him, the root of bitterness (Heb 12:15), which is his inheritance through Adam and Eve from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Lucifer-Satan. The son chooses to oppose his father’s authority and demands (“give me”) his inheritance from his Father (in a type of heaven setting). a. (Ezek 28:14,15) Thou [Lucifer] art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity [(moral) evil:--perversion, unrighteousness, wickedness] was found in thee. b. bitterness = Heb: bitter (lit. or fig.); also (as noun) bitterness, or (adv.) bitterly:-- + angry, bitter (-ly, -ness), chafed, discontented, X great, heavy. c. Mary = Gk: of Heb. origin; Maria or Miriam /// rebellion /// bitterness, i.e. (fig.) rebellion. (Luke 15:13) And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance [goods (blessings)] with riotous living. 1. wasted = Gk: to dissipate, to separate; to winnow; fig. to squander:--disperse, scatter (abroad), waste. 2. riotous = Gk: dissolute:--riotous /// unsavedness:--excess, riot. 3. dissolute = Dict: indifferent to moral restraints; given over to dissipation; licentious. 4. licentious = Dict: 1. sensually unbridled; lewd. 2. unrestrained by law or morality; lawless; immoral. 5. Commentary: In this parable the Lord teaches that a life of sin and selfishness, in its deepest sense, is a separation from God’s love, fellowship, and authority. The sinner is like the young son who, pursuing the pleasures of sin, wastes the physical, intellectual, and spiritual gifts given to him by God for the expansion and enhancement of the Kingdom of God in this world. Such self-waste inevitably results in depression and misery, sometimes degrading personal conditions, and always the lack of a satisfying and joyful life of harmony in a right relationship with God. a. (1 Tim 6:6) But godliness with contentment [self-satisfaction] is great gain. 6. Commentary: Having prematurely received his inheritance, the son now being in a time of plenty (“a rich man”) and to his mind not needing the Father, turns his back to fellowship with the Father, and chooses instead to enter into the lower unholy depraved and degrading world of fellowship with unsaved unclean humans (a type of earth). a. (Mat 19:23) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly [with difficultly] enter into the kingdom of heaven. b. (Rev 21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. c. (Psa 37:9-11) For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek [humble] shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. d. (Mat 5:5) Blessed are the meek [humble]: for they shall inherit the earth. (Luke 15:14-16) And when he had spent all [wasted all his blessings], there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want [to fall short: be destitute]. And he went and joined [cleaved] himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine [isn’t that exactly what he had been doing?]. And he would fain [gladly] have filled his belly with the husks [pods] that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 1. Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Domesticated pigs (swine) were raised in Palestine – by Gentiles or unorthodox Jews. Pigs were ceremonially unclean because they did not “chew the cud.” The symbol of greed and filth, pigs symbolized a person’s unredeemed nature. 2. Commentary: Pigs were unclean animals (Lev 11:2-8; Deut 14:8). This meant that they could not be eaten or used for sacrifices. To protect the people from defilement and consequent separation from God, Jews could not even touch them. For a Jew to stoop to feeding pigs was a great humilitation (degradation), and for this young man to eat and live with pigs was to be degraded beyond belief. 3. Commentary: Thereafter, having wastefully “spent all,” and now in a time of need “there arose a mighty famine in that land,” and the son now clearly needs the Father in the matter of his own survival, his own life and death, yet he nevertheless continues to exercise his free will again in the error of rebellion and unknowingly chooses death “And he went and joined [cleaved] himself to a citizen of that country,” rather than cleaving to Father God. The wayward son is obedient to the unsaved citizen’s desires (a type of Satan), and that citizen commands, “sent him”, down into the realm of an even lower parallel world of pigs (a type of hell), which is a horrible and terribly degrading world to be avoided at all costs, even by the unsaved unclean humans. To summarize, the son first chose to dishonor (Exo 20:12) and oppose his Father’s will (rebellion and disobedience – the root of bitterness exposed) and broke fellowship, and then the son chose fellowship with unsaved men over fellowship with the Father (idolatry), and then the son chose fellowship with pigs over fellowship with the Father (utter depravity). a. (Deu 30:19) I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: b. (Gen 2:24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 4. Commentary: “husks” are seed pods empty of seeds, like string beans without the seeds (beans), like the chaff around the wheat, or the husk of a piece of corn in the field that is stripped away to expose the seeds (corn). “The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11). The vast majority of life-giving nutrients are found only in the seed, the husk is empty nutritionally and symbolically. The unclean pigs were eating, taking into themselves, sustaining themselves, on the garbage of this world, and not eating the seeds, the Word of God. Why not? Because the “citizen” who owned the pigs was feeding his pigs garbage, and not the Word. (Luke 15:17-19) And when he came to himself [was “in his right mind” Luke 5:15], he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: [please forgive me and] make me as one of thy hired servants. 1. Commentary: From the beginning, the son’s attitude was based upon his desire to be free to live as he pleased ("give me"). At the conclusion of his ever descending walk farther and farther down and away from Father God, having finally arrived at the bottom of his own dark abyss of utter depravity, the son has symbolically devolved and become a pig on all fours, dwelling in that stinking mire (swamp, marsh, mud, sludge, morass, bog) with the other pigs, greedily eating garbage in hopeless humilitation, despair and misery. After some unspecified goodly length of time of meditating upon how he got there and the error of his ways, the pig suddenly came to his senses, “came to himself,” stood upight, and became a man, again, which is a symbol of…? 2. The Full Life Study Bible: Before a lost person can come to God, he must see his true state of slavery to sin and separation from God. He must humbly return to the Father, confess his sin, and be willing to do whatever the Father requires [What does the Father require?]. Amen. Previous Chapter Table Of Contents Next Chapter Click here to download a printable version of this message Click here to download a DOC version of this message
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(Luke 15:11-19) And 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. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
(Luke 15:11,12) And he [Jesus] 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 [i.e., blessings].
1. living = Gk: life, i.e. (lit.) the present state of existence; by impl. the means of livelihood: good, life.
2. The Living Bible: What is unusual here is that the younger son initiated the division of the estate prior to the death of his father. This showed disregard for his father’s authority as head of the family.
3. What blessings, what gifts has Father God given to you?
4. Commentary: The son is motivated by the greed and lust (“iniquity”) inherent within him, the root of bitterness (Heb 12:15), which is his inheritance through Adam and Eve from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Lucifer-Satan. The son chooses to oppose his father’s authority and demands (“give me”) his inheritance from his Father (in a type of heaven setting).
a. (Ezek 28:14,15) Thou [Lucifer] art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity [(moral) evil:--perversion, unrighteousness, wickedness] was found in thee.
b. bitterness = Heb: bitter (lit. or fig.); also (as noun) bitterness, or (adv.) bitterly:-- + angry, bitter (-ly, -ness), chafed, discontented, X great, heavy.
c. Mary = Gk: of Heb. origin; Maria or Miriam /// rebellion /// bitterness, i.e. (fig.) rebellion.
(Luke 15:13) And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance [goods (blessings)] with riotous living.
1. wasted = Gk: to dissipate, to separate; to winnow; fig. to squander:--disperse, scatter (abroad), waste.
2. riotous = Gk: dissolute:--riotous /// unsavedness:--excess, riot.
3. dissolute = Dict: indifferent to moral restraints; given over to dissipation; licentious.
4. licentious = Dict: 1. sensually unbridled; lewd. 2. unrestrained by law or morality; lawless; immoral.
5. Commentary: In this parable the Lord teaches that a life of sin and selfishness, in its deepest sense, is a separation from God’s love, fellowship, and authority. The sinner is like the young son who, pursuing the pleasures of sin, wastes the physical, intellectual, and spiritual gifts given to him by God for the expansion and enhancement of the Kingdom of God in this world. Such self-waste inevitably results in depression and misery, sometimes degrading personal conditions, and always the lack of a satisfying and joyful life of harmony in a right relationship with God.
a. (1 Tim 6:6) But godliness with contentment [self-satisfaction] is great gain.
6. Commentary: Having prematurely received his inheritance, the son now being in a time of plenty (“a rich man”) and to his mind not needing the Father, turns his back to fellowship with the Father, and chooses instead to enter into the lower unholy depraved and degrading world of fellowship with unsaved unclean humans (a type of earth).
a. (Mat 19:23) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly [with difficultly] enter into the kingdom of heaven.
b. (Rev 21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
c. (Psa 37:9-11) For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek [humble] shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
d. (Mat 5:5) Blessed are the meek [humble]: for they shall inherit the earth.
(Luke 15:14-16) And when he had spent all [wasted all his blessings], there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want [to fall short: be destitute]. And he went and joined [cleaved] himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine [isn’t that exactly what he had been doing?]. And he would fain [gladly] have filled his belly with the husks [pods] that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
1. Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Domesticated pigs (swine) were raised in Palestine – by Gentiles or unorthodox Jews. Pigs were ceremonially unclean because they did not “chew the cud.” The symbol of greed and filth, pigs symbolized a person’s unredeemed nature.
2. Commentary: Pigs were unclean animals (Lev 11:2-8; Deut 14:8). This meant that they could not be eaten or used for sacrifices. To protect the people from defilement and consequent separation from God, Jews could not even touch them. For a Jew to stoop to feeding pigs was a great humilitation (degradation), and for this young man to eat and live with pigs was to be degraded beyond belief.
3. Commentary: Thereafter, having wastefully “spent all,” and now in a time of need “there arose a mighty famine in that land,” and the son now clearly needs the Father in the matter of his own survival, his own life and death, yet he nevertheless continues to exercise his free will again in the error of rebellion and unknowingly chooses death “And he went and joined [cleaved] himself to a citizen of that country,” rather than cleaving to Father God. The wayward son is obedient to the unsaved citizen’s desires (a type of Satan), and that citizen commands, “sent him”, down into the realm of an even lower parallel world of pigs (a type of hell), which is a horrible and terribly degrading world to be avoided at all costs, even by the unsaved unclean humans. To summarize, the son first chose to dishonor (Exo 20:12) and oppose his Father’s will (rebellion and disobedience – the root of bitterness exposed) and broke fellowship, and then the son chose fellowship with unsaved men over fellowship with the Father (idolatry), and then the son chose fellowship with pigs over fellowship with the Father (utter depravity).
a. (Deu 30:19) I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
b. (Gen 2:24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
4. Commentary: “husks” are seed pods empty of seeds, like string beans without the seeds (beans), like the chaff around the wheat, or the husk of a piece of corn in the field that is stripped away to expose the seeds (corn). “The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11). The vast majority of life-giving nutrients are found only in the seed, the husk is empty nutritionally and symbolically. The unclean pigs were eating, taking into themselves, sustaining themselves, on the garbage of this world, and not eating the seeds, the Word of God. Why not? Because the “citizen” who owned the pigs was feeding his pigs garbage, and not the Word.
(Luke 15:17-19) And when he came to himself [was “in his right mind” Luke 5:15], he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: [please forgive me and] make me as one of thy hired servants.
1. Commentary: From the beginning, the son’s attitude was based upon his desire to be free to live as he pleased ("give me"). At the conclusion of his ever descending walk farther and farther down and away from Father God, having finally arrived at the bottom of his own dark abyss of utter depravity, the son has symbolically devolved and become a pig on all fours, dwelling in that stinking mire (swamp, marsh, mud, sludge, morass, bog) with the other pigs, greedily eating garbage in hopeless humilitation, despair and misery. After some unspecified goodly length of time of meditating upon how he got there and the error of his ways, the pig suddenly came to his senses, “came to himself,” stood upight, and became a man, again, which is a symbol of…?
2. The Full Life Study Bible: Before a lost person can come to God, he must see his true state of slavery to sin and separation from God. He must humbly return to the Father, confess his sin, and be willing to do whatever the Father requires [What does the Father require?].
Amen.
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