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Oh man, I wish I could just cut and paste the entire chapter
from my commentary here!
“Jesus attracted
sinners while the Pharisees repelled
them … He cared for the. He understood
their needs and tried to help them,
while the Pharisees criticized them
and kept their distance … they had
no love for lost souls.”
“There are two aspects of salvation. There is God’s
part: the shepherd seeks the lost sheep … but there is also man’s part – the wayward son willingly repented and returned home …
both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man must be considered.”
“The scribes and Pharisees had no problem seeing the
publicans and sinners as lost sheep, but they would not apply that image to themselves.”
“The lost sinner bears the image of God even though that
image has been marred by sin. When a
lost sinner is found, God beings to restore that divine image through the
power of the Spirit, and one day, the believer will be like Jesus Christ.”
“The people who first heard this must have been shocked. Jesus was saying that God actually SEARCHES FOR lost sinners! No wonder the scribes and Pharisees were
offended, for there was no place in their legalistic theology for a God like
that. They had forgotten that God had
sought out Adam and Eve when they
had sinned and hidden from God.”
“In the parable of the prodigal son, the father did not go
out to seek the son, but it was the memory
of his father’s goodness that
brought the boy to repentance and forgiveness.”
“A man’s worst difficulties begin when he is able to do just as he likes … We are always heading
for trouble whenever we value things
more than people, pleasure more than duty, and distant scenes more than the blessings we have right at
home.”
“The prodigal son was lost because of willfulness. He wanted to
have his own way, so he rebelled against the father and broke his father’s
heart.”
“The far country
scene in verses 11-16 is our Lord’s way of emphasizing what sin really does in
the lives of those who reject the
Father’s will. Sin promises freedom, but it only brings slavery; it promises success, but brings failure;
it promises life, but the wages of
sin is death. The boy thought he would find himself but he only lost
himself. When God is left out of our
lives, enjoyment becomes enslavement … There is an insanity in sin that seems to paralyze the image of God within us and
liberate the animal inside.”
Father, there is so much more I could write about
today. You have filled my heart with so
much. Thank You for what You’ve shown me
this morning.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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