Hello. My name is Frank Johnson, and I am speaking to you today from my video blog, ProdigalGod.com.

Today’s message will be the fourth in a seven-part series entitled, “Wayward Sons and a Prodigal God.”

Throughout this series,I’ll be basing my comments on Luke 15:11-32, so if you’d like to open your Bibles to that passage, you will be ready to follow along.

Let’s get started.

Last time we were together, we began to examine the life of the younger son in the story we traditionally call the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.”

And we looked at the depth of his sin, but we also began to discover the depths to which his father’s love would reach to restore him.

Today, we’re going to look further into that truth - that no matter how deep we have fallen into sin, the love of our Father can reach even farther to restore us.

A Long Way Off
Let’s take a closer look at verse 20. First of all, it says that while the younger son was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him.

The Greek word which is translated by the phrase “a long way off” is a derivative of the word which is translated “distant” or “far” in the phrase “distant or far country” in verse 13.

The significance of this is that no matter how far the younger son had strayed, the father still saw him in his heart, still felt compassion for him, and still longed to run to him and embrace him and kiss him. He saw him a long way off. He saw him, even in the far country.

Again, this is a picture of your Heavenly Father. No matter how far you have strayed, no matter how far away your distant country lies, your Heavenly Father still sees you in His heart, still feels compassion for you, and He still longs to run to you and embrace you and kiss you. He sees you, even in your far country. His eyes are watching over you, even in your distant country.

He Felt Compassion For Him
Verse 20 says that the father felt compassion for the younger son.

The Greek word which is translated compassion comes from a root which refers literally to the deepest inner organs of a person’s body. The idea is that this is a compassion which comes from the deepest part of a person’s soul.

It means to be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion.

The writer is using the strongest term available to him to describe the emotion the father experiences when he sees his son returning. Perhaps the best way to describe it is to say that the father is consumed with compassion for his son. His compassion for his son is the most intense emotion he could possibly feel.

Again, this is a picture of your Heavenly Father. No matter what you have done, your Heavenly Father is consumed with compassion for your soul. His love and compassion for you are the most intense emotions anyone could ever feel for you.

The Day God Ran
We’re told that when the father saw his son, he ran to him.

No Middle Eastern man runs. It’s humiliating. But the father was full of compassion for his son, so when he saw him, he ran.

In order to run, the father would have had to pull up his robes and expose himself. It was humiliating.

One thing which the story doesn’t specifically mention but would have occurred in a Middle Eastern village will give us a vivid picture of how deep the father’s love for his son was.

When the younger son returned from the far country, he would have been in rags. And normally, if the son had returned in such a state, the young ruffians and bandits of the village would have gathered around him and followed him all the way through town, taunting him and shaming him.

But because the father pulled up his robes and ran to his son, exposing himself, the young ruffians and bandits who would have taunted and shamed the son instead taunted and shamed the father [Kenneth E. Bailey, The Cross and the Prodigal (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1973), pg. 55].

The father took upon himself the shame that was due his son. Do you see the cross?

Remember, this is a picture of your God. On the cross, Jesus took the shame and the punishment that were due you because of your sin. So “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” There is no punishment awaiting you when you return to your father, because Jesus took all the punishment for you. There is no shame awaiting you when you return to your father, because the shame of the world was laid on Jesus.

When you return to your Heavenly Father, expecting punishment and feeling shame, lift your eyes and you will see your Father pulling up his robes and running to you!

Eagerly Embraced and Fervently Kissed
The passage tells us that when the father reached his younger son, he embraced and kissed his son.

Both words here have interesting connotations. The word for “embrace” means “to embrace spontaneously and eagerly.” The word for “kiss” means “to kiss fervently.”

According to Middle Eastern custom, when the son returned from the distant country and first met his father, it would have been required of the son that he kneel before his father and kiss his feet in utter humility [Kenneth E. Bailey, Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1992), pgs. 146-147].  I can imagine that the younger son was ready to do this when his father approached him. But as he began to kneel in order to kiss his father’s feet, his father lifted him up and embraced him and kissed him.

When you return to your Heavenly Father, all that you feel you need to do to restore yourself to your Father is of no benefit. It is the Father who will restore you by His grace and in His mercy.

So when the father saw his son, he felt compassion for him, ran to him, embraced him eagerly and kissed him fervently.

Again, this is a picture of your Heavenly Father. His great desire is to embrace you eagerly and kiss you fervently in the Spirit. He longs to express His deep love for you.

A typical Middle Eastern father would not have done what this father did. A typical Middle Eastern father would have ignored his son. He would not have paid any attention to his son. And then later, he would have beaten his son mercilessly, to within an inch of his life [Kenneth E. Bailey, The Cross and the Prodigal, pg. 54].

And that’s exactly what the younger son expected. Because his core belief dictated that that is what would happen. If it were true that a succesful relationship with one’s father depended upon correct behavior, then only punishment could await him.

But instead, this father saw his son “while he was still a long way off....and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

Notice that the son doesn’t say everything he planned to say. He had planned to say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son’ make me as one of your hired men.” But he only says part of what he planned to say: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

Stunned By The Love Of God
The younger son expected to first be ignored and then beaten. But instead, when he enters the village, he sees his father rise, pull up his robe and run to him and feels his father embrace him and kiss him.

The younger son was shocked. He had never seen his father run. He never expected to be embraced and kissed. He was shocked by the depth of his father’s love. And so, although he planned to suggest how his father should punish him, he instead was cut short and didn’t complete what he planned to say.

In that moment, his core belief was shattered and his philosophy of life lay in ruins at his feet. He could no longer believe that a successful relationship with one’s father depends upon correct behavior. He had to recognize that a successful relationship with his father depended upon the father’s great love and upon the younger son’s decision to accept and receive that love.

And I’d like to suggest to you that every person must be brought to this same point in life where they are shocked and stunned and overwhelmed and even ravished by the depth of the love of their Father in heaven, ravished by a love which cannot be believed, by a love which cannot be fathomed, ravished by the consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, furious love of God, ravished by a love beyond their wildest dreams.

Every person must come to this same moment when his/her belief that a successful relationship with God depends upon correct behavior is shattered. Every person must come to this same moment when he/she recognizes that a successful relationship with God depends upon God’s great love and upon the person’s decision to accept and receive that love.

Charles Wesley, in his great hymn, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain,” wrote these words: “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me?” [The Methodist Hymnal (New York: The Methodist Book Concern, 1905), pg. 218].  He was stunned by the love of God.

In Ephesians, Paul said that God’s love “surpasses knowledge”—it is beyond comprehension. He was overwhelmed by the love of God.

And you must have this same experience: you must be shocked, stunned, overwhelmed, and yes, even ravished by the depth of God’s love for you. You must come to the point in your life where you realize that no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter where you are in life, no matter how far you think you’ve strayed, the Father’s heart is open wide for you, and you are welcome in His presence.

You must have a vision of your Father seeing you, rising to his feet, pulling up his robe, and running to you and embracing and kissing you.

This concludes the fourth part of our seven-part series entitled “Wayward Sons and a Prodigal God.”

I hope that you will join me next time as we begin to examine the life of the elder son and the slavery he experiences in life.

Thank you for joining me today.