Great Forgiveness for Great Sin
(No. 2863)
A WATCH-NIGHT SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1903.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
DECEMBER 31, 1876.
"In whom we have redemption through the blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His Grace." Ephesians 1:7.
You scarcely need me to say that Paul is here writing concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, Christ was his constant theme, both in
preaching and writing. I have heard of ministers who can preach a
sermon without mentioning the name of Jesus from beginning to end. If
you ever hear such a sermon as that, mind that you never hear another
from that man! If a baker once made me a loaf of bread without any
flour in it, I would take good care that he should never do so again.
And I say the same of the man who can preach a Christless Gospel! Let
those go and hear him who do not value their immortal souls, but, dear
Friends, your soul and mine are too precious to be placed at the mercy
of such a preacher. Paul's harp had only one string, but he brought
such music out of it as never came from any other! He found such
infinite variety in Christ that he never exhausted his theme. With him
it was Christ first, Christ last, Christ midst, Christ everywhere–and
so he could never have his pen in his hand without writing something in
praise of his glorious Lord and Savior!
Paul had good reasons for doing this, for Christ had met him on his way
to Damascus, stopped him in his persecuting career, renewed his heart
and given him a bias ever afterwards towards his new Master. Never did
Paul forget that spot, on the road to Damascus! I will guarantee you
that he could have found it to his dying day–that spot where he fell
to the ground and heard the Voice from Heaven saying to him, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute Me?" He was a different man ever afterwards!
That one event had turned the whole current of his life, so that, from
then on, for him to live was Christ. Previously, he had breathed out
threats and slaughter against all who bore the name of Christ. Now, he
breathes out Christ and His Gospel and has nothing else for which he
cares to live and is even willing to die for Him! "But," says someone,
"do you not think that Paul carried this idea a little too far? A man
of one idea rides his hobby to death and he does not see the other
things that are around him." Ah, Sir! Paul did see all around him that
which was worth seeing! For him, everything above, below, within,
without, around, had Christ in it, just as, on a bright summer's day,
everything has sunshine in it. And, like the Apostle, we can never
exaggerate when we rightly speak of Jesus, "for in Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily," and in Him is stored up all manner of
riches and treasures for poor sinful creatures like ourselves.
I am going to magnify Christ, as His gracious Spirit shall help me, by
speaking of the pardon of sin which freely comes to us through the
redemption which He obtained for us by the shedding of His precious
blood. I shall have two divisions. First, the sins, spoken ofin our
text, are great sins. And, secondly, the forgiveness, spoken of in our
text, is also great–"according to the riches of His Grace."
I. First, then, THE SINS MENTIONED HERE ARE GREAT. Because we preach
the greatness of God's mercy, some wicked minds think that sin is but a
little thing. But, Sirs it is not so. And if any of you are living in
it, listen to me while I try to show you how great it is.
For, first, see what sin has done to us all. Our first parents lived in
a Garden of delights and, if they had not sinned, we would have been
heirs to a happy life free from sickness, sorrow and death. But sin
entered the Garden of Eden and withered every leaf, blighted every
flower and, soon, Adam was driven out to till the ground that brought
forth thorns
and thistles in abundance. As for the woman, she and her daughters were
condemned to bring forth children in pain and sorrow. Now look at the
result of sin all over the world–the poverty that springs from
drunkenness, the disease that comes of debauchery, the pangs of
conscience that follow all evil-doing. And when you have gazed at the
misery now existing on this earth, think of the many graveyards and
cemeteries with their myriads of tombs. The very dust which flies down
our streets, was, much of it, once alive as part of the body of one of
our forefathers! This earth is, indeed, a huge morgue. What was it that
slew all these people and dug all these graves? It was sin, for, "sin,
when it is finished, brings forth death." It is no small thing that has
worked all this mischief among mankind!
If any of you doubt the greatness of sin, let me remind you of what has
happened to those who have died in it This Bible, which is the
Revelation of God, tells us that sinners who die impenitent are driven
from the Presence of God into the outer darkness where there will be
weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth forever! I cannot adequately
depict that dread abode of lost souls, but there are already myriads
there, without light, or hope, or joy, or comfort, waiting for the Day
of Judgment when their bodies shall rise and body and soul shall stand
before the Judgment Seat of Christ. And then will come upon them "the
terror of the Lord." If I had to describe the woes of the lost, the
language I would have to use would be exceedingly strong, but where
would I have to look for it? I would not go to Milton and the other
poets, but I would have to gather similes most terrible from the lips
of the gentle and loving Christ, for it is He who has told us most
about these things! Because He loved men so dearly, He faithfully
warned them of the wrath to come–and one proof that sin is no trifle
is that the wrath to come is so terrible!
If any still doubt whether sin is a great thing, I ask them to remember
that it must be great because it takes such great Grace to pardon it.
Our text teaches us that the forgiveness of sin is according to the
riches of God's Grace–as if, in order to get rid of sin, the Infinite
Wealth of His great heart of love must be freely spent. God, who
delights in mercy, had to lay out a mint of Grace before sin could be
pardoned! Therefore, sin is no small thing. But if you would really
know how great a thing sin is, remember what it cost Christ to be its
Forgiver. Go to Gethsemane and see what it cost Christ to bear it
there. The sin that covered Him with a bloody sweat was no trifle. Then
follow Him to Pilate's Hall and hear the cruel whips falling on His
blessed shoulders, for it is with those stripes that you are healed,
and it must be a dire disease that needs such sharp medicine! See the
soldiers take Him away and nail Him to the Cross. There He hangs,
between Heaven and earth, to die for guilty sinners amid untold anguish
which no human eye could see and no mortal mind could understand. Yet
there could never have been any forgiveness for sin if there had not
been all these pangs on the part of the sinner's Substitute. Surely,
sin must be a great thing to need such a great Sacrifice to put it
away.
While I am recalling these familiar Truths of God, I hope somebody is
saying, "Ah, Sir, I know that my sins are great!" You need not go into
particulars, for, if nobody else's sin is great, mine is." Let us all
look over the records of this year and see whether it is not so with
us. Get out your diary. Ah, you do not put down such things there–you
try to forget them. I have been told that, in Naples, there used to be
a pit for every day in the year, and each day they took the dead out of
the city and flung them into the pit for that day. So there were 365 of
these pits which were opened, year after year. In a similar style, you
have buried your sins in these 365 days. Let us roll one of the big
stones away and look down. No, no! We could not bear to do so, for even
one day's sin has such filthiness about it that we cry, if we are in
our right senses, "Bury my dead out of my sight!" Think what your sins
have been. Think of the idle words you have spoken–for every one of
which you will have to give account. Think of the evil thoughts you
have had–angry thoughts, proud thoughts, lustful thoughts–they are
all sins. Oh, what a terrible heap they make! Would any man here like
to shoot out his sins on this platform? I can never understand how a
so-called "priest" can ask people to confess their sins to him. I would
not make my ear into a common sewer for all the wealth in the world!
What foulness there must be on the soul of him who has heard what
others have done and who knows what sin he has himself committed! Sin,
when we see what it really is, whether in ourselves or in others,
horrifies us.
But there is one thing I want you to remember. If there has been
nothing done, or said, or thought by you of which you can convict
yourself, yet, if you are not now loving God–if for another year you
have been God's enemy, if for another year you have refused Christ and
have lived without prayer, without repentance and without seeking to be
right with God. If for another year you have been indifferent to the
claims of the Most High and careless of His commands–if you have done
nothing else but forget God–that one sinwould be enough to cast you
into Hell forever! Remember David's words, "the wicked shall be turned
into Hell, and all the nations that forget God."
II. Now I turn to the much more joyful side of my subject which is that
THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN IS ALSO A GREAT THING.
Is there such a thing as forgiveness of sin? When Martin Luther was in
great trouble because of his sin, he obtained much consolation from the
remark of a brother monk, who, observing him so cast down, asked to
him, "Martin, can you say the Credo?" Martin, of course, answered,
"Yes." "Then, do you not remember," said the monk, "that in the Credo
it is written, 'I believe in the forgiveness of sins'?" Light seemed to
break in upon Luther's darkness by that simple question, as I pray that
it may break upon yours while I speak upon that blessed article of a
true Christian's creed.
First, you may judge the greatness of the forgiveness by the greatness
of the sin which God forgives in a single moment I do not know your
age, my dear Friend. Say, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, 80
years–possibly, even 90–but, if you now believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, this very instant the whole mass of your sin will disappear
forever! I have heard of one who had lent much money to a debtor and
who had received from him many bonds. And when he found the debtor
sinking into hopeless bankruptcy, he sent for him and, after showing
him the bonds, the amount of which he was unable to meet, even to the
extent of a penny in the pound, the generous creditor said, "There is
only one way in which we can settle all this debt." And, gathering up
all the bonds in his hand, he cast them into the fire. "Now," he said,
"I wish you a happy new year. Go your way, for you are out of debt to
me." That was a noble thing for anyone to do, and I feel sure that the
bond for a thousand pounds would burn as fast as a bond for 50 pounds.
So the Lord takes all the bonds of our sin throughout our whole
lifetime and puts them into the blaze of His Infinite Mercy–and they
all disappear so that, if our sins are searched for, they cannot be
found!
Next, measure the greatness of the forgiveness by the guilt of the sin
forgiven. I always feel that I must speak guardedly upon this point,
but I will be as bold as I may. Sinner, if you trust in Christ, He will
forgive you the blackest sin into which you have ever fallen. If (God
grant that it may not be true!) the crime of murder should be on your
conscience. If adultery and fornication should have blackened your very
soul. If all the sins that men have ever committed, enormous and
stupendous in their aggravation, should be rightly charged to your
account, yet, remember that "the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son,
cleanses us from all our sin." And remember, also, "he that believes in
Him is justified from all things," however black they may be. I like
the way Luther talks upon this subject, though he is sometimes rather
too bold. He says, "Jesus Christ is not a sham Savior for sham sinners,
but He is a real Savior who offers a real Atonement for real sin, for
gross crimes, for shameless offenses, for transgressions of every sort
and every size."
And a far greater One than Luther has said, "Though your sins are as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like
crimson, they shall be as wool." I have set the door of Mercy open
wide, have I not? There is no one here who will dare to say, "Mr.
Spurgeon said that I was too guilty to be forgiven." I have said
nothing of the kind! However great your guilt, though your sins, like
the great mountains tower above the clouds, the floods of Divine Mercy
can roll over the tops of the highest mountains of iniquity and drown
them all! God give you Grace to believe this and to prove it true this
very hour!
In the third place, the greatness of God's forgiveness may be judged by
the freeness of it When a poor sinner comes to Christ for pardon,
Christ does not ask him to pay anything for it, or to do anything, or
to be anything, or to feel anything, but He freely forgives him. I know
what you think. "I shall have to go through a certain penance of heart,
at any rate, if not of body. I shall have to weep so much, or pray so
much, or do so much, or feel so much." That is not what the Gospel
says–that is only your fancy. The Gospel is, "Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." Trust Jesus Christ, and the free
pardon of sin is at once given "without money and without price"!
Another thing that indicates its greatness is its immediateness. God
will forgive you at once, as soon as you trust Christ. There was a
daughter, well beloved by her father, who, in an evil hour, left her
home and came to London. Here, having no friends, she soon fell prey to
wicked men and became an utter wreck. A city missionary met with her
and spoke faithfully to her about her sin–and the Holy Spirit brought
her to the Savior's feet. The missionary asked for her father's name
and address, and at last she told him. But she said, "It is no use for
you to write him. I have brought such dishonor on my family that I am
quite certain he would not reply to any letter." They wrote to the
father and stated the cases–and the letter that came back bore on the
envelope, in large text hand, the word, "IMMEDIATE." Inside, he wrote,
"I have prayed every day that I might find my child and am rejoiced to
hear of her. Let her come home at once. I have freely forgiven her, and
I long to clasp her to my bosom."
Now, Soul, if you seek mercy, this is just what the Lord will do with
you. He will send you mercy marked, "IMMEDIATE," and you shall have it
at once! I recollect how I found mercy, in a moment, as I was told to
look to Jesus and I would be forgiven. I did look and, swift as a
lightning flash, I received the pardon of sin in which I have rejoiced
to this very hour! Why should it not be the same with you–the blackest
and worst sinner here–the most unfeeling and the least likely to
repent? Lord, grant it, and You shall have the praise!
Again, the greatness of God's forgiveness may be measured by the
completeness of it When a man trusts Christ and is forgiven, his sin is
so entirely gone that it is as though it had never been! Your children
bring home their copy-books without any blots in them, but if you look
carefully, you can see where blots have been erased. But when the Lord
Jesus Christ blots out the sins of His people, He leaves no marks of
erasure and the forgiven sinners are as much accepted before God as if
they had never sinned!
Perhaps someone says, "You are putting the matter very strongly." I
know I am, but not more strongly than the Word of God does. The Prophet
Micah, speaking to the Lord under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
says, "You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." Not
into the shallows, where they might be dredged up again, but into the
great deeps, as in the middle of the Atlantic. Then Isaiah says to the
Lord, "You have cast all my sins behind Your back." Can you tell me
where God's back is? God's face is everywhere–then where is His back
and where are His people's sins? Why, nowhere at all! Daniel says that
the work of the Messiah is to finish the transgression–and it is
finished for all who believe in Him. Daniel also says that He is to
make an end of sins–then there is an end of them for all who trust in
Him! Then there is that glorious passage which cannot be quoted too
often–"In those days, and in that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of
Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none." What? All my sins
gone? Yes, they are all gone if you believe in Jesus, for He cast them
into His tomb where they are buried forever. This is enough to make you
dance, like David did before the Ark, for, when God once pardons a man,
He never condemns him again. It is not God's way to play fast and loose
with people. If I am in Christ Jesus, the verdict of, "No
condemnation," must always be mine, for who can condemn the one for
whom Christ has died? No one, for, "whom He justified, them He also
glorified." If you have trusted your soul upon the Atonement made by
the blood of Christ, you are absolved and you may go your way in peace,
knowing that neither death nor Hell shall ever divide you from Christ!
You are His and you shall be His forever and ever!
"Well," asks one, "that is a great thing. How is it to be obtained?" It
is to be had for nothing, simply for the asking, simply by trusting
Christ. If that is done, all is done and all these blessings are yours,
and yours forevermore!
Now I close by showing you how really God forgives sin. I am sure He
does, for I have proved it in my own case and I have heard of many more
like myself. I have known the Lord to take a man full of sin and renew
him and, in a moment to make him feel, and feel it truly, too, "God
loves me." And he has cried, "Abba, Father," and he has begun to pray
and has had answers to prayer! And God has manifested His Infinite
Grace to him in a thousand ways. By-and-by, that man has been trusted
by God with some service for Him, as Paul and others were put in trust
with the Gospel–and as some of us also are. With some of us, the Lord
has been very familiar and very kind and has blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
Now I have done when I have just said that, as these things are true,
then nobody ought to despair. Come, Sister, smooth those wrinkles out
of your forehead! You have been saying, "I shall never be saved," but
you must not talk like that, for Christ's forgiveness of sin is
"according to the riches of His Grace." And, Brother, are you in
trouble because you have sinned against God? As He is so ready to
forgive, you ought to be sorry that you have grieved such a gracious
God! As He is so ready to forgive, let us be ready to be forgiven! Let
us not leave this house, though the midnight hour is about to strike,
until we have received this great redemption, this great forgiveness
for great sin!
Perhaps someone says, "When I get home, I will ask God's forgiveness."
Do not wait until you get home! Suppose that I had done some wrong to
any of you and that I sat next to you–I do not think that I should
wait until we entered the new year before asking you to forgive me. Do
so with God–say to Him, "Since You are so ready to forgive, I ask to
be forgiven. I trust that I shall be forgiven through Jesus Christ,
Your Son." It is a grand thing to begin the new year with a new heart
and a new spirit! That would set all the bells of your soul ringing.
The question is, Will you believe on the Son of God? In the name of
Jesus Christ who died upon the Cross, I demand your faith in Him! He is
no impostor. He is no pretender, He is worthy of your heart's trust, so
believe in Him. I pray the Holy Spirit to work this faith in you, that
you may be saved, and saved now, and receive at once the forgiveness of
all your sins!
Thus have I preached the Gospel to you. If you reject it, it is at your
peril. I draw a ring round you as the Roman ambassador drew one round
the Eastern monarch and said to him, "Step out of that ring, and it
will mean war with Rome." So I draw a ring round the seat where you are
sitting and say to you, in the name of God, "You must not rise up from
that seat until you have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ,
or else have taken upon yourself the responsibility of remaining an
enemy of God, for I can say no more to you till the Judgment Day breaks
and I have to give account for preaching this sermon–and you have to
give account for hearing it! I can say no more than this! There is
pardon to be obtained by believing! Jesus Christ is fully worthy of
your confidence–trust Him now and you shall receive full and free
forgiveness! The Lord help you to do so, for Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–548, 562, 595.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE 15.
We have read this chapter together many times. Possibly some of us have
read it hundreds of times, yet whenever we read it, we always find
something fresh in it. It is always bright and sparkling, full of
diamonds and other precious gems of Truth.
Verses 1-3. Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners, to
hear Him, and the Pharisees, and scribes murmured, saying, This Man
receives sinners, and eats with them. And He spoke this parable unto
them. The deepest feelings of our Savior's heart seem to have been
brought out by the two classes of persons here mentioned–His pity and
compassion towards the sinful–and His righteous anger at the perpetual
objections of the hypocritical Pharisees and scribes. The one class
caused His heart to overflow with love, the other excited His burning
indignation, yet, even then, His soul was moved with pity and
tenderness toward the wandering and erring. We ought to be grateful to
the Pharisees for having led our Lord to utter the three wonderful
parables which we are about to read. Luke says, "He spoke this parable
unto them," implying that the three are really one, a picture in three
panels. The whole plan of salvation is not to be found in either of the
parables by itself, but in all three combined. Some points omitted in
any one of them will be found in one of the others. "He spoke this
parable unto them, saying."
3-7. Saying, what man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of
them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, andgo after
that which is lost untilhe findit? And when he has foundit, he lays it
on his shoulder, rejoicing, and when he comes home, he calls together
his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I
have found my sheep which was lost. Isay unto you, that likewise joy
shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety
and nine just persons which need no repentance. The shepherd had an
extraordinary joy in his flock through the wandering and recovery of
that one sheep. If they had all stayed in the fold and none of them had
strayed away, he would have been glad, but there would have been a sort
of tameness and sameness about his constant satisfaction with them. But
that wandering sheep stirred up other emotions in his heart and when he
had found it, he experienced a new joy, a higher joy than he would
otherwise have known! So, though sin is a great evil, yet it has been
overruled by God in such a way as to introduce a new joy into the
universe.
Songs of praise that would never have made the angels' harps to ring
are now heard in Paradise! There would never have been any repentance
if there had never been any sin–and the love of the Great and Good
Shepherd towards wandering sheep would never have been revealed if no
sheep had ever wandered from the fold. I suppose it was some such
feeling as this that caused Augustine somewhat rashly to exclaim,
concerning the Fall, "O beata culpa!"–O happy fault which has thus
made manifest the abounding mercy of God! Looked at in one aspect, all
sin is an unutterable calamity, but as it has had the effect of
displaying still more of the matchless mercy of God in the Person of
Jesus Christ, we see how God brings forth good out of evil!
The chief point of the parable is the shepherd's joy derived from the
finding of the lost sheep. Our Savior needed no other reason for
looking after publicans and sinners than the fact that He would get far
more joy out of them than He would out of the Pharisees and scribes,
even if they were what they professed to be, "just persons, which need
no repentance." This first panel of the picture specially sets forth
the work of the Son of God. Why was not the Father's work put
first, as the Trinity is, "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit"?
Why is it, also, that in the Benediction, Paul writes, "The Grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the
Holy Spirit be with you all." Why, because the love of Christ is the
first thing that the sinner apprehends! Our first Christian experience
is not, as a rule, a knowledge of the Holy Spirit or the Father, but,
to our consciousness, it is Jesus Christ who is first revealed to us. I
think it is for this reason that the work of the Son of God is here set
forth first.
8-10. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she loses one
piece, does not light a candle and sweep the house, and seek diligently
till she find it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and
her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the
piece which I had lost Likewise, Isay unto you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents. As I have
already said concerning the lost sheep, there was a new joy over the
recovery of the lost silver. The woman always rejoiced over the pieces
of silver, but that one particular piece had been the cause of new
joy–the joy which is experienced whenever the sorrow of loss is
outweighed by the joy of finding again that which was lost! Is this
woman intended to represent the Church of Chris, and is she thus set
before us because the Church is the great agent under the control of
the Divine Spirit, in seeking the lost, carrying the lighted candle of
the Word, sweeping with the besom of earnest, faithful preaching,
applying the Law of the Lord to the conscience of man and turning
everything upside down until, at last, the lost piece of silver is
found? If so, this second panel of the picture sets forth the work of
the Holy Spirit as worked through the Church of Christ.
11-13. 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 falls to
me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after–for
sin is very rapid in its development and sinners are often in great
haste to get away from God. The young man's heart was already wrong, or
he would not have wanted to be his own master. He was already away in
the far country–so far as his heart was concerned–and it was not long
before his body followed. "Not many days after"–
13-15. 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 need. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of
that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. Probably
that was the best thing he could do for him and, usually, when the
world does the best it can for a sinner, it sets him feeding swine. It
was the most degrading employment to which a Hebrew could be put and,
in like manner, sin, before it is finished, brings forth degradation on
the way to bringing forth death!
16. Andhe wouldgladly have filledhis belly with the husks that the
swine did eat: but no man gave unto him. "He would gladly have filled
his belly with the husks that the swine did eat," but he could not, for
he was a man and not one of the swine. Worldlings are happy in their
own poor way and I, for one, never grudge them their husks. One never
craves the slop that is given to the pigs–we let them have their
trough as full as they please, and never want so much as a taste of it!
So, when sinners are full of worldly joys, we may not envy them and we
may scarcely blame them. Let the swine have their husks. Once, we too
would gladly have filled our belly with them–and if we did not, it was
not because we would not, but because we could not.
17. And when he came to himself For sin is insanity! He was out of his
mind while he was acting so foolishly– "When he came to himself."
17-19. He said, How many hired servants ofmy father's have bread enough
and to spare, andIperish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father,
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and before
you, and am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of
your hired servants. I t was the knowledge that there was plenty in his
father's house that led him back! And you may depend upon it that the
preaching of full salvation rich in blessing is a strong inducement to
a sinner to cry, "I will arise and go to my Father." This prodigal son
might never have gone back if his father had kept a miserly house with
a scanty table. But he knew that even the servants in the kitchen had
"bread enough and to spare." His father never stinted them–they had
what they needed, and there was always more than they could eat–so
there was no need for his son to "perish with hunger." In like manner,
the extraordinary bounty of God in Christ Jesus–the richness of His
free Redemption is, I doubt not, the means of bringing many a starving
soul to Christ.
The prodigal said that the servants had "bread enough and to spare."
There are some who seem to think that in Christ there is only just
bread enough, but we believe that the largest possible idea of the
value of His Redemption may be indulged and, oftentimes, the thought
that first enters the sinner's ear and heart is that there is "bread
enough and to
spare," so why should he not have some of the spare bread, at any rate?
That was the way that the prodigal argued. He felt sure that his father
could feed another hired servant, so he resolved that he would ask to
be engaged in that capacity. Yet you know that he never asked that–his
father stopped him before he could make that request.
20. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great
way off, his father saw him. Perhaps before he saw his father–"his
father saw him."
20. And had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Matthew Henry's comment on this verse is excellent–"'His father saw
him.' Here were eyes of mercy. 'And had compassion.' Here was a heart
of mercy. 'And ran.' Here were feet of mercy. 'And fell on his neck.'
Here were arms of mercy. 'And kissed him.' Here were lips of mercy." It
was all mercy from first to last!
21. And the son said unto him. The father kissed his son before he had
time to say anything! And Divine compassion is swifter even than our
prayers.
21, 22. Father, Ihave sinned against Heaven, andin your sight, andam no
more worthy to be calledyour son. But the father said to his servants,
Bring forth the best robe and put it on him. He did not let him finish
his prayer with the request that he might be taken on as a hired
servant. That part which was legal he stopped with a kiss on his mouth
and then he said to his servants, "Bring forth the best robe and put it
on him."
22-24. And put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring
here the fatted calf and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for
this, my son, was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
And they began to be merry. This, again, was a new joy in that family
circle! There was joy when the elder brother was born and joy when the
younger son came into the household–but this joy over his return was
one that they never would have known if he had not gone away. So, there
is joy to be had even out of sinners. Christ's objective was to show
that, bad as the publicans and other gross sinners were, and despised
as they were by the Pharisees and scribes, yet there was joy to be had
out of them. By their salvation, the very heart of the Great Father is
rejoiced!
5. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew near to
the house, he heard music and dancing. The elder brother in our day
says, "I do not believe in these revival services. I like regular,
orderly proceedings and I do not approve of these crowds of people
coming to hear the Word under such undue excitement as is sure to
result." That elder brother thought he knew a great many things. He did
not get carried away by excitement, as other people did–he was too old
for that–he was a man of very proper habits and he liked everything
done in a cold orthodox style.
26. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things
meant. "What are you all doing? Have you gone out of your minds? Why
are you all dancing? Who is to pay for that music? You had better have
been along with me out in the fields at work. What is the meaning of
all this merriment?"
27. And he said unto him, Your brother is home: and your father has
killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.
These servants spoke as some of us have told to others what the Lord
has done when souls have been saved–the unregenerate quickened, and
those that were far off from God, by wicked works, have come back to
Him. We have told it all in the simplicity of our hearts and have been
so glad to tell the good tidings that we felt as if we could keep on
dancing to the music while we were telling the story!
28. Andhe was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father
out, and entreated him. I never know which to admire the more–the love
of the father in going to meet the returning prodigal, or in going out
to talk with this cold-hearted elder brother. He was a son, but he had
not the true spirit of his father–he had fallen into a very wrong
state of mind–just like certain Christians I know who have always been
very proper, and who have little sympathy with those who have been
great sinners. They seem as if they do not want to see such people as
these brought to the Savior. "Why," they exclaim, "there are girls from
the street and men that have been burglars, and all sorts of rabble
being brought into the church!" I have heard such remarks and I have
seen the same sort of spirit displayed in the looks of others who have
not liked to say what they thought. Yet they themselves were no better
than others by nature, though Grace has done much in restraining them
from the sin into which others have fallen–and it was wrong for them
to talk as if they were sheer legalists, as this Pharisaic elder
brother did!
29. And he, answering, said to his father, Lo, these many years have I
served you, neither transgressed I at any time your commandment: and
yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. A
Christian of this stamp seems to say to the Lord, "I have been Your
child all these years, yet I am still full of doubts and fears. I have
none of the
high joys that I see these other people have! 'You never gave me a kid,
that I might make merry with my friends.' I am chastened every morning
and I go sighing all the day long. I seem to get but little comfort,
yet here are these young folk who have not been saved a week–and they
seem to be full of assurance and they are as happy as ever they can be.
Surely, they cannot belong to the tried family of God! How can they be
sincere with all that music and dancing? I cannot endure it, for I
never had such an experience."
30, 31. But as soon as this your son was come, which has devoured your
living with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf And he
said unto him, Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is
yours. Think of that, you who are the Lord's people, but who have
fallen into a grumbling state of heart. Are you not always with your
Lord and is not all that He has yours? If you have never had a kid to
make merry with your friends, whose fault is that? Your Father never
denied it to you. All in His house is yours, so take the good that He
provides for you and rejoice over it, for then you will be in a fit
state to go to meet your poor returning prodigal brother and to welcome
him with a smiling face and a gladsome heart!
32. It was meet that we shouldmake merry, and be glad: for this, your
brother, was dead, andis alive again; and was lost and is found. After
that reply, there was nothing more that could be said, even by the
grumbling elder brother.