997. Party Time and You're Invited

Anyone can read the pages of the Bible repeatedly and still miss many themes and chunks of valuable information. One of these subjects which is found threaded throughout, especially in the New Testament, is the matter of two groups of people—those who are Jewish and those who are not ... referred to as Gentiles. Although Jesus came to minister primarily to Jews under the Mosaic law during His time on earth, He would drop some hints that salvation would not be limited to the people of Israel. Of course, the book of Acts and epistles that followed revealed even more about this within the message of the gospel.

One example is the parable known as the prodigal or the prodigal son. Just who was this guy? He was left for dead and came seeking life without needing to lift a finger to do anything to earn it ... even though he felt obligated to do so. And then there is the older brother who worked so faithfully and diligently, declaring he never neglected a command while refusing the Father's invitation to a celebration. How offensive that the younger brother be treated as an equal!

In the previous chapters leading up to this parable, Jesus alluded to some things about Jews rejecting the Messiah, turning down an invitation to an eternal fellowship with free food, and then ordering that the unwanted and ignored from the city be invited. But that wasn't all ... the invitation would also extend to those far off, beyond the highways and the hedges. The hedges? The prodigal was described as being far off. All of this is carefully planted evidence, providing us with exciting answers from Ephesians chapter 2 ... and it's worth celebrating.



   
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469. Prodigal Part 3: Gentiles Welcome in the House

Continuing with our look at the Prodigal/Lost Son parable, we find some interesting things that Jesus shared in the chapters leading up to this. He gave examples of how Israel would turn down the invitation to come to the heavenly dinner table in the house of God. This would lead to the Lord extending a welcome to those who had been far away in all other directions (Gentiles). Even the older Jewish son declined to join the celebration when the younger Gentile son had become a part of the family. God demonstrated His love by pursuing us when we were lost and without hope.


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468. The Prodigal Gentile: Formerly Far Off

This is Part 2 of a look at The Prodigal Son parable. Last week we brought out that the parable isn't just about two individual sons but two groups of people, the Jews and the Gentiles. The younger Gentile son had been "far off" when the Father ran to him. Ephesians Chapter 2 describes how we Gentiles were formerly "far off" but have now been brought near by the blood of Christ. We Gentiles became part of the same household with the same Father. God proclaimed peace and reconciled both Jew and Gentile into one body, together into one new man. The older Jewish son struggled with the truth that the Gentile brother would be invited in without having to pursue righteousness by the commandments. Instead it was righteousness that pursued him!


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467. Just Who Is the Prodigal Son (and His Brother)?

Many different perspectives have been provided about the parable of The Lost (Prodigal) son. Usually the focus is on the young son who left and and rebelled, sowed his wild oats and then decided he would repent and come back home to serve his father. Most interpretations will agree the father represents God in this parable. So why does the story mention just two sons when there are so many in all of creation? This is a question that needs to be asked, and the revelation of who these two sons represent gives the answer to a mystery the Apostle Paul said had been hidden for generations. Most of us have missed the hidden meaning in the parable. This is Part 1.


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165. Can Sin Hinder Your Fellowship With God?

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Can sin hinder your fellowship with God? We take a look at who we are in Christ (the righteousness of God) and we also begin to look at the different perspectives of the three "characters" in the Luke 15 parable commonly known as "The Prodigal Son." In addition to the prodigal son, there are two other people in the story - the older son and the father. Which one of these people had the proper perspective of the whole situation? There's so much good news in the scriptures to dig into! We talk about how sin can truly affect our circumstances, and even our fellowship with one another as human beings - but does that mean it affects our fellowship with God?