Mi Historia Favorita, Julio 19, 2026

Good morning, Fellowship Español. It's good to be here with you all this morning. I'm thankful to God for another opportunity to gather to worship Him. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn with me to Luke chapter 15. Before we dive in, let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Father, please bless the reading and teaching of your word this morning. Lord, please move me out of the way. Please speak to us through your word. Bless your word to our hearts this morning. Jesus, may you be exalted and lifted high. We love you and it's in your precious name we pray. Amen. So we're in the middle of our sermon series called My Favorite Story. This is an opportunity for all of our teaching pastors to teach through their favorite Bible story. And to be honest, I don't know that I have a single favorite Bible story. There are several stories that I really love. But one of them is the parable of the prodigal son. It's probably the most popular parable in the Bible. But it's also another misunderstood parable. It's really not about a wayward sinner finding his way back home. As we'll see this morning, at least I pray, that it's all about the extravagant love and grace of the Father. It's a parable that illustrates the gospel of grace. But before we read the parable itself, I want to provide a little context. So back in verse one, it says that tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to Jesus. And this was upsetting the Pharisees and the scribes. They were grumbling and complaining. Because Jesus was welcoming sinners to himself and eating with them.

They didn't associate with tax collectors and sinners. And they thought surely the true Messiah wouldn't either. What they didn't understand is that Jesus didn't come to seek and save self-righteous people like themselves. Who did Jesus come to save? That's not a trick question. He tells us just a few chapters later, Luke 19 verse 10, for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. So in response to their grumbling, he tells three parables. And parables are just stories used to teach truth or illustrate a principle. These three parables illustrate a few things. Man's inability to save himself. God's sovereign grace. And the joy of God in the repentance of sinners. The first parable is about a lost sheep. The sheep was lost. The shepherd goes after the lost sheep. The sheep is found and rescued by the shepherd. The sheep did nothing to be found and rescued. Sometimes we like to use the language, I found God, but really that's unbiblical. You did not find him. If you are in Christ, it's because he found you. And then the shepherd calls everyone to rejoice with him for finding his lost sheep. And then we have the parable of the lost coin. The woman lost her silver coin. Of course the coin does nothing to be found. The woman lights a lamp. She sweeps the house and she seeks diligently until she finds it. And then she calls everyone to rejoice with her because she found what was lost.

Both of these parables represent the human condition. We are lost and completely unable to rescue ourselves. The sheep cannot rescue itself. And the coin can do nothing to be found. We are completely dependent upon someone outside of us to save us. And this is a reminder that salvation is entirely the work of God. He seeks and finds the lost. He graciously grants repentance. And when a sinner repents, there is literally a party in heaven. So these two parables sort of set the stage for the third and longer parable. The parable of the prodigal son. Let's read verses 11 and 12. And he said, there was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of my property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them. So the son demands that his father give him his inheritance. This was the ultimate act of disrespect. Traditionally the inheritance would not have been given to the sons until after the father had died. But we see the youngest son comes to his father and demands his share. So he's essentially saying to his father, I wish you were dead and I want a life without you. So what's going on here? Rebellion. That's the first point. Rebellion. The son is rebelling against his father. He's rebelling against the very one who gave him life. He's rebelling against the one who loves him and gives him everything he needs.

And this illustrates our total depravity. This is how you and I come into the world. Rebellious sinners. We're rebels against God until God does a work of grace in our hearts. We naturally rebel against the one who loves us and gives us life, breath, and everything. The son rebels by demanding the father give him what he wants, which is a life. without him. And the cultural response here would have been to slap him across the face for such a shameful and disrespectful request. But the father doesn't slap him or punish him. He gives him what he wants. And he divides the property between the two sons. The younger son would have gotten 1 3rd of the estate. And the older son would have gotten 2 3rds. So what does the younger son do with his share? Let's read verses 13 through 16. So not many days later, the younger son gathered all that he had and took a journey into a far country. And there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate and no one gave him anything. So he gathers all he has and he leaves home. So one commentator says that if this had actually happened,

the family would have held a funeral for him. Because he would have been considered dead to them. So he squanders his property in reckless living. This would have meant that he spent everything given to him to gratify the desires of his flesh. He wasted everything. And that's what the word prodigal means. It means wasteful, reckless. He wasted his inheritance on reckless living. And he eventually runs out of money. And then there's a severe famine. And he didn't have any money or food. So he's desperately looking for work and money. So what does he do? It says he hired himself out. In other words, no one offered him a job. He became a beggar. He basically begged someone to let him work for them. And that person sends him to the fields to feed pigs. Brothers and sisters, this was the lowest possible degradation, a Jewish boy feeding pigs. Pigs were forbidden to touch or eat by Jews because they were ritually unclean. He wasn't just feeding the pigs. But he was even longing to eat what the pigs were eating. And he wasn't even being paid to feed them. Because it says no one gave him anything. He was a destitute Jewish beggar. This is the lowest of the low. But then something happens.

Let's read verses 17 through 19. When he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. His rebellion and sinful living had left him with nothing. And brothers and sisters, that's what sin does. It allures you, it promises pleasure and fulfillment, but it leaves you completely empty and destitute. It will destroy you, and unless God graciously grants repentance, it will lead to death. The son is bankrupt, he's starving to death. He's alone, he has nothing, and if he remains in that condition, he will perish, and he knows this. But he comes to his senses, and this is repentance. That's the second point, repentance. There was rebellion, he rebelled, and we see the consequences of his rebellion, but now there's repentance. He comes to his senses, he has a change of mind, and this change of mind results in action. He understands what he must do, and it's the only thing he can do, he must return and throw himself on the mercy of his father. So he rehearses what he plans to say to his father. Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. This is a good start, he's taking full responsibility for his reckless living, he's experienced the consequences

of his reckless living, but he also understands that he has deeply grieved the heart of his father. He had sinned against God and his loving father who gave him everything. This echoes David's prayer of repentance in Psalm 51. After David committed adultery and murder, David acknowledges that he has grieved the heart of God. He says, I have sinned against you, Lord, and I have done what is evil in your sight. The son is taking full responsibility for his sin. And he's going to say, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. The son was prepared for this, because it was a shame honored culture. Culturally, the consequence for this kind of rebellion would have been severe. He brought so much shame to his family. So culturally, his father would have slapped him across the face and disowned him. a couple of times, and he would have said, I'm not worthy to be called your son. And then he would have brought him before all the people in the village and publicly shamed and humiliated him. The best case scenario is that the father will treat him as a hired servant. And then he would spend years of intense labor trying to restore his honor. This is undoubtedly what the Pharisees would have done

because they had no concept of grace. But what happens when he returns? Verses 20 through 24. Versicules del 20 al 24. This is amazing. And he rose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him. And the son said to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it and let's eat and celebrate. For this reason, my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and he is found and they begin to celebrate. So while he was still a long way off, the father saw him. This means the father was eagerly waiting and looking for him. And when he saw him, what did he feel? Anger and embarrassment. Was he ready to punish his son? No.

He felt compassion and he didn't wait for his son to come to him. He runs to meet him. This was completely counter-cultural. He was ready to punish his son. But the father runs to him. This was completely counter-cultural. Because in order to run, he would have had to lift his robe, which would have shown his legs. It was shameful for a man to show his legs. But the father runs to him. So just imagine the father running through the village. Just imagine the father running through the village. All the people watching him run by. And he's running toward the son that rebelled against him and brought shame to his family. What does he do when he reaches his son? He doesn't slap him. He doesn't rebuke him. He doesn't grab him by the arm and drag him home. Or publicly shame him. He embraces him. And he kisses him. He pours out his affection for the son. This is beautiful. This is reconciliation. That's the third point. Reconciliation. The son is restored into a right relationship with his father.

And it's not because of anything the son has done. The son didn't do anything. It's all because of the love of the father. The father pursues him. The father pours out his affection on him. And when the father embraces him. embraces him, all the shame of the son was transferred to the father. By embracing the son, the father takes all the shame of the son upon himself. This is love. This is amazing grace. The son begins to say to his father what he had rehearsed. Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. This is true. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. This is true. But then the father interrupts the son. Then the son doesn't even get to say, treat me as one of your hired servants. Because the son doesn't need to be treated as a servant. He doesn't need to be treated as a servant in order to be loved by the father and welcomed back into the family. There was nothing he needed to do in order to restore his honor. The father did everything for him. The father demonstrates his love for the son. He absorbs all the guilt and the shame. And then he gives his son everything freely. He puts the best robe on him. He puts a ring on his hand. He puts shoes on his feet. He kills the fattened calf and throws a celebratory feast. The robe represents the perfect righteousness of Christ.

The ring symbolizes his sonship and authority as a son. And the shoes represent his freedom. In ancient Israel, slaves and servants typically went barefoot while the sons wore shoes. This is a picture of what happens when a sinner repents and comes to Christ. Let's piece all of this together. We're all born rebellious sinners by nature. We all deserve death. We all deserve to be eternally humiliated for our rebellion. Because we have all rebelled against a good and holy God. But God doesn't leave us in our rebellion. He demonstrates his deep love for us. He does a work of grace in our hearts. He graciously grants us repentance. By his grace we come to our senses. We recognize and acknowledge that we are spiritually bankrupt. We understand and acknowledge that we have sinned against God and done what is evil in his sight. We turn from our rebellious lifestyle and we throw ourselves on the mercy of Christ. When we do this, we are embraced by Christ who willingly went to the cross in our place. And on the cross, he absorbed the wrath of God against our sin. He was publicly humiliated as he bore the guilt of our sin and the shame of our sin. This is the love of God in Christ. He does everything necessary for us to be saved and reconciled to God forever. We don't have to do penance. We don't have to clean ourselves up. We're not required to work to restore ourselves. There's nothing we can do by grace alone, through faith alone. We freely receive Christ himself and all his benefits. All our sin is removed and we are dressed in the righteousness of Christ. We are justified in the sight of God.

We are given the right to become children of God. We are adopted into his family as sons and daughters. This is who we are, beloved children of the Most High God. We're no longer children of wrath. We're no longer under the penalty of the law. We're no longer slaves to sin. We are children of God. We are free in Christ and we're free to serve him as children and not out of fear of slaves. We have freely received eternal life and a seat at our Father's table forever. If you're hearing me, please say amen. We have done nothing to deserve this. This is all of grace. This is amazing grace. Praise be to God. What about the older son? Let's read verses 25 through 32. Josué will read for us in Spanish. He said to the Father, Look, I have served you for so many years and I have never disobeyed any of your orders. However, you have never given me a little boy to play with my friends. But when this son of yours comes, who has consumed all your goods with rams, you killed the fattened calf for him. And he said, My son, you have always been with me and everything I have is yours. But it was necessary to celebrate and rejoice because this, your brother, was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and has been found. The older son represents the religious leaders. He refuses to participate in the joy of the Father. He was angry and selfish. And when approached by the Father, he begins drawing attention to his own performance.

He says, I have served you many years. I have never disobeyed your command. This wasn't true. This was a hypocritical statement. Because he was dishonoring his father by refusing to participate in the celebration. He was only focused on himself and what he had been doing for the Father. This was the attitude of the religious leaders. They were self-righteous hypocrites. They honored God with their lips. They appeared obedient in the eyes of the people. But they were dead on the inside and lost. They didn't love God and others. This portion of the parable reminds me of Luke 18. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. A parabola del fariseo y el colector de impuestos. Both were sinful men. Los dos eran hombres pecadores. Both of them prayed to God. Los dos oraron a Dios. Here's the prayer of the Pharisee. Aquí está la oración del fariseo. Lord. Padre. I thank you that I'm not like those sinners. Gracias que no soy como aquellos pecadores. I fast twice a week and give tithes of all that I get. Yo ayuno dos veces a la semana y doy ofrenda de todo lo que recibo. Is this repentance? ¿Esto es el arrepentimiento?

Does God delight in this? ¿Se deleita acaso Dios en esto? No. Meanwhile, the tax collector stands far off. Mientras tanto, el colector de impuestos está en una esquina. He can't even lift his eyes to heaven. Ni siquiera puede levantar los ojos al cielo. He just beats his chest and he cries out. Solo se golpea el pecho y él clama. Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Oh Dios, ten misericordia de mi, un pecador. This is repentance. Este es el arrepentimiento. By God's grace. Por la gracia de Dios. This is what happens when a sinner comes to their senses and understands they are spiritually bankrupt. Esto es lo que ocurre cuando un pecador cobra el sentido y se da cuenta de que están espiritualmente en bancarrota. The Pharisees failed to grasp their own condition. Los fariseos no llegaban a ver su propia condición. They thought they were spiritually rich. Ellos pensaban que espiritualmente eran ricos. But in reality, they were spiritually destitute. Pero en realidad estaban espiritualmente destitutos. They didn't see themselves as sinners who needed a savior. Ellos no se veían como pecadores que necesitaban un salvador. And consequently, they couldn't be saved. Y en consecuencia, no podían ser salvos. What did Jesus say?

¿Qué es lo que les dijo Jesús? Luke five, verse 32. Lucas cinco, versículo 32. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. No vine a llamar a los justos, sino a los pecadores al arrepentimiento. Jesus came to save those who know they have no righteousness of their own. Jesús vino a salvar a aquellos que sabían que no tenían una justicia propia. He did not come to save those who believe their own morality and goodness can earn them salvation. No vino a salvar a aquellos que piensan que su propia moralidad o su propia justicia les podría salvar. If you're here this morning and you are trusting in yourself, y si estás aquí en esta mañana y estás confiando en ti mismo, you will not be saved. No vas a ser salvo. If you are trusting in your own morality, si estás confiando en tu propia moralidad, your own goodness, en tu propia bondad, your own obedience, en tu propia obediencia, you will perish. Vas a perecer. Both sons in this parable are lost. Los dos hijos en esta parábola están perdidos.

One openly rebels against the loving father. Uno abiertamente se revela en contra del padre que le amaba. And the other is trusting in his own performance for the father's love and approval. Y el otro está confiando en cómo él actúa para el amor del padre y la aprobación del padre. One of them repents. Uno de ellos se arrepiente. And the other is trusting in his own performance for the father's love and approval. Y el otro está confiando en cómo él actúa para el amor del padre y la aprobación del padre. One of them repents and is saved. Uno de ellos se arrepiente y es salvo. And that's what brings great joy to God. Y eso es lo que le trae gran gozo a Dios. Repentant sinners. El pecador arrepentido. Christ came to save repentant sinners. Cristo vino a salvar a los pecadores arrepentidos. We have nothing to offer Him. No tenemos nada que le podamos ofrecer. All we can do is come to Him and drink freely from His fountain of grace. Let me say that again. We have nothing to offer Him. We come naked. We come empty handed. All we can do is come to Him and drink freely from His fountain of grace.

All we can do is come to Him and drink freely from His fountain of grace. He welcomes all repentant sinners to Himself. Él da la bienvenida a todo pecador arrepentido a sí mismo. He's eager to forgive and embrace all who come to Him. Él tiene ganas ya de perdonar y abrazar a todo el que venga ante Él. He will remove all the guilt of your sins. Y Él va a quitar toda la vergüenza de tus pecados. And He will clothe you in His robe of righteousness. Y te va a vestir con sus ropas de justicia. And you will be welcomed into the family of God forever. Y vas a ser bienvenido a la familia de Dios para siempre. And you will have a seat at the heavenly banquet. Y tendrás un asiento en el banquete celestial. Again, this is amazing love. This is amazing grace.