The Crowd or the Cross? - Pastor Diedrich Harms

Luke 15 opens with Jesus surrounded by two kinds of people, the ones pointing fingers and criticizing, and the sinners and tax collectors coming near to hear him. The question becomes, is a person with the crowd, or standing with Jesus at the cross? The crowd feels safer, because it agrees and does not cost much, but the cross calls a person to stand with Christ even when others look, cough, or criticize.

The lost sheep shows how little people can understand the value of a soul if there is no rejoicing when one lost person is found. The lost silver piece shows something precious that is gone, and the woman understands what it means to be lost. She sweeps through every crack until she finds it, then calls the neighbor ladies to rejoice with her. Jesus says there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents, and that joy should also be found among God's people when somebody accepts the Lord.

The father with two sons shows the grace of God in a way that is hard to understand. The younger son asks for his portion, and the father gives it, even though the son is rebellious. God gives grace, and even people living deep in sin still live under his mercy. The son goes into a far country, spends everything in reckless living, and ends up hungry in a pigpen, wanting the food that pigs eat.

The turning point comes when the son comes to himself. His confession has no excuses, no blaming his dad, no saying other people made him do it. He says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” That is one of the hardest things for a person to say, but it is the place where turning around begins.

The father does not chase the rebellious son and drag him home, because the son did not want to be home. But when the son changes and comes back, the father runs to him, kisses him, and does not say, “You stink.” The robe, the ring, the shoes, and the fatted calf all say that he is accepted as a son, not a hired servant. Forgiveness is not earned by worthiness. God forgives when sin is confessed, and First John 1:9 says he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness. The forgiven person must then fill the house with God's word, fellowship, and testimony, so the empty place does not become worse than before.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Heaven rejoices over repentance Jesus says there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. That means repentance is not a small private event, even when the person feels unworthy or unsure. Heaven sees the turning from sin to Christ as precious, and the church should not meet it with suspicion before it has learned to rejoice. [07:22]
• 2. Confession stops blaming others The younger son comes home saying, “I have sinned,” not “my father made me this way.” True repentance stops building a defense and stands in the open before God. Even when another person has done wrong, that wrong cannot become an excuse for staying in sin. [15:44]
• 3. The Father receives filthy children The father sees the son while he is still a long way off, runs to him, and kisses him before he is cleaned up. Grace does not wait until the sinner smells right, looks right, or has words arranged perfectly. The robe, ring, and shoes show that the Father restores sonship where the sinner expected only survival. [20:09]
• 4. Forgiveness must be accepted The guilty soul can confess sin and still struggle to believe that God has really forgiven. First John 1:9 does not make forgiveness depend on feelings, memory, or the ability to forgive oneself. God forgives and cleanses because he is faithful and just, and the burden that has been carried for years can be brought to him. [23:38]
• 5. A clean house must be filled Jesus warns that an empty house can become worse if it is not filled after being cleaned. A new believer needs God's word, fellowship, and confession of what Christ has done, because silence and emptiness leave room for old powers to return. Testimony strengthens the soul because spoken grace becomes a stake in the ground. [27:10]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:03] - The Crowd or the Cross
• [03:29] - The Lost Sheep and Rejoicing
• [05:08] - The Lost Silver Piece
• [07:22] - Angels Rejoice Over Repentance
• [09:16] - The Father and Two Sons
• [11:51] - Reckless Living in a Far Country
• [13:23] - Hunger in the Pigpen
• [15:44] - “I Have Sinned”
• [19:20] - The Father Runs to His Son
• [20:47] - Robe, Ring, Shoes, and Sonship
• [23:38] - Accepting God’s Forgiveness
• [27:10] - Filling the Clean House
• [28:18] - Testimony Gives Strength

Bible Reading

Luke 15:11-32
“And He said, 'A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "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."’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’” [09:16]

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [23:38]

Luke 15:10
“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” [07:22]

Luke 15:8-9
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’” [05:08]

Luke 15:4-6
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” [03:29]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 15, what different kinds of people were around Jesus at the beginning of the chapter, and how were they responding to him? [02:03]
2. In the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin, what actions show how valuable the lost one was to the one searching? [05:08]
3. In the story of the younger son, what details show how far down he had fallen before he decided to return home? [13:23]
4. When the son came back, what did the father do for him right away, and what items were given to him? [20:47]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. What does that reveal about how heaven sees repentance, and why might God’s people sometimes struggle to respond with that same joy? [07:22]
2. The younger son says, “I have sinned against heaven and before you.” Why is that kind of plain confession such an important mark of real repentance? What is missing from his words that often shows up in false repentance? [15:44]
3. The father did not go and drag the son home, but he ran to him when he returned. What does that help the group see about the difference between rebellion and repentance? [19:20]
4. The robe, ring, shoes, and feast show that the son was received as a son, not as a servant. What do these signs teach about the way God forgives and restores people who come back to him? [20:47]

Application questions

1. It is often easier to stay with the crowd than to stand with Christ. Where is there pressure right now to stay quiet, blend in, or avoid being identified with Jesus? What would standing with the cross look like in that place? [02:03]
2. Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. When someone turns to the Lord, is the first response usually joy, caution, suspicion, or comparison? What might need to change in the heart so rejoicing comes first? [08:08]
3. “I have sinned” is hard to say because the heart wants to explain, defend, or blame. Is there any area where blame has been used to avoid honest confession before God or before another person? What would simple honesty sound like there? [22:17]
4. Some people confess sin but still feel unable to receive forgiveness. Is there a burden from the past that still feels carried, even after it has been confessed? What makes it hard to believe that God really forgives and cleanses? [23:38]
5. The father received the son while he was still dirty and ashamed. Is there any reason someone might be keeping distance from God because of the thought, “I need to clean myself up first”? What does this passage say to that way of thinking? [20:09]
6. A clean house must be filled. If God has brought cleansing or fresh repentance, what would it look like this week to fill life with God’s word, fellowship, and open testimony instead of leaving empty space? [27:10]
7. Speaking about what Christ has done gives strength. Who is one person that could be told, in a simple and honest way, what God has forgiven or changed? What makes that hard, and what good might come from saying it out loud? [28:18]