Luke 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
This morning, I read in Luke 15 of the story the Lord Jesus told of a man who had two sons. One son went into a far country and “wasted his substance with riotous living,” and the other son was far from his father even though he never left the house. Before you understand what is said, you have to understand why it was said. That is found in Luke 15:1-2, “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.” So, the sinners drew near to Jesus. When we say “sinners,” we are not talking merely about the fact that they were sinners before God, but about the fact that they were socially unacceptable in the sight of men.
Verse 2 says, “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners.” Well, they were right about Jesus, but they were wrong about themselves. Jesus does receive sinners, but He receives sinners whether they are good sinners or bad sinners. The problem with the Pharisees is that they did not think they were sinners at all.
The truth is, unless you see your need, you will not see God’s provision. Thus, Jesus tells the story about the man who had two sons. One was in a far country and far from his father. The other was in the house, yet far from his father. The Bible says that the younger son wasted all his substance and was eating with the pigs. Verse 17 says, “He came to himself.” In other words, he came to his senses. As Jesus would basically say, “Having ears, you hear not. Having eyes, you see not.” This man didn’t see his need until he came to the end of himself.
In verse 20 it says that the son “came to his father.” So, he came to himself, and then he came to his father. In contrast, the older brother “would not go in.” What is happening here is something important for us to know: you must come to your senses before you will come to God. Here is a younger brother in overt sin who came to himself and therefore came to his father. Here is an older brother who was far from his father even though he was reputable, and he would not go in. So, you have to come to your sense before you come to God.
There are three things you ought to see. First, you ought to see your need. In verse 17 that is exactly what happened when the younger brother came to himself. He realized his need. The Pharisees and the publicans, the scribes and the sinners all needed God. Some were bad enough to know it, and some were just good enough to think they were okay and just bad enough to be separated from God. So, see your need.
Second, see God’s grace. Verse 31 tells us that the father said to his older son who was sulking, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” Everything you need belongs to God, and God is gracious whenever He supplies anything we need. We don’t have what we have because we are good; we have what we have because God is gracious. So, you need to see God’s grace.
Third, see your brother. The value of others is not based on how they compare to you. The value of others is based on God’s ownership, that He created them. God is the One who rejoices when anyone comes to Him.
So, whatever you need, you will never come to God until you first come to your senses and come to yourself.