The Tale of Two Sons Study Guide

A T A L E O F T W O S O N S

Study Guide

JOHN MACARTHUR

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© 2008 by John MacArthur

The publishers are grateful to Terry Hadaway for his collaboration and writing skills indeveloping the content of this book.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording,scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without theprior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trade-mark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, orsales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

All Scripture quotations in this book are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. ©1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4185-2820-1

Printed in the United States of America

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+ C O N T E N T S ∂

1. Greatest Short Story. Ever. 1

2. A Wide-Angle Preview 9

3. His Shameless Demand 19

4. His Shameful Misconduct 28

5. His Turning Point 36

6. His Return 45

7. His Forgiveness 54

8. His Generosity 62

9. His Resentment 70

10. His True Character 79

11. The Shocking Real-Life Ending 86

Leader’s Guide 89

About the Author 123

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+ O N E ∂

Greatest Short Story. Ever. “Jesus’ intention in telling the story was not to impress His hearers with dramatic

artistry. Rather, if we understand the parable correctly, its spiritual lessons leave

a far more indelible impression on our hearts and minds than any literary analysis

of the parable could accomplish.”

—A Tale of Two Sons (p. 14)

Rewind

Many of the more familiar passages of Scripture are ripe with unnoticedtheological truths that, if discovered and applied to our lives, could improvethe quality of our relationships with God and each other. One such passageis the parable of the prodigal son.

Prodigal living is characterized by wasteful extravagance and wantonimmorality (MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p. 220). The story ofthe Prodigal Son is more about the loving father than the wayward son andhis spiteful brother. Jesus didn’t tell the story in order to improve His repu-tation as a great storyteller; He told it to reveal some characteristics of Godthat had been veiled by the religious practices of the scribes and Pharisees.The cultural tension between Judaism and Jesus’ ministry was underlyingevery word Jesus spoke.

Before we begin, we must remember that “the meaning of Scripture isnot fluid. The truth of the Bible doesn’t change with time or mean differentthings in different cultures. Whatever the text meant when it was originally

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written, it still means today.” Therefore, if we can grasp the original meaningof the parable, we can apply it to our lives today.

“It is all too easy to rip biblical stories out of their originalcontexts, force them into a postmodern frame of reference,and miss their full import.”

1. Before beginning this study, what is your understanding of themeaning of the parable of the prodigal son?

2. We sometimes make the mistake of limiting our understandingof Scripture to what we read about Scripture. Read Mark 12:37band identify the primary audience to whom Jesus spoke.

If this was Jesus’ primary audience, what should be the degree ofdifficulty in determining the meanings of His words?

__ Only the religious elite can understand.

__ Only the avid Bible student can understand.

__ Only those who know the code can understand.

__ Most anyone can understand.

a t a l e o f t w o s o n s : s t u d y g u i d e

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“So if we expect to draw out of this parable what God wantsus to learn and what He intended to reveal for ouredification, we need to try to hear it the way Jesus’ originalaudience heard it.”

Rethink

The parable of the prodigal son was recorded by Luke, but not by the othergospel writers. Luke was the more detailed of the four gospel writers andwas intimately familiar with Judaism and the stark contrast between tradi-tional religion and Jesus’ message.

3. Place the parable of the prodigal son on the timeline of Jesus’ministry by placing an X at the appropriate place.

|————|———————|————|———|—————| Baptism Temptation to Jerusalem Arrest Crucifixion Resurrection

4. Luke 9:51 says that Jesus “steadfastly set His face to go toJerusalem.” What is the significance of this statement?

“In Old Testament times, scribes were those trained torecord important events. By the time of the Babylonianexile, scribes were considered to be experts in the writtenWord of God. By New Testament times, scribes were agroup of Pharisees with the responsibility of teaching,interpreting, and enforcing the Law of Moses.” (HolmanIllustrated Bible Dictionary, p. 1452)

Greatest Short Story. Ever.

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5. The principle enemies of Jesus’ ministry were the scribes andPharisees. Based on your perception, what are some adjectivesthat can be used to describe the scribes and Pharisees?

What are the characteristics of modern-day scribes and Pharisees?In what settings might you encounter a modern scribe or Pharisee?

6. On page 10, it is said that the scribes and Pharisees “were legalis-tic—believing that the way to gain favor with God was by earningmerit—and the best way to gain merit in God’s eyes, they thought,was through fastidious observance of the law.” Thus, they basedtheir salvation on their own self-righteousness. As Christians, weknow that our salvation is only based on the finished work ofChrist. Yet we can sometimes allow forms of legalism and self-righteousness to creep into our own thinking. What are some waysin which we can become legalistic?

What are the effects of religious legalism in our lives?


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7. The scribes and Pharisees “were also hypocritical . . . They val-ued the public display of religion more than private devotionand true righteousness.” What are some ways in which this isevident in our society?

8. Jesus never entered into negotiations with the scribes and Pharisees;He stood His ground. Of course, this only heightened the ten-sion. As a result, Jesus was at the top of their “Most Wanted” list.There have been times when we all have backed down ratherthan suffer the consequences of standing our ground on what weknow to be right. In what areas of your life it is often easy tonegotiate, or compromise, on our convictions?

What have been some of the consequences of your choosing tonegotiate rather than stand for what you knew to be the truth?

9. Read Matthew 23:2–12. Jesus’ words regarding the Phariseesshould be seen in their context, but also applied across genera-tions. When people begin to turn religion into their god, theyinadvertently abandon the worship of the true God. Do your wor-ship practices exalt God? If so, what are some things that directyour attention toward Him?


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“Until we begin to comprehend the ideals and attitudes that shaped the culture, we can’t expect to gain a fullappreciation of the parable’s main lesson.”

Reflect

Tax collectors and gross sinners were the bane of society for the scribes andPharisees. The very fact that Jesus associated with such undesirables wasreason enough to seek to discredit Him and eventually kill Him. On morethan one occasion, the Pharisees tried to back Jesus into a theological cor-ner. But it is useless to debate theology with God and to refuse to humblyaccept what He says is true. It was useless then; it remains useless today.

10. The scribes and Pharisees looked down their noses at two groupsof people—the gross sinners and tax collectors. In that day, thereligious elite distanced themselves from society’s outcasts. In theirworld, the outcasts were notorious sinners and tax collectors. Whoare the outcasts in our culture and how do you react when youencounter one of them?

11. Luke recorded three parables that explained Jesus’ reasons forassociating with society’s outcasts. Keep in mind that parableswere told for the purpose of illustrating one primary point. ReadLuke 15:1–7. To reinforce his focus on the average person, Jesustold this story based on a flock of one hundred sheep. In thattime, a flock of this size was average. What is the main point ofthe parable of the lost sheep?


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12. Perhaps there were some in the crowd who were unfamiliar withthe ways of a shepherd. For those people, Jesus offered a parableto which they could relate. Read Luke 15:8–10. A silver coin (adrachma) was equivalent in value to the Roman denarius,which was a day’s wage for a Roman soldier. What is the mainpoint of this parable?

React

This sets the stage for the parable of the prodigal son, sometimes referred toas the parable of the lost son. The Pharisees continued to question Jesusabout His association with society’s outcasts. This reflects their misunder-standing of what it meant to be a person of faith. The Pharisees saw the faithculture as exclusive; Jesus showed them that true faith and salvation is avail-able to anyone, even the worst sinner, who will genuinely believe in Him.

13. Think about your church family and the ways in which you liveout your Christian faith. How welcoming are you toward thosewho are different from you in personality, wealth, ethnicity,social status, cultural background, or physical appearance? Onthe line below, place an X indicating how willing you believeyou are to accept those who are different from you.

very hesitant ———————|————————

very willingor exclusive and welcoming

14. What are some ways in which your exclusiveness toward otherssometimes surfaces?


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What can you do to keep that from being a persistent problem?

Exclusiveness doesn’t have to be intentional. We can inadvertentlyexclude people from our church family in a variety of ways. How “guestfriendly” is your church campus? How do you respond to someone who isn’tdressed like everyone else? How do you handle people who need specialaccommodations? Your answers to these questions will help you determinejust how much like the Pharisees you are. You might be surprised. An hon-est evaluation of your present situation will set the tone for the remainderof this study.

15. Based on what you have learned in this study, what do youexpect God to do in your life through the remainder of the study?

__ Nothing; I’ve already got this figured out.

__ I expect God to use me to change the lives of otherpeople.

__ I might learn something, but I’m not as much in need asothers I know.

__ I expect God to conform my thoughts to His thoughts.

16. As you pray, ask God to open your eyes and ears that you mightsee and hear His desire for you. As the study progresses, keep ajournal detailing all of the ways in which God worked in andthrough this study.


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The Tale of Two Sons Study Guide