Prodigals (Part 2)

25 "Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 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.' 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' 31 And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

Pray

God help us to see christianity isn’t about having good morals, but seeing our need for You

Story 1

Have any of you seen this new show on NBC called “This Is Us”?

The verdict is still out for me.

There’s a terrific scene in the second episode of “This Is Us” where two characters discuss another character named Randall. The one character says, “He’s a good man.” The other character (Randall’s wife) says, “No, he’s not good… he’s perfect.”

She makes this great speech about how incredible her husband is, and then she says, “But he’s not without vices… his vice is his goodness.”

Do you know anyone like that? Are you like that?

Guess what? That’s exactly who the older son in this parable is.

Application 1

It seems straightforward. The older son comes home and doesn’t like what he sees. But just like last week, Jesus’ listeners would have been shocked by a couple of moments in this part of the story.

In “Part One” of the story, we’re to be shocked by the younger son asking for his inheritance (essentially wishing his father were dead). We’re shocked again when his father actually complies, and shocked even more by the lavish, prodigal grace the father shows the younger son upon his return.

In “Part Two,” the first moment of shock for Jesus’ listeners comes in verse 28. When the older son refuses to go in, his father goes out and begs him to join the party. The context is so important. This Jewish patriarch would have never disgraced himself by going out during a party, let alone beg his son to join them. He would never do that. More likely, I imagine a servant would have said, “Um, sir, your older son is back from the fields, but he’s refusing to come in.” The father would have either have had the son dragged in, or he would have said, “Fine, let him stay out there.”

But this father is different.

Do you see how Jesus is drawing a parallel between the two sons? The father has to go out to both of them. He has to invite both of them in. These two sons are more alike than they may seem. They both have vices. The younger son’s were just more obvious than the older son’s.

He stayed home. He followed the rules. But Jesus is making it clear that he did it for himself, not for the father. If the younger son’s sin can be categorized as self-indulgence, than the older son is guilty of self-righteousness.

Tim Keller said this: “Neither son loved the father for himself. They both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, serving, and enjoying him for his own sake. This means that you can rebel against God and be alienated from Him either by breaking His rules or by keeping all of them diligently.”

>> Sin is not just breaking the rules; it is putting yourself in the place of God.

This reminds me of the great mantra of John Piper: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

>> Do we obey God because of what it gets us, or to get God himself?

>> Do we serve the poor, tithe or come to church because we love God, or so we can feel good about ourselves?

>> Are we surrendering our lives to God, or are we trying to control Him with our goodness?

Is goodness our vice?

Some of you are like, “Ummm… no. Goodness is definitely not my problem.” You probably relate more to the younger son. But some of you know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?

Jesus shows us that both sons placed themselves above their father. Thankfully, the father responds to both with prodigal grace. He goes out to get both of his sons.

Let’s go back to Rembrandt’s painting that I showed you last week called “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” In the parable Jesus tells, the younger son’s return is an intimate moment between father and son, but Rembrandt took some creative license with this moment. We see several other people surrounding the father and his younger son. Most of them are in the shadows, but then there’s this figure on the far right…

He stands out, doesn’t he?

Elegant robes, a staff and an epic “Duck Dynasty” beard.

When you think about it, this figure looks a lot like the father.

That’s because this is the older son. Now we don’t know that for sure, but most art historians believe Rembrandt wanted to bring the whole story into one painting, so he altered the narrative a bit to make it fit.

Do you see where Rembrandt places the older son?

He’s looking down, not only on his brother, but also on his father.

Does this moment feel familiar to anyone?

Last week I asked you to pay attention to the first two verses of Luke 15, and I told you they would be important this week. Let’s read them again.

Luke 15:1-2 (ESV)

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

Do you recognize it now?

What we have here in verses 1-2, the sinners and the Pharisees, are younger sons and older sons. This painting depicts them both.

In Act 1 of this parable Jesus is speaking to those gathered around him about their sin of self-indulgence, and in Act 2, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees listening in the corner about their sin of self-righteousness. They are the older brothers!

The most shocking moment of the entire parable is directed at them.

Did you notice that the story ends without a resolution? Jesus doesn’t tell us what the older son decides to do. It’s left hanging there!! Why did He do that?

I imagine Jesus finishing this parable. He leaves the story hanging without resolution, and He turns his gaze over to the Pharisees. He doesn’t say a word, but the look on his face says it all: “Are you going to join the party or not?”

>>> Now that is a mic drop.

These Pharisees, the religious elite, thought they were better than the sinners because they followed all the rules. They weren’t just good. They were perfect. And Jesus is saying to them, “Your vice is your goodness. You need my reckless grace and love just as much as these sinners do.”

DIGGING DEEPER

Are you starting to see why I said earlier that these verses aren’t easy?

Jesus is challenging the self-righteousness of the Pharisees. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’d have to admit see that this message speaks just as strongly to the Church today.

We can relate to the younger son, because we have all abandoned our Father in search of fulfillment from something else. But I also think we can all relate to the self-righteousness of the older son. We can relate to these Pharisees.

Are we willing to admit that?

Are we willing to admit that we think we’re better that other people?

Are we willing to admit that we treat God like He owes us something?

Story 2

I told a story about a guy who walked down front after one of my sermons. He looked pretty rough (kind of like the younger son in Rembrandt’s painting), and you could see the people in the congregation start to squirm. When he turned around, I saw that the back of his tattered t-shirt said “Here For The Party,” and I just started to cry.]

Supporting Scripture

Mark 2:17

17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Application 2

God is throwing a party all around us. He’s running toward the lost, and inviting them in. For all of us who are trying to do it right, He’s inviting us to join the party too.

Conclusion

Will we come in?

Will we set aside our selfishness and desire for control?

We will join the celebration?

Where is God trying to throw parties around you? Are you helping Him? Are you running out to show people prodigal grace and love, or are you standing in the corner judging them like the Pharisees?

Jesus leaves the story unresolved.

What is the older son going to do?

What are we going to do?

Whether you’re a younger son, an older son, or perhaps a little of both, the Father is coming out to you. His grace and love for you are reckless.

I hope you’ll join the party.

Pray

God help us to see our own vices

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