The Lost Sons
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In Genesis 3, Satan craftily comes to speak to Eve in an effort to get her to think that God was holding out on her. He began by planting the doubt in her mind, “Did God actually say?” In starting off, he didn’t actually deny God’s words, but instead put a question in her mind as to what exactly God had said.
But having defended the word of God, Satan came back with the denial of what God said, “You will not surely die.” And then an accusation of God’s withholding what is good for her. “God knows that when you eat your eyes will be open...” In other words, he is keeping you in the dark. He’s blinding you from reality. He’s withholding an entire world from you. Suddenly, Eve sees things differently. She began by actually looking at the tree itself, as if for the first time. It seems that until this moment, she had ignored the tree altogether, but now she’s been intrigued.
We’ve been intrigued by something we know is wrong haven’t we? What once would be unthinkable to do, is now not too terribly bad, and so we give it a glance. We kind of spy it out. We’re not staring. We’re not searching it out. Not yet. Just a quick glance at first. And we realize, it’s not what we imagined it to be. The stories we’ve heard or the warnings we’ve been given have conjured up all sorts of ideas in our minds. One sip will get you drunk. One look will turn you blind. But then something happens to question those images we’ve imagined, and so we steal a glance here and there, and suddenly we realize, things aren’t as bad as we’ve made them out to be. In fact, they look quite a bit better than we imagined.
Eve said, “we can’t eat of the tree, neither can we touch it.” But then the question is brought to mind and suddenly she steals a glance and sees the tree isn’t as scary as she thought. In fact, it’s a delight to the eyes. It’s desirable to make her wise. It really is as if God were keeping this whole other world away from her. And she gobbled it up, hook, line, and sinker.
The parable that Jesus tells, is very much the same story. It’s about a Father with two sons and the idea that the Father is holding out on them. Last week, I said that as the trilogy of parables goes along, the stakes get higher. It starts off with 1%, then 10%, and the last is 50%. In reality, the last parable ends at 50%, but for much of the parable, we find the father had lost 100% of his sons.
Jesus told this parable, not in an effort to reveal the heart of the youngest son, but to reveal the heart of the oldest. And it is that heart—the heart of the older brother—that is truly lost and there are three reasons we know this to be true. The first is the brother’s inaction. The second is the brother’s indignation, and finally the father’s invitation.
The Brother’s Inaction
The Brother’s Indignation
The Father’s Invitation
We’re going to read only the first 14 verses of this parable. I want us to see them as an introduction to the heart of the story about the oldest brother.
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 property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.
Not many days later, the younger son gathered all 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 pigs.
And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But 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.” ’
And he arose 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 have sinned against heaven and before you. I am 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 put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Introduction
Introduction
The introduction to the heart of the text is what is most often studied and preached on. And I want to talk about it, but not to the point that it becomes the main point of the text.
At first glance, this parable is not much different than the parables of the lost sheep and coin. But it is actually pretty different. Mainly in three ways.
The first way is that the youngest son rebels against the father. The sheep passively wanders away. It’s in its nature to go where it sees food or water. The lost coin somehow goes missing. It’s like it just vanished out of thin air. But the son actually asks the father for his inheritance and then ups and leaves a few days later. It was as if there was this whole world out there from which his father was keeping him. He could not resist the siren song any longer even if it meant hurting his father. It is the most unthinkable and dishonoring action a son could take.
The second is that no one actually goes after the rebellious son. The shepherd goes and seeks the sheep. The woman lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches diligently. But no one seeks after the rebel.
Finally, the son returns home repentant. The father says that his son was lost and is now found and in a sense, that is true. He is found because in verse 17, we see that he came to himself. The world that he thought was for him, he suddenly saw was actually just as ugly and demeaning and vile as he was told. But at first glance, it looked glorious. But in the midst of it, he found it rotten to the core. And Jesus said he came to himself and returned home, not to be a son, but a slave.
Then we see it coming back to its roots. A party is thrown. There is celebration at the repentance of the son. And we have to remember that’s the point of these parables.
And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
And we saw last week that this is a natural reaction. When that which is lost is found, we want to celebrate and we not only want to celebrate, but we want others to join in the celebration. Jesus was receiving sinners and eating with them because those whom he had lost were being found and it was time to rejoice!
That’s where the previous parables ended. But not this one. This one kept going because the emphasis was not on the disloyal son, but on the loyal son. It’s not about the squandering son, but the steadfast son. It’s not really about the problem child, but the perfect child—the one he never had to worry about.
The Brother’s Inaction
The Brother’s Inaction
This takes us to the first reason we know this parable is more about the lostness of the elder brother than the younger. It is because of the brother’s inaction.
This goes back to the differences in the story that we just talked about. In the first two parables, the one who had lost is the one who found. The shepherd lost the sheep and the shepherd found the sheep. The woman lost the coin and the woman found the coin. And we could say that the father lost his son, but he did not find his son. Let’s swing back to this in a moment. The father is not the only one who lost; the brother did as well. And it actually would have fallen on him to look for that which is lost.
All the way back in Genesis, after Cain had killed his own brother Abel, we see this conversation between God and Cain:
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
The answer to that question is a resounding, “Yes! You are your brother’s keeper.” This concept of being your brother’s keeper was not simply between Cain and Abel, but between brothers throughout the centuries. There was even a law that a younger brother was to marry the widow of his older brother in order to keep the brother’s name alive through bearing him children.
And then there is the failure of brothers to guard and protect one another is staggering. Think of Jacob and Esau always at each other’s throats. Joseph and his brothers who sold him into slavery. The brothers of David angry that he visited them, thinking the worst of him.
Jesus stated that if our brother sins against us, we are to go (as brothers) and seek to restore that relationship. James told us that we are to look after our brothers.
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
I can go on, but the point is that yes, we are our brother’s keeper. And so it was here. The brother was the one with the responsibility to go and look for the lost, locate him and bring him back. But he took no action. He let him squander his money. He let him continuously disgrace the family name. He didn’t try and keep him from the heartache of his actions. He didn’t go and feed him when he was hungering for pig food. He did nothing.
He could have done something. But he did nothing. His heart was closed against his brother. He could have used his resources. He could have gone to his father and said, “My brother’s lost, let me go and look for him. Let me use some of my inheritance to bring him home to you safely.” But he didn’t. He wouldn’t. It simply shows the heart of the older brother.
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
The Brother’s Indignation
The Brother’s Indignation
But it isn’t just the brother’s inaction that revealed his heart. It was also the brother’s indignation. Because when the young man was brought back into the family, the brother became angry. And it wasn’t simply that he was welcomed back, but that he was receiving a celebration! He was not only received, but his father ate with him! His own father received this sinner and ate with him.
And in his anger, we find the depths of his heart being revealed.
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.
You see, here is his heart laid out for us all to see. His thoughts, his feelings, his bitterness was not just toward his brother, but actually toward his father.
First, it is as if the older brother accuses the father of loving his brother more. “You’ve always loved him more. You let him get away with everything! You gave him his inheritance and I’ve gotten nothing. You let him go away and live like a wild man dishonoring the family name, and then you take him back and celebrate? I’ve been here for you. I’ve been loyal! And you’ve given me nothing! What do I have to do to get some attention from you?!”
But it goes beyond that. Deeper still we see that the heart of the older brother is not much different than the heart of the younger.
“I have served you.” Don’t let that slip by. “I have served you.” Do you remember what the younger son wanted to say to his father upon his return? “Treat me as one of your hired servants.” One did not see himself worthy enough to be considered a son any longer. The older seems never to have thought himself to be a son in the first place. One son was squandering the Father’s love while the other was trying to earn it. Both of these actions dishonor the father and disregard his love.
“I never disobeyed your command.” The younger son wished his father dead. Squandered his inheritance in no time flat. He didn’t deserve the father’s love! But the older son. He never disobeyed. He worked hard so that his father would love him. The younger son received the father’s love despite his disobedience. The older son received it despite his obedience. Neither seems to have understood the father loved them because he was their father and they were his children.
“You never gave me.” The father gave the younger son his inheritance, but nothing was given to the older one. But notice how subtly the heart is revealed here. Notice what he would have done if his father had given him the goat. He wouldn’t celebrate with his father. He certainly wouldn’t celebrate with his brother. He would use it to celebrate with his friends. His attitude toward his father was the same as his younger brother’s: his father was holding back a whole different and exciting world from him. His desires were the same as his younger brother as well. The younger brother just had the nerve to express it and live it while the older kept it pent up until he exploded. Both sons’ hearts were lost.
The lack of love toward the son was only a symptom of a deeper problem: his lack of love toward the father. As John wrote in his first letter:
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
That’s the sign of a believer. While holiness comes as a process and sin is battled through life, the one tale-tell sign that a person is a believer is whether they love their brothers and sisters. Our love for God is displayed in our love for our brothers and sisters.
The Father’s Invitation
The Father’s Invitation
And this leads us to our last reason we can see the lostness of the elder brother’s heart. Remember that the older brother was to seek after the younger brother. The Father didn’t go because it was the older brother’s job to do so. But what we do see is that the Father does go looking for the lost.
But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,
The father does go looking, but its for the heart that was so far gone. He stands there and patiently hears his son berate him, and then bears his own heart to him.
And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”
The son would always be with him. In other words, the father would love him always. And all that was left of the estate would be the elder son’s. Like the shepherd who joyfully bore the burden of the lost sheep, so the father joyfully bore the burden of his son, both sons really. There was no reason not to celebrate. There was no reason not to feel joy over the repentance of the younger brother. The father came to invite the brother into the celebration. And we are left without knowing if he would go in. Would the older brother repent? Had the father reached his heart?
We are not told.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Here’s the thing, all of us have been represented by one of these two brothers. We’re either the one who partied hard and rebelled in the open, or we’re one who secretly held on to our bitterness and rebelled inwardly. But the parable tells us that the Father’s love is great enough to give mercy and grace to both types of rebels. The invitation to celebrate is extended to both sons.
The younger son was greeted with a hug, exchanging his ragged rob for the best robe. A feast was given. The older son was greeted with “Son.” The word there is teknon, used more for a young child than an adult son. It’s a term of love and endearment. My beloved son. He was spoken to with kindness and entreaties, not rebukes or reproaches.
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
We who have received such kindness, whether through the exchanging of robes or through the tender kindness that leads to repentance, let us take the grace and mercy extended to us and extend it to those brothers and sisters who are still lost whether outwardly or inwardly, that we may be in constant celebration.
Prayer
Our heavenly Father,
Thank you for our older Brother who took action and sought us when we were lost. He sought us in life and in death, and in the resurrection too.
Now father, make us more like Jesus and less like this older brother who took no action. May we be men, women, and children of action.
May we seek those who are lost and lead them back home. May we love them and rejoice when they are found.
In Jesus’s name. Amen.