Everything “Right”
Who’s Next? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This morning I want to dive right into the Scriptures. If you have your Bible, turn with me to the book of Luke.
We’re going to look at a very familiar passage. So familiar that the title of this section has almost become a Christian cliché.
It’s the story we call the Prodigal Son.
And because it’s so familiar… we think we know what it’s about.
But I’m not sure we do.
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.
12 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.
13 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.
14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “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!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’
20 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.
21 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.’
22 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.
23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
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.’ ”
We are four weeks into our series, “Who’s Next?”
Week one, we talked about “Jesus Changed My Life.”
Week two, “The People You Pass.”
Week three, “Why Me?”
And now this morning…
I want to talk to you about:
Everything “Right.”
Pray
NAMING THINGS
I have a proposal for a new committee.
This is something I’ve thought a lot about…
The International Council for Naming Animals So They Don’t Sound Like They Pay Taxes. ICNASSDSTPLT.
We’re still working on the acronym.
Because some of us have gone too far.
Now listen… some names are fine.
Charlie.
Max.
Lucy.
We’re good.
But then you meet someone and they’re like—“This is my dog… his name is Greg.”
Greg?!
That’s not a dog.
That’s a guy who emails, “per my last message.”
Or— “This is my cat… her name is Susan.”
Susan has a retirement plan.
NAMING TO MAKE IT FAMILIAR
But think about it…Why do we do that?
We take something…and we give it a name that makes it feel familiar.
Something we can understand.
Something we can categorize.
And I think we’ve done the same thing with this story.
We call it: “The Prodigal Son.”
You know what word you never see used in the story though
The word Prodigal…
It’s never used.
We’ve made this story about a “prodigal” son.
But the prodigal son was never the point.
I want you to understand something.
The original writings of Scripture didn’t have chapters or verse numbers.
Those were added later to help people read and navigate the Bible.
And even the section titles in your Bible—those weren’t there either.
Those were added much later by editors as the Bible began to be printed and distributed more widely.
The Geneva Bible was one of the first to really popularize that.
And listen—that’s not a bad thing.
The goal was to make Scripture easier to read, easier to find things, easier to memorize.
That’s a good thing.
However…it can also create a challenge.
Because if we’re not careful, the way things are labeled can shape the way we understand them.
I think we have done that with Luke 15.
By labeling it “The Prodigal Son.”
We’ve already decided what it’s about…
IT’S ABOUT TWO SONS
The Bible never calls it the prodigal son.
The prodigal son implies one son…
But look at the first thing Jesus says
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.
Right off the bat… Jesus tells us something we often miss.
This isn’t a story about one lost son.
It’s a story about two sons.
Think about it…
Most of the time, we focus on the younger son.
The one who ran.
The one who rebelled.
The one who made all the obvious mistakes.
And the older son?
We usually just mention him on the way out.
“Yeah… don’t be like that guy either.”
We always focus on the younger brother asks for the inheritance.
BOTH SONS GOT IT
But you know the detail that gets missed?
What the Father does…
12 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.
The younger son wasn’t the only one who received from the father.
Both sons had access.
One wasted it.
The other… just let it sit there.
Which means the older brother—
he already had access.
he already had provision.
he already had relationship available.
And yet later he says:
“You never gave me even a young goat…”
He had everything…but still felt empty.
You can live in the Father’s house and still not have His heart.
This is a convicting thought.
You can be in the right place, doing everything right…and still be wrong.
The older son was wrong.
He said, “You never…”
And the father responds:
“You were always with me…you didn’t even have to ask.”
The younger son being wrong is obvious.
The older son being wrong is a little more subtle.
That’s the tension of the story…
This is not a story about one son…
The younger son—we understand that part.
He runs.
He wastes everything.
He ends up empty.
Lost outside the house.
But you know what’s interesting?
Verse 17 says…“When he came to himself…”
and then look at verses 18-19
18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’
“I will arise and go to my father…”
He identifies his need.
“I have sinned…”
He identifies his sin.
“I am no longer worthy…”
He identifies his condition.
But then he says: “Make me like one of your hired servants.”
And that’s where he misses it.
The younger son got his condition right but his identity wrong.
He thought: “My position is based on what I’ve done.”
When he gets to the father he isn’t even able to get his speech out.
The father instead places him into his position.
The younger son’s position was not based on what he had done, it was based on what the father had done.
The father doesn’t negotiate.
He restores.
The robe.
The ring.
The celebration.
Because he never stopped being a son.
But remember this story isn’t about one son….
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!’
Notice something….
The older brother says what no one else has said out loud…
This is the first time in the story we find out what the younger son was actually involved in…
The younger son tried to keep it vague…
The father forgave him…
The older son….he was going to expose it
He’s understandably frustrated…
While the younger son was out sinning…
the older son—
he stayed.
he worked.
he obeyed.
he was consistent.
If anyone was doing everything “right”… it was him.
The older brother had access to everything but lived like he had nothing…
The younger son had his condition right, but his identity wrong.
The older son had his identity right, but his condition wrong.
He didn’t see himself as a son.
He saw himself as a servant.
The older brother never left the house…but he was still far from the Father.
Because:
You can be close to God in location…but far from Him in affection.
He says:
“All these years I’ve served you…”
That word “served” means slave.
He wasn’t relating as a son.
He was performing as a servant.
One son ran from the father.
The other one worked for him…
WHAT IT’S ACTUALLY ABOUT
We’ve labeled this story the prodigal son…
Because we assume it’s about the younger son…
But Jesus ends the story with an interaction with the older son…
But this story isn’t about one son…
This story is about the Father.
See this passage isn’t about the sons…
because both son’s had a heart problem.
The problem was neither had the fathers heart.
We always talk about the Father running to the younger when he sees him.
But verse 28…
28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,
The father didn’t just go to the younger he also went to the older.
The Father moves toward both.
The rebellious…and the self-righteous.
The younger son was easy to identify.
He was far from God.
Broken. Messy. Obvious.
But the older brother?
He looked like us.
He stayed.
He served.
He showed up.
…and still missed the heart of the Father.
For four weeks we’ve been asking:
“Who’s next?”
But maybe the real reason some of us haven’t answered that question…is because we don’t actually want certain people to come home.
We’re okay with:
The right people
The clean people
The people we like
But this story forces a harder question.
Have I been doing everything “right”…. but missing what matters most?
The Father is running towards people…am I refusing to go in?
Who’s Next?
