Sermon Tone Analysis

The Older Son

/Luke 15:25-32/

“I obey—therefore, I’m accepted” or “I’m accepted—therefore, I obey”?

1.

The Older Son’s Compliance (v.

25)

2.         The Older Son’s Coldness (v.

28)

3.         The Older Son’s Complaint (v.

29-30)

Religion vs. Gospel

 

 

What gives you a sense of worth and value?

What makes you feel like you matter in the world?

All of us have an answer to that question, and for many of us it changes even daily.

The question gets at the heart of our identity—that is, how we view ourselves and what we build our lives upon.

An example of this kind of thinking is in the first /Rocky/ movie, which you all are probably too young to have seen.

There’s a scene in that movie where Rocky (the fighter) is talking with his girl Adrian, and she asks him if he thinks he’s going to win a fight in which he was totally overmatched.

Rocky was a huge underdog, and he says that winning isn’t his number 1 goal—finishing is.

He says that more than anything, he wants the fight to go the distance.

And then he says, “Then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

In other words, “If I can just make this fight go the distance, then I’ll know that I’m significant.

If I can just go the distance, I’ll know that I’m somebody.

If I can just go the distance, then I’ll be able to feel good about myself.”

I want to suggest to you that all of us have something that we are counting on to prove to ourselves that we’re not bums.

We could all complete the sentence: “If I can just _____, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

What would fill in the blank for you?

 

“If I can just be attractive, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just get that person to like me, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just get good grades, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just make the team, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just win the championship, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just please my parents, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just not screw up too  bad, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just be loved, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

“If I can just meet my goals, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

What makes you feel like you’re not a bum?

Whatever your answer to the question is, I want to suggest that it is an idol in your life.

It is something that you are living for.

It is something that you are worshipping.

It is something that you are treating as your functional savior.

Sure, you might even say that you are trusting only in Christ for your significance, but if there’s anything that would fill in that blank, it is an idol.

If you derive your value and worth and meaning from anything other than the fact that you are a child of God who is loved and accepted by him because of what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross, you are struggling with idolatry.

And we all do it.

Even as I preach this message, I am tempted to think to myself, “If I can just get them to enjoy this message, then I’ll know I’m not a bum.”

But if I believe that in my heart, then your approval has become my functional savior.

It has become an idol.

And rather than living joyfully because of how God loves me, I am building my value on my achievement and what I can do.

This morning we’re going to look at the story of a young man who tragically built his identity on something other than the love he had for his father.

This morning we look at the story of the older son.

I want to encourage you this morning in a couple of different ways.

If you have ever looked down on another person because you felt superior to them, this story is for you.

If you have ever felt proud because you’re not as bad as some of the other people you know, this story is for you.

If you have ever felt like God must be mad at you because you haven’t done a good enough job for him, this story is for you.

And if you have ever tried to get your sense of value and worth from something other than God’s love for you, this story is for you.

As I said last night, the story of the man with two sons is one of my favorite passages in the Scripture.

Part of the reason for that is the amazing story of grace that we looked at last night.

It’s the idea that no matter how far away you are from God, you can come home and experience forgiveness and relationship with him.

And I love when I hear “younger brother” stories and testimonies.

It is so encouraging to hear salvation stories from people who were hooked on drugs or sexually immoral or suicidal.

When God embraces people who are clearly a long way off—people known for their sin—and restores them, it is a beautiful thing.

But I don’t have a story like that.

Sure, I have many ways that I’ve sinned that I am not proud of.

I have no doubt about the depth and guilt of my sin.

But, my story is not necessarily a gutter to glory story.

I never lived a life that was defined or characterized by an obviously sinful behavior.

Like some of you, I grew up in a close family where I was expected to obey and I did.

I grew up as a “good kid,” never doing many of the obvious sins that other people got in trouble for.

So, there are two results from my kind of story.

The first result is, I have a tendency to forget that I am really, truly sinful.

Sometimes I actually begin to think that I am a good person.

I start thinking that my moral achievement is somehow impressive to God.

The second comes from that one, I begin to base my view of myself and my view of my relationship with God on how “good” I am, and how much “bad” I am avoiding.

That’s why this is one of my favorite stories—it doesn’t just talk about the person who lived in wild, obvious sin.

It also speaks to people like me—“good” people.

“Moral” people.

“Religious” people.

I think it will speak to you too.

You’ll remember that we left off with the younger son returning from his rebellion with grand thoughts of repaying his father the debt he owed, only to find out that his father graciously and amazingly forgave him.

not only that, but you’ll remember that the father actually calls for there to be a party thrown in honor of the son’s return.

And this is no ordinary party—it involves the fattened calf.

In that culture, it was rare for people to eat meat.

But, rich families would often have a specific calf that they would fatten and prepare over a number of years in order to eat on a super-special occasion.

It is likely that this fattened calf would be enough to feed the entire village, and it’s likely that the father has invited many guests to celebrate the son’s return.

Then, in verses 25-32, we read about the response of the older son.

READ LUKE 15:25

 

*1.

The Older Son’s Compliance (v.

25)*

 

The first thing that we should notice here is the older son’s compliance.

For one thing, while his younger brother was out living a reckless lifestyle, the older brother is at home working for his father.

This older son is so compliant that when the party has already started, he is out working.

When all the commotion with the younger son began, it says that the “/older son was in the field/.”

That seems quite admirable, doesn’t it?

After all, this whole mess of a story has been about the screw-up younger son, and now—finally—we have somebody who is working hard and doing his job.

Doesn’t that seem like a good thing?

Surely the Pharisees and religious people who were hearing this story thought so.

I’m sure they found in the older son somebody that they could finally relate to.

In this older brother we finally see somebody who is doing the right thing.

While his younger brother was hooking up with girls, he was home milking the goats.

While his younger brother was gambling his money away, he was making sure that the fields were being properly cared for.

While his younger brother slept in every morning, he was up early doing chores and getting work done.

This older brother did tell his father that he wished he was dead.

He did not liquidate a third of his father’s hard-earned income.

He did not selfishly abandon all the friends and family that cared about him.

He did not shamefully move to a gentile country and bring reproach on the family name.

This son was always there, always around, always reliable.