Two Lost Sons
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[Luke 15:1-3, 11-32]
Introduction
Most Bibles call this section “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” or something along those lines emphasizing the younger son who squandered his inheritance and then returned home.
But really, this section is about two lost sons, not just one. It’s pretty obvious from verse 11:
He also said, “A man had two sons.
So, even though we often really only talk about the younger son the parable can’t be fully understood unless we also emphasize the older son.
What I’m sharing with you today is not the only way to understand this parable but I think it’s the best way and it’s what I’ve come to understand over the years.
Context
Now, the rational for emphasizing the older son comes from the context of verses 1-3.
All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:
Jesus then tells parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. But as I mentioned before, there are really two lost sons, not just one.
The tax collectors and sinners are like the younger son. They’re the ones who were squandering their estates with foolish living (vs 13).
But the Pharisees and scribes are like the older son. They’re faithful to the scriptures in many ways, but they’re complaining and judgmental of who Jesus spent his time with.
The Pharisees are just as lost as the tax collectors and sinners.
In fact, one of the reasons the Pharisees and scribes were lost was because they were repelled by Jesus.
The tax collectors and sinners kept coming and it seems that Jesus couldn’t keep them away. In other words, the kind of people that were drawn to Jesus were the immoral people of the world, not the religious and morally good people.
So from the Pharisees and scribes point of view, if they ask why would prostitutes, and tax collectors be interested in Jesus? One reasonable answer is that Jesus must have not been a very moral person himself, right? Birds of a feather flock together, right? So they didn’t want anything to do with Jesus.
And Jesus would Jesus say things like this to the Pharisees:
Matthew 21:31 (CSB)
“Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
That’s offensive, especially to those who think they’re good people. But moral and religious people are often repelled by the gospel while ironically immoral and irreligious people are attracted to it.
So it’s the people represented by the older son who are just as lost, if not more lost than those represented by the younger son.
Two (False) Approaches to Salvation
The first approach to salvation is what some call moralism. With this approach a person has to be good and salvation is achieved by keeping the rules or laws.
The second approach is sometimes called relativism. With this approach a person isn’t judged by strict standards that they have to live up to but by the sincerity of their heart. Those with this mindset believe that as long as they do the best they can, and we mean well, God will save them on the basis of their sincerity.
Now, these two approaches basically divide the world into two different camps. The moralistic people think they’re “in” while the relativistic people are “out” because of their lack of morality and wishy-washy thinking.
On the other hand, the relativistic people see themselves as “in” and the moralistic people as “out” because of their judgmental, inflexible thinking.
Two views—but they are both wrong.
See, if we only emphasize the story of the younger son, then either side can use it to make their case. The moralistic people say that the younger son was accepted on the basis of turning his life around and choosing to do good. While the relativistic people say, see it didn’t matter what the younger son did. He wasn’t punished or reprimanded. His father just accepted him as he is.
But if we consider the end of the story about the older son both of these views become dismantled but especially the moralistic view.
See with emphasizing the older son, we see that Jesus is teaching us that both brothers are far from him. The sinful younger brother was literally far away but the righteous older brother was just as alienated from the Father as the younger.
The Father reached out to both brothers but in the end it’s only the younger brother who is accepted. Why? We’ll get to that in a minute but first we need to fully understand that it’s the sinful, wicked, lover of prostitutes, who celebrates with the Father at the feast while the morally good good brother refuses to come to the party.
In other words, it’s just like Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”
Now, specifically, what is it that keeps the older brother out of the kingdom? It’s his goodness:
Luke 15:29 (CSB)
But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders.
The older brother doesn’t refuse to celebrate because he has done bad things but because he has done good things!
And this is where many of us get the gospel wrong. Too many see the gospel simply in terms of morality. They think the good people are in, and the bad people are out. But that’s not the way it works. The true gospel says “the humble are in and the proud are out.”
As James 4:6 says, “God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble.” So that enter the kingdom don’t enter on the basis of works at all, either good or bad. So why does the father receive the younger brother? Because he humbly sees his great need.
And that’s why we often see great sinners more attracted to the gospel than those who are pretty good. Morally good people, like the Pharisees, are often repelled by the gospel because they don’t see their sin.
What does this parable say about sin?
The Bible defines sin as the transgression of God’s law 1 John 3:4) but it is more than that. Sin can also be defined as running away from God.
The older brother is running away from completely relying upon God. Since he thinks he’s a pretty good person he doesn’t see his need to rely on God. At most he might think he needs a little help now and then from his father but mostly he thinks that his father owes him for being such a good son.
So the older son gets angry at his father—he pushes him away when he doesn’t get what he thinks he deserves. He resents his father for controlling his inheritance just like the younger brother did.
So both of the brothers are rebelling against their father’s authority. One is doing it by breaking all the rules to get away from the father while the other one tries to keep all the rules to get his inheritance. But neither one wants the father in their lives.
So sin is running away from God and it’s more than just breaking the rules. Religious people who profess Christianity, but aren’t really saved, will keep the rules to try to get God’s blessings but true Christians will obey God because they want God himself. So sin is not wanting God— it’s running away from him.
Now, again, one of the things this passage teaches us is that it’s harder for a person who thinks they’re “close” to God, because of all the good things they do, to see that they are sinning than it is for a person who is obviously far away from him.
Most people would assume that the person who just came from the brothel is farther away from God than the person who just came from church.
But in some ways, the sinner (the younger son) has an advantage over his older brother, if he sees himself as he truly is—as a lost sinner with no hope apart from his father. The older son is at a great disadvantage spiritually if he doesn’t also see his need because he’s just as lost—he just doesn’t know it.
"The Spirit of the Older Brother”
So, let’s talk for a few minutes about the spirit of the older brother. Who do you think of when you think of lost people? Do you think of those that are out of control, living wild and crazy lives? That’s one kind of lostness (the younger brother kind) but there is another kind of lostness that’s harder to spot so let’s spend some time trying to identify it.
Again, these traits aren’t something I’ve come up with. The've been taught to me and now I’m teaching them to you.
From the text we see there are at least four traits of someone who has “the spirit of the older brother.”
1. Anger
“Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.
We become angry at God when he doesn’t give us what we feel we deserve. We become angry at ourselves when we don’t live up to his standards. Either way, anger is a sign of living with the spirit of the older brother.
2. Joylessness
We just read this verse, but let’s look at it again.
But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends.
When we have no joy it doing what is right and see it as “slaving away” it’s a sign of having the spirit of the older brother.
Are we doing what it right but not enjoying it very much? If we feel no joy in doing what is right that’s a sign we’re doing what’s good, but for the wrong reasons.
3. Coldness
But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’
Do we feel a coldness toward the younger brothers of the world? Notice that the older brother wouldn’t even acknowledge he had a brother. He says, “this son or yours...” because he feels superior and cold toward those he despises.
Instead, when a person believes he is saved by grace alone he will treat others with respect and warmth because he knows his own sinfulness is just as bad as everyone else's.
4. Unforgiving
The older brother is actually unable to forgive because he lacks two things: he lacks the humility to see himself as sinful. And he lacks the assurance of knowing that he’s loved by God so much that it doesn’t matter if he’s treated poorly.
So those with the spirit of the elder brother are angry, joyless, cold, and unforgiving. They are far from home spiritually.
Two Sons but only one Way Home
Now, whether we want to get home to God for the first time or we’re already a believer but want to leave the “spirit of the elder brother” behind there’s only one way for it to happen.
First, the father needs to come to us. It’s pretty clear throughout scripture that God seeks us out before we seek for him.
With the younger son, the father came out and kissed him before he repented and arrived at home.
So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.
See, the father was already looking for his son before he headed home. And with the older son, the father came out and pleaded with him to come to celebration but the older son didn’t listen (Luke 15:28).
So, the first thing we need is for the Father to seek after us. If he doesn’t we will never find him.
The second thing we need is to repent of not only all the bad things we’ve done but of all the good things we’ve done for the wrong reasons.
We must repent of all the good things we’ve done with little or no joy only to get a reward. We must repent of doing good things to get God’s blessing by not God himself.
And the third thing to do is rely upon all that our salvation has cost. It might seem at first like it didn’t cost much of anything for the father to forgive and welcome the younger brother back to the family but in fact the cost was great to the elder brother.
The younger brother had already squandered everything that belonged to him and all that was left belonged to the older brother.
“ ‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
That was quite literally true. Everything that was left belonged to the older brother so when the lavish celebration was set, and massive amounts of money was spent, it all came out of the older brother’s inheritance at great cost.
Salvation is not free. It’s not cheap. It comes at great expense to the elder brother but thankfully we have a different elder brother who is willing to pay it all.
For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
See, Jesus was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his brothers and sisters. In paying for our salvation he gives warmth, and compassion, joy, and forgiveness to his family.
So, wrapping up, Jesus told this parable to show the Pharisees that they did not have the kind of righteousness God requires. They were self-righteous and far from God even though they were physically close to him. God reached out to them, as he’s reaching out to you, but they needed to repent and trust in him.
What the Pharisees, and all sinners need, is the true elder brother. All of us need an elder brother who is willing to go out into muck and the disgusting places, someone who is willing to give up his wealth, and even his life, in order to find us and bring us home to the father.
And that’s exactly what we find in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the elder brother that we all need. So let’s worship God for all that he’s done.
