Good morning, can I ask you please to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15. Can I also say a thank you on behalf of the elders of the church to all the men who turned up yesterday at the property? It was so good both to see the fellowship between the men, that was exciting, but also there was so much work done. So really grateful to the men who turned up and to those who helped just organize and allow that to take place.
It is exciting. And I know in a few weeks we're gonna have our church picnic, and I'm looking forward to it, partly because I just think it's good to be on that campus, and to be able to see what the Lord has given us, and to really begin to pray that the Lord would help us to steward that property well for His glory. And there's so much possibility, so much good that could be done from that particular site. And I wanna ask you, I'm so grateful for the men that helped clean up, and all of us, that we would start praying that the Lord would really grant us wisdom to know how to make best use of that very wonderful piece of land for His glory here in the Dallas area.
So please be praying. I know sometimes property and things like that can seem such a cold and removed and remote thing, but it's really a stewardship. So, pray that the Lord would give us wisdom to know how best to steward that property for his glory. And thank you to the men who helped yesterday.
And can I ask you please to stand while we read from Luke chapter 15, Luke chapter 15, let me read verses one and two, and then we'll skip down to verse 11. Luke chapter 15 and verse one.
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “this man receives sinners and eats with them.” So, he told them this parable,” verse 11.
“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 the property that is coming to me.” And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all that he had and took a journey into a far country. And there he squandered his property and 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 that 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'm 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.” 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.
Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 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.” But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him. But he answered his father, “look, these many years I have served you, and I've never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when the son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes. You killed the fattened calf for him? “ And he said to him, “Son, you're 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. “”
Let's pray.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we ask for Your help. We recognize that sin of pride, of arrogance, of self-righteousness, so quickly grows up in our hearts. And Lord, we have already sung this morning, I need Thee every hour, every hour I need Thee. And yet so often, Lord, we come to church with the mentality that You actually need us.
Forgive us, we pray and correct us through the sharp sword that is the word. That we would have our focus pulled off ourselves and settled upon You, and that You, not us, You would be the object of our worship this morning. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Have a seat. [End]
I've been here over three months and we really began at the end of chapter 13. We haven't got very far, have we? I want to spend just one more week here in this parable of the prodigal son. We focused on two out of the three main characters in the story so far. A few weeks ago, we focused on the father who reminded us in particular of God's heart for His children. And last week we thought about the prodigal himself who reflected repentant sinners, those who, remember in verse one, had drawn near to hear Jesus. And He so carefully and wonderfully depicts them in the transformative attitude of this boy and his transformed relationship with the father.
Well, this morning we come to the older son. This older son reflects the other group that stands in front of Jesus, and here Jesus addresses the main question that they raised. This morning, we need to try and step into the mind of those described in verse 2, these scribes and these Pharisees who were there in the crowd listening to Jesus. And these were a group of men who knew the Old Testament extremely well. Most of them had memorized the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. They knew the story, they knew the heroes, they knew the villains of the Old Testament, they knew the dramatic turns in the story of Genesis, Exodus, and on and on.
And Jesus is telling a story here that reminds them of a particular episode in the Old Testament. When He talks about an older and a younger son, oh, it sounds so familiar. Well, when he talked about the younger son having to leave home or choosing to leave home and go to a foreign land, even more so when they heard of the younger's redemption and his coming home to the land once more, they heard echoes again of this particular Genesis story. When Jesus then told the second half of the story about this older boy, the one who stayed in the land, who stayed, it's particularly the text says, Jesus uses the language, in the fields, who himself had a rocky relationship with his father, who had incredible disdain for his brother, the scribes and the Pharisees were thinking of one particular Old Testament character.
Detectives, do you know who it is? Esau. You remember Jacob and Esau? The twins, the boys of Isaac. They were so different, different really in every way. One was hairy and the other smooth. One was into his hunting, while the other into his cooking. One was incredibly impulsive, while the other was a thoughtful deceiver. And most importantly, to the audience that Jesus is speaking to, one became the father of the Edomites, while the other became the father of the Israelites. In fact, his name is changed to Israel, the father of the Israelites, the very people Jesus is addressing.
And when they were reminded, these scribes and Pharisees, of this particular Old Testament episode, they, like all Jews of the time, would have remembered Malachi chapter 1, verse 3. “Jacob have I loved, while Esau have I hated.” And yet when Jesus is telling the story, did you notice the language in verse 20? In verse 20, “but while,” speaking of the father, or speaking of the prodigal, “but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” The language there is so deliberate. And if you knew the book of Genesis really well, immediately you heard that it's almost a quote from Genesis chapter 33 verse 4. I quote from that moment whenever Jacob, he returns to the promised land and it says, “but Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept.”
It's an incredible story. But in particular, again, thinking of these scribes and Pharisees, the gracious, loving, forgiving spirit of the father in Jesus' parable, his actions deliberately reflect the behavior of the older brother there in Genesis. And while they automatically thought of Esau as some sort of Old Testament villain, even Esau understood the importance of family enough to engage in that story in Genesis with such marked kindness. And because the older brother now in Jesus' story, it's the father that behaves that way, not the older brother, Jesus is highlighting even more so how inappropriate this older brother in the story behaves. And in doing so, how extremely inappropriate the behavior of those the older brother represents was, how reprehensible it was that these scribes and Pharisees would so look down their noses at the repentant sinners who drew near to hear in verse 1 that verse 2 tells us they grumbled against them.
Jesus is purposefully addressing that self-righteousness. He's talking to the types of people that go to church every week, who give regularly from their paycheck, who serve in many different ways. Who read the right theology books, and yet there is a coldness that they feel towards other Christians. And ultimately, a coldness that they feel towards God Himself.
As we approach this very familiar story for the last time in our exposition through Luke, I want to ask, are you like this older son? Are you like this older son? And if so, how are you gonna respond? That's the question that hangs in the air, and it's the one we need to wrestle with this morning. So don't dismiss him. Look carefully at him and consider, do the marks that sit in this boy, sit also upon me.
I want you to note the marks of this older brother. Notice, first of all, that this boy that we're talking about is a hardworking man. He is hardworking. If you look at verse 25, we're told, as he's introduced into the story more clearly, we're told something of his hard work. It says, “now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.” Where is he? Well, he's in the field. That's not an expression that tells us he's out for a walk. That's an expression that tells us he's busy doing the work. He's the type of character that left the house early and now he's returning late. Everybody else is feasting, everybody else is eating. The music and dancing has been going on for a long season. Here's a guy who has had his shoulder to the plow, who's been expending himself, who's been working diligently for the cause to be productive. To help the household. Here's an individual who is always engaged in purposeful activity. This is not a lazy man. This is a hardworking individual.
But we can also see very quickly about him that he is one who is hardworking, but who refuses to relate to his brother. He refuses to relate to his brother. Look at verse 27. And he said, “your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.” And verse 32, “it was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.” The text stresses, not through the words of the older son, but through the words of a servant, and through the words of the father in verse 32, that this individual that he doesn't want to engage with is your brother. Do you see that? Your brother is the one we're talking about. Your sibling, the one you're meant to care for, the one you're meant to be connected to, the one that you're meant to know, the one that you're meant to have some desire for. And yet, in the text, it's really interesting, because the older brother never speaks of him in a relational way. The older brother talks about your son, father. He never calls him my brother. He never uses any type of language that speaks of the connection that these two were meant to have. Your son he is, but he has no connection to me. So here is a boy who is hardworking, but he refuses to engage or to relate to his brother.
And the third mark we can say about him is he's joyless. He's joyless. It's a story we said last week where there's so much celebrating going on. That language of celebration is sprinkled through the text. It comes up time and time and time again. They're all having fun. Trinity Bible Church. They had fun in the story. There's a lot of smiling going on here. There's a lot of buzz and chat. There's feasting and drinking, and dancing. I'll not talk about that too much. But the point is, everybody else is exuberant in the joy that they feel. But verse 25, somebody is absent from it altogether. He's out in the field. He's separated. And when he does come back in verse 25, he doesn't want to have any part in it. He refuses to go in. His lack of personal joy actually made him suspicious of everybody else's joy. Everybody else is in the wrong because they're smiling too much. They look like they're enjoying themselves too much. Here is one of those characters where his cup is always half empty, but especially when it comes to other people celebrating and enjoying.
Now think about that very simple picture. Somebody who is hardworking, we can't fault him in that, he is doing, but he doesn't really have any heart for his brother. And there's a joylessness that marks him. Do any of those traits mark your religion? I'm sure there's many here this morning that are hardworking. Sacrificial for the cause. Willing to do, and yet they have a very short patience when it comes to other Christians. They certainly wouldn't talk about affection for other Christians. And their life and walk is quite joyless. They spend more time frowning as Christians than rejoicing. Are you busy, but often found outside? Are you somebody who's zealous, but often misguided? Are you the type of individual who is confident about what you do and what you believe? But ultimately, as this story indicates, lost. We think of this story, the lost boy is the one who went to the foreign country. When actually, if we look closely at the story, we're gonna find out that the lost boy is the one who was so close to home but never came into the party. So, do you look like this boy?
Secondly, as you think more about that, notice how the older brother interacts with his father. This is really important because there is, and we'll talk about it in a moment, a horizontal dynamic. We'll talk more about his interaction with his sibling. But primarily the text seems to stress the interaction between this older son and the father. And what's interesting in the text is this boy is covertly absent from the father. Covertly absent from the father. Look at verse 25 again, just to remind you of the nature of the text. “The older son was in the field and he came and drew near to the house and he heard music and dancing,” verse 26, “and he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. “
Now, the younger son, he's obvious in his absence. He goes to a distant country, and he lives a lifestyle, a profligate lifestyle, clearly in opposition to the culture, the customs, the way that he was brought up. And this boy, this older boy, he is much closer to home. And yet the text is helping us to see, though he is near; he's still not with his father. Did you notice that? He's still not present and relating to dad. In verse 25, he's out in the field, and we also have the language; he has to draw near. The emphasis in verse 25 is he's removed. He may not be in a distant land, but he's still not with the father. There's a separation here. It's not overt like the younger separation. It's covert. It's subtle. And yet, though he is nearby, there really isn't an interaction going on between him and dad. He's near, but very much removed.
Secondly, he doesn't interact with the father. Not only is he covertly absent, there's no interaction that he wants. Do you notice we read in the verse 26, and in verse 26 he doesn't get dad to come and explain to him what's going on. Who does he go to? The servant. He doesn't want to engage with father. He goes through other channels to find out what is happening. Look at verse 28. “But he was angry and refused to go in.” And notice where the action takes place. His father came out and entreated him. It's the father that goes to him. It's the father that's begging him to act right like. The lost son doesn't seek, or the lost son, the prodigal, the younger son, he, in the story, he seeks the father. I will go to my father and I will say. And he does, he begins the journey home. But this older boy, he doesn't seek the father out. It's actually the father that seeks him out in the story. It's a very different dynamic. Who's doing the relational work here? Well, it's the father. So, he's covertly absent from the father. He doesn't interact with the father. In fact, he sees himself. When it comes to the father, he sees himself as a servant rather than a son.
Now, I keep, you've probably heard this morning me mention too many times, father. In fact, I'm very conscious of it. That's why I've said dad several times. It's just to try and use a different word, a different piece of language. But do you know who doesn't use either of those words through the whole story? The older son. He never calls his father, “father.” In fact, the only type of relationship he refers to between the two of them between him and the one who should have been called father is there in verse 29. His words begin, “look, these many years I have served you and I've never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.” He says, I have served you. Actually, it's an extreme word that's used there. He says, I have slaved for you. I've worked my knuckles to the bone. I've given everything. I've taken the lowly, unappreciated role. He doesn't say, Father, he says, Lord, in the sense of master; I have slaved for you. I've worked so hard. And the emphasis in the text says, I did it. I earned it. There's no note of love. There's certainly no note of gratitude. There's no awareness of the generous care that he has received all these years growing up from his father. He simply says, I slaved for you, and you owe me. That's the idea in the text.
But what about you this morning? If you're honest in your own mind, do you think of God as the one you work for? Rather than the one that you're loved by. There's a world of difference. Do you think of God as one that you're associated with, I'm a Christian, but not one that you enjoy spending time with in prayer? That's a great question all by itself. Do you talk to God with excitement? Do you treasure those moments in the closet, to use a Puritan phrase, time of intimacy just between you and God? Or does that sound so far removed from the reality of your normal weekly pattern? Is your Christianity primarily about how you serve rather than the one that you serve? Now, again, it's covert. It's hard for anybody else to see it. When I look at you, you all look charming. Very, you know, a very good-looking congregation here this morning. But the Lord knows the heart. And it's so easy, and church history is littered with examples of this, to look like you're expending yourself for the kingdom. and yet to have an attitude like this older boy that ultimately is absent from the father, it doesn't interact with him and really views their whole Christianity as one of servitude rather than enjoying a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
The third thing I want you to see in the text is how the older brother interacts with others. We've just talked about that interaction with the father, and that's important, but notice how he interacts with others as well, because that reveals something of the heart also. Very obviously, we can say he's angry. He's angry. In fact, that's the language used, isn't it, there in verse 28? “But he was angry and refused to go in. “His brother has just returned. His brother is safe and sound, that's literally what the servant has said to him. And he says, well, only nasty things. He's full of anger, he's full of resentment. It's actually akin to the language, to the sentiment there in verse two. These Pharisees and scribes who were told in verse two grumbled, saying, “this man receives sinners and eats with them.” This is a grumbling spirit.
And there's something horrible. Whenever God is at work, and this is what Jesus is highlighting, God has been at work. And these repentant sinners, who had an awful life, but have now drawn near to here. God has been at work in their heart, and these scribes, these Pharisees are disparaging that very work. How dare they be here? How dare Jesus eat with the likes of them? The Desert fathers used to talk about a particular sin. The sin of aseity. And what that sin was is the spirit that grumbles against spiritual good. They identified it as a sin to complain against the very good work that God is actually doing. And it's something that happens very easy, where the individual becomes bitter towards the very good God has brought about. That's what's happening in verses 1 and 2. These sinners have been converted, and the Pharisees and scribes spend all their time grumbling about it. And it's an awful sin to get caught in, for God to have moved and for resentment to grow in the heart as a result. That's wicked.
Dante, he talked about the human soul as something that was created to love. And so because we were created to love, to be slow to love, or even to be resistant to it, and even further to rejoice and proclaim our resistance to it as if it's something noble is to be hideously disfigured. To scorn what God has done and therefore is good. I think sometimes as Christians, especially in conservative evangelical churches in America, we know the sin of hypocrisy. We talk about it. We're aware that we could slip into the trap of the Pharisees. We get that. But I don't think we understand just how ugly that sin actually is. It's an attack against the very goodness of God's work. That's why it's so evil. That's why Jesus so clearly speaks against it. Here is a warning about scorning the very good that God has done.
I wonder if there's certain people, if they were to start coming to the church, you would think the church had done something wrong. Certain people, if we're too quick to baptize them, you would panic. Some people, if we had them serve, you would think the elders had lost their minds. But that says more about your heart than it does the elder's decision making. This boy should have had joy like everybody else in the story. Everybody else got it, but he missed it. And there is a terrible spirit that can so quickly grow in the church when God has saved and instead of finding joy, we end up carrying out a witch hunt. Somebody tries to tell us that they love Jesus, and we begin to cross-examine them, trying to prove that they're not actually a Christian. That's not a healthy mentality. You're not the Holy Spirit. It's not your job to discern if somebody is saved or not saved. The elders have a job of discerning who we baptize and bring into the church, but even that we will get wrong sometimes. And time, you see that all the way through the New Testament, shows that they were not off us, and so they went out from us. We can't even get that right. And yet that spirit that witch hunts and tries to hear and tell the person, I don't think you're saved, that's not a good thing. Because it's engaging in this sin of aseity if we're not very careful. Now if we love and want to help somebody know more of the fullness of Christ and His mercy, that's a glorious thing, but too often we can shift into this mindset that cuts off and actually embraces the spirit of anger and suspicion when it comes to the very good that God has done.
When the first great awakening took place in the colonies, still part of Britain at the time, so the colonies, Jonathan Edwards had to write that book, “Religious Affections For A Reason.” And the reason was the mainstream church was so critical of the spirit of conviction over sin and hunger for church. The mainstream church insisted something must be going on there that is wrong. And Edwards wrote that primarily to protect this work, this good that had been done, to try and show that what was taking place was a true biblical mourning over sin. Now, we still have that same spirit growing in the church today. That instead of finding joy over the good that God has done in the lost, weighs it up with a miserly suspicion and sometimes goes even further into this spirit of anger. Jesus says that is dangerous and that is wrong. Indeed, it's pharisaical.
A second way it shows itself is that type of spirit segregates the boy here; he segregates. Look at verse 28. He was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him. And then look down at verse 30. “But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” The boy refused to go in. And the father goes out to him, but the father, in verse 30, to the boy, is guilty by association. You can imagine the words there in verse 30, that the older son, he's poking dad in the chest. You embrace him back. You kill the fat and calves. You celebrate. And there's an accusation in the tone here. It's a spirit of, not only is he angry with the younger son for the profligate lifestyle, but he's angry with dad for associating with the younger son who had a profligate lifestyle. Not only is the boy guilty, but dad, you're guilty too because you're talking to him. That's another sin that church history warns us about. The mindset of second-degree association, not only do we, you know, separate us from others who have strange and warped views of Scripture, but anybody who would even smile at them or talk to them, we'll separate from them, too, just to protect ourselves that little bit more. That's not good. Whenever lines are drawn secondarily and tertiary, that's a dangerous sign as to the health of the church and to the health of the individual.
This boy, he's angry, he segregates, he's stubborn. He's stubborn. You see the language in verse 32 as dad tries to correct the boy. He says, “it was fitting to celebrate and be glad.” What dad is saying, this is normal. But boy, you don't get it. Like you're not seeing things rightly. You're not seeing what is obvious to everybody else. And what is it, according to verse 32, that is obvious? Well, look at the language, it's very strong. It was fitting to celebrate and glad for this your brother. So, dad's not just saying how he feels. Dad's saying this should be how you feel. It was your brother that was lost and is found. It was your brother that was dead and is alive. How can you not get it? He's your brother. You should be celebrating. You're huffing outside and that's absolutely crazy. Your heart is so stubborn, and it's rejecting what is obvious, and it continues in this joyless expression, this complaining mentality, and it's so stubbornly wrong.
And we can go further and say it's pride. Again, verse 29. Verse 29 is littered with explanation about what he has done. Do you remember back? In verse 21, we know that how five times the boy talked about, the prodigal talked about, I or me, I have sinned, was the language he was using. And as he acknowledged his guilt, he personally acknowledged that I have done. Well, now in verse 29, in contrast, five times does this boy, this older son, mention himself. but it's with a spirit of entitlement. Look, these many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. You see the contrast between the two. I have sinned. I did so much that was good. You see the way there's this proud manifestation in the heart of this boy. Again, the accusation against Jesus in verse two was Jesus is eating with these repentant sinners. In fact, in that verse, like, Jesus is eating, the repentant sinners, we can assume, are eating. Who's the only people not eating? The scribes and the Pharisees. Their pride won't allow them to engage.
Too often, this is the greatest mark of an older brother religion. We're consumed with what we do and what we bring to the table. And so often we also see, and we see that with this boy too in verse 29, he's marked by a desire to be with his peers rather than to be with the father. That's what he wants. What's his great accusation at the end of verse 29? Well, you didn't give me a goat. Not that you and me, dad, could have a great meal together, enjoy a conversation over dinner together, but that I could go and eat with my friends. You see where his real allegiance lies, it's not with the father, it's with his peers. Sometimes that happens. The people who love fellowship in the church most, it's a distorted version of that fellowship, but they love being with their peers in church most, are the Pharisees. Just because you like church doesn't mean that you're not a Pharisee. This boy loved his peers. And what happened was he longed to be with his friends more than the father. That's the difference. Fellowship's a glorious gift that God has given to the church. It's a wonderful thing to be together. Many of the men testified about that yesterday as they worked. They enjoyed time together. That's right, that's appropriate. But here's the danger. When we value that time together, over and above, the time that we get with God, and the reason we gather together to ultimately worship Him.
He's marked with disdain here. Verse 30, look at verse 30. “But when this son of yours came, who devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” “This son of yours,” he says. He puts himself on the outside. You guys do what you want. I have nothing to do with that. He's so annoyed with others. And actually, what he says, there's no evidence in the text that he had any reason or understanding about what the boy did in a foreign country. In fact, we can assume he didn't, and yet he accuses here, he slept with prostitutes, or he devoured the income with prostitutes. Well, how do they know that? Well, he didn't. Now, this lost boy, the profligate, he could have done anything. We've no reason to think of him as a good character. He could have done anything. But do you see the older son reveals his cards here? He imagines what could have taken place, and he's obsessed with sexual sin especially. And he dreams us up. Anything could have happened, that's true. But why does he pick out this? Well, it's actually, again, a sad reality in church history that often the Pharisee, often the hypocrite, has a particular pull towards sexual obsession. They maybe don't indulge in it publicly, sometimes they do, but most often they don't indulge in it publicly, but there's this obsession with it in their mind. And so often it's the strictest streams of Christianity that the most gross sexual misconduct comes out of. And I think that's because hard pharisaical hearts are not soft to God, and so they're drawn to lust. And to this type of gross thinking.
The big thing is there's no self-realization here. The younger brother in verse 17 realizes his need of the father. This boy, he doesn't see any need of the father. He certainly doesn't have any love for the father. Now, here's the thing with this older son; nobody wants to think that they are him. But slow down. Do any of these traits, that sternness, that restrictiveness, that hesitation to embrace, does that mark your engagement with church?
If so, let me close by showing you God's appeal to the older son. Look at his disposition. Look at verse 31. “He said to him, “son, you're always with me and all that is mine is yours.” The father uses that term, son; the boy has so much that's ugly with him. It would be easy for this father to lose it with him, to call him out, and yet the father is so remarkably kind, even to this Pharisee. And in verse 28, we read; he entreated. He goes out to the son. He's the one entreating. He's the one appealing for a change of heart. He's the one that's begging him to see it differently and to come into the family. And the language here in verse 31, it's intimate. All that I have is yours. The only time you really see that reflected in the rest of scripture is John 17. When Jesus is talking about his intimate relationship with his heavenly Father, he says, I am praying for the world, but for those whom you have given to me, for they are Yours. All mine are Yours, and Yours are mine. I think the idea here is we can't find a more intimate invitation, a more caring disposition, and yet Jesus isn't talking about the way he relates to the Father. He's not talking about the way the repentant sinner relates to the Father. He's talking about the way the Father relates to, well, these scribes and Pharisees, the older brothers. And actually in verse 31, that there is my son. That's maybe too weak a translation. If we were in Ireland, it's not just the regular term for something that's used there. We would say, or we would translate it, my wee boy. Like there's an extra level of endearment here, of closeness. My cub. My little one. And again, who's he talking about? Well verse two, the scribes and the Pharisees. This is probably the most tender and kind and intimate invitation that Jesus issues to the Pharisees. My wee boy, come in, come home.
It's very like Luke 13:34, “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets, stones those who are sent to it. How often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing.” He loves. I don't know how to explain it beyond saying Jesus is revealing here there is a bigness of heart and a sincerity of invitation that He issues to the arrogant Pharisee. And it's a call to family unity. Again, verse 32, it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found. It's an appeal that you should get on with each other. You should be able to be together. It is fitting. This has to happen. The father is excited about the lost child returning, but you should be also. Pharisees, these repentant sinners, you should be leading the celebration. You should be cutting the fatten calve and serving it to everybody else because you should be bursting with joy that your brother, your brother has been found. How can you be annoyed at that? How can you grumble about that? He was dead and is alive. He was lost and now he's found. Your brother is back. He's home.
One of the sweetest moments of ministry that I had in Emmanuel Baptist, the last church I served in, was my brother. We grew up, Johnny was fostered. He was with us from he was six and still is lingering around today. When he got to about 20, he just rebelled. He went way, headstrong into sin, and just trying to carve his own existence out. And I know COVID caused a lot of damage to a lot of people in this world, but it was the best thing for our family, because it broke him down completely, and everything was stripped away from him. And in that state, he reached out for help, and we shared the gospel with him. And it was as if God spoke to him for the first time, and he understood his sin, and he cried out to God for mercy. And as a pastor, I had the joy of baptizing him, having him join the local church. What was special about that? God's so good, and he saves so many. But I had a delinquent brother, but now I have an eternal brother. It's altogether different. Our relationship is altogether different and that's worth celebrating.
Now Jesus' story, if there was one criticism some would issue, is it just stops. You notice that? Like you read verse 32 and immediately you're like, so what happened next? Did the boy go in or did he throw a punch? Like what happened next? But Jesus is a genius and he deliberately leaves the action of the older brother hanging in the air. We don't know how each Pharisee responded to this story that Jesus told them. And I think the idea is this is deliberately open-ended because you have to ask the question, what are you doing, Pharisee? If you're dismissive of someone in the church, how are you gonna respond now? How do you feel over repentant sinners? What are you gonna do about that dismissiveness of the work of Christ?
For those of us who tend towards this sin of the older brother, this is actually a passage of hope. Because Jesus is declaring to the self-righteous sinner, my wee boy, come in and join the celebration. Be with us forever. This is a warm invitation to God to the one prone to a pharisaical heart where He says come. A loving relationship is to be found not in what you do, but found in Him, and He brings you into the whole family. He invites you to come into the family and to join the celebration.
I hate using this example to conclude, but I couldn't think of a better one. Charles Dickens wrote, I think, about the ghost of Christmas present. Do you remember that scene in A Christmas Carol? And he's the most warm and bubbly and friendly of all of the ghosts. Now, you should never get your theology from A Christmas Carol. I may be very clear on that. But in this story, in that particular scene, Scrooge kind of leans around the corner, and he sees this warm character, and he's sitting on top of all of the feasts, because there's so much to go around, and he says, “come and know me better, man.” That's the spirit of verse 32, as Jesus ties up his lesson for the Pharisee. It's a call, come and know me better, man. Come and join the family. How are you gonna respond this morning? Let's pray.
[Ptayer] Heavenly Father, You know us and you know where we need correction. And so many of us, Lord, this is the area where our hearts so quickly wander and we need to be called to think right. Lord, we are so thankful that You are rich in mercy. And that even where we have disparaged your mercy to others, Lord, you're willing to forgive us. We pray that You would cause the hard heart to soften, to seek after You, and to find that genuine joy in knowing the realness of Your heart for the lost, including lost sinners like us. Help us to worship Christ and to love and to find joy in the family and Your work in this world. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. [End]
