#84: The Story of the Father of Two Sons (Part 4)

Luke 15:11-32

Today we will be concluding this series by God’s grace. So far if you were ever so quick to say “this is not me, I am not like that young reckless boy-the younger son in this parable” then you may want to reconsider if you are also not the elder brother. The story of the lost son has two halves. It is about two sons. We started the series by emphasizing that a father had two sons. Jesus being a non-careless person would not have said that if he didn’t want to say anything to us about the two sons. This episode will be about the second half of the story. What is it that God wants to point to us in the life of the elder brother?

Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing: I want to believe that the welcome home party met the older son by surprise. This in itself is a big contrast as regards his position in the family. As the eldest son, such a major decision is meant to have his consent or at least he must be aware of it. But we see an older son whose father sidelined him in major [kingdom] decisions. He was always having a sense of belonging in the house, always coming and going. He kept some distance from the house even though he would always come home every day. Maybe he was not so different from his younger brother. Are you a Christian that has become a perpetual customer for altar call? You are always coming home, but the next time we see you, you are far from home-in the fields, the love of the Father that we discussed in the previous episode is still available to you.

He had no joy, he would not go in: Jesus was pointing to the Pharisees when he was talking about the elder son. They had a form of godliness, but they lacked the sensitivity to what heaven was after. When God is happy and celebrating the home coming of a lost soul, the Pharisees were so angry. This was also what happened to Jonah when the citizens of Nineveh repented of their sins. The elder son would not even go in because of how angry he was. He was now a foreigner in his own house. Perhaps he too was lost. The true communion was lost. He also needed to be found.

Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him: Hallelujah! We again see the father’s love for every lost soul. Just as he went out to meet his returning lost son, he also came out to plead with the elder son. We will see how lost he was in what he replied to his father: ”Lo, these many years I have been serving you. I have not transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who had devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.” This is a typical speech from a Pharisee. See how similar this is to Luke 18: 9-14. Self-righteousness is a disease that will make people to miss the mark because it makes us forget the grace of God and the cross. This was the major challenge Jesus had with the Pharisees. The elder son in this parable thought he could labor to win the heart of his father just as his younger brother thought in his heart when he was returning. You can hear the elder son boasting thus: “I have been slaving myself, I have never disobeyed, I have been with you”, all these statements are selfish. We should not seek confidence in the flesh. He also doesn’t see his younger brother as a sibling, instead he sees him as a son of his father. God must deliver us from self-righteousness. The parable does not tell us what happened next, therefore making it open ended. Today we have a decision to make. To accept the Father’s love and welcome our brothers to Christ or be angered by the Father’s unending love.

The true elder brother: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29). In Heb 2: 10, Jesus is pictured as the captain of our salvation who is bringing many sons to glory. He is the true elder brother. This is what the elder brother was meant to do in this parable. Glory to God that we have in Jesus an elder brother that will not neglect our struggles, we have an elder brother that knows the heartbeat of the Father, and we have an elder brother that is always at the door welcoming every lost soul into the kingdom of God. In Him, the Father’s love is shown. He shows us the way home.

Prayer: LORD, may my glory ever be in the cross, and not in my strength and wisdom and accomplishments. Don’t be through with me yet, keep breaking and molding me till I conform to the image of Jesus. Amen.