The Older Son
Luke 15:1-32
Welcoming the lost as found with great joy
Chapel Service of Plainfield Christian Church
Rob Hoos
Introduction:
Good evening, how are all of you doing tonight? Good, good. Tonight, I have come to set right a common misconception that exists among the church at large.
We as Christians have been trained from a very young age, and rightly so to look at the exchanges between Jesus and the Pharisees with obvious prejudice to favoring Jesus. While I agree that Jesus is right when he argues with the Pharisees, these arguments have led us to the conclusion that all Pharisees were bad people. There is another side to the group known as the Pharisees that many don’t know about. Many of the Pharisees were good people who were doing their best to keep the law as they saw it and simply missed (as many outside of the Pharisees have) the coming of Jesus.
To begin with, let’s look at a number of individual Pharisees that we know of from scripture and from history.
Nicodemus: Nicodemus was a good man among the Pharisees that came to Jesus in the night to see about Jesus’ teachings. We see the account recorded in John 3. During that encounter, Nicodemus says: (John 3)
2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
Later on in Jesus’ ministry, we read of this account: (John 7)
45Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn’t you bring him in?"
46"No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared.
47"You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. 48"Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them."
50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51"Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?"
52They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."
Still later we read that Nicodemus had gone to the tomb of Jesus to aid in the burial preparation (John 19). For all intents and purposes the text makes it look like Nicodemus had become one of the disciples of Jesus. He was a good man who became a disciple.
Gamaliel: Gamaliel was the grandson of Hillel (who we will discuss momentarily) and was the one who instructed Paul in the ways of Judaism. He was a righteous man, and we see him acting righteously in Acts 5 after Peter and the apostles stand before the Sanhedrin for preaching in the name of Jesus:
33But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them.
34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.
35And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men.
36"For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
37"After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.
38"So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown;
39but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God."
40They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
Gamaliel is never known to have become a follower of Christ, but we see him in this instance trying to do the most God-honoring thing that he could do in his mind. He was a good man who sought to do good.
Hillel: Hillel was also a Pharisee who was a really good guy. In fact, one of his most notable teachings was one that is very much like the golden rule. He had come to some of the same conclusions that Jesus taught about the law a few generations before Jesus was born into this world. He said:
“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is explanation; go and learn” (Hillel, Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat 31a).
Actions: Now that we have looked at a couple of really good Pharisees, are you starting to see what I mean. We cannot just write off the Pharisees as a group of idiots, jerks, self-righteous swine that don’t deserve the food they eat. Not only that, but we will also see that there are many commonalities between the way they acted and the way that we act.
Did you realize that the Pharisees are theologically one of the closest groups to Jesus that existed during that time? There were obviously some very stark differences, but think about it. In those days there were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, in miracles, or a spiritual realm (angels and demons. . .etc). The Pharisees did believe in all those things, so amongst the people of their day, the Pharisees were theologically closest.
We also know from the bible, and from history that the Pharisees had a practice of fencing in laws. They would say: “Well, to make sure that we don’t break this law, we will establish another even more restrictive law so that we don’t even come close to violating the law.” We often times criticize them for doing this. They were only trying to protect their righteousness and the righteousness of the people. Many of them had these good intentions in fencing the law. They figured: “If that is good, then this will be even better.” We do the exact same thing. Seriously, think about it. We call it different things though: like slippery slope, or we say “well this will lead to that.” I am not saying that these are not well meaning concerns, but we need to be honest with ourselves and say: “yeah. . .we do that.”
Something else that the Pharisees really enjoyed doing was being around one another. This only makes sense doesn’t it? It is a lot easier to surround yourself with people that think and feel the same that you do. Not only that, but it is much easier to stay pure and holy when you surround yourself with other people who are on the same quest. See, we could try and criticize the Pharisees for this, but how often do we leave our own groups of believing friends. We stick with them for the exact same reason. This even applies to eating. To them back then, eating was a huge deal, because if you ate with someone, you were expressing a sense of equality between the two of you. All you have to do is go out on Sundays and look in restaurants to see this being lived out. Christians love to eat with and share fellowship with other Christians. There is nothing wrong with this in itself, but if it is the only group of people that we allow ourselves to be around (which for many of us it is) then we have need of re-examining our own actions.
We have a great deal in common with these good Pharisees, don’t we?
One day, Jesus began to speak to some Pharisees, let’s listen in.
Part 1: The Parables
The Lost Sheep
4"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5"When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6"And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
7"I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Lost Coin
8"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
9"When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
10"In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
The Prodigal Son (start shedding the suit)
11And He said, "A man had two sons.
12"The younger of them said to his father, ’Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me ’ So he divided his wealth between them.
13"And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
14"Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15"So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16"And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
17"But when he came to his senses, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
18’I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."’
20"So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21"And the son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22"But the father said to his slaves, ’Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
23and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25"Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26"And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
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 became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
29"But he answered and said to his father, ’Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
30but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
31"And he said to him, ’Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32’But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’"
Part 2: What is this about? (Finish shedding suit)
For years, many of us have heard these parables read. If your past in the Lord is anything like mine is, then you have always heard these linked with God’s love and desire to seek for us. These are very valid points. We know (not only from these instances, but they do add to the idea) that God has a love for us that we cannot describe, and he seeks and waits for us patiently to come to him.
Reference: 2 Peter 3:9 “Not wishing for any to perish. . .”
The progression that we see appearing in the parable really demonstrates how valuable we are to God. It progresses from 100 sheep, to 10 coins, to 2 sons. Do you see the progression? It goes from least to most precious.
The parable of the Lost Son also shows us how eager and welcoming God is even after we have hurt him.
While all these points are valid, and they do paint a beautiful picture for us, we tend to miss the forest for the trees. We are missing Jesus’ point.
The Pharisees thought that the purpose of their life was to totally set themselves apart to accomplish their own personal holiness. They had missed the fact that Jesus mission, and the mission he has given to all is to seek and save the lost.
1Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
2Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
3So He told them this parable, saying,
The whole reason that Jesus told these parables was because the scribes and Pharisees were grumbling because he spent his time eating and teaching tax collectors and sinners.
That’s why he told this three pronged parable. He repeated the same idea three times so that we would understand the importance that he places on the concept. He added different nuances to it each time so we could understand the scope of the principle. He wanted us to understand most of all this progression of: Lost, Found, Celebrate!
Then, after he emphasizes this point three times, he tags an ending on the end of the third parable that adds a twist and makes the most poignant point of all.
The addition of the Older Brother to the end of the third parable is the entire point to this passage.
Jesus is not convicting us by comparing us with the lost son, or the lost sheep, or the lost coin (though surely we have all been there at some point in our life). Jesus is convicting us by saying: “You are the older brother who refused to come to the party!”
How do we look at other people?
Part 3: What then does this mean for us?
Let me just start by saying that this is a sermon that is pointed at me as well as it is other Christians.
I guess the real question may be: “What do we do with people who look like I do right now?”
What do we do when they come into Church like this?
Do we look at them crossly? Do we look at them with contempt in our eyes? Do we avoid talking to them? Do we just stay in our little group of friends? Do we judge them?
Or, do we go over them and embrace them right there as they are and show the love of God to them?
What do we do when someone who has a messed up life comes in: an adulteress, an adulterer, a drug addict, a liar, a lawyer? What do we do?
Sometimes a mess can come in a pretty package. What do we do with the guy in a suit whose life is just falling apart around him? What do we do with the guy in ragged jeans like these whose life is experiencing the same situation?
What do we do with someone who has an overly needy personality? What about someone who is a jerk?
Because of my background, people who are dressed casually, or have a messed up life are not a big deal to me. Spiked hair, piercing, tattoos, all of them are nothing new. The people that I have the hardest time embracing are the emotionally needy, and people that come across as arrogant, or just plain jerks.
But, we need to embrace those who are lost, we need to love on them. We need to embrace the lost that are now found. And we need to rejoice with all that is within us when they, like the lost son, come home to a father who is overjoyed to see them.
It comes down to a choice. We can get over ourselves and love people where they are (and watch how the Love of God changes people’s lives) and rejoice that they are coming home. Or, we can be the older brother and go pout in a field.
One way or another, the prodigals are coming home. . .
