Sermon Brief
Date Written: November 5, 2008
Date Preached: November 5, 2008
Where Preached: OPBC (Wed PM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: A Study of the Parables
Sermon Title: The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Part 2) The other brother!
Sermon Text: Luke 15:25-32 (NKJV)
25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Introduction:
Now so far we have looked at this story from the traditional ‘wayward son comes home to unconditional love and forgiveness’ viewpoint! And this parable speaks to God’s unconditional love… God’s undeserved mercy and grace… this parable speaks volumes about the God we serve and who has provided this sort of love and forgiveness to us as sinners!
However this parable has a tag on the end… not really a tag, but so many people overlook these past few verses as a mere afterthought… or worse they simply ignore them! But Jesus used these words for good reason!
How many of us have been in the same situation as this older brother? You have been ‘faithful’ to someone or something and others have not…but then it seems as if you are being ignored or even worse slighted because of the attention that is being given to someone you deem as UNWORTHY of that attention!
Jealousy and disdain rise up in our hearts very easily and it is a poison that we cannot afford to have if we are going to serve God and be the witnesses for Him that He desires!
There is a parallel principle here that is also taught in the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. We see the workers hired early in the day not happy with the Master because of how he treats those hired at the end of the day…
Now I understand that there are differences between the workers hired late in the day and the prodigal son… but the point here is the attitude of those who are seemingly doing the right thing… such as the son who did NOT demand his inheritance and go off to live a life of debauchery… such as the workers who showed up on time and worked a FULL day’s work!
It is their attitude toward those the Master or Father chooses to bless! Far too often as believers, we try to force OUR standard onto God instead of accepting God for who He is… and accepting His standard for our lives…even if we don’t fully understand it!
What we deem as good or right is not what is good or right… what God deems as good and right is JUST! He is God, He is the Creator, He knows all and is all… and knows what is best for us!
Here we find the older brother chastising the Father for several reasons: Let’s explore those reasons in as much detail as we can!
The Older Brother’s Outcry – Religion vs. Relationship (v.29-30)!
29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
Here we see the older brother really giving it to the Father and he pummels his father with many reasons as to WHY his father’s actions are wrong!
First, the brother is upset because the focus is not on him. “Hey lookie here dad, I have been here all these years… I wasn’t the one who LEFT you and abandoned our family!”
Here the brother discounts the fact that his younger brother had repented and had come home and had been ‘redeemed’… He basically is telling his dad here that little brother didn’t deserve what he got and that he was upset because Dad did what he did… I never left and you give HIM the party!
2nd we see the older brother lifting himself up…and likewise trampling the younger brother! He says, “I have always obeyed you… ALWAYS!” and the implication here is that the younger brother was the disobedient one… the younger brother was the one who thumbed his nose at the family… He had been faithful and obedient but you give the disobedient one the party!
How many times do we find ourselves in that position when it comes to others in our life or others we come across in the course of serving God. We are obedient, we are submissive to God’s authority, but it seems as if this rebel… this disobedient believer who thumbed his/her nose at God is being blessed and fawned over because they came back… doesn’t God appreciate ME? Is there NO justice?
The 3rd thing we can see is another aspect of the older brother’s jealousy. Here a party is being thrown for his long lost brother… a member of his family… a blood relative who was thought to be dead but is alive…was thought to be lost but has now been found…
They are throwing this party for him and all the older brother can think about is ‘this stinks… why haven’t you ever thrown a party for me and my friends!’ Showing no concern or mercy on his brother the older brother thinks more of his merriment and enjoyment than the redemption of his brother.
Finally we can see that in v.30 the older brother passes judgment on the father in that he rails against the father’s decision to celebrate the homecoming of the younger brother!
Dad, you are crazy! This ‘son’ of yours treated you terribly… this ‘son’ of yours lived a despicable life… this ‘son’ of yours is not worthy! You are crazy and what you are doing is crazy and dishonoring to our family! That is the implication and tone of his response to his dad!
Have you ever thought that about GOD? You are probably sitting there thinking, “I would NEVER think that pastor!” But I know that I have thought to myself at times… how can God love him… or how can God put up with that from him or her… I may not come out and verbally chastise God, but the attitude is the same!
This son’s attitude was one of judgment and punishment and that is how so many of us view the sinners of this world… only worthy of Judgment and punishment from God when we too used to be where they are… what if that person who shared Christ with us thought that way?
Far too often we see God’s mercy and grace as something we earn… I know we teach that it is unmerited and that we cannot EARN forgiveness from God, but so often we act differently! What about the serial killer who finds Christ in prison… can you find it in your heart to love him and REJOICE that he has come to know Christ?
Religion is about what we do FOR God so that He shows favor on us… but Jesus is telling His followers here that God doesn’t work that way and that it is the relationship that is important to Him!
Jesus is teaching here that our judgment of those who have faltered cannot be as this brother’s but must be as that of the Father, and that is my other point tonight, let’s look at
The Father’s Compassion – Relationship vs. Religion (v.31-32)!
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
Here we find the Father attempting to console his ill tempered son and he tries to explain why… We see the heart of the Father revealed here (as in v.20)
The father loves ALL His sons/children, it is the Father’s desire that ALL come home…all repent and come home! And when repentance is reached…celebration is the natural outcome… celebration is the RIGHT thing to do!
God in His infinite mercy and grace has seen fit to make a way for us to know the salvation He desires for all… that is through Jesus Christ! When we come to know Christ as Savior we are delivered… and it should be our desire to see more and more delivered.
And when we 1st come to know Christ… it seems as if we desire others to come to know Christ, but so many believers… the further away they get from salvation (the time they were saved), the colder they get toward those who are lost! And for some, there is no longer any compassion for the lost, but contempt and a judgmental attitude!
Jesus saw the multitudes who did not know Him and he had great compassion for them! This Father saw his son from afar and ran to him and embraced him and welcomed him back… not as a servant but as an heir…
God welcomes us into the family of God and although we are His servants…we are MORE…SO MUCH MORE! We have the privilege of being called the SONS of God! When we come to Him, we are given that robe, ring and revelry and when others come to Him we should celebrate in the fact that… that which was lost is now found…that which was dead is now alive!
Conclusion:
Where are you tonight? Are you as judgmental and cold as this older brother? Or are you as compassionate as the Father, seeking only the redemption and restoration of the son!
We must be all about reconciliation and restoration and redemption… that is our focus and that is our charge from God. Judgment is NOT our job… one day judgment will come in the form of Jesus Christ, but judgment is NOT our job! Our job is to lead others to accepting the reconciliation, redemption and restoration that God is offering.
When you see a sinner…don’t see him thru the judgmental eyes that are ruled by our own sinful nature, but see him thru the compassionate and merciful eyes of the Savior who has given YOU life and wants to give them life as well!
