Well please turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 15. That’s on page 874 of the pew Bibles. And while you are turning there, let me remind you of what David Felker taught last week. The younger brother in the parable had his life interrupted by grace. And so he discovered the love of his father, a father he had sinned against but a father who was looking for his son on the horizon, a father who celebrated having his son near him. And that’s where we’ll pick up today. We’ll cover the end of the parable, particularly concerning the older brother. Let me pray first.
Heavenly Father, You are a God of light, and in You is no darkness at all. Lord, we have darkness in us, and we ask that as we read Your Word this morning, that You would give us Your light, that You would illuminate our minds by Your Spirit, that You would show us the truth. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray, amen.
I’m going to start in verse 1 and I’ll read verses 1 and 2 and then we’ll jump down to verse 11. Luke chapter 15. This is God’s Word:
“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.’”
Verse 11:
“And 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 property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in 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, but 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 am 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.’ But 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 never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this 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 are 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.’’”
This is God’s Word.
Well, the youngest children just get everything, don’t they? If you grew up in a family with very many siblings you know, or if you are the youngest sibling you are probably just in denial. We look at the younger siblings. The rules aren’t as strict, the parents are a bit more lax on expectations. If you want something as the older sibling, you have to get a job. But as the younger sibling, “Sure, why not. We love you more anyway!” I’m just kidding, but I’m sure that many of you resonate with many of those stereotypes. Well let me tell you that Jesus is not presenting the father in the parable as showing favoritism or becoming a lax parent later with his kids. Instead, this is what He is doing – He is showing what is wrong with the Pharisees’ way of thinking. Look at verse 2. “And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” They were grumbling about Jesus eating with sinners, receiving sinners.
So here’s the question we’ll answer today – Why are the Pharisees grumbling about Jesus eating with sinners? What’s the disconnect? And here’s the answer – Because they don’t really know God. They completely misunderstand what the Father is all about. And Jesus, at the end of this parable, shows three problems with their way of thinking. Maybe some of us have some of these blind spots in our thinking, so let’s walk through them. First, the problem of self-righteousness. Second, the problem of separation. And third, the problem of scorn. Self-righteousness, separation and scorn.
So first, the problem of self-righteousness. Look at verses 27 and 28. The older brother refuses to go into the party. Verse 28 says he is angry at all that is happening, and his father, who is throwing a party for little bro, actually leaves the party to go see what the issue is. Notice that it is the father who initiates this interaction. And you see that word in verse 28 – “He entreated him.” That Greek word has a wide range of meaning – to plead, to comfort, to invite, to encourage. He’s pleading with him to come to the party. He’s speaking kindly to him as a son. But the self-righteous always has logic for why he’s doing what he’s doing. Look at how he tries to reason his way through it. He actually ends up exposing himself. Verse 29. Read it with me, “But he answered his father, ‘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.’” What does he appeal to? He appeals to his years of service and to his obedience. In his mind, this means he deserves much more than his little brother. He reflects the outlook of the Pharisees.
This is how they thought about themselves. Just a few chapters later in Luke 18:9, it says this about the next parable Jesus was telling. “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.” Righteousness is just following God’s law. It’s adhering to His commands. It’s doing the law. And they trusted in themselves for this righteousness. And not too much later in that same chapter, chapter 18 of Luke, verse 21, the parable of the rich young ruler, also directed at the Pharisees, he says he has kept all the commandments from his youth. You see, the older brother is so conscious of what he has done, and in his analysis, what he has done should have brought him reward. He is a son in his father’s house, yet his outlook on his situation is more of that as a slave. “I work and I get my reward.” Jesus is illustrating for the Pharisees their view of the problem of sin. They think they can accomplish the law, and they think in accomplishing it they receive the inheritance given by God. And Jesus is using this story to get them to examine themselves. If they examine rightly, they will see that they are nowhere near fulfillment of God’s law. In fact, they break it every day. If they judge themselves rightly, they would say with David in Psalm 51, “I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.” That’s someone who is judging himself rightly.
What about you? Can you honestly say that you know your transgressions? Is your sin ever before you? Because that’s the reality for a sinner saved by grace on this side of heaven. The older brother does not see his need. He may prefer more sophisticated sins that his little brother, but his need is the same. Until he begins to be in need – look at verse 14, his brother find himself in need – until he begins to be in need like that, his hope is fleeting. And look the, look how he compares his righteousness, righteousness, to his brother’s sin in verse 30. “But when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” That’s the problem of self-righteousness. It doesn’t understand grace. It doesn’t understand the nature of grace and mercy. You see, grace offends the self-respecting person because logic says grace just isn’t right. How does it make sense that the publicly worse brother is getting a party? Free grace is offensive to the self-righteous. We all stand deeply and utterly in need of this grace. Do you see your need? Do you see your need?
Laura Katherine and I were trying to teach our three-year-old a Bible verse this week. And I thought he would repeat after me when I said, “I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?” He said, “Um, fire trucks.” So Shepherd’s answer is fire trucks. The psalmist’s answer is, “My help comes from the Lord.” What’s the older brother’s answer? The older brother’s answer is, “I don’t need any help. I’ve earned it. I’ve earned it.” What’s your answer? What has been your answer this past week, practically in how you’ve been living? Have you been trying to do it on your own? Maybe there is a sin in your life that you really are trying, you really are trying to beat that sin, to put it to death. Have you been trying to beat it on your own, or have you been calling on the Lord for His help?
In our Midweek series, we’ve been studying different hymn writers and their hymns, and I had the privilege of starting off the aries with William Cowper. He wrote famous hymns like, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way,” “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” but he has a lesser-known hymn which I love that would have been good for the older brother to hear. Listen to the words of this hymn. “How long beneath the law I lay, in bondage and distress. I toiled the precept to obey but toiled without success.” You see, he feels his need. The law is too much, it’s too much of a burden. He goes on. “Then to abstain from outward sin was more than I could do. Now if I feel its power within I feel I hate it too.” Even though you can’t fulfill the law, when you accept free grace you start to hate your sin. When you are converted, you start to hate your sin when you feel its power within you. “Then all my servile works were done, a righteousness to raise, now freely chosen in the Son, I freely choose His ways.” And this is the best part. The refrain goes like this. “To see the law by Christ fulfilled, to hear His pardoning voice, changes a slave into a child, and duty into choice.” Only Jesus Christ could and only Jesus Christ did fulfill the law, and through faith in Him we are adopted as His children. He credits us with His righteousness. “To hear His pardoning voice changes a slave into a child and a duty into choice.”
The older brother was a son who was living as if he was a slave. To him, his father is not a father at all but a master. The Gospel always works in this order, doesn’t it? God tells you who you are, then He tells you what to do. “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” He says that and then He gives them the moral law. “I have freed you from slavery. Here is the moral law.” He’s freed us from slavery to sin if you are a Christian today. He has freed you from it. And still, those Israelites who received that said it would be better to go back to Egypt. You see, our hearts, the insidious thing about self-righteousness, is that our hearts want to find a way that we deserve it, that we’ve earned it. Our self-righteousness can creep up without us knowing. And because God’s law is good, we seek to obey it as sons, not as servants, not as slaves, but as sons. That’s the thing about free grace; it’s free. The work of the law has been accomplished in Christ. Now we can freely choose His ways knowing who He is. He is a God who loves to give grace. So who are these sinners that Jesus eats with? It’s those who see their need of Him. Many don’t see their need. That’s the problem of self-righteousness. It’s a problem because it’s a lie. You can’t do it. It’s a problem because it keeps you from the love of the Father. And Jesus is exposing the flawed thinking of the Pharisees. So first, the problem of self-righteousness.
Second, the problem of separation. Look at verse 31 with me. “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.’” Look at what the father does here. He addresses him as his son, he reassures him, and he says, “All that is mine is yours.” It’s strange that the father is so generous and so kind, yet the older brother doesn’t seem to know it at all. He doesn’t seem to know him at all. At the beginning of the parable it said this man had two sons. One has already squandered his inheritance, so legally this is going to be the older brother’s farm. But he doesn’t seem to know his father at all. Do they even have a relationship? Do they even talk? Does he ask his father for things? Does he know that the heart of his father has been yearning for his brother to come home? No, he doesn’t know his father like the Pharisees don’t know God. The younger brother went to the far country, the older brother was in the field on the farm, but relationally he was in the far country too. One commentator says that, “The sad news is that the church pew can still be the far country.” Relationship with God is intimacy and joy and it’s not just accumulating knowledge of Him. It’s knowing Him. It’s hearing what He says in His Word and taking it to your innermost. It’s praying to Him without ceasing. It’s admiring Him to such an extent that you begin to share His heart – His heart for grace, His heart for generosity. None of this is one because you are seeking to earn His love. It’s done because you love Him, because you have been saved by grace, and you are seeking Him as your Father.
Now let me ask you a question. If you are one of God’s children, does what the father says here, does this apply to you? “All that is mine is yours” – is that true for you? What does James say? What does James say? “You do not have because you do not ask.” The older brother wasn’t asking. But remember what James says next. “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” So is it true that all that is His is yours? In Christ Jesus, He has given you the greatest gift He can give. He has given Himself. But He’s still shaping you into someone who shares the heart of the Father. You, Christian, are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And as you are shaped more and more by His gracious heart, you know what happens? You start to ask rightly, not for your passions but in the self-giving way, in a way that serves the kingdom, which is the heart of our heavenly Father, like the Father, like Jesus. The father is not worried about resources. He is pursuing both of his sons in this parable.
Is your relationship with God one of intimacy today or is it one of separation? Don’t be someone who is just in the pew but relationally in the far country. “Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.” Jesus says, “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.” I remember when I was little, we still lived in New Mexico so I couldn’t have been older than eight years old, and I just remember these sweet times of sitting on my dad’s office floor as he organized books or papers or whatever he was doing that I knew absolutely nothing about. I could have been off playing with my toys or with my six brothers and sisters, I could have been doing whatever other eight year olds were doing, but I wanted to be with my dad. Was I forgoing personal enjoyment to be in my dad’s office organizing books with him? No, because I enjoyed being with my dad. That was enjoyment to me. I just wanted to be near him. I wanted to do what he was doing. Do you want to be near your heavenly Father? It’s not forgoing your own enjoyment; it’s where true enjoyment is found. Be about what He is about, abide in Him.
What’s wrong with the Pharisees thinking? That they are offended by Jesus eating with sinners. First, they have a problem with self-righteousness. Second, they have a problem of separation. And third, they have a problem of scorn. Scorn is anger mixed with disdain or contempt. What was the older brother’s reaction to finding out his brother had returned? Verse 28, well, he was angry. And the father corrects him here in verse 32. Look at it with me. “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.” I don’t love the translation here, although it’s not technically wrong. The word for “fitting” in that verse there, it’s used one-hundred-one times in the New Testament. And almost every single time it’s translated as “must” or “should” or “ought.” It’s literal meaning is, “It is a must.” “It is binding.” So the translation isn’t wrong, but I would say it’s not forceful enough. “We had to celebrate! Are you kidding? Your brother is dead and is alive! He was lost to us and is found! We had to!” The opposite of scorn should be welling up in the heart of the older brother, but that’s the problem isn’t it?
Y’all remember the story of Jonah. He was called by God to preach to the Ninevites and instead of going to Nineveh, he went the exact opposite direction. You remember why he didn’t want to go? We have his reasoning in the text in chapter 4. He says, “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster.” He knew God’s grace and it made him angry because in his mind, “Those people don’t deserve it.” Jonah doesn’t deserve it! I don’t deserve it! You don’t deserve it! It’s free grace! And if you go and read that chapter, God asks him twice, “Do you do well to be angry? Do you do well to be angry?” He has the same problem as the Pharisees. They should have known it. They have the book of Jonah, yet their hearts were hardened and scornful. They have the sign of Jonah.
On Friday night, Shepherd saw fireworks for the first time. We let him stay up a little later. We didn’t go to a fireworks show but we could see some fireworks from his grandma’s house. And I was watching him see these fireworks in the distance. He would see them go up in the sky and he would look over at his mom and say, “Look at those!” Almost like, “Are you seeing this? This is amazing!” He just had this automatic reaction when another one would go up in the air, he would raise his arms like, “Man! This is celebration!” And tears started streaming down my face because I was thinking about this passage. Shouldn’t that be our reaction when a sinner repents? “Look at that! This is cause for celebration when a sinner comes home to the arms of his Father! Look at that! Are you seeing this?” Because it is a miracle. It is resurrection from the dead. It is God’s grace on display. Rather than a, “They don’t deserve it” attitude, it’s an attitude of celebration, born out of love and right understanding.
Before we close, I want you to notice one more thing about the passage. Look at how the older brother describes his younger brother in verse 30 – “This son of yours.” Not, “My brother.” “This son of yours.” It gives Adam and Eve “garden vibes” doesn’t it? “The wife You gave me. The woman You gave me.” Look at how the father describes him in verse 32 – “Your brother.” It echoes of Cain and Abel, doesn’t it? Cain murdered Abel and God asked him, “Where is your brother?” Do you remember Cain’s response? “Am I my brother’s keeper?” And God said He heard Abel’s blood crying out to Him from the ground. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” What if Jesus had said that about us? No, Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. He says, from eternity past, looking at His people captive and slaves to sin, Jesus says, “I am My brother’s keeper.” The writer of Hebrews says this. “And to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Abel’s blood cried out for justice. Jesus’ blood spilled on the cross for sinners cries out, “Mercy! Grace to them!”
You see, Jesus is the true older Brother. Will you come to the Father through the true older Brother this morning? It’s His rebuke of the Pharisees here that exposes the problems in their thinking – the problem of self-righteousness. They didn’t understand grace. It was repulsive to them. The problem of separation. They had no intimacy, no intimacy of relationship with God. And the problem of scorn. They were angry at the heart of their heavenly Father. The parable cuts off before we get to see the older brother’s response, sort of like a cliffhanger that keeps you hooked at the end of a show. Will the older brother go into the party? Will you hear the Father’s appeal this morning? Free grace is offered.
Let’s pray.Heavenly Father, we come to You as sinners, as those who see our need. Our sin is ever before us. We know our transgressions. And so Lord, we ask that we would hide under the cleft of the rock, we would hide under the shadow of Your wing, that only in the grace of Jesus Christ and His righteousness, in His payment of the penalty of sin, may we be saved, Lord. Keep us in Him, our older Brother. It’s in the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.