11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
As noted preiously, this parable is generally read with the wayward son as the primary point of contact, hence its popular title "The Prodigal Son". But a brief look at the setting in which Jesus told this story reveals that He had two primary points of contact in mind, with the elder son perhaps even being the more crucial one. Luke 15 begins,
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:
The parable about the two sons is the third in a series of parables which act as vindication for what Jesus is doing - dining with sinners. Though He is not obliged to justify His actions, He does so anyway through the telling of parables in the hopes of gaining a response not from the sinners (for they have already responded to Him favourably) but from the Pharisees who are incensed at His shenanigans.
And so the parable of the father and his two sons is aimed at the heart of the Pharisee. This is a heart which refuses to share in God's delight over sinners coming to have fellowship with Him. The message of the two preceding parables is that there is joy in heaven when that which is alienated from God is reconciled to Him. This is the same point made by Jesus in the third of these rapid-fire parables. God's heart is full of joy when the lost are found, with the underlying question being what is in your heart when you see sinners enjoying fellowship with God? As Keller says,
The parable of the two sons takes an extended look at the soul of the elder brother, and climaxes with a powerful plea for him to change his heart.
Since there are two sons, it is safe to say that there are two types of people who need to hear and respond to this parable. This first and most obvious type is those who have turned away from God and chosen to live life apart from Him. Those who have acted as if He doesn't exist and as if the world and its contents exist as objects to be used for ones self-gratification. The second type of people targeted are those who appear to have stuck with God their entire lives. Those who live a seemingly devout, religious, moral life. These people attend church, they have an exceedingly high opinion of Scripture, they are fervent in their prayer life, they are quick to sign-up for any church related activities, they are careful to obey God's commandments and feel obligated to aid others in doing likewise. These people may be elders in your church. No doubt they are held in high regard by the surrounding Christian community. The Christian faith is their life. But Jesus tells them that they need a radical change of heart. Though they may not appear so, they are standing outside as the party rages on inside the house. The God they thought they knew has exposed Himself as One full of unconditional love, One who delights in seeing broken people come to Him, and their hard hearts cannot tolerate it. It simply doesn't make any sense.
Most of us have probably fitted into at least one of these types over the course of our life. We try the do-it-yourself approach to life, or we try the devout approach. The problem with the church today is that do-it-yourself people aren't being called to join a feast of celebration. Do-it-yourself people are being told that they need to become devout people. Or more subtly, they are shown that they need to become devout, and so they either run away from the church, or worse, they join in not with a celebration but with a ritual, where the God worshiped is not a loving Father but a legalist.
The simple fact portrayed in the gospels is that Jesus was a foe to most of the religious people of His day while He was a friend to sinners. The "elder brothers" grumbled because of His behaviour, the "younger brothers" gathered around Him with joy, eager to hear Him (Lk. 15:1). Is this reflected in the modern church? What kind of people are attracted to what should be a community of celebration? Keller boldly states that,
If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think.
Do we know the God that Jesus knew so well? No matter which son we feel resonates with us, it is the same father who throws the party. The task of a Christian is not to label people as irreligious or religious, but to be a faithful witness to the God revealed by Jesus; the God of reckless grace.
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