September 9, 2016
THE OTHER BROTHER
Luke 15:11–32
Nicole Molinar
Central Truth
Sometimes, we are so busy doing what we think God wants from us that we forget to enjoy the relationship that He so deeply wants and the grace He so freely offers.
Key Verse | Luke 15:31–32
"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.'" (Luke 15:31-32)
Luke 15:11–32
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 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. 13 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. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to 1 15:15 Greek joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 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! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 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. 21 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.’ 2 15:21 Some manuscripts add treat me as one of your hired servants 22 But the father said to his servants, 3 15:22 Or bondservants ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
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 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 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 was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Dive Deeper | Luke 15:11–32
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is an amazing story of God's grace toward us as sinners and a reminder of how thankful we should be that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation besides admitting that we are sinners in need of a savior.
But the third person in this story, the older brother, reminds us of the danger of legalism and believing the lie that what we do for God makes Him love us more and/or makes us better than someone else. The older brother was the one who was always there, and he did everything he was commanded to do. Then, when his younger brother returned, the older brother was hard-hearted, resentful, and unwilling to go inside and celebrate. He instead stayed outside on the hard-earned porch of merit as John Piper calls it. The older brother (a/k/a the Pharisees) was so fixated on following the commands that he missed what it means to have a relationship with the compassionate father.
We set standards for ourselves that we think God would want us to meet, and we measure ourselves based on what other people are doing. The older brother measured himself against his younger brother, thinking that he deserved a huge party because of all he had done. But the father reminded him: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours." The older brother had access to EVERYTHING his father had to offer, but he saw his father as master rather than a compassionate father.
That is sometimes how we act toward God. We have been given access to everything, but we believe that we have to work for it. The more we do, the better we think we are. This way of thinking also leaves us less compassionate and joyful when those who in our minds are the worst of sinners—people we have discounted and given up on—commit their lives to Christ. We become critical, not believing that it is genuine and refusing to celebrate. Instead, let us rest in the love of our compassionate Father and celebrate what He celebrates.
Discussion Questions
1. Take some time to think about which brother you might be in this parable. Are you the older brother who has replaced a real relationship with God with a checklist of things to do for God? Or are you the younger brother who is living for the world and coming up empty?
2. If you are the older brother in this parable, reflect on God's goodness and remember that you are a son/daughter of the Creator of the universe. He does not require a long list of to-dos for Him to love you. In fact, you miss out on the freedom of life in Christ when you think of your relationship with God like a slave to a master.
3. Are there people in your life whom you have given up on because you thought they were too far out of God's reach? Have you grown hardened or bitter toward them because of how they are living? Pray for those people right now and ask God to soften your heart toward them so that you are able to have compassion on them and eventually celebrate with them when they realize that the world does not satisfy like Jesus can.
4. Meditate on Psalm 145 and be reminded of how great and powerful God is and what a joy it is to have the opportunity each day to know Him more.