Hey Church!

That Jesus came to seek and save the lost has been one of the central themes of this week’s personal worship. The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most arresting illustrations of us Jesus’ heart for those who have gone astray. But there is more to the meaning of the word “prodigal,” and much more to Jesus’ parable than may first meet the eye.

Pastor Tim Keller wrote a profoundly incisive book on the parable, titled The Prodigal God. First, he clarifies the term “prodigal,” explaining that it actually means “lavish; recklessly extravagant,” not, as I always assumed, “wayward.” Second, he suggests that the parable might be better titled, “Two Lost Sons,” as both the older and younger brother represent two different ways that one can be alienated from the Father. And third, he says the father’s heart for both sons is exceedingly prodigal. 

Speaking to two different groups, tax collectors and sinners on the one hand and pious Pharisees and teachers of the law on the other, Jesus means to say that while one of these has the appearance of righteousness, in fact both have strayed far from the heart of God. It is easy for us to see how the younger son is lost (like the tax collectors and sinners). But a more subtle yet equally treacherous lostness is also found in the heart of the older brother (like the pious Pharisees and teachers). The elder brother presumes his dutiful obedience proves a superior relationship with the father over that of his brother. But when he sees how the father rejoices over his brother, he begins seething with resentment. 

“The elder brother became angry and refused to go in [to the house]. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But 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. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’” (Luke 15:28-30)

Keller comments, “His unspoken demand is, ‘I have never disobeyed you! Now you have to do things in my life the way I want them to be done.’” Both brothers “resented their father’s authority and sought ways of getting out from under it.” Jesus is teaching that “[n]either son loved the father for himself. They were both using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake.”

So, which son are you more like? If the younger, then Jesus’ instruction to you is to be overwhelmed by the love of the Father who has spared no expense to bring you home. If the older, then pray that your work would be motivated by love and gratitude, not by cold-hearted obligation. He longs for both sons to love Him for His own sake, not as a means to any other end.

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:31-32)