Luke
15:28-32 (GWT)
“Then the older son became angry and wouldn’t go into the house. His
father came out and begged him to come in. But he answered his father, ‘All
these years I’ve worked like a slave for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your
commands. Yet, you’ve never given me so much as a little goat for a celebration
with my friends. But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and
when he came home, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ “His father said to
him, ‘My child, you’re always with me. Everything I have is yours. But we have
something to celebrate, something to be happy about. This brother of yours was
dead but has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’ ”
The prodigal son story is
best known for the actions and eventual sorrow of the wayward younger son, but
Jesus wanted to equally instruct on the attitude and actions of the older
son. Have you ever seen the famous
painting by Rembrandt?[1] You see three very remarkable images:
·
The prodigal son, head shaved, on his knees,
weeping in his father’s bosom, ashamed, humiliated, sorrowful, repentant and
perhaps wondering what his father will do.
·
The merciful father, his arthritic hands on his
son’s back, with a face that shows very old age yet filled with deep emotions
of love, mercy and compassion.
·
The older son standing to the right, hands
crossed, not touching his brother, looking very stoic, perhaps even disdainful
as this passage above from Luke points out.
The older son was not happy
about the response of his father toward his brother. When you read this passage what pictures
enter your mind? Someone who is angry
(Luke 15:28), pouting, protesting, jealous, dismayed, resentful,
embittered.......all natural reactions from someone who feel like he has been
treated unfairly. The older son was so
angry that he repudiated his relationship with his brother, calling him “this
son of yours”.
The older son in Jesus’ story
represented the Pharisees, Jewish leaders who were blind to their
self-righteousness and close-mindedness.
The older son also represents Christian people today who also are blind
to their self-righteousness and judgmental attitudes. Christians always must be on guard against
“Phariseeism”---acting morally superior, judging others, being hypocritical,
being legalistic, and being too harsh and unforgiving when others fail. There is also a Pharisee sense of entitlement
in that the longer you serve God, the more blessings you deserve compared to
others who have hardly served Him at all.
Jesus teaches against this attitude not only in this story but also in
His parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).
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