Introduction
We all know the story of the prodigal son—the rebellious child who came home to a lavish party. We celebrate the father’s forgiveness and the son’s repentance. But what about the son who stayed home? In Luke 15, Jesus tells a powerful story not just about being lost far from home, but also about being lost at home. This message was for the Pharisees then, and it is a vital warning for us today.
The Older Son
Luke 15 begins with two parables about lost things: a sheep that wanders away, and a coin that is lost at home. Jesus then tells a parable about a man with two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance before his father dies, so the father gives it to both sons. The younger son squanders his inheritance and becomes destitute. He comes to his senses and returns home where he is welcomed by his father even though he did not deserve it.
It parallels the first two by having a younger son who is lost when he leaves home, and an older son who is lost even though he never leaves. When you look at the response of the older brother you see that his heart was in the same place as his sibling.
The Older Son’s Response
The older son was working in the fields when he heard the celebrations. A servant told him about his brother’s return and he became angry, refusing to go to the party. His father came out to speak with him, but he responded:
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!1
His father replied:
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.2
That is how Jesus’ parable ends. We are never told if the older brother joins the celebration or not. This ending is intentional. Jesus intends for us to examine ourselves to see if we are like the older brother. This was not lost on the Pharisees present, they knew it was directed at them.
A Matter of the Heart
From his response, the older son showed that he did not truly love the father. The older son’s anger reveals that his heart was in the same place as his younger brother’s. Though he never left home, he too was only concerned with what he could get from the father. In spite of being given the majority of his father’s wealth he still wanted more from him. He did not obey his father out of respect and admiration, but that he might get more from him.
Do Not Be Like the Older Son
We must be careful not to be like the older son, who thought his obedience could be used for personal gain. The older son grew hard-hearted, despising his father and brother.
At the beginning of Jesus’ teachings while dining at the house of a Pharisee, he told the parables of a wedding feast3 and banquet4. At the wedding feast someone who is undeserving is given a seat of honor at the table. While at the banquet the guests who are invited refuse to come in, so others are invited in their place. Here, Jesus brings his recent teachings to a powerful conclusion. The younger brother has been given a seat of honor at the feast even though he is undeserving, and the older son refused to enter the feast of grace.
Examine Your Heart
Jesus implores us not to be like the older son, or the guest refusing to enter the banquet. Examine your heart. Do you have a sense of entitlement with God? Are there any areas you are obeying God selfishly rather than gratefully? Do you sometimes feel resentful when others, who seem “less deserving,” receive blessings you feel you have earned through our long-term faithfulness?
Instead, be like the younger son and the lowly at the feast. Humble yourself before God, repent, turn to him for forgiveness, and allow him to define you. Then you will be able to fulfill the instruction of Paul when he said, Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
5 May our service to God flow not from a sense of duty, but from a heart transformed by His incredible grace.
In my next post we will look at Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager where he calls us to repent of unnecessary burdens, and have a true servant heart devoted to God.