Read Luke 15: 11- 32.
Our Sunday-school thinking leads us to believe that this story is simply one of redemption: the younger brother is lost and returns to the unconditional love and forgiveness of the father, the father representing God and the young son, reconciled humanity. The familiarity of this tale can be deceptive. Whether enraptured in the beauty of the Father’s affection for his rebellious child, or disinterested from the monotony of a cliché, the know-it-all attitude can blind believers to one painfully obvious question: If that really is all to say on the matter, then why does Jesus continue? If it is truly just a parable of redemption, what more does Jesus have to say to his people?
Luke 15 begins with: Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus told them this parable.” (NIV) To the Pharisees hearing this it would be obvious that the younger brother is synonymous with the “sinners” to whom Jesus devoted his time, but Jesus is warning them about a far more dangerous form of Spiritual isolation – one in which we do not realise we are isolated. Keller refers to this as ‘elder-brother lostness’. The elder brother of the parable reveals that he is just as rebellious as the younger brother. How does he rebel against the father? Obedience.
An elder brother does not love or enjoy the Father for Himself, but obeys him so that he deserves an easy life from him. These brothers lack the compassion of Jesus for the outwardly lost; they are self serving instead of God-serving. Keller writes: Jesus’ parable creates something of a crisis for the thoughtful listener. He has vividly portrayed both of the world’s two spiritual paths, the basic ways each offers for finding happiness, relating to God, and dealing with our problems. However, he exposes them both as profoundly mistaken, as dead ends. He clearly wants us to take some radically different approach, but what is it? Where do we find it The word prodigal does not mean wayward but can be defined as recklessly spendthrift. This makes the title of Keller’s work clearer; it is not referring at all to the penitent son, but to the compassionate Father. Our hope is in His reckless furnishing of grace, bought at His own infinite expense. This is what Christ is directing us to. The true Elder Brother found in himself. Notice the parables prior to this one; the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, these serve as a prelude for the Prodigal Son- we expect that the son will be lost and searched for tirelessly as in the example of the shepherd and the woman, but he is not. We are taught what is at the very heart of the Gospel; we are taught to long for the brother that is absent from the tale, the Father’s Firstborn. Jesus challenges the elder brothers of all generations to swallow their pride and enter with Him into his Eternal Feast.
Reviewed by Megan Williams
