WWUTT 2437 The Parable of the Older Brother (Luke 15:25-32)

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The parable of the prodigal son is really misnamed. It shouldn't be named after the prodigal son, it should actually be named after the older brother, because that's who

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Jesus is talking about in this parable, when we understand the text. This is

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When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible study in the Word of Christ. For he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

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Tell your friends about our ministry at www .wutt .com. Once again, it's Pastor Gabe.

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Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of Luke, we're finishing up the parable of the prodigal son today, which is also the conclusion of chapter 15.

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So we're picking up where we left off yesterday. I'm reading in Luke 15, verse 25 through verse 32.

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Hear the word of the Lord. Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

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And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.

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But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father,

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Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command.

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Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.

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But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.

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And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

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It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive.

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He was lost and is found. And this is really the point of the three parables that Jesus has told here.

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This is where he brings it home. We've seen two other parables before, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin.

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And at the end of both of those parables, we have this statement, a statement like this.

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Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.

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That's at the end of the first parable. At the end of the second, just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

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Now let me clarify something about those two statements before we go on. This doesn't mean that everybody in heaven is watching down on earth, and then they throw a party every time they see a sinner repent and come to faith in Jesus.

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I know that's kind of the picture we try to paint from what Jesus says in these parables. That's not what he means.

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It's that every sinner who will enter into the kingdom will be rejoicing in heaven with all the other sinners who were brought into the kingdom by the grace of God, and even before the angels.

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So like that passage in verse 10, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God.

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It doesn't mean the angels are watching, and they're throwing a party every time a sinner repents, but rather they will be in heaven observing the saints who are glorifying

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God because of his mercy and grace toward them. But who will not make it in are those who are looking down on these filthy sinners who are getting into the kingdom, but they who think they are righteous and have done everything right are not going to enter in.

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Jesus has been telling these parables in the hearing of the Pharisees who, if you'll remember back to verse 1, were grumbling at the fact that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners.

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This man receives sinners and eats with them. And so here's the three parables that Jesus tells as a response.

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Now as I've said, as we've been going through this particular parable, it's not right to title it the parable of the prodigal son, because the emphasis here is really not on the son who took his father's wealth, went to another country, or took a share of his inheritance anyway, squandered it with prostitutes, and then comes crawling back home and the father receives him.

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That's the part of the story we like, of course. We want to see ourselves in that place of the prodigal.

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We've done filthy things. We've gone and blown our inheritance, and yet when we come crawling back to God, he receives us like this loving father and clothes us in his royal robes as Jesus clothes us in his righteousness, puts a ring on our finger, kills the fattened calf, and we throw a big party and celebration because once dead, now we've been made alive.

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So we like that part of the story. We identify with that part, but the whole point here is actually to view how the older brother responds.

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So the accurate title for this parable should be the parable of the older brother.

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So let's look at this older son here, and as we do this, we want to beware not to become as bitter as this guy, looking down on who should be our brothers and sisters in the

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Lord and thinking we're better than them because we who would pride ourselves in such a way would see ourselves as being better than others.

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The Lord will humble you in a real way if you do not repent. So coming back here to verse 25, now his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

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So like I said yesterday, the previous two parables end with this statement of there being much rejoicing over one sinner who repents.

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That was at the end of the parable of the lost sheep, the end of the parable of the lost coin, and then we even had it in verse 24 in the parable of the prodigal son for this.

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My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to celebrate.

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So you would think that's the end of the parable, but here we have this older son's reaction and he hears the music and the dancing that is going on in the house.

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So there's more to the story. It doesn't end with the celebration. We kind of shift the action from the father and this son to now seeing what this older brother is up to and he called one of the servants and he asked what these things meant 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.

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Now this is the calf that has been saved up for such a celebratory occasion.

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It might've been one of the feast days or something like that when the fattened calf would be killed and the father kills the fattened calf, the most prized calf for the best of feasting and he kills that calf and serves it to the house and rejoices when his prodigal son has come home.

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The son who demanded his inheritance, went and squandered it with prostitutes, realized his worthlessness now at this point, comes back to the father who receives him with joy.

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It's over this son that he's killed the most prized calf and they are feasting in thanksgiving.

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This is not overly excessive. It's not drinking unto drunkenness, but they are celebrating in thanksgiving the receiving back of this son whom as the father had said was dead and is alive again.

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My son has come home, but the brother is not pleased with this at all. Verse 28, he was angry and he refused to go in.

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Does he have any reason to be angry? Now I can somewhat sympathize here with the reaction of the older brother because if somebody did something absolutely horrible and reprehensible to me and they were to come to me and ask for my forgiveness, like they were to say to me, man,

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I did you wrong. I'm sorry. I want to say that I would react the way as the father did, but I know in my flesh there would be that tendency to want to react by saying something like, do you know what you did?

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Like, like rehashing the thing out. Yeah. You did me wrong. You did this, this, this, and this.

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Like, I want to make them feel it. I want them to know exactly what it is that they did to me. Do you know what you're apologizing for?

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Because I'm going to tell you what you did. That way you can apologize to me appropriately or accurately, and there's nothing wrong with holding a person accountable as long as you're doing it in a loving and an admonishing way and not in a bitter of heart sort of way.

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So in that sense, I kind of understand where the older brother is coming from. I mean,

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I have siblings, younger siblings. All of my siblings are younger because I'm the oldest, but I've had younger siblings who have done just like this.

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And if they were to come back home and ask for forgiveness, would my reaction be like the father or would my reaction be like the older brother?

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I want to say it would be like the father. I want to say that I'm that forgiving, but then there's bad

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Gabe there in the back of my head is going, remember what they did to you and you make them remember it, too.

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So yeah, there's probably a fleshly tendency in all of us to want to respond like this, like the older brother here.

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He was angry and he refused to go in. I don't know that I would take it so far. I want to say that I know myself well enough that if I come to my parents house and they're throwing a party because one of my prodigal siblings, to borrow the phrase, has come back to the faith,

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I'm willing to jump in and join the party. I'm going to accept that. Yes, they've come home finally.

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We've been praying for this and we have been. And so now here they are and I would be ready to jump in and celebrate.

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I want to believe that I know myself well enough that that would be my reaction. But like I said, we do have, it is a tendency in our flesh to hold grudges, isn't it?

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You know what this is like. Surely just about anybody listening to this can identify with holding a grudge, having bitterness towards somebody else because of something that they did to you.

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So the older brother is angry about this, but his anger is not a holy anger.

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It's not a righteous anger. It's not an anger that's in the sense of this younger brother of mine hurt my father.

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Like, does he know what he did to my father? And because if that was where his anger was rooted, then seeing his father full of joy would hopefully kind of soothe him a little bit on that, help him to help him to calm down in that reaction.

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He's not upset that this younger brother went off and did unholy things and he's under condemnation if he hasn't truly repented and then going and checking to see, did you really repent for what you did or are you just trying to take advantage of our father again?

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That's not the motivation of this older brother. He's mad because he's full of himself.

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He's mad because he's not getting the party. The younger brother is getting the party. I deserve this party, but my younger brother has gone off and has blown his savings with prostitutes.

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This is who you're killing the fattened calf for. So this is what he's mad about because it's all about himself.

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It's not a holy, righteous anger. It's not a desire for the younger brother to have a true heart of repentance.

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It's not that the father would not be taken advantage of again. He's not thinking about anybody else.

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He's thinking about himself. So he's angry and he refuses to go in.

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I'm not going to celebrate with you guys. His father comes out and entreats him. So what we have here in this parable is that with both brothers, the father pursues them.

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The younger brother's coming down the road. The father jumps up, runs to his younger son and throws his arms around him, kisses his neck, puts the royal robe on him.

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Here the older brother is outside refusing to go into the celebration. And who comes out?

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The father. The father comes out to him. So in both occasions, you have the father going to the son.

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This older brother just as welcome into this party as the younger brother.

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And if this older brother cared about his younger brother, well, then he would join in the celebration. But that's not what happens.

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The father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, look, these many years I have served you and I have never disobeyed your command.

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Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.

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Again, still full of himself here. I've done everything right. Why have you not rewarded me for my good behavior?

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You don't even give me a young goat, which is a ridiculous request when you think about it.

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He's not even asking for the fattened calf. He's asking for a young goat. Why don't you come into the party where the fattened calf is being eaten?

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You want a young goat to have these measly, paltry little things.

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You would rather have the measly scrappings to celebrate over your goodness than to come back in here and celebrate over your brother that has come home and enjoy this wonderful lavish feast with us.

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So in his bitterness, he's ready to take like, like, like the worst of the flock. I'm going to go over here and have my pity party and eat my little goat with my friends that I might celebrate with them.

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But when this son of yours, the older brother still talking here, verse 30, when this son of yours came, it was devoured your property with prostitutes.

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You killed the fattened calf for him. You took the best prized animal and it wasn't even just about being the best food.

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It's what it symbolizes. You are giving him your absolute best. When he squandered what you had, he blew it all.

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And remember, as I mentioned previously in the first lesson, I think I said this again yesterday. That the older brother is already getting the largest share of what belongs to the father.

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That was the tradition. That was the tradition in among the Jews in Israel is that whatever belonged to the father belonged to the oldest son.

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Now there would be other shares that would go to other siblings. But what the youngest son demanded and then go and then went off into another country and squandered was less than what the other brother, the older brother was going to get.

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So in verse 12, it says that the younger of the two brothers said to his father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.

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Give me the share. And he divided his property between them. Divided doesn't mean he split it in half.

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You get half and you get half. The younger son received his share, which was a smaller portion than what the older brother is going to get.

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And the father reminds the older brother of this. You killed the fattened calf for the younger son.

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You won't even give me a goat to go and party with my friends. The father says to his son, here's what he reminds him of, son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours.

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You are already going to get the largest share. You were already going to receive the greater reward.

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The older brother is angry that the younger son is even receiving anything at all. He's not worthy.

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I am. Now whether the older brother is worried about the younger son being written back into the contract and he gets a share later on, and the text doesn't tell us that, that would be assuming too much.

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But nonetheless, the older brother was going to receive the greater inheritance anyway.

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And yet he is complaining here. He is demanding of his father, you've not given me enough.

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And so really the roles kind of switch here a little bit. Before you had the younger son demanding of his father, give me my share of the inheritance.

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But now that the younger son has realized his error and has come home and has humbled himself before his father, now it's the older brother who is making demands.

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This is what I deserve that you won't give to me. And again, the father saying to him, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours.

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It was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive.

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He was lost and is found. And that summarizes all the parables there.

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The parable of the prodigal son, he was dead and is alive. The parable of the lost sheep and of the lost coin.

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He was lost and is found. And so come in and celebrate with us.

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But the older brother doesn't. And there is there is another implied warning going on here.

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Let me get to that in a moment. But let us beware of becoming like the older brother, thinking that we deserve more.

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We deserve better. I've been obedient the entire time. You've never given me anything for that. Or you deserve. I deserve more.

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You must give me more because of how obedient I've been. Then what you're demanding is that God honor you for your works.

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And we're not saved by our works. We're saved by Christ's work. You don't get into heaven on your own merits.

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You get into heaven on Christ's merit. Who has imputed his righteousness to you by faith in Jesus so that you would not ever walk through those gates, boasting and honoring and glorifying yourself or expecting that heaven's going to throw you a party because of how good you were?

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It is all about the glory of God, the mercy and grace of God that he has shown us through Jesus Christ.

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Are you really going to look down your nose at others to whom God has shown mercy and grace and say of them that they are less deserving of this eternal reward than I am?

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None of us are deserving. We are equally undeserving. And so far be it from us to ever look down on any other believer because God chose to save them.

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You didn't deserve it either. He could have passed over you, but he has chosen you. So rejoice and rejoice with everybody else in heaven who's rejoicing over sinners that God has saved because he saved me too.

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In a sermon on this parable entitled Beware the Elder Brother, Votie Bockham preached that the elder brother here is saying, quote,

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I don't care that the death of Christ on the cross made the redemption of my brother possible.

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I just care that you don't think enough of me keeping the rules. What's important here, according to the elder brother, is not my father's delight in a sinner who was ransomed by the son and brought home by the spirit.

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What matters here is that you make much of me. And that is the point of the parable to warn the elder brother.

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To warn anybody who would behave such as this, to make much of themselves and look down their noses at everybody else.

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Don't become like the elder brother now in the audience of the of the Pharisees, who, of course,

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Jesus is targeting with this parable, telling them to beware not to become like the elder brother.

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What happens with them? What is their response to this? Hearing this parable? Here's how John MacArthur concludes this parable when he did a sermon on the parable of the prodigal son.

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What ends up happening here, and this is implied by the parable, it's implied by Luke because of how the gospel ends.

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What ends up happening with the older brother is that he rises up against his father and kills him because he was merciful to the younger brother and did not exalt him.

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And that's exactly what happens. The Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the scribes, all of those who hate

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Jesus and what he is teaching, they rise up together. They don't take the warning from the parable not to become like the elder brother.

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And instead they rise up against Jesus and put him to death. Now as Peter says in Acts chapter two, this was still all according to the foreordained plan of God.

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But as Peter is preaching this at Pentecost there in Acts two, he says that this

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Christ was put to death by you lawless men. So yes, it was the predestined plan of God, but these people are still held accountable for the death of the son of God that had happened just a few weeks before what was going on there at Pentecost.

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Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He willingly gave his life for us as an atoning sacrifice, that by his sacrifice our sins would be forgiven all who put their faith and trust in him.

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And let us rejoice that God was merciful to us to draw him to himself through the

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Savior. Jesus saying in John 6 44, no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

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Praise God for his mercy and his grace to us. Don't exalt yourself.

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Don't celebrate yourself for your goodness. Rejoice in God because he has been gracious to you.

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And then hey, when we all get to heaven, let's party. Let's celebrate that all us sinners,

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God saved by his grace. Heavenly father, we thank you so much for considering that need of ours, sending your son to die on the cross for our sins, rising again from the dead so that all who believe in him will not perish under the judgment that we all deserve.

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We don't even deserve to be slaves in your house. We deserve to be kicked out into the outer darkness.

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But you have brought us in through your son that we would become sons and daughters of God.

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May we live as worthy sons and daughters in your sight looking forward to that day when we enter into the kingdom and hear it said, well done, good and faithful servant.

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Now great is your reward. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and help us not look down on one another, but even help each other along that we may all arrive in the kingdom together.

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As said in Romans 15, one, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves, but to please our neighbor for his good to build him up.

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Let us rejoice to bring more sinners into the kingdom of God, just as we are sinners to whom you have shown grace.

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It's in Jesus name that we pray, amen. For more about our ministry, visit us online at www .tt