Good News for the Prodigal’s Brother
You’ve likely heard Jesus’ story of the prodigal in Luke 15 and perhaps related to the younger son. We’ve all turned our back on God at some point. However, have you considered that you may be the religious older brother? In the story, after the prodigal son returns, the father hosts a celebration and “the older brother became angry and refused to go in” (Luke 15:28).
Why doesn’t the story end well for the older brother and what can we learn from him?
For those of us who have grown up going to church and fellowshipping with Christians, we need to pay careful attention to this part of the story lest we follow suit because the older brother represents the religious leaders who were near the Father’s house but missed the Father’s heart.
The older brother saw his younger brother get spoiled (yet again?) and run off with his inheritance. The older brother may have quietly scorned the father’s decision, knowing that all the hard-earned money would get wasted. The older brother’s fears were confirmed when his younger brother returned empty handed. And, instead of punishment, the father gave the younger son everything he lost and more with a special celebration.
The older son did not have the heart of his father. He wanted fair. The father wanted forgiveness. The older son wanted recognition. The father wanted reconciliation. The older brother wanted status. The father wanted sons.
The good news is that the gospel is for the younger brother and older brother. It’s for tax collectors and religious zealots. It’s for Mary’s and Martha’s. The father welcomes both because they are both his children.
The gospel truth for the older brother, and those who may identify with him, is found in the words of the father to the older brother. “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31). The older brother missed the loving, relational, and forgiving heart of the father. He didn’t experience the father’s generosity because he didn’t ask, perhaps out of fear or a legalistic sense of pleasing the father. He thought more like a slave (Luke 15:29), misunderstanding his sonship and failing to enjoy relationship with his father.
Let us not miss our Father’s invitation to intimate fellowship. In Christ, we are made righteous children who can boldly approach the Father. Hebrews 11:6 encourages us with an essential truth that, “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Therefore, let us turn to our Father in faith and hopeful expectation!