Right now, we’re sharing each week how we’ve seen God in our life, and each year when this date comes around, I’m reminded how blessed I am by this church family, and beyond that, how blessed our community has been by our presence in Hermitage. I’m happy to be a part of a church that if we were to just stop, people would notice. So thank you for being part of our story, and I’m looking forward to all that God might do in our midst in the next year.

Today, we’ll be continuing our series as we lead up to Easter, with a familiar parable of Jesus.

Let’s pray before we go further:
Lord, thank you for bringing us here together today, and thank you for 7 years here as New Garden. Thank you for the relationships that you’ve grown between us and for the relationships you’ve grown between our church and our community. Lord, as time passes, we ask that our presence here will continue to be a blessing to our neighbors. For the next little bit, God please speak to us. Give us a message from you today. If there’s anything that’s from me and not from you please just let it fall away from our ears. Help us to be more like Jesus, in His Name we pray, Amen.

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Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable…:

“There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

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Today we’re talking about one of the most familiar stories in our Bibles. Probably one where even people who aren’t in a church this morning could get a lot of the details right if asked. Why does this story have such a widespread appeal? This is the type of story that draws us in. We can relate to it. We’ve all got family of some sort, and there’s probably a lot of us that have family or know families that portray a similar dynamic. An older son, the family standard bearer, going into the family business, and the younger son, who resists accepting the family expectations and wants to go out and see what all the world has to offer. And at the same time, I think this story sticks out to us because a lot of the characters actions in this story, specifically the father’s actions, are not the actions that we would expect. Not how our fathers would act, likely not how we would treat our kids were they to act like these sons.

Before we get too much into this familiar parable, I think it’s important that we take note of who Jesus is telling this parable to. When we read Scripture, the why is an important thing to interrogate. For what reason did Jesus tell this story? In verses 1 & 2 we see this:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher. But the people who wanted to be around him and hang out with him didn’t look much like most rabbis’ entourages. Most rabbis would be followed around by straight A’s, star students. They’d be around the synagogues teaching their disciples and discussing things with other rabbis and religious leaders. But Jesus wasn’t like most rabbis… His entourage looked different. Sure, he was around the synagogues, talking with the religious leaders, but he also had friends who you wouldn’t expect to be with a rabbi. People who normally wouldn’t like to be around the religious, wanted to be around Jesus. People who were rough around the edges, who would probably feel judged by most of the religious Jews, didn’t feel that way around Jesus.

The Pharisees don’t like this… The Pharisees are proud of their limited list of acquaintances. They’re proud that they don’t associate with tax collectors and people who don’t follow the rules. In fact, they are sort of using Jesus hanging out with these people to discredit him, to somehow prove that he’s not a legitimate teacher. Jesus knows their attitudes, so he tells them this parable. When we think about this parable, its good to keep in mind who this parable is for: both those regarded as sinners and these religious leaders.

And Jesus tells the story. A man had two sons, and the younger one comes to him and demands his share of the inheritance.

The younger son falls into a common misconception: that his father is holding out on him… You could argue that every sin has a root in this lie. Think about Adam & Eve in the Garden, the serpent plays into this, saying that God knows when you eat this your eyes will be opened and you’ll be like God, and God doesn’t want you to have that experience. Of course, God had this rule in place for Adam & Eve’s benefit, but they fell for the lie that God’s way wasn’t quite enough. This younger brother falls for it too, like we do sometimes. We start to think that we know best. That we need to break out of this lifestyle Jesus has outlined, or maybe more relatably, that we can hold back some things over here and still experience the deep life of meaning and goodness that God has for us.

We should also mention that this was a deeply hurtful and disrespectful request from the younger brother. He’s essentially telling his father, “I wish you were dead. I’d rather have your stuff than a relationship with you.” How would your dad react if you had made a request like that? How would you respond if your kid demanded that from you? This father isn’t completely like our fathers though, is he? He gives the son what he desires. He probably knows that this son isn’t going to use this inheritance wisely, but he gives it anyway. This father gives generously without strings attached. He doesn’t use his money to coerce his son into good behavior.

We know how the story goes, the son goes off to a distant land and wastes all of his dad’s money on partying, using it all to do what he thinks might make him feel good or be happy, but eventually the money runs out, and things go south. So he had to get a job feeding pigs. And it’s when he’s so hungry that he would eat pig slop that he hits rock bottom. Sometimes we have to get there before we realize what a mess we’ve made. It’s at this point that he comes to his senses. He remembers his father’s house. Even the servants there live pretty well, but he’s out here broke & starving.

So he makes a plan. He’s got his speech ready to go. He’s going to go home beg his father to take him back, to let him just be one of the servants at the house. It’s not the life he started with, but it’s a better plight than what he’s got right now. As he nears the house and he’s still a long way off, his dad spots him. His dad doesn’t see him coming and wait for him to knock on the door. His dad sees him coming and he runs to meet him. He wraps him up in a big hug, he kisses him on the face.

Just imagine this for a moment. A father running out to meet his adult son. Weeping and running, holding up his robe so it doesn’t drag on the ground. If this happened today it would go viral on Facebook and be on the Today show. Headline: elderly father runs to embrace his son who returned home.

The younger son says his little speech that he practiced, “I have sinned against heaven and against you, I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.” And his dad says it’s party time, put the best clothes on him and fire up the grill, we’re having steaks!

That’s a great story right!? God’s love for us is unmatched. There’s nowhere that we could ever go and nothing that we could ever do that would change God’s love for us. Whether this son was gone for a month or 10 years, we don’t know, but his father was waiting for him to come home and ready to embrace him when he did. God loves us like crazy. God wants those who have gone away to come home.

But that’s not the whole story, is it? Now if we went on the street and asked a non-Christian to tell the story, their recollection might end there, but the story actually keeps going. And part 2 is really important.

Meanwhile… the older brother was in the field and began to hear music. So he asks one of his father’s servants what’s going on, and he tells him that his brother has come home, and your dad is throwing a party because of it. So what does the brother do? “Woohoo! My brother is back! Thank goodness, we’ve been worried sick! I can’t wait to give him a big hug!” It doesn’t go like that, does it. The older brother pouts and refuses to come inside to the party.

But just like with the younger son, the father doesn’t wait inside the house, the father comes out to him and pleads with him to come inside. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

Though these brothers have gone about it differently, this response from the older brother reveals in a way that they aren’t that different. They both want their father’s stuff more than they want to have a relationship with their father. It turns out, this older brother has been keeping score. He knows that he’s done more right things than his brother, so he thinks he has earned his father’s extravagant gifts. What he fails to realize is that the greatest gift of all is not to get the father’s things, but the greatest gift is to be with the father.

I think the language that the older brother uses is really important. He says he’s been slaving for his father, not serving him. Do you see the difference there? Slaving away for something feels so much more transactional. Like we’re doing something so that when we’re finished we can get the reward that we’ve earned, but serving is something done out of love, based out of a relationship of care for the other’s well-being.

I also find it interesting that the older brother says that he has never disobeyed the father’s orders, except I guess the party invitation … He’s never disobeyed an order from his father and yet this relationship is clearly broken. The sin that separates the older brother from his father has nothing to do with his actions and everything to do with his attitude. He’s kept all of his father’s house rules, he’s gotten all of his work done, but there’s this great distance between them.

Here’s the thing: God cares more about the posture of our heart than the scorecard we’ve been keeping. If we are doing the “right” things just so we can we be rewarded for them, then we are just as lost as the younger brother who went and broke all of the rules. More than Jesus wants us to follow the rules, Jesus wants to have a relationship with us. The father says: don’t you see, we’re always together, everything that I have is yours. The Older Brother has missed it just like his brother. Having a close relationship with the father is the best gift, not the inheritance. Not the party.

I think the older brother is mad because he thinks his brother got to have his cake and eat it too. What he doesn’t realize is he’s had it better this whole time because he was at his father’s house. He’s had everything he’s needed this whole time. If you asked the younger son, I bet he’d say “I wish I had never left. I was missing it… I had everything that I could have ever needed, and I gave it up to chase things that left me empty.”

We see the younger brother’s change of heart where he admits his sin to his father, but we don’t see part 2 of the story resolve neatly.We don’t know whether the older brother comes inside, if he celebrates with his father and brother. And I think the reason we don’t know is because we get to decide for ourselves what we will do. This parable was an invitation from Jesus to the Pharisees to come to the party, and not turn their noses up at it, thinking that they’ve earned it and others haven’t. No, these tax collectors and sinners that hang around Jesus don’t do everything right, but they love Jesus. The relationship is the most important part.

And yes, I know I know, I hear the rebuttal in my head too. “If you love someone, you do what they say.” Even Jesus says this in John 14 “If you love me, obey my commands.” But obedience does not necessarily reflect love. You can do everything your boss says at work and not love them. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

The difference between the brothers at the end of the story is that one realizes he completely missed it and he is welcomed back, while the other thinks he’s got it all figured out, and he’s standing in the field sulking. His attitude is keeping him from a relationship with his father, not his actions.

Like the father did with the older brother, God has come to meet us with an invitation to come inside to the party. To lean into a relationship with God that is far more intimate than rule following and box checking. It’s easy for us to identify with one brother or the other in this story, but the character we want to be like is the father. Will we accept the invitation to become like the father in the story? Recklessly generous, completely forgiving, and willing to run out and invite others back home. Will we be on the party planning committee or will we be the party poopers? We get to choose!

Each Sunday when we go to the Table, we remember Jesus. Jesus, who was a friend to sinners. Jesus, who prioritized relationships over rules. Jesus, who invites us to come inside to the party, even when we’re being difficult. Let’s pray and then we’ll go to the Table:

Lord, thank you for Jesus and these teachings that penetrate our hearts in new ways as we come back to them over the years. This morning, remove those things in our lives that are keeping us from the good life you have for us. Humble us, so that we can see our need for you. Be with us as we go to the Table together this morning. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

This sermon was delivered on March 30th, 2025 at the New Garden Campus of Woodmont Hills Church. You can watch it here.