The Tale of Two Sons - Repentance vs. Righteousness

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n the gospel of Luke Jesus teaches three parables. Parables is one of the main teaching methods of Jesus. The word parable comes from the Greek word parabolē. It means to place things side by side for the purpose of comparison. So, when Jesus spoke in parables he was creating stories using natural things like seeds, people, talents, kings, etc to convey a spiritual truth about the kingdom of God. His most personal parable is the one of what is commonly called The Parable of the Prodigal Son. There are three main characters in the parable. The writer will identify who the characters represent. Before I do that, I need to present the entire chapter of  Luke 15.

           

 

The Lost Sheep

 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. ² Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, if she has ten ^[c]silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The audience present were the lowlifes of society, tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, adulterers. The Pharisees and Scribes, the aristocracy of the day were appalled that Jesus who was a Rabbi would associate with people of such low degree. The final parable in this chapter is the one that is by far the most compelling.

The Prodigal Son

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. ¹⁷ But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ 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.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never ^[neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

For those that were Jesus’ live audience, this parable was very vivid. But for us in this western culture, this story Is very remote.  The main issue believe it or not is not the prodigal son, but rather the main issue in this parable along with the previous two is the joy heaven experiences when one sinner repents. The younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners. The Father represents Christ. The older son represents the Scribes and Pharisees.

For the younger son to demand his inheritance while is father was still alive was extremely disrespectful and proved he had no love or regard for his father. In essence what he saying when he demanded his inheritance was, “dad I wish you were dead!” Because he was young, impatient and foolish, he wanted to take his assets and “live the good life” now. Surprisingly, his father granted his younger son’s request. Under normal circumstances a father would have at very least rejected his son’s stupid request and beat his son for his insolence.

In civil law this arrangement is known as usufruct; that means a person can profit from the property of someone else. The son enjoyed some of the benefits of the estate without owning it yet. The son goes far away and wastes his wealth with prodigal (extravagant, wasteful) living. After his money runs out, there arose a famine in that land so the lost son who was now in desperate need attached himself to a citizen of that land. The citizen sent to him to feed pigs which was the most humiliating position a Hebrew could be in. Pigs were despicable unclean animals according to Jewish law ( Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8). No one was willing to help him. It became so bad for him that he got to the point that he would have been happy to eat pig’s food.

Once he came to his senses, he realized that his father’s servants had plenty of food to eat and  he was starving to death so he decided he would return to his father, repent of his sins, implore his father’s forgiveness and ask to be one of his father’s hired servants. He was certain that he was no longer worthy to be called a son. When he returns home, his father ran to meet him, embrace him although he was a mal-nourished pig foul smelling mess. Before the son could completely confess his sins to his father, the father commanded that a robe be placed on him, put shoes on his feet, and a ring on his finger, “Let’s kill the fatted calf and have a party. My son was as dead has returned to me alive!”  

When the firstborn realizes what the music and dancing is for, he refuses to go in to celebrate. He is furious that his father is rejoicing over the fact that his brother has returned safe and sound. The father explains to the firstborn that all I own is yours and it is right that we celebrate the return of your brother. Why? Because he is back from the dead.

What do we learn from this parable? That God loves sinners and desires they repent. When they do, heaven rejoices. Once again, the prodigal in this parable are the tax collectors and sinners the pharisees and scribes hated because they are the lowlifes of society. The Father represents Jesus, the one who forgives penitent broken sinners and saves them. The older son represents the religious leaders who insist that strict adherence to the law – meritorious works would justify them in the sight of God.

In comparing the two sons, neither had love for their father. The Prodigal was stupid in the beginning but had to realize through living his own life his way, he fell down miserably. Fortunately, he had sense enough to realize that under the care and provision of his father all was well. He did not see that at first because he thought he knew better than his father and perhaps thought his father was preventing him from living “the good life.” Everything he needed was at home. He realized that once he returned home. His father ran to him in all his filth, hugged and kissed him repeatedly and immediately returned him to sonship. The son was as good as dead because of sins, was now made alive again because he returned home (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). The prodigal was exalted because he knew he was wrong, confessed his sins so that he could be forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Now, let’s look at the firstborn son.

The firstborn was self-righteous and proud. Once he learned that his brother returned, he was angry. Truth be told, he would have been happy had his brother died and never returned. He hated his brother and his father. He hated his brother because he squandered his father’s wealth with prostitutes. Also, he obviously did not want his brother to ever to return. As a matter of fact, he never acknowledged his brother. He referred to his brother, as “this son of yours” to his father when he was arguing with him (Luke 15:30). Remember the firstborn represents the religious leaders who thought they were elite and better than the tax collectors and prostitutes. The idea that Jesus would eat and associate with them was disgusting to them. Remember what Jesus in Matthew 9:12b-13, “They that are whole do not need a physician, but they that are sick. But go and learn what this means, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

These verses carry a lot weight. They explain it all. The religious leaders were so hung up on keeping their version of the law, that it made them legalistic. They neglected mercy which God prefers over sacrifice. When people did not measure up in their eyes to their law requirements, they were outcast as hopeless sinners. Their self-righteousness deeds were more important than extending mercy to the tax collectors and other vile sinners. When Jesus showed the lowlifes this love and compassion that the religious elite were never willing to provide, this made Him public enemy number one. Associating with sinners of this sort was beneath the Pharisees and Scribes.

This was the same mindset of the older son. The fact that his father received his brother back repulsed him. Remember the older son’s acrimonious reply to his father: Look! Notice how he shows disrespect to his father by not even addressing him as father: these many years do I serve you and have never neglected a command of yours, and yet you have never given me a young goat so that I may celebrate with my friends (Luke 15:29-30a).

You see, the older son did not stay with his father because he loved him. He like the younger son wanted his inheritance now and tried to make his father feel guilty assuming he was being treated less loving than his prodigal brother.

The older son no doubt for a very long time had this internal seething hatred for his father. This party for his younger brother was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for him, so he decided to unload his frustration on his father.

The writer will submit to the reader that the older son was more wicked than his brother. How? Because of the fact that the older son refused to share in his father’s joy; the joy that his dead son returned home alive. Like the religious leaders the first born felt his faithful service should have given him preferential treatment over his brother who squandered his father’s wealth. In the legalists mind sacrifice is greater than genuine repentance. Keep in mind, materially speaking the older son would receive a double portion of his father’s estate because he was the firstborn, the beginning of his father’s strength (Deuteronomy 21:17). The division of their father’s wealth would not get split evenly. The firstborn would receive two thirds and his prodigal brother one third. At the time of the party – that was not for him, his future financial advantage did not matter. The elder hated the idea that his father was loving his wayward brother who he refused to claim. The younger son was a dirty, smelly rotten sinner who did not deserve the kind treatment he was receiving. The elder believed he deserved a party because he was good and never disobeyed his father’s commands (Luke 15:29a). As a matter of fact, in his eyes he was better than his brother (Luke 15:30).

This is the same mentality the religious leaders have toward tax collectors and prostitutes.

The elder son missed the entire point his father was trying to convey to him. The celebration party was not for no reason at all. The celebration was for rebirth, for the life of a son who in a sense died when he was gone, but now alive because he returned. He was lost but now he is found! If that is not a reason to rejoice and shout, then I do not know what is.

In the final analysis, the prodigal returned home justified by his father because he repented of his sins. Heaven and earth must rejoice when one sinner repents. Based on the abrupt ending of the parable the elder son remained impenitent toward his father and brother.

Because of the way Jesus ends this parable we do not know for certain what the elder son did after the conversation with his father. But if we follow this story to a logical conclusion, the elder son who represents the religious elite would have either conspired to have his father killed or killed him himself. Remember, it was the religious leaders who had Jesus killed.