This past Sunday at our church in Barajas, I preached on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It was an incredible study and one that worked in the hearts of all of us. I don’t know about you but I certainly have heard my share of sermons on this parable. It is a parable that is perhaps the most heard and it has even made its way into the secular world. I took a poll of our group and almost all of them have recently begun coming to church and I asked them if they had ever heard of the Prodigal Son; all of them raised their hands. So popular it is. But there is an aspect that only recently has become apparent to me and I wanted to share that with you as well.

A couple weeks ago, I heard a sermon by Mark Driscoll on this parable and he highlighted something that is often miss though it is just as much in the spotlight as the story of the prodigal son; and this is the story of the older son. In the Rembrandt on the right, the older brother is the face in the background that you can barely see. He is the one who takes the back seat in this story. He is the one who is almost forgotten about and thus we find the grace of the father front and center almost always when we come to this parable. But there is a bit more.

The Prodigal son was rebellious and as such he is that one who sins visibly, who is immoral, who broke the rules, he is the one who spits in the father’s face. He’s a liberal, I kind of think of a rebellious college student who does what he wants, when he wants and who never seems phased by authority nor the consequences of his actions.

Then the Older brother is religious, he is the one who does what is sensible, he is conservative, hard working and obedient, BUT the older brother’s response to the return of his brother and the words to his father, shows more, that the older brother’s sin is concealed, he is also using the father to achieve the goals that he wants but he cares nothing of a relationship with the father.

It is an interesting contrast to say the least. Have you thought of it before? Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and they are represented by the older brother. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with doing things right and working hard and being obedient, but when the mindset is obedience in order simply to deserve something from the father, then we have used God as an ATM machine.

God desires a relationship with his people and not that we be rebellious nor that we be religious in the way we carry ourselves. The alternative is the other Son in the story. The Son of God, the one who tells the story. Christ was with the rebellious though he was not rebellious and he spent time with the religious though he wasn’t one. He is the one who breaks both molds and seeks to be obedient and kind and Loving toward the father because of the love that He has for the father.

One indicator of where we may be is to ask ourselves it we look down on other believers for whatever reason. Even if they have done the unthinkable, do we love them and long to extend grace that they may be reconciled to the Father? Or are we disdainful, pharisaical and pass them by and look for ways to shove them off on others and ultimately, we judge and condemn them in our minds? I had to look inside and I fall more on the religious side. I am working on that.

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