The younger brother and the older brother, in our parable for today, seem to be different, but they have several things in common.
The first thing they have in common is that they are both sinners. The younger son broke the First commandment by making money his idol god. He wanted his share of the inheritance now. He also broke the Fourth commandment by not respecting his father. He did not wait for his father to die in order to get his share of the inheritance. And he also broke the Sixth commandment by being involved in immoral living. The older brother broke the Fifth commandment by getting angry and bitter toward his brother. He also broke the Fourth commandment by not respecting his father. He accused his father of not giving him a party. So, they were both sinners.
The second thing they have in common is that they both believe that they must earn their father’s love by what they do. The younger son thought that he should earn his father’s favor by being a hired servant and the older brother thought that he must earn his father’s favor by working for him for many years.
We are like the brothers. We are poor miserable sinners. The First commandment is broken by making money an idol god. The Fourth commandment is broken by having a disrespect for parents and other authorities. The Fifth commandment is broken when there is anger in the heart. The Sixth commandment is broken when there is lust in the heart, when the eye looks at bad pictures on the internet, and by being involved in immoral sins. Finally, there is sin when we think that we must earn our heavenly Father’s love by our obedience or works.
We will learn today that we should repent of our sin, receive the forgiveness of sins, and trust in Christ who earned our heavenly Father’s favor by his sacrifice upon the cross. We are saved by God’s grace in Christ Jesus and not by works.
The parable begins with the younger son demanding his share of the inheritance. Well, after he got his money, he traveled to a far country, and there he wasted his possessions with wild living. As long as he had money, he had friends. But when the money ran out, he had no friends.
He found himself in a desperate situation. The only job he could find was feeding swine. But if that is not bad enough, he was so desperate for food that he begins to eat pig food. The younger son hit bottom. He was, if you will, at the bottom rung of the ladder.
Then, our text says, “he came to himself.” In other words, he had a change of heart. He recognized his desperate situation and determined to change his condition. He knew where to go for salvation, and that is back to the father.
He plans to return to his father and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants” (vv 18-19). There is a great deal of repentance here. He is crushed. He realizes that he sinned against both his father and against God. He is no longer worthy to be called a son.
This sounds good, but he thinks that he has to earn his Father’s love by working as a hired servant. Yet, he does see his father as a father of grace and mercy. If his father was legalistic and mean, then he might never have come home.
As the younger son was coming closer to home, the father recognized him. The father didn’t wait for the son to arrive and then scold him. The father doesn’t lecture his son at length about his behavior. Instead, the father took the initiative and ran to his son. The father had compassion for his son. And so, the father was the one who first put his arms around his son and kissed him. This is a portrait of unconditional love. The father expresses his complete reconciliation and acceptance of his son.
This was all done, before the son proceeds with his repentance. This was done before the prodigal has uttered a word of confession. The prodigal is clearly shocked at how the father receives him. He expected to be rejected. But he has been received back as a son unconditionally, without earning it.
Now please don’t misunderstand. Those who are not sorry for their sin and who refuse to repent should not be given a false message of the Gospel. We do not say to them, “Do whatever you what. Sin as much as you like. God loves you and He will forgive you.” Rather, the law should be proclaimed to those who are not sorry for their sin.
The law has already done its work on the younger son. He makes his confession saying, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to called your son.” He leaves off the part, “make me like one of your hired servants” because the father has already received him as a son purely by grace and not by works.
The father demonstrates his acceptance by putting the best robe on him, a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet. The father, then, kills the fatted calf and throws a party.
The father thought that his son was once physically dead – never to see him again, but he is now physically alive. The father knew that his son was spiritually dead by the way his son treated him, but now the son is repentant and is spiritually alive. He is home in good health both physically and spiritually.
Earlier, I mentioned that we are poor miserable sinners. Who will reconcile us with our heavenly Father? Who will make the payment for our sin that we cannot make?
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Jesus is the one who has come to reconcile us to the Father. Jesus took the sins of the tax collectors and the sinners of His day upon His shoulders. Your sins and mine were also nailed to the cross. Jesus died so that we could live. Jesus’ resurrection proves that there is now reconciliation with the Father. There is now peace between God and us.
Dearly beloved in the Lord, because of what Jesus did by His death and resurrection, your sins are paid for by the blood of Christ. You are received back to your heavenly Father unconditionally and purely by grace and not by works. In your baptism, God put the robe of Christ’s righteousness upon you. You were once dead in trespasses and in sin, but God made you alive in Christ Jesus. You were lost in sin, but Jesus, your Good Shepherd, found you and brought you back to His fold.
You have returned home—here in God’s house. Here you experience a merciful and forgiving Father, who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Here He welcomes you back into His arms, not as a slave, but as His own child. Here you confess your sins and you receive absolution, that is, the forgiveness of sins.
Your life is now changed—changed for the better. You live according to God’s Word with all joy. You love the neighbor out of thankfulness for what God has done for you in Christ. You avoid the temptation of the world, and you walk in the way of God’s Word. You reflect the light of Christ to others.
Jesus was often criticized for receiving sinners and eating with them. Today, around this table, Jesus receives us poor sinners and eats with us. Jesus is the host, and he is the meal giving us His body and blood for the forgiveness of sin.
The second part of the parable is about the older brother. While the older brother was in the field, he heard the sound of music and dancing. A servant said, “Your brother has come home and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound” (v 27).
Then the older brother became angry and would not go in to the feast. And so, the father came out to the older son. What angered the older brother was the feast. He said to his father, “All these years I’ve been working like a slave for you and have never disobeyed a command of yours, but you never gave me even a little goat to celebrate with my friends” (v 29).
You see, the older brother thought that he earned his father’s love by what he did, by his works and obedience. He also failed to see his own sin.
But still, the father reaches out to his son with love and concern. The father assures his older son that his place in the house as well as his inheritance is secure. Again, we see from the father, no judgment, no criticism, and no rejection, but only an outpouring of unconditional love.
The father tells the elder brother that it was necessary that we give a feast because, “This brother of yours was dead and has come to life. He was lost and has been found” (v 32).
It is also necessary today that God’s Word go out to our own neighborhood, to our family and friends so that they too may have faith in Christ.
There are times when we are like the older son. We think that God owes us for the good things that we have done. We judge other people because they are not as sanctified as we are. We live by the law. We resent God’s mercy upon the so-called ‘sinners’ of our day. And then, when bad things happen to us we get angry with God.
The younger brother represents all who are repentant; who have faith in Jesus; who trust in God’s grace and mercy; who are now changed for the better. You are the younger brother. You repent of your sin with faith in the forgiveness of sins on account of Christ. You freely love one another out of thankfulness for what God has done for you in Christ. Instead of money as an idol, by God’s grace, you fear, love and trust in God above all things.
The older brother represents all who are unrepentant; who live by the law; who are legalistic; who try to earn God’s favor by their work; who hate God and who resent God’s mercy. Instead of anger, by God’s grace, love your family and neighbors. Instead of breaking the Fourth commandment, honor your parents and other authorities.
The father, in our parable for today, represents our heavenly Father. Just as the father loved both of his sons, so also our heavenly Father loves you and everyone he created. His love is especially seen in the sending of His only begotten Son for us and for our salvation. We are saved purely by God’s grace in Christ Jesus and not by our works.
Dearly beloved in the Lord, if we think that our salvation is by works, then this is an insult to Jesus who died upon the cross. It is to say that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not sufficient enough and that we need to add to it by our works. Rather, Christ earned salvation for you by his righteous sacrifice upon the cross. From the cross, Jesus even said, “It is finished.” Therefore, God’s love toward you in Christ Jesus is unconditional. You are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ and not by works.
You were dead in trespasses and in sin, but in your Baptism God made you alive in Christ Jesus. You were lost in sin, but God sought you out, washed you clean, and brought you back to His fold. Therefore, be joyful, because your Heavenly Father has received you into his family, not as a slave, but as his own child. Thanks be to God. Amen.
