Luke 15:11-32, the father in the parable ran to the son, God in history ran to you through a manger, through a cross, through an empty tomb, running, always running toward the broken, toward the lost, toward the ones who smell like pigs and have rehearsed speeches about how they are not worthy. You are not worthy, neither am I, that was never the point, the point was never your worthiness, the point was always his love. Now, let’s look at why this parable was the most dangerous thing Jesus ever said, because it was not just a story about grace, it was an indictment.
Remember who was listening, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the older brothers and Jesus was telling them to their faces that the tax collectors and prostitutes they despised were going into the Kingdom of God ahead of them, not instead of them, ahead of them. The door was still open for the Pharisees too, but they would have to walk through the same door as the sinners, they would have to accept the same grace, they would have to sit at the same table and their decades of obedience would not earn them a better seat.
This is what made the Pharisees murderous, not that Jesus ate with sinners, that he told them they needed the same salvation. The older brother can stomach a lot of things, he can stomach hard work, he can stomach sacrifice, he can even stomach his brother’s return, as long as the brother comes back as a servant, working at the bottom, earning his way up, what the older brother cannot stomach is his brother sitting at the table as an equal, wearing the same robe, bearing the same ring, loved with the same love, because if the younger son gets the same grace, then what was the point of all those years of obedience?
That question, that furious burning question is the question that reveals whether you understand the gospel or not, if your obedience was motivated by love, then the younger sons return is cause for celebration, of course he gets the robe, of course he gets the ring, he is your brother, he is home, how could you not celebrate. But if your obedience was motivated by earning, if you were keeping score, accumulating credit, building a case for why God owes you, then the younger sons return is an insult, because it proves that everything you were trying to earn was free all along and that means your entire system is bankrupt, your ledger is worthless, your score does not matter and that is a terrifying realization for someone whose entire identity is built on being good enough.
The younger brother’s sin was rebellion, the older brother’s sin was religion and Jesus made it unmistakably clear which one was harder to repent of. The rebel knows he needs forgiveness, the religious person does not think he needs anything. The rebel hits the bottom and comes to himself, the religious person never hits a bottom, because he never sees himself as falling. The rebel comes home stinking of pigs and everyone can see the mess, the religious person comes home smelling of incense and nobody, least of all himself, can see the rot underneath.
Remember who was listening, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the older brothers and Jesus was telling them to their faces that the tax collectors and prostitutes they despised were going into the Kingdom of God ahead of them, not instead of them, ahead of them. The door was still open for the Pharisees too, but they would have to walk through the same door as the sinners, they would have to accept the same grace, they would have to sit at the same table and their decades of obedience would not earn them a better seat.
This is what made the Pharisees murderous, not that Jesus ate with sinners, that he told them they needed the same salvation. The older brother can stomach a lot of things, he can stomach hard work, he can stomach sacrifice, he can even stomach his brother’s return, as long as the brother comes back as a servant, working at the bottom, earning his way up, what the older brother cannot stomach is his brother sitting at the table as an equal, wearing the same robe, bearing the same ring, loved with the same love, because if the younger son gets the same grace, then what was the point of all those years of obedience?
That question, that furious burning question is the question that reveals whether you understand the gospel or not, if your obedience was motivated by love, then the younger sons return is cause for celebration, of course he gets the robe, of course he gets the ring, he is your brother, he is home, how could you not celebrate. But if your obedience was motivated by earning, if you were keeping score, accumulating credit, building a case for why God owes you, then the younger sons return is an insult, because it proves that everything you were trying to earn was free all along and that means your entire system is bankrupt, your ledger is worthless, your score does not matter and that is a terrifying realization for someone whose entire identity is built on being good enough.
The younger brother’s sin was rebellion, the older brother’s sin was religion and Jesus made it unmistakably clear which one was harder to repent of. The rebel knows he needs forgiveness, the religious person does not think he needs anything. The rebel hits the bottom and comes to himself, the religious person never hits a bottom, because he never sees himself as falling. The rebel comes home stinking of pigs and everyone can see the mess, the religious person comes home smelling of incense and nobody, least of all himself, can see the rot underneath.
