Luke 15:1-2, 25-32 (NASB) says, “1Now 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.”…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; 30but 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.’”

These lost parables, which were the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, were spoken in context to the Pharisees and scribes grumbling against Jesus because “He receives sinners and eats with them.” Those parables concerning what were lost referred to the tax collectors and sinners because Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, but the story of the older son was about the scribes and Pharisees! In other words, it was about the religious crowd, or the faithful church-going people!

When the older son came towards the house from the field, working just like any other servant, he heard music and dancing! The music and dancing were not in the field, but in the house! It is necessary for laborers to be in the field, but we are not to work in the field out of servanthood with a mindset that God is suppose to give us what we deserve. The crop of wheat is necessary in the realm of revival and evangelism, but more importantly to God’s heart is repentant sons coming home! It is overcoming those struggles of rebellion, pride, rejection, bitterness and animosity to build the bridges necessary for restoration! It is so important that God said that if we have an offense in our hearts to leave our offering at the altar, go and make things right because God values relationship over sacrifice! (Matthew 5:24)

For the older brother, it seems like his younger brother was being celebrated more than him. It challenged his pride and entitlement! Because someone is celebrated more than you doesn’t mean you have been overlooked, dejected or rejected by God. It doesn’t mean you are less than anyone! Galatians 4:6-7 (NASB) says, “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” Until you come to the revelation of your sonship and surrender this slave mentality, you will always try to earn his favor and other people’s respect and honor instead of being at peace knowing you’re constantly in the care of a loving Father!

When the older brother asks a servant what was going on, he explained how that his brother had come home, and his father had killed the fatted calf because his brother had returned home safe and sound! Bitterness and anger can keep you outside of worship, praise and celebration to God! It may even keep you in ministry but will cause you to look down, be jealous of or compete with other ministries!  It’s amazing how much we can “serve” and walk in “obedience” and still not have the father’s heart because if the older son did, he would have been just excited in joining the celebration! Jealousy, victimization and self-centeredness will cause you to walk in blinded disobedience. You will be in disobedience and not even realize it because the kingdom of God is about unity, not separation!

The younger brother did not sin against the older brother, but against the Father, and yet the Father was willing to forgive him, unlike the older brother. The older brother felt undervalued and underappreciated, and, therefore, revealed his lack of self-worth through jealousy! If he understood his true identity, he would’ve joined the celebration rather than reveal why he felt like he deserved better. Don’t stand outside of heaven because you were too prideful in religion and ministry! This story reveals you can have an inheritance and be outside of heaven’s celebration!

If the older brother had met the prodigal before the Father did, he would have ran him off the property! A “No Trespassing” sign is not for family and friends who are close to and dear to your heart, but for uninvited and unwanted guests, and especially those who intend to do harm! But it would have been as if the older brother posted the sign for his younger brother! Do not be chasing people away from the Father’s love!

The father comes out to plead with his oldest son to come in and join in on the celebration. He was in a position at this moment where he could not make both sons happy because both of their hearts were not in the right place! He does not say “esteemed father” but simply, “Look!” – which is equivalent to, “Look, you!” (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, p. 31) This would be in the form of accusation rather than honor! We do have prodigal sons, but we also have formed a “Prodigal god”, which does not exist. This is a god in which we have created after our own image! Instead of honoring and submitting to him, we try to instruct and tell God how He should do things! We get so blinded by serving that we miss His heart and what is most important to Him! We can be so rocked to sleep by vain religion that we miss what His grace and mercy are really all about!

It is not the sins of the older brother that create the barrier between him and his father; it’s the pride he has in his moral record. It’s not his wrongdoing but his righteousness that is keeping him from sharing in the feast of the father (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, p. 41). This is not the righteousness of Christ he has put on, but rather his own self-righteousness, which ultimately is the most dangerous sin of them all! It is a righteousness defined by church culture as a list of do’s and dont’s instead of our heart being aligned with His!

If we think about it we realize that the older brother wanted the same thing as his younger brother. He was just as resentful of the father as was the younger son. He, too, wanted the father’s good rather than the father himself (p. 41). If this weren’t the case, he would have been similarly as excited as the father when the prodigal came home. Instead, his perspective shifted to, “Where is my goat where I can be celebrated with my friends?

This was his way to get control. His unspoken demand is, “I have never disobeyed you! Now you have to do things in my life the way I want them to be done.” (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, p. 42) Our obedience and morality are not sources of entitlement to control and manipulate God into giving us things and doing things for us, especially if they are outside of His will and nature! If, like the older brother, you seek to control God through your obedience, then all your morality is just a way to use God to make him give you the things in life you really want! The first sign you have an elder-brother spirit is that when your life doesn’t go as you want, you aren’t just sorrowful but deeply angry and bitter. If you feel you have been living up to your moral standards, you will be furious with God. (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, pp. 45, 56-57)

This elder brother cannot pardon his younger brother for the way he has weakened the family’s place in society, disgraced their name and diminished their wealth. He highlights the fact that the younger brother has been with “prostitutes,” while he has been living a chaste life at home. “I would never do anything as bad as that!” he is saying in his heart. Because he does not see himself as being part of a common community of sinners, he is trapped by his own bitterness. It is impossible to forgive someone if you feel superior to him or her (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, pp. 62-63). 

Elder brothers may do good to others, but not out of delight in the deeds themselves or for the love of people or the pleasure of God. They are not really feeding the hungry and clothing the poor, they are feeding and clothing themselves (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, p. 70). It is one reason why some people who do any good have to blast in on social media for their own self-gratification! It is to make themselves look and feel better!

Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness too (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, p. 87). If the motivation for our righteous works and deeds is not good, then we must ask the LORD to search our hearts, and if there be any wicked thing, reveal it to us so we can repent and move forward! We should not be living in the cycles of continuously apologizing to God for the very sins He has forgiven us for! It shows we have truly not received His love and are abiding in His grace because if we had, we will the courage to forgive ourselves and the strength we need not to repeat those very same sins and failures!

A true older brother would have said, “Father, my younger brother has been a fool, and now his life is in ruins. But I will go look for him and bring him home. And if the inheritance is gone—as I expect—I’ll bring him back into the family at my expense (Timothy Keller, “The Prodigal God”, pp. 91-92), which would have similar to the Good Samaritan. This is exactly what Jesus would’ve done! If you do not understand family in the way God has designed for it to be, you will never understand the Godhead! God, the Creator of the universe, is our Heavenly Father. Jesus is our older brother, and the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and nurturer. This is one family, and when we have been adopted into the family of God, this has become our heritage! Jesus, as our older brother, gave up His entire inheritance so we can become joint-heirs with Him and be part of the family of God!

I encourage you today that if you are a prodigal son, COME HOME! Do not live in the fear what others think of you, but coming running to the Father because He loves you and longs to celebrate you!

If you have the older brother mentality, it is time to surrender it and receive the Father’s heart! We must have his heart for the younger ones who are receiving salvation and be willing to disciple and encourage them to step fully into their identity as a child of God! We need to be who God has called us to be, and we need each other!