The Pouting Son

 The Prodigal Son – 2

THE POUTING SON

… based on Luke 15:25-32

Why do we do the things that we do?

Over the years I have had the honor of marrying 234 couples. For

most of them I had a series of premarital counseling sessions, where we

discussed many of the issues that husbands & wives deal with in their life

together. During the final session we focused on the actual marriage

ceremony & the vows they would be making. And during those discussions

there was often concern over 2 words: “obey” & “submit.”

“I’m not sure that I want to ‘vow’ that.”

Why do we do the things that we do?

Following the worship service today Kathy & I are going to the

Farmer’s Market at the Brown County Inn. So, we’re driving into Nashville &

we come to the traffic signal at Van Burean & Main Street. The light is red.

Are we going to “obey” it? Are we going to “submit” to it? Why?

Why do we do the things that we do?

The answer that we give to that situation & the previous question

will reveal how close we identify with the elder son in today’s Gospel lesson.

Listen now to Good News, as recorded by Luke, to us who have gathered

here for worship. Within our hearing comes the Word of the Lord …

“In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back,

when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. So he

called one of the servants and asked him, ‘What’s going on?’

from the desk of . . .

Rande Wayne Smith

D.Min., Th.M., M.Div.

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‘Your brother has come back home,’ the servant answered, ‘and your father

has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.’ The older

brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came

out and begged him to come in. But he spoke back to his father, ‘Look, all

these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed

your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a

feast with my friends! “But this son of yours wasted all your property on

prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!’

‘My son,’ the father answered, ‘you are always here with me, and everything I

have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother

was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’”

(Luke 15:25-32)

Jesus said, “Heaven & earth will pass away,

but my words will never pass away.” (Mark 13:31)

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly

wisdom with really increasing devotion, to His glory and to our edification. Amen

Last week we began looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son,

which Mark Twain called … “the greatest short story ever told.”

In this masterpiece, Jesus communicates several lessons to His

listeners, & to us … the main point being, to show what Almighty God is really

like. He’s not some impersonal tyrant who’s too busy to care about those He

has created. He’s a loving Heavenly Father,

who desires a personal relationship with each of us. (Colossians 1:10)

We also learned that if we wander away from God, we can repent &

return to His open arms. (Luke 15:20) Today, as we look at the older son,

we’re going to discover another important lesson.

So, a man had 2 sons, the younger of which demanded his inheritance,

took it, & “went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in

reckless living.” (Luke 15:13) He ended up broke, hungry, & miserable,

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& found himself at the absolute bottom, as far as a Jew would be concerned

… he was taking care of pigs. (Leviticus 11:7)

Finally, the younger son “came to his senses” (Luke 15::17) & returns home.

His waiting father welcomes him gladly with a fine robe, sandals,

& a new ring. A feast is being prepared. (Luke 15:22-23)

It’s a joyous scene, & everyone is excited except ….

(I remember preaching on the Prodigal Son a # of years ago.

And I made the comment that there was 1 member of the family who wasn’t

excited about the boy’s return. And John, who was in the choir loft,

yelled out, “Yeah … the prize calf!”)

And while that may be, this morning we’re going to look at “The Pouting Son.”

Why do we do the things that we do?

I wonder what his answer would be if we asked that question to the

older son? He represents many “religious” folks who haven’t “sinned” against

God by running off & going wild. He was “obeying.” He was “submitting.” He

was stopping at the red lights. He was doing the work. He was like many of

the people we find in congregations throughout the country.

He wasn’t some malicious reprobate. And yet, he was missing the mark.

You know, I’m convinced that there are many more people who are guilty of

the “older brother syndrome” than are guilty of the younger son’s sins.

So, we looked at the Prodigal Son last Sunday …

this morning it’s the Pouting Son. And in his attitude & statements we’re

going to find 3 negative characteristics that we want to avoid.

1 st … “the older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house.”

The Greek word is translated “angry”, (ὠργίσθη), but it really means …

“he flew into a rage.” And when his father came out to beg him to join the

party, the boy moaned & complained. He said, “I never left home & wasted

all my money on prostitutes … & you’ve never even killed a little billy-goat for

me!” Can’t you just hear him whining?

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Why do we do the things that we do?

But before we look down our noses at this guy,

I wonder if we haven’t, at times, felt that same resentment.

We faithfully come to worship. We put money in the offering plate.

We practice the Golden Rule. We try to live in peace, & not to return evil

for evil. We strengthen the fainthearted. We help the suffering. We’re

doing the work. And then some “backslidden” fellow shows up & receives all

kinds of attention; everybody falls all over him/her.

That’s the older brother syndrome. It’s joyless. It’s legalistic.

It’s judgmental. It’s unforgiving. They don’t want to rejoice in how the Lord

works in someone else’s life. They want to stand there on the outside with

their arms crossed, & a sour expression on their face.

They’re full of resentment & bitterness.

2 ndly … he possessed an inflated sense of his own goodness.

“Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave,

& I have never disobeyed your orders.”

Why do we do the things that we do?

You see, the Pouting Son exaggerated his own goodness, while at the

same time inflated his brother’s wickedness.

“Who do you think has been keeping everything running around here?”

5 times he used the 1 st person pronoun … “All these years I have worked for

you like a slave, & I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given

me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends!”

Why do we do the things that we do?

And then he compared himself to his brother. In fact, he won’t even

acknowledge that he is his brother. “This little brat son of yours goes off &

spends all your money on prostitutes.” (Actually, we were never told that

the younger brother visited prostitutes … that’s just what the older brother

assumed. Perhaps because that’s what he would have done!)

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Now obviously, there’s no way this fellow had been “totally” obedient

to his father for “all those years.” But in his mind, when he compared

himself to his wicked younger brother, he was proud of his goodness.

A woman announces to her Pastor … “I haven’t sinned for 12 years.”

Her Pastor responds, “You must be so proud.” “Oh, I am! I am!”

We can get ourselves into all kinds of trouble when we start

“comparing” ourselves to others. (Matthew 7:3) “My sins aren’t as bad as your

sins!” The Pouting Son was so full of “I” that he couldn’t see the repentance

& restoration of his brother. It’s easy to look at people whose sins are open

& vulgar & think that we’re so much better than them. And we’re all guilty of

that. There’s a lot of Pharisee in each of us.

Luke gives us another story that demonstrates this.

“Jesus told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness

& despised everybody else. ‘Once there were 2 men who went up to the

Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee

stood apart by himself & prayed, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy,

dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not

like that tax collector over there. I fast 2 days a week,

& I give you 1/10 th of all my income.’” (Luke 18:9-12)

“Lord, I’m a really good guy … I’ll never sin like that fellow over there.”

Years ago, when I was at G.C.T.S., Henri Nowen came to speak.

He was a Dutch catholic priest who taught at Harvard Divinity School.

Nowen was proud of his goodness. And God used this passage to show him he

was guilty of the sins of the older brother & it completely changed his life.

He wrote …“Looking into myself & then around me at the lives of other

people, I wonder which does more damage, lust or resentment? There is so

much resentment among the ‘just’ & the ‘righteous.’ There is so much

judgment, condemnation & prejudice among the ‘saints.’ There is so much

frozen anger among the people who are so concerned about avoiding ‘sin.’”

The Pouting Son didn’t have to waste his life on wild living. He had enough

to do just dealing with his own sins of jealously, pride, anger, & resentment.

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Why do we do the things that we do?

3 rd … the Pouting Son had a faulty understanding of grace.

He was insulted because he really thought he deserved better than his

younger brother. He believed that he should have gotten the prize calf

& was offended because his worthless brother got it instead. After all,

it was he who had been slaving in the fields. He had kept all the rules …

while his brother was off living it up. It just wasn’t right!

Older-brother Christians like to keep track of all they do.

They’re the ones who have been “serving” for years & years, & they think

they deserve some kind of recognition or reward for their service. (Luke 17:10)

And when that happens, when we leave the realm of grace,

it opens up pandora’s box, & we begin the slide down a slippery slope.

Jesus Himself talks about that in another Parable.

It’s the story of a fellow who sends men out to work in his vineyard.

He agrees to pay them a silver coin for their day’s work … & then at noon he

sends more men out … & at 3:00 he sends some more. Then, just before

quitting time, at 5:00, he sends a final group of workers out to help.

When evening came it was time for all the workers to receive their wages.

Let’s pick up with the story in Jesus’ own words …

“‘Call the workers & pay them their wages, starting with those who were

hired last & ending with those who were hired 1 st .’ The men who had begun to

work at 5:00 were paid a silver coin each. So when the men who were the 1 st

to be hired came to be paid, they thought they would get more; but they too

were given a silver coin each. They took their money & started grumbling

against the employer. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,

while we put up with a whole day’s work in the hot sun – yet you paid them

the same as you paid us!’ (Sounds a lot like the Pouting Son, doesn’t it?)

‘Listen, friend, I have not cheated you. After all,

you agreed to do a day’s work for 1 silver coin. Now take your pay & go home.

I want to give this man who was hired last as much as I gave you.

Don’t I have the right to do as I wish with my own money?

Or are you jealous because I am generous?’” (Matthew 20:8-15)

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To understand His Parable we must remember the audience to whom

Jesus was speaking. They were tax collectors & outcasts … but there were

also Pharisees & teachers of the Law there. (Luke 15:1-2) Now the Pharisees

were super religious guys who were full of their own sense of goodness.

They hated tax collectors like Zacchaeus & Levi. Whenever they saw a tax

collector on the street, they would cross to the other side & call their names

out & spit. “Hey, Zacchaeus!” (spit) And then stomp their foot.

The point that Jesus is making is … God the Father receives sinners. (Mark 2:17)

The Pharisees were trying to earn God’s acceptance, & Jesus was teaching

that the only way we can come to Him is by grace. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

You know, those of us who have known the Lord for some time need to

be reminded about this occasionally. We’re faithfully serving week after

week. But sometimes we forget what it was like to be lost, & we begin to

think we deserve God’s blessings. Why do we do the things that we do?

God’s grace is available to anyone who comes to Him in repentance. (Romans 3:24)

Remember the thief on the cross?

He came to faith just moments before he passed, but yet Jesus promised

that he would be in Paradise with Him that very day … that’s grace. (Luke 23:43)

The Psalmist’ prayer is a good one for each of us.

“Examine me, O God, & know my mind; test me, & discover my thoughts.

Find out if there is any evil in me& guide me in the everlasting way.”

(The Psalms 139:23-24)

Okay, if you kind of identify with the older brother … & I think at

times we all do … God has some tender words to say to us. In the Parable,

the father didn’t march out & order his older son … “Get yourself in that

house right now or you’ll lose your part of the inheritance.”

No, he tenderly pleaded with him. And if we listen to his words,

we’ll discover 3 things that God is saying to us.

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1 st … “I treasure our relationship more than your work.” The father

said … “You are always here with me.” He doesn’t take that for granted. But

the work is not the most important thing. “It’s not your work that I cherish

… it’s you. Just knowing you were here at home with me gave me a great

sense of enjoyment.” God doesn’t want our service as much as He wants us.

(Amos 5:24)

Remember the story of Martha & Mary? … Martha was slaving away in

the kitchen while Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet. So, she became angry at

her younger sister, (apparently there’s an older sibling syndrome thing

regularly going on in Scripture). But Jesus lovingly corrects Martha.

“Martha, Martha! You are worried & troubled over so many things,

but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing,

& it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

And that is … a personal relationship with Him. Some followers of Jesus

have substituted their work for worship. We can’t let that happen.

Why do we do the things that we do?

2 ndly … the father says … “You have access to all of my resources.”

“Everything I have is yours.” “If you had wanted a billy goat feast,

I would have been glad to give you one … but you never asked.” (James 4:2)

God the Father is saying to us … “You are my heir. You are a joint heir

with my Son, Jesus. (Romans 8:17) All that I have is available to you.”

Sometimes “older sibling Christians” look around & are jealous because

it seems that “newer” believers are receiving more blessings than they’re

getting. We need to be often reminded that we don’t earn blessings …

they’re part of God’s grace.

3 rd … “It’s my party, so come join me!” For years I never really

understood what the father was saying in this passage. But as I studied it

some time ago in my devotions … it jumped off the page! “Son, you & I …

we have to celebrate & be happy.” The verb is an imperative, (εὐφρανθῆναι).

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The father was saying … “It’s not your younger brother’s party, it’s my party.

I’m the one who’s celebrating because my son was dead, but now he’s alive.

So, you must join me, not for your brother’s sake, but for my sake!”

The party wasn’t for the Prodigal Son; it was for the loving father.

That’s the point of this Parable, & the 2 that precede it … the lost

sheep & the lost coin. In these 3 stories we can see the Trinity at work.

The Shepherd found the lamb … that’s like the work of the Son of God.

The woman found the coin … that describes the searching work of The Holy

Spirit. The Dad forgave his wayward son … that’s the work of God the

Father. And in all 3 Parables, God was the One who was celebrating!

To every Pouting Son, God says … “Come on; join men in the celebration,

because ‘in the same way, I tell you,

the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents.’” (Luke 15:10)

So, how does the story end? … We just don’t know. We’re left hanging.

Does the older brother spit & stomp off into the fields,

continuing to nurse his bitterness? Or does he uncross his arms & allow his

Dad to put an arm around his shoulder & they walk into the house together &

celebrate the Prodigal’s return?

I believe Jesus left it open-ended on purpose. It’s up to us, the Pouting Son.

What will you do? What will I do? The door is open & the Father says …

“Leave your bitter, complaining spirit behind & come on in … enjoy the party.”

What a story! What applications for us! There are actually 3 sons in

the Parable … do you see that? There’s the younger son who ran away

& returned. There’s the older son who was full of bitterness & resentment.

And then, there’s the 3 rd Son … the Son of God who’s telling this Parable.

He left His Father’s House to go “to a country far away,” the planet earth,

to die for our sins. But He wasn’t disobedient … He was obedient unto death.

(Philippians 3:7)

So, this is a Parable for everyone … if we’re like the younger son,

or the older son, or for those who haven’t yet become a part of God’s family

… & it’s pointing to Jesus, the Son of God.

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So, why do we do the things that we do?

Do we do them because we have to?

Do we do them because we want to be praised?

Do we do them because we want to be rewarded?

Or do we do them out of a heart filled with gratitude to a God who

loves us so much that He hasn’t left us in the hopeless spiritual condition

that we were in. He came to this earth & took upon Himself the punishment

that I/you deserve.

May my life, may your life be one of constant gratitude for His amazing love.

(The Psalms 107:1)

MARANA THA