Older Brother
Originally scheduled for August 8
"Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached
the house, he heard music and dancing. "And he summoned one of the
servants and began inquiring what these things could be. "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.' "But
he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came
out and began pleading with him. "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; but when
this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with
prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.' "And he said to
him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is
yours. '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.'"
(Luke 15:25-32 NASB)
The
older brother in the
parable of the Prodigal Son is often thought of as one of the finest
instances of a “bad example” in the New Testament. However, like
most bad examples, he can always be used for instructional purposes
in righteousness. Sometimes bad examples lead to some very good
examples, as we shall see.
His problem, basically, is one of envy. His kid brother spent all
the money on prostitutes and high living while the older brother was
righteously working the farm — and that is hard work. He phrases his
complaint in terms of justice; it’s not fair that the kid brother
got what he got. And it’s not. The motive behind this is envy —
tinged with the suspicion that the older brother would’ve liked to
try those prostitutes also. You cannot help but notice, too, the
contempt that he has for the kid brother. But if you’re supposed to
love your neighbor, wouldn’t that include your kid brother?
You might think this has nothing to do with us today. May I submit
that very often Christians make the mistake of assuming that there
are two kinds of people in this world: the righteous and the
sinners. When judgment day comes the righteous will line up under a
sign (bright neon) labeled “Justice.” The sinners will line up under
rather beat up old sign that says, “Mercy.” The righteous will be
richly rewarded; some of the sinners will scrape through into heaven
anyway. But some churches today have already anticipated this
division. We are willing to put up a Celebrate Recovery program for
the sinners, as long as they don’t mingle too much with the real
saints.
But may I point out something? If someone tells you they are a
Christian they have just told you that they are also a sinner. They
are just as much in need of God’s mercy. You see, the most important
thing in the story of the Prodigal Son is not the sinfulness of the
younger brother nor the righteousness of the older brother. It’s the
love of the Father. As Paul put it:
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am
foremost of all. (1 Timothy 1:15 NASB)
Communion is the ceremony where we remember the love of the Father
expressed at the cross. It is the greatest love that man can have.
The cross is the supreme example of such love. Both of these
brothers take communion from the same set of trays. And that
communion would come from the same source for both of them.
So, as you prepare for communion today, looking your heart and see
if there is envy of one of your Christian brothers or sisters. If so
resolve to clear it so that you may take communion in a worthy
manner. Examine yourself, repent as needed and then partake of your
Lord’s communion.
