Tim Keller - The Prodigal God - The Younger Brother

[Music] there's a famous story in the book of Luke that for centuries has been known as the parable of the prodigal son it's a story about a son who takes his father's inheritance wastes at all and then returns to a forgiving father but it is a great mistake to think that this is a story about just one son it's actually a tale of two sons it's a story about a younger brother and an elder brother we are meant to compare and contrast them and if we don't compare and contrast we miss the radical message that Jesus is leading us to this parable undermines the existing paradigms the existing categories we have for understanding our relationship with God and there's something else very interesting about this story for a long time there has been a simple formula simple three-act formula for telling a story as you build the story you first begin with background information and setup then you introduce the problem or the conflict and finally there's the resolution but Jesus doesn't follow the rules here why the clues come right at the beginning of the first act [Music] the first acts begins with a speech the younger son comes to the father and says father give me my share of the estate now the original listeners to this story would have been amazed at such a request if you were father and you had two sons and you died your estate would have been divided two thirds to the older son one-third to the younger son because the oldest son in those days always got a double portion of what every other child got but this only happened when the father died so when the younger son comes and says give me my share of the estate now while the father's still alive it's basically to wish the father dead the younger son once the father's things but not the father he wants the father's wealth in a state he wants the comfort and the prestige and the independence that goes with those things but he doesn't want the father he wishes the father was dead that's unheard of but even more unheard-of was the father's response to the request if the original listeners were amazed at the son speech they would have been even more amazed at how the father responded to what the younger brother said an ancient middle-eastern father would have been expected to have driven the boy out of the house with verbal if not violent physical blows but this father does not do that what does the story say it says he divided the property between them the Greek word used here for property is the word bios it means the course of life or that which by life is sustained so the story really says the father divided his life between them why does it say that the father's estate was his land the father's wealth was his land so the only way he could give his younger son one-third of his estate was to sell that land in those days people's very identity was bound up with their land if you lost your land you lost yourself if you lost part of your land you lost your status in the community which was tied up to how much property you have so what the younger son is asking the father to do is this he's asking him to tear his life apart to tear his standing in the community apart to tear himself apart and the father does he divided his property between them leaving him with two thirds of the estate you [Music] so the son takes his share and goes off and squanders everything he's been given and he comes to the point where he's impoverished where he's been taken advantage of and his life is in absolute ruins and when he's literally in the pigsty when he's literally down in the mud he comes to realize what a fool he's been and he comes up with a plan the first part of that plan is to go home he says in my father's house there's bread to spare and I'm starving here I will go and confess to my father he'll go home now this is simple and yet it's very profound home is not primarily a place the relationship it's where you belong it's where you were accepted and he longs to come home but there's a second part to this plan he says I will go to the father and I will say father I'm not worthy to be called your son make me like one of your hired men this is not a request to become a slave slaves worked on the estate slaves lived on the estate a hired man lived in town and had a wage what he's actually saying therefore is that he wants to pay the father back he knows that you did not come back into a community whose morals you have violated just through an apology you had to make restitution so he's coming to his father and he's saying father I don't want to be reinstated as a son I don't want the status of sonship I don't deserve it I'm not worthy of it I want to earn my way back make me like one of your hired men I want to pay your back that's the plan so he heads off home and the father sees him coming from afar off now if you are father and you see your adult son coming and this is a son who has harmed your family and has squandered a lot of your wealth you see him through your window as you're sitting at your kitchen table what are you going to do you'll be sitting there and you will just tap your feet and you'll say this better be good maybe if he's abject enough maybe if he grumbles enough I might find that my affection is rekindled this better be good but what's the story say this father when he saw him coming from afar off and he had compassion on [Music] and the father runs to him runs toward him now ancient middle eastern patriarchs did not run children ran youth ran women might run but not fathers not owners of the estate that would mean picking up your skirts and baring your legs and you just didn't do that but this father does he shows complete emotional abandon he runs to his son he kisses it and the Greek says he fell on his neck now the son tries to roll out his restitution plan but the father will have nothing of it he says to his servants come put a robe on him put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet now the ring is significant it was a signet ring it had the family seal on it back in those days you didn't make a contract by signing something you put the family seal from the signet ring on the contract what is happening that is this the son has said I don't want to be brought back into the family I want to earn my way back but the father is saying now I'm not going to let you earn your way back I'm going to bring you back and so he confers sonship on him like that in a stroke by sheer grace he grants him and he throws a magnificent feast to commemorate the day that his lost son has come home [Music] some people are like the younger brother they want the things that God provides but they don't want God they want their independence they want to live their lives the way they want to live them and they believe it will bring them happiness and some of them like the younger son one day decide to go home and because the father in the parable represents God we are being told nothing less than this no matter who you are no matter how awful the stuff that you've done if you come home God will accept you he will love you and it's all by sheer grace all of us are like the younger son because when we first come to God we say I'm not worthy I want to earn my way back I want to try hard to pull it all together and the biblical God will have none of it he gives us the full rights of sons he confers sonship on us through Jesus Christ it's a standing it's a status it's secure we're accepted

Channel: The Hub

Views: 18,034

Rating: 4.9365077 out of 5

Keywords: tim keller, timothy keller, the prodigal god, the parable of the prodigal son

Id: KEYcvBTKVVM

Length: 10min 44sec (644 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 24 2017