Luke 15:11-32

The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11–32
Preached by Keith Dewell – June 14, 2026

Brief Summary

Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son in response to the Pharisees' complaint that He welcomed and ate with sinners. The parable reveals both the extravagant grace of God toward repentant sinners and the self-righteous pride of those who resent that grace. Through the younger son we see the misery of sin and the joy of repentance; through the older son we see the danger of pride and legalism.

Concise Bullet Point Summary

• Luke 15 contains three parables about recovering what was lost: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.

• The younger son represents tax collectors and sinners who come to Christ.

• The older son represents the Pharisees and scribes who objected to Christ receiving sinners.

• The prodigal son demanded his inheritance, effectively wishing his father dead.

• He squandered his wealth in reckless and sinful living.

• Sin is deceptive, destructive, and enslaving.

• God often uses hardship and affliction to awaken sinners to their true condition.

• The prodigal "came to himself," illustrating repentance and conversion.

• Remembering the father's goodness moved him toward repentance.

• The father's welcome demonstrates God's lavish grace toward repentant sinners.

• The older brother's anger exposes pride, envy, and self-righteousness.

• Those who understand grace rejoice when sinners return to God.

• Christians should examine their hearts for both prodigal rebellion and Pharisaical pride.

Main Points of the Sermon

1. How the Younger Son Was Prodigal

• "Prodigal" means reckless, wasteful, and extravagant.

• The younger son wasted:

  • His father's wealth.

  • The opportunities of youth.

  • Himself in sinful indulgence.

• Sin is not merely poor judgment; it is rebellion against God.

• It blinds people through self-deception.

• Like Augustine's famous confession of stealing pears, sinners often pursue sin simply because they desire it.

Key Scripture:

• Philippians 3:19

• Hebrews 3:13 (implied theme of sin's deceitfulness)

2. How the Prodigal Son Came to Himself

• God used famine, poverty, loneliness, and humiliation to awaken him.

• Affliction became an instrument of mercy.

• Repentance involved:

  • Recognizing his condition.

  • Remembering his father's goodness.

  • Turning from sin.

  • Returning home.

• "He came to himself" pictures true conversion:

  • New understanding.

  • New desires.

  • New direction.

The father's response exceeded all expectations:

• Compassion.

• Running to meet him.

• Embrace and kiss.

• Robe.

• Ring.

• Sandals.

• Celebration.

Key Scriptures:

• Proverbs 13:15

• Psalm 119:71

• Romans 2:4

• 2 Corinthians 5:17

3. How the Older Son Was Angry and Offended

• The older son mirrors the Pharisees.

• His anger revealed:

  • Pride.

  • Self-righteousness.

  • Envy of grace shown to others.

• He viewed his relationship with the father as based on merit.

• He could not rejoice over repentance.

• The self-righteous often believe they deserve more honor and favor than others.

Key Scriptures:

• Matthew 9:13

• Romans 12:3

• Matthew 15:7–8

Theme:

The Grace of God Toward Repentant Sinners and the Danger of Self-Righteousness

Primary Passage

Luke 15:11–32

Historical Context

Luke 15 begins with two groups:

Those Drawn to Jesus

• Tax collectors.

• Publicly recognized sinners.

Those Opposed to Jesus

• Pharisees.

• Scribes.

The religious leaders criticized Jesus:

"This Man receives sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:2)

Jesus answered their criticism by telling three parables that progressively intensify:

• One sheep out of one hundred.

• One coin out of ten.

• One son out of two.

Each demonstrates heaven's joy over recovering the lost.

Biblical Themes

Repentance

True repentance involves:

• Recognition of sin.

• Humility.

• Turning back to God.

• Trusting His mercy.

Grace

God welcomes repentant sinners beyond what they deserve.

Adoption

The prodigal sought servanthood but received sonship.

Pride

Self-righteousness blinds people to their own need for grace.

Joy in Salvation

God delights in restoring the lost.

Westminster Standards

Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter 15 – Of Repentance unto Life

• Repentance is an evangelical grace.

• Sinners grieve over and hate their sins.

• They turn to God with purpose to walk in obedience.

Chapter 11 – Of Justification

• Acceptance before God is based solely on Christ's righteousness received by faith.

Chapter 12 – Of Adoption

• Believers receive the privileges of God's children through Christ.

Westminster Larger Catechism

WLC Q.76
What is repentance unto life?

Repentance is a saving grace whereby sinners:

• See and sense their sin.

• Apprehend God's mercy in Christ.

• Turn from sin unto God.

WLC Q.73
How are we justified?

By God's grace alone through faith in Christ alone.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

WSC Q.33
What is justification?

An act of God's free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

WSC Q.35
What is sanctification?

The work of God's free grace whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God.

WSC Q.87
What is repentance unto life?

A saving grace whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of sin and apprehension of God's mercy in Christ, turns from sin unto God.

Before we begin, let me just say it's a great pleasure to be with you this morning. And I'm really thankful that Pastor Schneier and I can have this opportunity to swap pulpits. So I just wanted to say that when I had the chance. But please turn now in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke. Luke and the 15th chapter. And you could read there with me this parable. Luke chapter 15, this parable begins at the 11th verse. This is again, as was mentioned, the parable of the prodigal son. And it runs here in the 15th chapter from verses 11 through 32. So if you would please turn there with me and let's read it together. This is the most holy word of God. Then he said, that is the Lord Jesus said, a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.

So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.' And he rose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry.

For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

And he said to him, your brother has come. And because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf. But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore, his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years I have been serving you.

I never transgress your commandment at any time. And yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, as soon as he came, you killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, son, you are always with me. And all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found.

May the Lord be pleased to add his blessing even by the illumination of his Holy Spirit as we consider this passage this morning. Let us pray together. Oh, blessed Lord God, Throughout the ages of the church, we have seen what a blessing this parable is to your people, and even to those who have become wayward. And so, Lord, we do pray that you would teach us this morning. We pray that your Spirit and not me would be your teacher, and we pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts would be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. For we do pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen. As we begin our message this morning, we should briefly discuss the context of our passage.

As we have said, this is a parable of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this particular parable is commonly known as the prodigal son. Now, this parable, as you may well know, has been incredibly powerful in affecting many sinners throughout the ages of the church. And that is what God the Holy Spirit intended by including this parable in our Bible. You see, it is given to you and to me and all the way we're sons and daughters of the church.

But as you may have noticed, this chapter contains three parables, not just this one. And the other two are about a lost sheep and then a lost coin. And so you might observe, rightly so, that our parable is also about something that was lost. That is, the lost son. And not only do all three parables have that in common, but they also have the same import.

For all three speak to the murmuring of the Pharisees and scribes at the beginning of this chapter. We read there, Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, This man receives sinners. and eats with them.

And then Jesus responds by telling them the three parables of our passage. And so you see this opening of our chapter, this 15th chapter, provides a good guide. for our interpretation of these parables. In other words, with all three parables talking about the recovery of what is lost, the Lord is answering the complaint of the Pharisees and the scribes. It is Christ's desire to recover all those who are lost and would be saved. This is why Jesus indeed is receiving and eating with tax collectors and sinners.

But in order to understand our passage, we also need to explain what a parable is. What is a parable? Well, some have said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. And I think that definition is fair enough. And while the earthly story is literal and pertains to everyday things which the hearer would readily understand, the heavenly meaning is always figurative. Furthermore, the literal meaning is the very vehicle by which we can arrive at the figurative meaning. And even though the figurative meaning is the most challenging part of a parable to understand, it is always the primary intended meaning.

Now, in order to properly interpret a parable, we must understand that a parable has only one central meaning. At least that's the rule of thumb. And the rule is accompanied by a warning. We must be careful not to fabricate new doctrines based upon any detail taken from a parable. That's not the intent of how we should look and interpret a parable. However, in respect to the rule of one and only one central main lesson in a parable, we must also recognize that there are exceptions. In our parable here before us this morning, appears to be such an exception. For we actually here in this parable have two main lessons and not just one. So even though the parable is usually named after the younger son who was prodigal in his wasteful spending, we also see here the presence of the older son.

Therefore, based on our exegetical guide at the beginning of this chapter, we understand that the younger son corresponds to the tax collectors and the sinners gathered together with Christ, and that the older son corresponds to the complaining Pharisees and scribes who were offended by Christ receiving and eating with sinners. As John Calvin explains further in his commentary at this place. He says in the first part of this parable, it's shown how readily God is disposed to pardon our sins. And in the second part, he says is shown the great malignity, malignity and obstinacy, obstinacy of those who murmur at the Lord's compassion. And so with these necessary points of exegesis in mind, let us turn to our message.

And I would like to organize it under three heads. The first two corresponding to the story of the younger son, that is the so-called prodigal son, and the third head as corresponding to the story of the older son in this parable. So these are the divisions.

First, how the younger son was prodigal. Secondly, how the prodigal son came to himself, as we read in the passage. And thirdly, how the older son was angry and offended. Let me repeat those. First, how the younger son was prodigal. Secondly, how the prodigal son came to himself. And thirdly, how the older son was angry and offended. And so let's turn then to our first head. And again, that is how the younger son was prodigal. And let's take a look at what happens here as the Lord opens up this parable. We read beginning in the 11th verse.

Then he said that as the Lord Jesus said a certain man had two sons. Indeed, some have argued that instead of calling this well-known parable the prodigal son, it could just as readily be called the parable of the two sons. But why do you think the parable is typically called the prodigal son?

Well, it's evident that the Lord's focus seems to be mostly given to the younger son. For one thing, Jesus speaks more fully about the story of the younger son rather than the older one. And the Lord also first speaks about the younger son before he talks about the older son. So there seems to be an emphasis on the young younger son.

And in fact, these facts may be a way of emphasizing the incredible grace and love of Christ for the lost. But what does it mean to be prodigal for the younger son to be prodigal? What does that mean? Well, if you look up the word in a standard dictionary, you will find that to be prodigal means to be reckless, wasteful, or extravagant in the spending of money or even time or talents. And so the prodigal son here not only wastes his father's wealth, but also squanders away those precious years of his youth.

The late pastor, Timothy Keller, he was also a church planner of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Back in 2008, he wrote a book on this parable. And he called it, The Prodigal God. The Prodigal God. Isn't that intriguing? As another way to think about this parable? But how is God, who is pictured, by the way, as the Heavenly Father, how Can we say that he is prodigal? Well, Keller argued that it is the father who is portrayed in the parable as lavish and extravagant in his demonstration of grace and love, not only to the younger son, but to the older son as well.

Now, from the outset of this parable, we read that the younger son goes to his father and says, Give me the portion of goods that falls to me. Now I want you to realize what's going on here. It's all the same as if he told his father, father, I can't wait anymore for your death. Give me what is mine now. But what kind of response do we see from the father here in our passage? We simply read that he divided to them his livelihood. And so do you see the father does not act offended by the son saying in effect, I wish you were dead. Instead, the father simply gives the younger son his portion of the inheritance.

And it didn't take him very long to that is for the younger son to gather everything together and to leave home with all that wealth. In fact, in the 13th verse in our passage, we read, not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, a journey to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

In the King James, it's translated as, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And in the modern English version, it's put this way, and there squandered his possessions in prodigal living. The prodigal son is like those who we read about in Philippians chapter three, verse 19, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. And so we see that the younger son's life was unrestrained in revelry. And true to the word prodigal, he lived in a wasteful luxury and a wicked extravagance. And not only was he careless with the wealth that he received from his father, but he also probably used it for lascivious pursuits.

And yet at the same time, He was too blind to see that actually he was the one who had prostituted himself to his own rebellion. Now, there's something more here about the prodigal lifestyle I want you to see. To be prodigal is actually to be involved in that wasteful living as if it was like a full-time job.

He never took any time off from it. And this is the occupation of all the prodigal sons throughout the world. They will continue in this so-called employment, even if their health is compromised and their bodies waste away. And they will not quit this job. Until like the prodigal son, they have consumed all of their wealth.

As a matter of fact, you could say that the prodigal son is in a kind of state of madness. Madness. For he will not listen to reason or good sense, because he's driven by this madness, a madness which comes from turning yourself over to a life where you indulge in your sin. And so in a certain sense, he's transformed into a brute beast. For he is no longer guided by reason, but only by the impulses of his passion. And not only that, not only that, but His madness is coupled with a deep state of self-deception.

My friends, this is an important point. Sin, by its very nature, is deceitful. But of course, if you tell a prodigal son that he's living a life of lies and deception, He would look at you like you were the madman. Let me tell you, friends, the Word of God says that we live, we die, and then comes the judgment. There is no second youth. Once you enter into your youth and then you leave it, you will never come back to it again in this life. And this may remind you of the sin which Saint Augustine recounts in his classic work, Confessions, which is a book I would recommend to all of you. This was a sin that he committed in his youth.

Now, in this particular confession, Augustine is talking about the stealing of pears, that is, stealing fruit from a tree. And so some may minimize it and say, that really wasn't that bad of a sin. And someone might object and say, but he stole the pears when he was just a boy. And others may just simply discount it as altogether nothing, but not Augustine. Not Augustine.

He writes this confession many years after his youth, many years after he's converted to the Lord with a saving faith. And he still regrets the sin of stealing those pears. Does that mean that Augustine did not believe that he was forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ for his sin? No. That's not what it means. but he still regrets it, even what others might call just a trivial sin. And here's how Augustine relates the story in that passage from his Confessions.

He writes, there was a pear tree close to our vineyard, heavy, laden with fruit, which was tempting, neither for its color nor its flavor. Some of us lewd young men went late one night to shake and rob the fruit from this pear tree. And then he adds, this pleased us all the more because we knew it was not allowed.

And he said that he stole the pears, not because he was hungry, nor actually at that time he didn't live in poverty. He had the means to buy fruit. That wasn't why he stole the pears. In fact, he says he didn't even enjoy the pears once he took them. He writes, we carried away great loads of these pears, not to eat ourselves, for we only tasted some of them, but so that we could throw them at the hogs.

That was the purpose. And here, I tell you, is the key, the key to his confession. He says, I did not desire to enjoy what I stole, but only the theft and the sin itself. Only the theft and the sin itself. You see, He simply delighted in committing the sin just for its own sake. And that's why He did it. He says that He had no inducement to evil, but the evil itself, it was foul and I loved it, he said.

My brothers and sisters, I tell you that truly this is the spirit of the prodigal son. And so it should go without saying that the sin which this prodigal son commits was a great sin. And it was a great abuse of the generosity and kindness of his father. My friends, don't be deceived. Don't tell yourself that it's no big deal if you, like the prodigal son, indulge in sin for a season.

After all, sometime later, you tell yourself, I can always ask the God for forgiveness later, right? But how do you know? How do you know that you will be able to turn to the Lord before it's too late? And as a sinner living a prodigal lifestyle, how can you be in a position to presume upon God's goodness and forgiveness?

Even if the Lord in His infinite mercy forgives you, what about the burden of deep regret for your sins, which you will carry with you the rest of your life? You see, it's not a light thing to abandon yourself over to a season of sin. If you put your hand into the fire, will it not be burned? And even if you're able to pull it out in time to save it, and even after your hand is healed, will there still not be many deep scars visible upon your hand? Do you see what I'm saying? Although you may be fully forgiven by the Lord, that does not mean that you will have no regrets about the sins you once committed.

But what happens to the prodigal son in the Lord's parable? We see that he is touched by the lavish and extravagant grace of God. As we read in the 17th verse, the prodigal son came to himself. He came to himself. And so we come to our second head. That is how the prodigal son came to himself.

My friends, whenever you abandon yourself over to your sinful desires, you have chosen a hard path. As we read in Proverbs chapter 13 verse 15, but the way of transgressors is hard. The way of transgressors It's hard. And eventually, the folly of your choices will indeed catch up with you. Now when that happens, you won't like it at the time, it won't be pleasant, but it's actually a sign of God's mercy towards you. For if the Lord left you in your backsliding condition, that would be a far, far worse thing for you.

And this is what we see in our passage. We read in the 14th verse, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want, that is in need. Now isn't that interesting? Remember, this is just a story, but it relates how in the works of God's providence, God often brings these sort of things all together. And so you have the son's necessity to eat in order to survive, the famine in the land, the fact that he ran out of money. All these things conspire together, so to speak, as a way for the prodigal son to come to himself.

Not only was the young man so desperately hungry, but our text goes on to say, and no one gave him anything. That is to say, no one gave him anything to eat, but also no one even gave a thought of him. But you see, he was a nobody. No one cared about him. He was just that young, filthy man feeding the pigs.

But the Lord can use the evil of affliction for our good. As we read, for example, in Psalm 119 verse 71, it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. It is good. Now, to be clear, the psalmist is not telling us that there's anything good in affliction or suffering in itself. That's the teaching of those who superstitiously neglect the body, but with no profit. Instead, we read here that it is good for me so that I may learn your statutes. That is the law of God, which that psalm celebrates. And without the psalmist's improved understanding of the law of God, all that suffering would be in vain.

Yes, affliction can be a work of God's mercy. Also because sometimes our pride is so set in us and it is so stubborn that it requires the remedy of an affliction in order to break it down. And when you are at the bottom of a pit and looking up, because there's nothing below you but your own two feet. Perhaps then, and only then, will you finally be willing to change. Now, if a lighter affliction would be sufficient for your repentance, then God in his infinite mercy, that's all he would bring to you. But we must come to ourselves. and get up from our pigsty so that we can seek the Lord. Let me add something more to this, and this is very important.

Children of Christian families are not immune from the hardships of life if they choose the path of a prodigal son. As a matter of fact, many prodigal sons or daughters come from Christian families. And many of them have a good understanding of the Bible. And even when they break away from the family to rebel, it's not necessarily due to their unbelief in biblical truths or even the gospel itself.

In fact, if you had the opportunity to ask them, they might even tell you as much. No, I still believe in all those things. My brothers and sisters, I want you to see this. The driving force behind waywardness might not be unbelief at all, but simply a commitment to do whatever they want to do. In their hearts they cry out. I don't care what it says in the Bible, even though I understand it. I don't care what my parents tell me. I don't care what other people tell me. All I want is to do what I want to do. And nobody is going to stop me.

My friends, again, this is the spirit of the prodigal son. And this spirit is especially common among the youth just because they're often so eager to experience things for the first time in their young lives. But this spirit of rebellion is not limited to the youth. Many adults and even those late in life have gone out into this world to live as prodigal sons.

But what does it mean? What does it mean in our text when the prodigal son, we read, comes to himself? He came to himself. This also is very important. I want you to see this. To say that he came to himself is a very intriguing statement. And it is very rich. This expression only consists of a few words and yet there seems to be so much packed into this little saying.

Before he came to himself, the younger son was in a different state of mind, but now he has arrived at a new state. Previously he was ignorant of himself even more than he realized, but now he has come to a new knowledge of himself. He used to be somewhere else, even, as we say, beside himself, for he made himself mad by abandoning himself to sin. But now, now he comes to his senses, even to a soundness of mind. Before he was so sure of himself, he knew exactly what he was gonna do with all of his father's wealth.

So he journeyed to a far country. Isn't that interesting? A country far away from home. And there he wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But now, now his self-deception has fallen away. And it is as if he's asking himself questions like these.

What was I thinking? What have I done? This is crazy. Here I am sitting with these filthy swine and wishing to fill my own belly with the hard husks that they're eating. Crazy madness. My friends, do you see what is pictured here when the prodigal son comes to himself? What does it mean? It's actually a picture of conversion. It's a radical change from one state to another. Indeed, for him now, all things are new. As we read in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

For now he comes to a great realization. And he comes to it by remembering the kindness and the goodness of his father. He says to himself, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare? And here I am perishing with hunger. Bread enough and to spare. Do you know that text from Romans chapter two verse four? It's a vital text.

It says, do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering? Not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance. It's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance. Similarly, the annotation in the Old Geneva Bible says, the beginning of repentance is the acknowledging of the mercy of God, which stirs us up to hope well.

And so the younger son purposes to plead with his father to receive him, even as just another servant in the household. For this would be far better than to perish here with hunger. And then, We read in the 20th verse that he rose and came to his father. Now, if there was any doubt up to this point about the goodness of the young man's father, even his mercy and love and how abundant it is, now with what follows, there's no longer any doubt, for it amply demonstrates these qualities of the father.

And remember, in this parable, the father represents God, our heavenly father. And we read, but when he was still a great way off, when the prodigal son was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on him and kissed him.

My friends, what kind of picture is that? About our own Heavenly Father and how He loves those who are lost that would be saved. And then this younger son and says to his father, just as he had rehearsed when he was back in the pigsty, for we have that repetition in our passage, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But my brothers and sisters, the grace of God always amounts to something much, much more than what we expected. And so we read in the 22nd verse, that the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry.

For this my son was dead, but is alive again. He was lost, but is found. And they began to be married. And so let us come now to our third and final head as we consider what this parable teaches us from the story of the older son. The older son, we read, was angry and offended. We just read at the end of this parable, the father celebrated the return of his wayward son, and the fatty calf was butchered, and they began to be merry, and there was music and dancing. But once the older son found out the reason for the celebration, he was angry. That's what our text says. And he was greatly offended. And at this point, perhaps the main question for our consideration is this.

Was the older son justified in his anger? Was he justified in being offended? Now, the simplest way to approach this question, I think, is to ask ourselves, because this is the parallel in our passage, were the Pharisees and scribes justified in their offense of Jesus showing mercy to sinners? Were they justified? Well, from that vantage point, it's quite obvious the answer is no. They weren't justified.

Otherwise, we would turn the whole lesson in the parable about the older son upside down. And if we sympathize with the perspective of the older son in the parable here, which the Lord Jesus is opposing by his teaching, then we should ask ourselves, am I too much? like the Pharisees and the scribes here in this passage? As J.C. Ryle writes on our passage, he says that the elder son here reflects precisely the spirit of the Pharisee found in another parable when the Pharisee says, I'm not as other men, or even like this tax collector. Ryle continues, it shows clearly that the elder son in our parable cannot fairly be regarded as a weak believer.

You see, that's a common misinterpretation. Well, maybe the older son, he's just, he's lacking in faith in this moment. He's a weak believer. But no, that's not really the teaching. If you take it contextually, instead, the older son is a type of the self-righteous. This is again from Ryle. He is a type of the self-righteous, ignorant moralist who cannot bear the doctrine of salvation by grace or endure the idea of great sinners being completely pardoned and put on a level with himself. Now, do you think, who do you think? What kind of people would resent the Lord's pleasure to show His mercy and compassion on sinners? Who would resent the compassion of Christ? What kind of people would they be? Well, for one thing, I think we see here, they would be proud, proud men. That is, they would think more highly of themselves than they should.

It's the apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 12 verse three. For I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. And when I say that it is about the pride of men, I'm not thinking of how the world uses this word pride. Such as when a boy reaches some great achievement and his father says, son, I'm proud of you today.

I try to avoid that kind of language because it's confusing with the scripture. Because in the scripture, it speaks of pride in a negative sense. In fact, in the scripture, it teaches us that pride is a sin. And pride is a great deceiver. Because it makes you believe that you are something that you are not.

And so the central question of the Pharisees and scribes about Jesus might have been something like this. Why is this rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, wasting his time with those notorious sinners? Besides, he should be spending most of his time with us, the Jewish leaders. That is, if he indeed is a prophet sent from God. Doesn't he understand that when he first began his public ministry, he should have come directly to us? Not only could we have given him some direction from our wisdom as he begins his ministry, but we also could have helped the people discern whether or not he was a true prophet.

See, I think that is something like attitude of the Pharisees. In fact, again, to quote from J.C. Ryle, he says, the Pharisees and scribes would have been better pleased if our Lord had confined his ministry to them and their party, and had left the ignorant and sinful entirely alone. Now, In addition to pride, another characteristic of the elder son, as he represents the Pharisees and scribes, is his self-righteousness.

Why do you think is the elder son angry and refuses to join in the celebration with others? Why does he not want to rejoice over the return of his younger brother, which indicates the conversion of the prodigal son? Ryle writes that the elder son is angry because his father treated the returning prodigal son too well and that he himself had not been treated so well as his merits deserved. As we read in the passage, the elder son said to his father, Lo, these many years I've been serving you, I never transgressed your commandment at any time, and yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours, no, he doesn't call him his brother, but this son of yours has come, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, which that's never actually expressly stated in the passage. You killed the fatted calf for him.

And so the self-righteous Pharisee and scribe are envious of the grace and goodness which the Lord Jesus shows to those who are notorious sinners. As Jesus says in Matthew chapter nine verse 13, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. to repentance. Matthew Poole writes here, the self righteous swell in their opinion of themselves and their own righteousness, and they have no patience to hear that any others should be preferred in the favor of God before them. You see, the Lord's teaching here does provide a great insight into the heart of the proud and self-righteous.

They never feel that they get all the honor and respect from others that they deserve. That's what's at the heart of the Pharisee. They are puzzled. They don't understand why they don't receive more praise from men. After all, they zealously keep the Lord's commandments, don't they? And yet it is God's law in which they take great pride that they don't really understand.

They think that obedience is outward and not from the heart. Yet as the Lord Jesus says in another place, hypocrites Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you saying, these people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

And so instead of standing outside in anger, the elder son should have joined in the celebration. Israel writes, the conversion of souls makes angels rejoice in heaven. Why not then should Christians rejoice on earth. My friends, in conclusion, I want to leave you with just a couple of more brief reflections on both the younger son and the older son in our parable. And so from the picture of the older son, we often find that it is the proud who are most readily offended when a preacher preaches against pride. And they are given to be self-defensive, and they are self-righteous.

But only you and the Lord knows what's in your heart. And so we should remember that prayer that we find in Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart. This is not how a Pharisee prays, you see. Search me and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

And now when you think about the younger son, that is the prodigal son, you may be reminded of someone you know or perhaps even yourself from an earlier period of your life. But if by God's infinite mercy you or another like the prodigal son should come to yourself, remember the prayer which is found in Psalm 25. Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth. nor my transgressions. According to your mercy, remember me for your goodness sake, oh Lord.

Let us pray. Oh, blessed Lord God, how do we even know how to begin in a prayer when we look at this parable of the prodigal son and his older brother? Lord, there's such a depth and a wealth of riches here in your Holy Scripture. Lord, we pray that we would never neglect it. We pray that we would always dig into it. For every time we see there's something more to learn, something more there for us to edify us.

Lord, we do pray that you may be pleased to work by your Holy Spirit in our hearts as He works in consort with His Holy Word. And now we pray, O Lord, that You would please be with us throughout this Christian Sabbath day, and even as we look forward to a time once again to hear the missionaries give a presentation. Be with us now, O Lord, and again we do pray.

Parness, we pray, of all of our many iniquities, even the sins of our youth, but even our sins from last week. Forgive us, O Lord, we pray, according to your gospel promise, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. For we do pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

• About the Younger Son

  1. In what ways does sin deceive people today?

  2. Why do people often believe they can manage the consequences of sin?

  3. What does "he came to himself" teach about repentance?

  4. How has God used hardship to redirect people toward Himself?

  5. Why is remembering God's goodness essential in repentance?

  About the Father

  6. What aspects of the father's welcome most vividly display God's grace?

  7. Why is it difficult to believe grace can exceed our expectations?

  8. How does this parable encourage those burdened by past sins?

  About the Older Son

  9. How can long-time church members develop an older brother mentality?

  10. Why is self-righteousness often harder to recognize than obvious rebellion?

  11. Do you rejoice when notorious sinners come to faith?

  12. Where might pride be hindering your own spiritual growth?

  Personal Application

  13. Which son do you identify with most right now?

  14. Is there any area where God may be calling you to repentance?

  15. How can you better reflect the Father's heart toward others?

• Prodigal: Wastefully extravagant; recklessly self-indulgent.

• Repentance: Turning from sin to God with sorrow and faith.

• Conversion: God's work of bringing a sinner from spiritual death to life.

• Grace: God's undeserved favor toward sinners.

• Justification: God's declaration that believers are righteous through Christ.

• Adoption: Receiving believers as God's children.

• Self-righteousness: Trusting one's own goodness rather than God's mercy.

• Sanctification: Growth in holiness through the Spirit's work.

• Pharisee: A Jewish religious leader often marked in Scripture by legalism and pride.

• Providence: God's sovereign ordering of all events according to His wise purposes.