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Northwest Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“The Rest of the Story” |
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I. Introduction.
A. “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” (Luke 15:32).1. With these words, Jesus brought the story of the
prodigal son to an end – an end, but not really to a
conclusion. Without saying anything further, Jesus
left the public setting in which he’d told the three
parables of Luke 15, and, then, spoke more
privately to “His disciples” (16:1).2. The ending of a story is really what we wait for,
with anticipation. Sometimes we get so anxious
to find out how a story ends that we look ahead to
see the finale before we get all the details of the
story itself.3. While the parable of the prodigal son ends at
Luke 15:32, its true conclusion is not found there.
What happened with the older brother? Did he
reconcile with his father and his younger sibling?
Did the prodigal himself become the obedient son
that the grace of the father might encourage him to
be? The abruptness of the ending leaves much
unresolved.B. But, that abruptness really has a point of its own to make.
Of all the surprising plot twists and startling details, this is
the climactic surprise. Jesus walked away from the crowd
without resolving the tension between the father and his
firstborn for a reason.1. Probably, his audience was left with some questions
we raised a moment ago.2. The tender appeal to the elder son in verse 32 left
Jesus’ hearers thinking about, and leaves us, now,
thinking about, personalizing this ending, and
focusing on the joy of the father in the salvation of
his son. We can all write our own conclusion by
how we respond to the kindness of God toward
sinners.3. What kind of ending would we like to see? If our
heart is hardened with self-righteousness and pride,
we might come up with an ending in which the
elder son stands his ground, and refuses to
compromise his principles of right and wrong, and
of a merit-based salvation. If a person is not
so-hardened, the ending might reflect an acceptance
of God’s grace in Christ. Then, it might go like
this:“Then the elder son fell on his knees before his
father, saying, ‘I repent for my bitter, loveless heart,
for my hypocritical service, and for my pride and
self-righteousness. Forgive me, Father. Make me a
true son, and take me inside to the feast.’ The
father then embraced his firstborn son, smothered
him with tearful, grateful kisses, took him inside,
and seated him alongside his brother in dual seats of
honor. They all rejoiced together and the level of
joy of that already amazing celebration suddenly
doubled. No one there would ever forget that
night.”4. The scribes and Pharisees, for whom the story was
told, also personalized it, and they wrote their own
ending. That’s “the rest of the story.”II. The Tragic Ending.
A. The elder brother of the parable represented the scribes and
Pharisees. When Jesus left the final resolution of the story
untold, it put the responsibility on these men to choose
salvation or condemnation; to be a part of God’s kingdom
and to join the celebration feast, or to stand stubbornly
outside in self-righteousness. The father’s final plea was
Jesus’ appeal to those men. The scribes’ and Pharisees’
response to the appeal would give the real conclusion of
the story.B. We, today, know how the story concludes. There is no
repentance among these powerful Jewish leaders. It is
not a happy ending at all! They killed the Son of God, just
as they had said they would. In his anger and bitterness,
the elder son could not cover his true nature.1. The elder brother’s heart was hardened against his
father. He had stored up a lifetime of hatred and
self-will, all the while being seen by family and
friends as “the good son.”2. The elder brother completely misinterpreted the
father’s kindness.3. As soon as the father showed lavish favors on the
utterly unworthy son, the elder brother’s resentment
quickly surfaced.C. We’ve emphasized all through these lessons that the elder
brother represented the scribes and Pharisees. His attitude
reflected this. And, one of the most interesting things about
this is that these men knew this.1. It does seem rather remarkable that, when Jesus
brought an end to the telling of the parable, the
account in Luke is silent regarding any response
from the scribes and Pharisees2. They asked no questions, made no protest, offered
no defense, or asked Jesus to be clearer on what His
words meant.3. In fact, they did understand – they understood the
elder brother’s attitude. They sympathized with his
situation, and upheld his refusal to join a celebration
for one so openly, and brazenly, wrong as the
younger son.4. It’s likely they did not see the ending as unresolved
at all. Their own ending to the story would include
the father’s repentance when he saw the point the
elder son was making.5. They did not speak up, though, because they
recognized the point Jesus was making clearly
enough to know that this story would never be
resolved that way. So, they said nothing, as least
nothing Luke, guided by the Holy Spirit, deemed
important enough to record for us.D. Maybe these men simply turned and walked away. More
likely, Jesus walked away from them, and left them to think
about what He’d said, and the implications of what He’d
said.E. Luke 16 seems to be a continuation of one, lengthy,
discourse. But, now His words are addressed directly to
“His disciples”, meaning, in this case, the apostles. He
begins to instruct them with another parable, that of the
“unjust steward.” This next story is about the shrewdness
of unbelievers, and the impossibility of serving both
“. . . God and mammon” (Luke 16:13).1. Verse 14 then tells us: “Now the Pharisees, who
were lovers of money, also heard all these things,
and they derided Him,” meaning they ridiculed
Jesus.2. Even though Jesus was no longer speaking to them,
they stayed around, on the edge of the circle around
Jesus. They had not at all changed their attitude
toward Him. If anything, they were even more
determined to silence this Man. That brought on the
tragic ending to the parable of the prodigal son.F. The Pharisees’ hatred for Jesus grew from the day He
indicted them with being the elder brother until they were
able to have Jesus seized for trial and death. (Read
Mark 14:1). When the time came to arrest Jesus, they were
able to secure the reluctant cooperation of the Roman
authorities, and the assent, by his unwillingness to do
anything with Jesus, of Herod Antipas.G. The tragic ending the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and
Herodians wrote to the story in Luke 15 occurred only
months after this encounter. They congratulated
themselves on a righteous act that, they fully believed,
preserved Israel, and the true religion of God, as embodied
in their traditions.1. John 18:14: “Now it was Caiaphas who advised
the Jews that it was expedient that one man should
die for the people.” (Rather than to risk rebellion
against Rome and the harsh reaction of the Romans
to such rebellion).2. The irony is that these Jews did their best to destroy
Jesus and, in doing so, accomplished God’s will.III. Conclusion.
A. The real conclusion of the story of the prodigal son wasn’t
even Jesus’ death on the cross. No grave could hold him.
He came from the tomb, just as He said He would
(Luke 18:33). He rose, conquering death.B. The Father came to us, in the person of His Son, and
invited us to the great celebration that is open to everyone.
It doesn’t matter whether you are an openly sinful person,
like the prodigal son, or one more secretive about sin, like
the elder brother. Jesus urged everyone to acknowledge
their guilt, admit their spiritual poverty, and let the
heavenly Father embrace them and be reconciled to Him
(Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride, say,
‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let
him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the
water of life freely.”).C. Write your own ending to the parable.