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Join the Party
Reading: Luke 15:11-32
There’s good reason why Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son is one of the most famous stories through history and the world over. The Son of God revealed why we can call God our Father in relatable, powerful, and applicable terms. It gives a point of reference for us to understand the grand plan of humanity’s self-imposed doom and the divine will and way for salvation. And it highlights how we as people view and treat each other in the body of Christ.
It is appropriate for us as modern readers and disciples to see our story in the son who left the father and then came back. But don’t miss who this story was originally for: the Pharisees and the scribes (Luke 15:2-3)—that is, those aligned with the older brother in this parable. When we look at the sorry state of the prodigal son, and when we contemplate the compassion of the father, it is meant to stir our compassion for others who come to the Lord from out of the world. We all have been the runaway; now we must be better than the older brother of this parable (vv. 28-30). We must be part of the Father’s search and rescue effort, and we must share in the Father’s joy in restoring them.
Jesus doesn’t include a response from the older brother once the father explains the reasoning for celebrating the younger brother’s return (vv. 31-32). He leaves it open-ended for the Pharisees and scribes—and Christians today—to insert themselves into the story. Will you shake your head at sinners who need grace and try to gatekeep the inheritance of heaven? Or, will you join the party and rejoice with the Father when the runaway comes home?
