How Jesus heals our deadly "older brother syndrome"
Luke 15:21-32
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
Introduction
A. I Want To Talk With You About Our Deadly "Older Brother Syndrome".
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1. Because that's what this parable is all about.
Usually teaching on this parable ends where we ended last week. The Prodigal comes home; Father goes out and welcomes him, kisses him, and throws a party.
2. End of story.
And we get a little choked up--maybe even inspired. And the moral of the story is be forgiving, be accepting. Right?
3. But I guarantee you not one of Jesus' listeners got choked up.
They were outraged. They were totally bent out of shape because the story doesn't end there.
B. This Whole Chapter Starts With A Confrontation.
1. In Verse 1, Pharisees (the religious right) are criticizing Jesus for welcoming and eating with sinners.
So, Jesus comes back at them with three parables. And the ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />high point
2. If you understand the context…
…you see that Jesus is not talking so much about prodigals but self-righteous Pharisees. It is not so much about the assurance of acceptance no matter how much we screw up our lives, although it definitely includes that. The main point here is an in your face warning to "good" people.
3. Jesus is saying that nothing comes between you and God like morality and goodness.
Nothing is a bigger obstacle to a relationship with the father than decency and respectability. This is the punch line. And the original listeners were blown away, confused and frustrated. They either thought Jesus was exaggerating or just wrong. That what he said as irresponsible and ungodly.
Even the most "patient" Pharisee was thinking: "Listen Jesus, you might want to rethink or reword your story here. People might think it's ok to sin against God--that it's not worth it to obey Him." And you might be thinking the same thing.
C. Jesus wants us to understand this older brother syndrome.
1. How you know if you're infected with it.
And what can be done about it.
2. Today we're gonna see -
How Jesus heals our deadly "older brother syndrome"
And we begin with step one:
I. u Jesus will diagnose our condition
Intro.
How can you identify an older brother? Well, he's not in a pig pen - so you can't find him that way. He is not cursing God, not doing bad things, not breaking laws - so you can't find him that way either. How can you identify him? The symptoms are clear and I'll give you seven.
First -
A. w Anger
1. When the older brother heard his little brother was home…
…and their Father had thrown a party to celebrate, what is his first reaction? It says:
28"The older brother became angry…"
2. Older brothers have a tendency to get angry when …
…they don't think their lives are going the way they should. And older brothers have an amazing ability to justify it or make light of it.
There are two kinds of anger. If an older brother is obeying all the rules, and things go wrong he gets angry with God. And he says "I don't deserve this." Or, if he's not obeying the rules, and things go wrong he gets condemningly angry with himself. "Since I do deserve this - God must be punishing me."
3. But if you are a Christian…
…when things go wrong, you know God is not punishing you. You know why? Because Jesus already took our punishment. And you're not mad at God because if Jesus died for you – no doubt God will use everything that comes into your life for your ultimate good.
Second symptom:
B. w Lack of Joy
1. Verse 28 goes on to say:
28"The older brother…refused to go in (to the party).
He cannot enter into the Father's joy.
2. Older brothers view life as obligation.
There's no party. There's no dance. There's no joy.
Third:
C. w Hates God's Law
1. Check out Verse 29:
29…'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.'
Older brothers are law-abiding on the outside but on the inside they hate God's law. It's oppressive slavery--burdensome orders. But what is the mark of a godly person? Psalm 1 says –
2…his delight is in the law of the Lord and in it he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2
2. Both older brothers and Christians keep the Law of God.
But the big difference is WHY they do it. The older brother obeys to get (God is this giant piñata in the sky and out obedience is the stick we beat him with to get what we really want); the Christian obeys to give. Older brother says: All these years I've slaved and you never gave me… The older brother obeys to get something from God. The Christian obeys to give--to give God thanks for how God has loved us.
Four -
D. w Lack of Assurance
1. Older brother says:
29…you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
And the Father responds:
31"My son…everything I have is yours."
2. This should have been obvious to him but it wasn't.
Not only doesn't he love the father, he is not sure where he stands with him. He doesn't experience the Father's embrace.
3. Ask a Christian: Are you a Christian?
And if they think about it, their face lights up and they say, "Yes. It's crazy--it's miraculous that I am a Christian. I don't deserve this amazing grace." Ask an older brother and he says: "Why are you asking? Of course, I'm a Christian. What are you thinking?"
Five -
E. w Critical of others
1. Older brothers are unsure about where they stand…
But they are very sure where other people stand. In vs.30 the older brother says:
30But when this son of yours…
He won't even call him his brother.
2. Older brothers are always judging.
True Christians are the most non-judgmental people in the world because they know that they are sinners saved by grace.
Six -
F. w Can't Forgive.
1. The older brother refuses to forgive his brother.
Why? Older brothers always feel superior. He's saying: "I would never do what he did."
2. If there is someone you can't forgive…
It is because you are saying "I would never do that."
3. Self-righteousness is screwing you up.
Your problem is your perceived "goodness".
Seven -
G. w Hates Older Brothers
1. Some of you were younger brothers. (Like me…)
You became Christians. Older brother types used to give you a hard time.
2. And now you're loving it that Jesus is being hard on the Pharisees.
You hate Pharisees. And here's the irony: You are becoming an older brother toward older brothers. You're becoming judgmental toward judgmental people.
Trans.
1. So, there you have symptoms of the deadly "older brother syndrome".
It's pretty easy to list this stuff. You know why? Cuz it takes one to know one.
2. This week I was just looking at Jesus' diagnosis of my condition.
I still struggle with this deadly "older brother syndrome". Especially the irony of me becoming an older brother toward older brothers. "Hi. My name is Matt. And I am a recovering Older Brother."
3. So, how can we recover? First:
I. u Jesus will diagnose our condition And secondly:
II. u Jesus opens our eyes to the cause
What is the cause? First of all, Jesus says:
The Older Brother is…
A. w …lost.
1. Jesus gives three parables in Luke 15.
In each one there is something where it shouldn't be. The sheep is where it shouldn't be. The lost coin is where it shouldn't be. And the younger son is where he shouldn't be. And in every situation someone is going out. The shepherd goes out to get the lost sheep. The woman goes out to get the lost coin. The father goes out to get the lost prodigal.
2. And now what do you have?
The older brother is outside while a party is going on inside. The older brother is where he should not be. And the Father goes out again. This time for the older brother.
3. Jesus is saying:
He's as lost as the coin. He's as lost as the sheep. He's as lost as his brother.
But Jesus is saying more than that.
Jesus Says:
B. w …more lost than the Younger Brother.
1. How can you be more lost?
Let me put it this way:
2. Jesus says the Father had two sons:
Good and bad, obedient and disobedient. In the end the bad one goes in but the good one stays out.
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