A Bigger Heart | Luke 15

Luke 15 contains one of my favorite parables—the parable of the prodigal son, also known as the parable of the lost son. As the name of the parable suggests, the story is about a son, in fact, two sons and their father. The story begins with the younger son coming to his father to demand his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive. Then in a matter of days, he left home for a distant country, where he proceeded to spend everything he had in reckless living.

It is not a pretty picture, because his actions show that he didn’t care about his father or his duty and responsibility as his father’s son and heir. He only wanted to take his share of the inheritance and make a life for himself, and still, all he did was squander what he had. 

Right when he had spent his all, however, a severe famine in the land forced him to take up a lowly and demeaning job of feeding the pigs just to survive. At one point, he even wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating. His venture had gone terribly wrong, and the prodigal son who had left behind his former life was, truly, lost.

Yet at this point, he came to his senses and realized that despite everything he had done, despite all the ways he might have been disappointing, his father could take him back if he just returned home and owned up to his past actions. And that’s what he did. He went back to his father and said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). 

What is always surprising about the parable, and likely the reason why this parable is a favorite of many, is the way the father just welcomed him back with open arms. Before he even heard his son’s apology, his heart was already filled with compassion. He ran up to his son, wrapped his arms around him, kissed him, and immediately ordered for the best robe, the ring, and the sandals, everything that symbolized sonship, to be put on the son who had returned. The fattened calf was killed, because they had to celebrate. “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24).

Isn’t this the love we long for? A love that forgives, reaffirms, and accepts us unconditionally. It is a love that wants us restored and reinstated as children and heirs so that we recognize how precious we are in our heavenly Father’s eyes. In fact, prior to the parable of the lost son, Jesus was precisely illustrating how everyone who is lost is valued and worthy of every effort in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin (Luke 15:3-10). It is worth leaving behind ninety-nine sheep in the open country to find that one lost sheep. And when the lost is found, when one sinner repents, it is a cause for rejoicing and celebration even in heaven and among the angels of God.

The furious elder brother

Thus when the younger son returned home, they celebrated. But interestingly, this is not the end of the parable of the lost son. What immediately follows is the elder son being upset and furious at the way the father reacted to his brother’s return. He refused to be part of the celebration, despite his father’s pleading. He was bitter and frustrated, not just because he felt that his brother didn’t deserve to be accepted and celebrated, but because he felt that his hard work of being the good son through the years was neglected. In his heart he probably felt that his father was not fair—because how could he and his brother be treated the same way? How could his brother’s sins be ignored, and his years of good deeds overlooked? How did his obedience make no difference?

This was a surprising development, especially for those who were listening to Jesus as he told three parables in a row. Surprising because in the first two parables, there is no equivalent of the elder brother. Had the parable of the lost son ended with the father celebrating the younger son’s return, Jesus would have clearly illustrated the unconditional love He has for the lost ones and the joy that comes when even one repents. So why add a plot point with the elder brother, who refused to rejoice despite his younger brother’s repentance?

The answer is found, interestingly, at the beginning of Luke 15, which gives us the context of the parables. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him (i.e. Jesus).  And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (Luke 15:1-2)

Once we realize that it was the Pharisees’ grumbling about the way Jesus welcomed and accepted the sinners that prompted Jesus to tell the parables, then it is much more obvious that the elder brother was actually a reference to the Pharisees and the scribes. Who else was complaining instead of rejoicing when sinners drew near to Jesus to hear him, thus potentially repenting and turning around? Who else was looking down at the sinners, thinking that these people were unworthy to be loved because they themselves were so much better than the sinners, since they did such a remarkable job of adhering to the law? 

But Jesus needed to draw their attention to two things. First, it might be hard to imagine that God’s love can be so unconditional that at times, it might even seem unreasonable to us. But such is the love God has for everyone—such is the heart of our Father, who longs for every sinner and everyone who has drifted to return to Him in repentance. It doesn’t matter where we have been, or what we have done, if only we choose to turn around, this is cause for rejoicing in heaven. This is what Jesus was illustrating with all 3 parables, the joy it brings when even one sinner or drifter turns around and finds their way home to our heavenly Father.

Everything I have is yours

Yet there is a second message, found at the very end of the parable when the father said this to the elder son. “My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:31-32).

Everything I have is yours. The elder son might have thought that he had earned the right to everything because of his impeccable service. Yet what he didn’t realize was that his father loved him just as unconditionally as he had with the younger son. The father has long given him everything, cherishing the way the elder son was always with him. The elder son was busy counting and comparing deeds, but the father was talking about identity and relationships. There was no need for the elder son to prove himself worthy, nor did he have to earn anything, because he would always be his father’s son. So long as he was with his father, everything would always be his. The grace and love his father showed his younger brother was something he has always had, even if he never realized it.

Therefore his father said, let’s celebrate! In fact, in the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, the person who retrieved the lost item never celebrated alone. Friends and neighbors were called together, and the invitation was always, “Rejoice with me” (Luke 15:6, 9). Likewise, Jesus is inviting us to have a bigger heart, to stop judging and calculating, and to recognize that all of us are precious in God’s eyes because He made every one of us. He is inviting us to remember that all of us are only recipients of God’s grace. This is precisely what the Pharisees failed to see, for they thought it was their good deeds that made them worthy, and hence they had every right to look down on the sinners.

But we don’t have to be like the Pharisees. God sees all the efforts we have put in to love and serve Him. Yet He is also inviting us to look past ourselves and our efforts and see His heart, to see the love and grace He has for every one of us, even the ones we deem unworthy. He is asking us to see it from His perspectives and love Him by understanding how much He longs for every sinner or drifter to return to Him, and to rejoice with Him when it happens.

He is showing us what grace really is, because none of us received grace because we have proven ourselves worthy, but it has always been granted to us freely, unreasonably, and unconditionally. May we learn to love like Jesus, to love what He loves, and to celebrate what He celebrates. May He show us how to have a bigger heart, and to know that we are not giving out of empty pockets, because He has long filled us with His never-ending grace.

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