So as we saw a couple of weeks
ago, the shepherd rejoices, the woman
rejoices, the angels rejoice, the father rejoices, the lost
son rejoices, the servants rejoice. And yet, at the end of this parable
we have a picture of one who in the midst of all that rejoicing
does not rejoice. And such is the case always with
the gospel. The gospel of the grace of God
brings rejoicing in this world, and the very things that bring
the rejoicing of the people of God as the Lord deals with them
in mercy and grace and forgiveness, those same things are the very
things that others find offensive. And what this parable reveals
is that the gospel is a shocking gospel. The gospel is a stunning
gospel. The gospel reveals something
and reveals many things about which our flesh cannot understand. I don't know about you, but how
many times have we read this parable and thought about this
parable and we naturally feel sorry for the elder brother. We do, don't we? We think he's
been unjustly done by in this particular story. But as we'll see, I trust that
the Lord will give us eyes to see. But the lady swept the house
clean. And when the gospel comes, When
the house of who we are is swept clean, and when the house of
who we are is exposed to the light of the gospel, maybe we'll
see this sun in a different light altogether. As we've seen on
our journey through Mark's gospel, is that the gospel itself, the
Lord Jesus himself, He and Him crucified exposes people in a
way that nothing in this world would ever do to expose them. And particularly, of course,
it exposes religious people. It exposes their hearts. It exposes their hearts in a
way for us to glimpse at now what God, who sees absolutely
everything, sees with absolute clarity. And the religious world
is extraordinary, isn't it, for producing and trying to produce
people who are on the outside extraordinarily moral, And yet,
when they are exposed, when they are exposed before the Lord Jesus,
as all of us will be, may it be here, may it be now, and not
at the last day. As I keep saying and pleading
with people, be honest with God. Go home, go quietly, go somewhere,
right where you are, and be honest with God. Because in this world,
we can by our activities, and especially our religious activities,
we can deceive ourselves. So let's just look at this story
again. We saw that the father rejoiced
when his son came home. the father whose eyes of love
had never been taken off this son. The son went out as a rich
young man, came back poor. He went out as clean, came back
dirty. He went out well clothed, came
back in rags. He went out well fed, came back
hungry. He went out in rebellion and
came back in broken repentance. And as we know, that I have loved
you, says the Father, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
I have drawn you. While I was a father out on the
hill, waiting for the sun to come back, he was out there because
he knew the sun was coming back. The father saw him, the father
drew him, the father moved his conscience, guided his steps,
he ran out to meet him. He received him, he embraced
him, he kissed him, he forgave him, he restored him, and he
threw a party to rejoice with the others. And he robed this
son took off his rags and robed him in the robe of Christ's righteousness.
He put on his finger a ring, a sign of the everlasting covenant,
a ring that has no beginning nor end. And he shod his feet,
shoes of the gospel of peace, strengthened his feet, preserved
his feet, guided his feet. His love caused this son who
returned repentant to be dressed from head to toe, dressed by
the Father, dressed in the robes of the Son, dressed by the Holy
Spirit. And the fatted calves were kept
for religious festivities, and it was the best food. He fed
him now with the best food that God provides, the fullness and
the fatness, the bounty of the Lord Jesus and him crucified. And when there is rejoicing,
there's only real rejoicing when there's rejoicing with others
joining in. So he throws a party. There is music and dancing. They ate and made merry. And the older son was out in
the field. Matthew 13, 38, and the Lord
Jesus says, this field is the world. He was out in this world. He was out there working like
the 99 just persons who need no repentance. He was out there
left in the wilderness. He was working for his life. He was working for his righteousness. He was working for his father's
approval. He was working for his salvation. As he comes in, he hears this
rejoicing. And he called to one of the servants
in verse 26 and asked what these things meant. And here the servant,
typifying God's gospel preachers, brings a gospel message to this
son. Your brother has come because
he has received him safe and sound. Your father has killed
the fatted calf. Our brother, the Lord Jesus,
has come. He's been killed. He's been received
back into glory, safe and sound, complete and secure. And what's the response of this
young man, this elder brother? Verse 28, he was angry. So now this brother's heart's
being exposed. And as we see his heart exposed,
we'll see the wonders of grace, but also the shocking wickedness
that lies in all of our hearts, because our flesh is like His
flesh. How often do we react like this
elder brother? He was angry at God. He was angry at the gospel of
free forgiveness. He was angry and angry within himself, angry
at himself. And he was angry at those who
were rejoicing with the father and rejoicing with the son. It's remarkable to think of that
scene, isn't it? There's this young man, done
all of what he did to dishonor his father. How must he have
felt in that party? He could only possibly be rejoicing
in grace. He can't be rejoicing in anything
he's done. He's rejoicing in forgiveness. He's rejoicing in the Father's
love. He's rejoicing in grace. And he would not go in. The house is a picture of the
household of God, of course. The church of God. He wouldn't go in that door. He wouldn't go in through that
door of grace, that door of substitution, that door which is Christ Jesus. And if he had the possibility,
he would prevent others from going in as well. And the father
comes out and pleaded with him. The Father sends His gospel preachers
out into this world. He brings people to a knowledge
of His existence through creation. Whether they believe it or not,
they can talk all they like about evolution. God says, according
to Romans 1, that they know and they understand because God has
made them understand. But God sends his gospel out
into all this world 1 Corinthians 5.20 says, Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore
you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For God made him who
knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness
of God in him. We then, as workers together
with him, also plead with you not to receive the grace of God
in vain. Remarkable grace from the Father. So why wouldn't you go in? Verse 29, he starts to justify
himself. He says, Lo, these many years
I have been serving you. And the word serving there is
the word to be in slavery. I've been like a slave to you. The prodigal. When he came to himself, came
to his right mind, his great desire was to go home and be
a slave. This man, this older brother,
says, I have been slaving for you for many years. At the end of the day, his service
of his father was not done out of love and gratitude, and we'll
see that in a few minutes. At the end of the day, religious
self-righteous people hate their religion and they hate their
servitude. And in his heart, brother who
stayed at home and looked so moral and behaved so uprightly,
really in his heart wanted to do what his younger brother did. So the legalists, they always
boast in their service. They always boast about what
they have done. I think the thing that was sort
of shocking to me today, not shocking but just revealing again,
is that The fellow I was talking to has had nothing to do with
religion for a long, long time. But there is absolutely no difference
from the self-righteous person out there in the street who pretends
that God doesn't exist and the self-righteous person sitting
in the pews of churches. At the end of the day, they are
doing what their natural hearts lead them to do. So a man had
a righteousness of his own in the garden. He never gloried
in it, nor did he really value it. But ever since he's lost
that righteousness, he's pretended to be one who has a righteousness. He boasts in his service, look
what I have done. He feels as if he has earned
a reward because of his service and his activities. We've got
to keep remembering that in our Adam flesh, we are just like
this, aren't we? How often do we think because
of what we have done, God must owe us something. If you turn
over in your Bibles just a chapter or two to Luke chapter 17, The Lord has another parable about servants. And he finishes that parable
in verse 10 of chapter 17. So likewise you, when you have
done all those things which you are commanded, say, this is what
God's people say, we are unprofitable servants. We've done what was
our duty to do. We are unprofitable servants. Our righteousness is just filthy
rags. So he prides himself in his service. He's slaved. He has slaved for
many years. And then he shows that he really
knows nothing of his own heart at all. Just listen to this,
I have never transgressed your commandment at any time. There you go, Jack. That's a
good effort, isn't it? I have never transgressed your
commandment, mum, at any time. Dear, oh dear. Fleshly righteousness. God despises man boasting in
his righteousness. In Isaiah 65 verse 5 he says
that this fire that burns all day, the fire that fuels hell
in a sense, is people who say, for I am holier than you. God says, these are smoke in
my nostrils, a fire that burns all day. And also coupled with this boasting
and this pride is that there is no joy or thankfulness. There's no joy in his religion. There's no thankfulness to anyone.
It's work and reward. You never gave me. a young goat
that I might make merry with my friends. Young son, the rebellious son,
the repentant son calls him father. This man just says you. Verse 30, it gets worse, doesn't
it? See, he can't make Mary with
his friends. He can't make Mary with his father. But as soon as this son of yours
came, see, he will not even own his brother as his brother, who
has devoured your livelihood with hearts. It seems, for whatever
reason, the father, even having given the son what he asked for,
still has servants and a fatted calf. I don't know that all of
his livelihood has been devoured, but also there is no record in
the story that he actually did spend this time with harlots. It may have been the case. The Pharisees and the scribes
The religious Pharisees and the scribes today just love to talk
about people. They love to spread accusations,
whether true or not. See, the father had forgiven
his son, but this elder son had refused to forgive his brother. The Father, when the Son comes
back pleading, doesn't make a single mention once of his sins. It's the glory of God to cover
transgressions. But this Son wants to expose
sin. The father receives him as a
son. The brother refuses to acknowledge
him as a brother. Calls him your son. The father
proclaims free forgiveness. There is no mention of his righteousness. This man is wanting a reward. He's wanting to be acknowledged
for the righteous things that he's done. He's wanting the record
of his achievement to be paraded before himself and before others. And he stays outside the house. He stays away from God and away
from his people, and he remains angry, angry because he hasn't
been rewarded for his work. Like Esau, who hated his brother
in his heart. You see, the father says, son,
you're always with me and all I have is yours. just like Esau. Esau got the reward of the things
of this world. Behold, says Isaac to him, in
Genesis 27, 30, 39. Behold, your dwelling shall be
of the fatness of the earth. and of the jewel of heaven from
above. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your
brother, and it shall be come to pass, when you become restless,
that you shall break his yoke from your neck." So Esau hated
Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed
him. He hated him in his heart. The son really resents the father's
love. He can't enter into the rejoicing
of the father at all. He has no real love for his father. The young son, the lost and repentant
son, said in his heart, if I go back
to him, he'll accept me. This son didn't want the father's
acceptance. He just wanted to earn the reward
for his own activities. He couldn't care and he didn't
care about the father's love and the father's rejoicing. You
see, when we see the Pharisees in the Gospels, We see their
activities. The thing is that they never
rejoice, do they? They don't rejoice with the lepers. They don't rejoice with the bleeding
man. They don't rejoice with the people
who have had demons cast out of them. They never rejoice. They never rejoice like God rejoices. He delights to rejoice. He rejoices over us with singing,
the Scriptures say. The Lord your God is in your
midst, says Zephaniah 3.17. The Mighty One will save. He
will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with
singing. It's so easy for us in this flesh
and in this world to lose sight of the goodness of our Father.
He will rejoice over you with singing. He will quiet you with
His love. See, this son, this elder son,
was dead spiritually like the lost coin. He was astray from
the sheep, the shepherd, like the sheep, but he had no heart
knowledge of himself or God. The young man came to himself. This elder brother in this story
never came to himself, which doesn't mean that we should give
up hope. There was a man called Saul.
who was just like these men. But it's God who has to act in
sovereign mercy and in sovereign love and in sovereign, omnipotent
grace. It was the Father, the Father
who sovereignly let that son fall into that place of drought
and despair. Who brought the drought? Who
brought the famine? Who brought the Son to a place
where He had no resources of His own whatsoever? The only
hope for Him was to look outside of Himself and look to His Father. And in verse 32, the Father says,
It was right. that we should make merry and
be glad. It's right for God's people to
rejoice in grace and mercy and God's sovereign love. For this
brother was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found. It would be wonderful if God
grants us opportunities to share the gospel and to be part of
that rejoicing as God finds his lost sheep. They're never lost
to him. We just don't know where they are in this world. And just one final thing before
I finish. I've been saying for ages, and I think this parable
is another remarkable example of it. If someone asks you what
Galatians is about, what's the story of Galatians? The story
of Galatians is the story of this parable. In the parables
of the Lord Jesus and the pictures of His salvation, we have Romans
and Galatians and Colossians and Philippians and Hebrews just
outlined before us in beautiful, beautiful pictures. I was just going to read you some
of the things out of Galatians. Galatians 3.3 Law-keeping righteousness
causes people to think that they are made perfect by the work
of their flesh. Having begun in the Spirit, are
you now being made perfect by the flesh? It binds men. Instead of freeing men, it binds
them under a curse. This man was cursed, wasn't he?
In the sense that he couldn't see the glory of God. He couldn't
see love. He couldn't see compassion. He
couldn't feel forgiveness. He couldn't feel joy in his father's
heart. As many are as under the works
of the law are under a curse, under the curse. For it is written,
curse it is everyone who does not continue in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them. It claims God's salvation to
be by law instead of by promise. For if the inheritance, Galatians
3.18, is of the law, then it is no longer of promise. But
God gave it to Abraham by promise. Elder Brother, Law-Keeping Self-Righteousness
Claims Justification. To be by the law rather than
by faith. Galatians 3.24. For though therefore
the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. This elder brother was justified
by his works. And it goes on in verse 27 of
chapter 3. For as many of you who were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ,
then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. The law keeping divides men.
The gospel joins them together. In 429, but as many, but as he who was
born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according
to the spirit, even so it is now. Is this a picture of the
elder brother? Is this a picture of what he
does? It leaves men, law-keeping, leaves
men under the law, led by their flesh instead of by the Holy
Spirit. But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under the law. Law-keeping self-righteousness,
according to Galatians 6.3, puffs people up to make them think
that they are something. If anyone thinks Himself to be
something when He is nothing. He deceives Himself. It makes people glory in their
works rather than glorying in God. God forbid that I should
boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. And it makes people believe,
law-keeping righteousness, that just one act of law obedience
will profit them something before God. For in Christ Jesus, neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. So the father can accept the
son back in the Lord Jesus because it's right. It's perfectly right
for him to come into the house. It's perfectly right for him
to wear that robe, to wear that ring, to wear those shoes because
the Lord Jesus has done it all for him. What a burden and what
a bondage and what a shocking picture we have of those who
continue, despite the pleadings of the Father, despite the preaching
of the preachers, to cling to works righteousness, to cling
to legalism in any form whatsoever. May God give us the grace to
see again and again that we can come back to our Father like
prodigals, expecting Him to robe us again
with the Lord Jesus, to remind us of the eternal covenant, to
prepare us with our shoes well fitted and shod to walk the next
steps that the Lord has laid before us. He is our wisdom. He is our righteousness. He is our sanctification. He is our redemption. He is all
of it. And we don't need and we dare
not go to God with anything else to boast in at all except the
Lord Jesus and Him crucified. Amen. Let's pray.