The Good Bad Guy

 Please notice with me Luke 15:25-32, “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ‘The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But 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. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ ‘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.’”

This morning, I want to pick up where I left off last Sunday. In that message we looked at:

·         The prodigal's rebellion and his subsequent trip to the far country; 

·         As well as the father’s attitude and actions upon the lad’s return. 

·         Today, as strange as it seems, we will notice that this beautiful story fails to give us a happy ending. You see, we still have another person that we have to consider. He is the other prodigal -- the older brother. I like calling him the "good bad guy." To be sure, the elder brother is just as big a player in this story as anyone else.

I am an older brother. I am the oldest of five children. In some ways I can understand this fellow. To be honest, he haD some very good points.   

·         He worked hard. In fact, he was coming in from a hard day in the field when he first heard that a party was going on.

·         He had been faithful to his father. He had been there during the dark, lonely days when the younger son was away doing his thing.

·         He had never brought disgrace to his family or on his village.

·         He had friends, in fact, he had enough friends that he could have thrown a pretty good party himself.

He seemed like a good solid citizen. In many ways, when compared to his younger brother, he was almost a saint. From all outward appearances, he was the pick of the litter!

Interestingly enough, though, Jesus does not paint him in a good light. While it was true that he was obedient and diligent, it is also true that these are not the only tests of character.

PLEASE NOTICE:

·         The prodigal son was guilty of obvious sins of the flesh; the elder brother was equally guilty of sins of the spirit. 

·         The younger one's sins were open and public; the older one's sins were more private, inward, hidden, away from view.

·         While the prodigal is usually classified as the bad guy here, the real villain turns out to be the so-called good boy. His outward actions may have been blameless, but the leanings of his heart were evil and mean.

As Jesus was talking about the older brother, he was actually describing the attitude and spirit of the Scribes and Pharisees as well as the other religious leaders of the day. His words likewise yet apply to anyone who is proud, self-righteous, and who is counting on religion or works -- rather than Jesus Christ --to get him or her to heaven.

Let us now look at some of The SPECIFIC sins OF THE ELDER BROTHER. I will give you eight

1.         He was full of self-righteousness and pride 

He openly announced the sins of his brother, but he could not see his own sins. While he could very easily see the speck in his brother’s eye, he refused to see the beam that was in his own!

Although his sins were just as bad as any that his brother committed, he could not see that at all. He thought that because he didn’t lie, cheat, and steal, he was a righteous man. He completely missed the message of the Sermon on the Mount and its emphasis on inward attitudes and holiness of heart.

·         He reminded his father that he had always obeyed his commands. 

·         He was proud that he had not wasted his income on wild living.

·         He was proud that he had stayed home instead of running off with his inheritance. In the end, he proved to be as proud and arrogant as his younger brother proved to be humble and contrite.

Turn with me to a very interesting passage in the Old Testament. I speak of Numbers 12:1-11. Please listen, “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ‘Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?’ they asked. ‘Hasn't he also spoken through us?’ And the LORD heard this.... At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, 'Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.’ Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, ‘Listen to my words: ‘When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?’ The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the tent, there stood Miriam--leprous like snow.’”

Aaron was the high priest. He was a great man and the brother of Moses. Miriam was also a great lady as well as Moses’ sister. She was a wonderful songwriter and prophetess. And yet as good as these two people appeared to be on the outside, they suffered from the “Elder Brother Syndrome” on the inside.  Notice their list of sins:

·         They were self-righteous and full of pride; 

·         They envied Moses’ position and influence; 

·         They were critical and talked aloud against him;

·         They were not afraid to attack God’s servant; nor did they fear God; 

·         They disapproved of his choice of a wife -- it is thought that she was a black lady;

·         They also proudly noted that God did not only speak to and through Moses, he could speak to and through them as well. 

On the outside they looked great, so proper, so right with God! But on the inside, they were being eaten alive with pride and jealousy as well as other attitudinal problems. As a result, God struck Miriam with leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened to his sister, he immediately prayed, “Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.”

·         They had not worshipped an idol.

·         They had not committed immorality.

·         They hadn't killed any-one, nonetheless, they had committed sin. Foolish sin. Religious sin. God-offending stinking sin!

Matthew 15:18-19 declares, “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

The real issues of life and death come from the inside of a man. You can look like, act like, smell like, and talk like a holy person, but if your heart is unclean, then nothing else matters. Miriam and Aaron had evil in their hearts. The elder brother did too! Their evil was just as offensive to God as if they had gone out and committed adultery! Their sin stemmed from a base of pride and self-righteousness.

2.         he failed to love his brother

Even though he knew it would make his father very happy, the elder brother did not want the younger brother to come home -- that’s a fact. He wanted him to stay in the far country living with the pigs!

His whole attitude was one of utter lack of sympathy or compassion. In verse 30 he sneers, “But when this son of yours....” Have any of you parents ever played that game? “Do you want to hear what YOUR son did today?” That’s what’s happening here. Same thing! He refers to his brother, not as “my brother” but as “YOUR SON.” He laid no claim to him. As far as the elder brother was concerned, the younger brother deserved zip!

I love what the father says at the end of the story. “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.”

He reminds his oldest son that the prodigal was his brother too. He also tells him that the wanderer had been considered lost, dead. The proper attitude upon the lad's return would therefore be one of joy and gladness. The oldest son had cause to celebrate! 

Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are, love God and love others. In fact the Apostle Paul wrote in the great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

The point is that even if one has the greatest spiritual enablements and makes the greatest personal sacrifices, if he or she does not possess the agape of God, the person’s reward and gain will be zero, nada, nothing, zilch, zip, nil! I think you get the idea. 

The elder brother failed to raise the needle above "E" on the love gauge. He did not love God (represented in the story by the father), and he did not love his brother. Failing to love, he utterly failed period!

3.         Look with me now at his terrible jealousy

This dude was jealous! In fact, his jealousy was so bad that he refused to go in the house and enjoy his father’s celebration! This is the very same guy who was wanting to party in verse 29. When it came right down to it, though, he balked! Jealousy does that. It robs a person of the very things that he or she loves and wants. Not only did he not go in, we have no record of his saying even one word to his brother.

Then, too, I want you to notice that he bitterly accuses his father of playing favorites! This guy really knew how to rain on his dad’s parade, wouldn’t you say? He complained that his father had never given him even a baby goat much less a fatted calf.

The fellow was having himself some kind of king-sized pity party!

Due to his jealousy: 

·         He missed the joy of forgiving his brother and restoring a broken relationship, 

·         He missed the joy of pleasing his father,  

·         He missed the joy of reuniting his family once again. 

I want to briefly note something here that I find very interesting. This the fifteenth chapter of Luke is filled with joy. 

·         In verses 1-7 the shepherd rejoices over the return of his one lost sheep to it’s fold.

·         Then in verses 8-10 the woman and her friends rejoice over the fact that she found her one lost coin.

·         The story of the Prodigal Son also pictures a happy and celebrating father rejoicing over the return of his lost boy. The father is happy; the former prodigal is likewise happy.  Everyone in the chapter is filled with joy except for one individual--the elder brother. He was jealous and hate-filled therefore he had no joy.

Galatians 5:19-21 lists the works or deeds of the flesh. The Bible says, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Several years ago a cute television commercial coined the term, "Parts are parts." Along that same line, flesh is flesh. Whether it is immorality, drunken-ness, or witchcraft, flesh is flesh. Whether it is hatred, jealousy, or envy, flesh is flesh. Sometimes flesh manifests itself as it did with the Prodigal Son, sometimes it manifests itself as it did with the Elder Brother. Regardless, flesh is offensive to God and it is sinful! The Apostle Paul therefore stated, “I warn you, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

·         Jealousy shut the brother out of the party that his family was having,

·         It likewise robbed him of the joy that surrounded him,

·         Worse of all, though, it was a sin and an offense against God Almighty!

4.         next, he manifests a complete lack of forgiveness

One of the simplest truths in all of Scripture is, he who refuses to forgive is not forgiven!

The Elder Brother was a two time loser in this area. He refused to forgive his brother who had wasted away his inheritance and disgraced the family name. But he also refused to forgive his father who had graciously forgiven the young man of those very sins! 

As I studied this story, I was amazed at the stark contrast between the father and the oldest son. It draws a tremendous picture of the difference between forgiveness and a lack of forgiveness. 

·         The father gave a kiss instead of a lecture,

·         A party instead of prison,

·         A robe, ring, and shoes instead of bitterness, hatred, and condemnation.  

In short, forgiveness offers love while unforgiveness demands rejection.

5.         Next, he fails to honor his father

Read his words once again. In the East, one’s father was to be spoken to and treated with the utmost respect. That respect is missing in the elder brother! The good boy was guilty of breaking the Fifth Commandment -- “Honor your father and your mother....”

 6.         The sixth evil that the brother manifests is a CRITICAL AND JUDGMENTAL SPIRIT

He accuses the younger brother of wasting the father’s money on prostitutes. There is no mention of prostitutes in the story until he brings them up! The Bible says that the boy wasted his living on “wild living.” That is it! Whether prostitutes were a part of his wild living, we can not know for sure. Rather than being happy that his brother was back, the older son indulged in character assassination.

He, no doubt, suspected and accused his brother of the very sins that were residing within his own heart. Notice Romans 2:1-3, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.  So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?”

I want to now share with you an illustration from Max Lacado's excellent book, In The Grip Of Grace. "Suppose God simplified matters and reduced the Bible to one command: 'Thou must jump so high in the air that you touch the moon.' No need to love your neighbor or pray or follow Jesus; just touch the moon by virtue of a jump, and you'll be saved.

We would never make it. There may be a few who jump three or four feet, even fewer who jump five or six; but compared to the distance we have to go, no one gets very far. Though you may jump six inches higher than I do, compared to the 230,000 miles that remain, who can boast?

The thought of it is almost comical. We who jump three feet look at the fellow who jumped one inch and say, 'What a lousy jump.' Why do we engage in such accusations? It's a ploy. As long as I am thinking of your weaknesses, then I don't have to think about mine. As long as I am looking at your puny jump, then I don't have to be honest about my own. I'm like the man who went to see the psychiatrist with a turtle on his head and a strip of bacon dangling from each ear and said, 'I'm here to talk to you about my brother.'

It's the universal strategy of impunity. Even kids use it. If I can get Dad more angry at my brother than me, I'm off scot-free. So I accuse. I compare. Rather than admit my own faults, I find faults in others. The easiest way to justify the mistakes in my house is to find worse ones in my neighbor's house.

Such scams do not work with God. Read carefully Paul's words, “God isn't so easily diverted. He sees right through all smoke screens and holds you to what you've done. You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that just because he's such a nice God he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change” (Romans 2:2-4 The Messenger).

We aren't good enough to judge. Can the hungry accuse the beggar? Can the sick mock the ill? Can the blind judge the deaf? Can the sinner condemn the sinner? No. Only One can judge....”

Matthew 7:1-2 records Jesus’ words in this regard, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” The elder brother was, quite simply put, casting judgment on himself. By opening his mouth to cast judgment on his brother, he at the same time opened his heart and revealed what was in there to the whole world.

7.         He served with a wrong motive

Next, I want you to notice that he viewed his relationship with the father as less than that of a son. Verse 29 states: “But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.” Another translation quotes: “I served you like a slave....”

His whole attitude shows that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not loving service. His heart had not been in his work. Rather, he was always dreaming of throwing a big party at which he and his friends could really get down and enjoy themselves. Again, he was a hard worker, a faithful worker -- qualities to be commended -- but his work was not a “labor of love.”

As Jesus was telling of the older brother, he was speaking directly of the Pharisees of His day. He was also talking about anyone who serves the Lord out of some sense of duty rather than out of love. It is with this thought in mind that the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:2, (The Living Bible) “Fellow elders, this is my plea to you: Feed the flock of God; care for it willingly, not grudgingly; not for what you will get out of it but because you are eager to serve the Lord.”

8.         He never says that he is sorry

You can look, but you will never find the older brother saying, “I’m sorry.” The prodigal said it. The elder brother didn’t -- couldn’t. He was too good, too right, too proud. He was just too angry!

How many of you have been to a testimony service put on by Teen Challenge? I have been to many, many of them. I never grow tired of seeing and hearing what God can do in the life of a sinner. I love hearing how He delivers from drugs, alcohol, sexual addictions, and more. God's grace is boundless! Such testimony services are stories of prodigal sons and daughters that have come home.

However, have you ever seen a testimony service where former elder brothers have testified of their deliverance from pride and arrogance, envy and jealousy, a critical spirit, hated and bitterness? Can you remember a time when they have said, “I’m sorry?” I haven’t--ever. If such a person were to offer such a confession, I would guess it would go something like this:

"Hi, I'm Jim.  I am a converted sinner. No, I never did drugs or anything like that.  Instead, I was active in the choir. I gave generously to the church. I was even a deacon for a time. My sin was I simply hated people. I was critical and mean-spirited. Oh, sure, I knew what the Bible said about love but I justified my hated. The ones that I gossiped about needed to be talked about. I had to let other people know that I did not approve of what he or she was doing. When I hurt them, I felt a satisfaction in their pain. They deserved to hurt. Sometimes I attacked the preacher, other times I vented my anger on a Sunday school teacher, or on the custodian. No, I never saw my own fault, I only saw other people's sins. Mine didn't seem to matter. Now I realize how wrong I was. I was used of the devil to tear down rather than build up and edify. My hated shut me out from God's favor. I understand now that all that I did before was only so many filthy rags. I stand here today though as a trophy of the Lord’s amazing grace. He loved me, forgave me, and restored me. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus.”   

“My name is Sue. I have been a Christian for ten years. I thought I loved God and His church, but I realize now that I didn't. I loved me, myself, and I. I could never rejoice in someone else's victories. I could never be happy if someone else was blessed; if someone else got a promotion or maybe a new car. If it wasn’t me that was in the limelight, then forget it. As a result of my attitude, I literally made everyone in the church miserable. I remember talking to a new convert once. She was so happy, so full of joy. I was angry that I did not feel the way she felt so I told her that her blessing would not last. I made sure that she understood that she was going to have to change a few things if she was going to live for Christ. I tried to stamp her joy out rather than rejoice with her. That was so immature and mean. 

I still remember the day that the Holy Spirit got though to me. He was so gentle and yet so firm. For the very first time in my life, I saw myself as He saw me. I could do nothing but cry and repent for the rest of the day. I was oh so sorry! I am a different person now. Everything has changed. I have experienced love for Jesus and others that I have never felt before. God is wonderful.” 

Each one of these two testimonies dealt with a different aspect of the elder brother's sins. They were not just sins though, they were religious sins. They were sins that otherwise good people often feel justified in committing. They were sins that Christians often fail to repent of or say I’m sorry for.  God help us! 

I want us to now briefly LOOK at the actions of the father toward this son.

1.         Although it is obvious that he loved this son, he did not invite the lad to come to the celebration 

He sent for the robe, the ring, shoes, and for the fatted calf. We also know that certain friends and neighbors were also invited over for the party. Yet, all the while, the older brother was not issued an invitation. I find that very interesting. Don’t you? He was allowed to continue working in some field. 

I have looked into this. To be honest, I have found nothing written on this. I am left to my own imagination. I think that father knew how the fellow would act upon his brother’s return. He was aware of the his unforgiving spirit. He knew that he would be a wet blanket on the celebration.

Believe me, I know when I am liked and when I am not. I am smart enough to tell that. Aren’t you? Dad knew that the fellow would go into a pout. He would act mean. He would cause hurt, therefore, he left him at work!

2.         Nevertheless, the same father who ran to meet the prodigal came out of the house of feasting to plead with the older son 

How gracious. How kind! How patient. He still cared. He was still playing the role of the loving seeker. The Bible says that he pleaded with the older brother to join the celebration. The word “pleaded” as used here means “kept urging, imploring, begging, exhorting.” 

3.         He addressed the older son with affection, literally as “child”

Again, this was a manifestation of his love that he had for both of his sons. He reminded the older boy that “all that I have is yours.” The brother still stood to inherit all of the father’s possessions since the younger son had already received his inheritance.

4.         Finally, the FATHER wanted the lad to understand THE REASON FOR HIS GREAT JOY -- his son was back 

That was the bottom line. The prodigal had come back home. Again, the one that had been lost had been found. The one that was dead was now alive!

For him love was a stronger motivation than justice. He did not deny that the younger son had wronged both the older brother and him, nor did he claim that his sins were not heinous. However, please note that he did not detail the boy’s sins either. It was as if each of his sins had been forgotten--stricken from the lad’s record. The father merely focused on the fact that the boy was back home! He no doubt hated what the young man had done, however he loved the person more than he hated the sin. My friends, this is a beautiful picture of the awesome grace of an awesome God!

As I close, I want to make another observation that involves the whole chapter once again. At the beginning of the chapter the lost sheep is found and is returned to it’s sheepfold. Next, Jesus shows us that the coin that had been lost had been found and had been returned to the other coins in the lady’s purse. Finally, the prodigal is seen returning to his father and to his household. In the end, the only one who is left outside, in the whole chapter, out of three different parables, is the good bad guy, the elder brother. 

He was simply shut out of the blessings of the celebration by his own sin. Jesus had made His point. Serving God involves more than slavish adherence to some legal code, it includes love for God and one’s fellow-man. Without such love, one may merely be just another good bad guy.