A Father’s Prodigal Love, Grand Finale {With the Emphasis on Grand} [3-1-26]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHjGOYAUbc

March 1, 2026

Luke 15:25-32

“A Father’s Prodigal Love, Grand Finale {With the Emphasis on Grand}”

Here’s the lead-in to the final verses of Luke 15:

But the father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

First off…even though the lost son has come to his senses, repented, and returned home, these facts remain:

By demanding his inheritance, he indicated his father was worth more to him dead than alive.

He didn’t care that he tarnished the family name.

He was a wastrel.

He was morally bankrupt.

Remember how Luke 15 begins:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

That’s the brilliance of this parable. Jesus is accused of what? He’s accused of caring about the lives of people exactly like the lost son. Where do you think Jesus is leading us?

Let’s see in Luke 15:25-32:

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Do you hear it? Again, how did Luke 15 begin?

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus welcomes all kinds of lost sinners. Then he tells two short parables about a lost sheep and a lost coin. The point there isn’t about willful sinners getting lost. The point is about joy in finding that which was lost. The lost son is the meat-and-potatoes of Jesus’ biggest point. Willful lostness is where we all were once or perhaps are right now. And who’s grumbling about it? The oldest son…the older brother. Like the Pharisees and scribes, he’s not feeling the father’s mercy and grace. No joy from him.

The sad part is the older brother had the example of his father’s love. We are told that while the lost son was a long way off, his father ran to him. That’s a huge expression of a father’s love. The lost son is far away. So the big question is, who is looking for whom? You get the sense that the father has been checking regularly to see if his lost son has come to his senses.

Now, if you’re a normal person, hearing this story for the first time, you are going to expect the father to yell at his son. Punish him. Perhaps slap him upside the head. But no. You are shocked to hear the grace and mercy poured upon the lost son. That’s a turn you least expect. We’re reminded of 2 Corinthians 5:17-19:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

That’s grace. That’s a father’s love for his lost son. That’s Good News for all

of us who once were lost but now are found. Or who are still lost and desperate to be found. Good News.

Which brings us to the amazing way Jesus concludes the story. Verse twenty-four tells us, “’For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” That would be a good place to end. As we saw in the lost sheep and lost coin, celebration is front and center. They began to celebrate…boom, end of story.

But no. Not here. Not now. Again, what have we already read?

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

There is a lot going on here.

First, there’s the oldest son. For the first time, since he was briefly mentioned at the beginning of the story, the older brother comes back into the story. While, like everybody else in the story, we’re not given his name, there is a connection Jesus wants us to make. Remember how Luke 15 started. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘”this man receives sinners and eats with them.’”

The oldest son is the Pharisees and the scribes in the story. He grumbles. He doesn’t like the favor and forgiveness visited upon the lost son. Notice his outrage. Notice his lack of grace. Notice him caring about something that is really none of his business. He reveals some huge character flaws:

He resents the joyous celebration. Can you imagine getting all bent out of shape because people are rejoicing over the return of a lost soul? How dare they have a little joy in their life, right?

Angry, he chooses to pout outside rather than embrace his father’s grace and mercy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be around whiners and pouters. It is not a good look. Especially in light of a blessed life and a more than kind father.

In verse twenty-eight, Jesus tells us the father “entreats” his son. That’s the same phrasing to describe the work of the Holy Spirit. The word literally means to come alongside of. It’s a very affectionate phrasing. To come alongside as in to be there to help or guide or assist. In spite of such tenderheartedness from his father, the oldest son stews in his anger. Yikes.

In answering his father, the oldest son jumps right into it with, “Look.” You can hear the disrespect. Again, spewed out toward the man who has been nothing but kind and loving. He might as well have said, “Hey, you, loser.” Just awful.

When he says, in verse twenty-nine, “Yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends,” he is excluding everybody but his closest friends from the party. A fattened calf will feed a long list of invitees, while a young goat is intentionally meant only for a small gathering. It is so rude.

Finally, adding insult to injury, in verse thirty, he refers to his brother as this son of yours. He can’t even call him my brother. That is intentional cruelty. The younger brother has done nothing to him. The only thing hurt is his self-righteousness and sense of entitlement.

In these short verses, we learn how dark sided the older brother is. The father runs into a buzz saw of complaints from his oldest son. And make no mistake. As we’ve already noted, none of this is the business of the oldest son. Why do people do that? It’s between father and youngest son. He’s his son…it’s his money…it’s his forgiveness to do with as he pleases. If anything, the oldest son should be thankful he has a father with such deep and abiding love. Grace and mercy do not always run deep. But this father, he loves deeply and sacrificially. We would think the oldest son would celebrate that. At the very least, we’d think he’d mind his own business.

What does it hurt to rejoice?

Here’s something else you might want to write down:

THOSE WHO ACCEPT CHRIST MUST ACCEPT OTHERS ACCEPTED BY CHRIST.

Are you with me on that? It should be enough for the oldest brother to rejoice and celebrate because the father rejoices and celebrates. Instead, he begrudges the father’s joy. He should be celebrating his father’s joy. That should make him happy. Amen?

It’s always a good thing to know that God saves the worst of sinners. Because how else could we be saved? I love how Paul puts it in Romans 5:1-2 & 10:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much

more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

One final thought before we get to the subtle yet powerful conclusion. From the moment he makes the decision to return home, each unfolding moment sears truth into the soul of the youngest son. Sadly, his older brother is too hard-hearted to see it or embrace it. In one story, Jesus is giving us the gospel in a nutshell:

REPENTANCE…UNCONDITIONAL LOVE…AND THE JOYFUL WELCOME OF SINNERS.

That’s it. That’s the trajectory of Jesus setting his face for Jerusalem. And this singular parable captures the essence of the gospel.

Which leads us to the cliffhanger ending. When the father says it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, he means no less than the absolute affirmation that we had to celebrate. The implication being, to the older son, we will celebrate for you, too, if you come in.

Thusly the story ends. The older brother is still on the outside, looking in.

Will he join the party? Will he fully embrace his father’s grace and mercy?

What will he do? Will he go inside? What will you do? Will you go inside?

Let’s close with the short prayer Charles Spurgeon closed his sermon on the Parable of the Prodigal Son with back in December of 1891:

“Lord, give to many poor trembling souls the will to come to You! Bring many sinners to Your blessed feet, and while they are yet a great way off, run and meet them; fall on their neck, give them many kisses of love, and fill them to the full with heavenly delight, for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.”