Encountering Jesus will challenge us to pursue outsiders and celebrate when outsiders become insiders...

This week we have been looking at an encounter that a group of self righteous religious people had with Jesus that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Wednesday, we looked on as a father's youngest son, after rebelling against his father and experiencing the consequences of his selfishness and rebellion, came to the conclusion the his father treated his servants in a way that was way better off than he was being treated. And as a result of coming to that conclusion, the younger son made the decision to return to his father and ask to be hired on as one of his servants.

We looked on as the youngest son came to the conclusion that he did not deserve to be in a relationship with his father as a result of how he had treated his father. So the son made the decision to confess his selfishness and rebellion to his father in hopes that that his father would hire him and provide for him as a slave.

We looked on as the father saw his son approaching in the distance, he had pity for what his son had been through. And in his compassion, the father ran to the son. We looked on as the father, instead of hiring his son as a servant, welcomed his son home as a son. And a part of that welcome home the father ordered his servants to make all the preparations necessary so that the father could throw a huge party to celebrate that the younger son had returned home.

The father ordered the servants to prepare to throw a huge party for his son because his son who was separated from him had returned back home to live in relationship with him. The father ordered the servants to prepare to throw a huge party for his son because his son who was an outsider that was lost and far from him had been found by the father who had been searching for him. Jesus then reveals how the fathers oldest son responded to what was happening in Luke 15:25:

             "Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. "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.'

Now I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves in this parable as the older brother. I want us to take a minute and place ourselves in his shoes. You are out working for your dad in the field. And after a hard day's work, as you are returning home from work, you hear the sounds of a party going on. And when you ask why your dad decided to throw a party, you discover that the reason for the party was due to the fact that your younger, rebellious brother who had wished that your dad was dead had returned home.

Your younger brother, who did not want a relationship with his father, but just wanted what he could get from his father had returned home. And your dad is throwing a party for him. You are the older brother. What would you be thinking? How would you be feeling? How would you respond? We see how the older brother responded in verse 28:

                "But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'

Did you notice what the older brother did here? did you notice how the older brother referred to his younger brother? "But when this son of yours came". You see, in his judgmental anger, the older brother had disowned the son. While the father had been searching for the younger brother, the older brother was done with his younger brother.

After all, he was an insider with his father, while the younger brother was an outsider. After all, he was better than the younger brother. He was faithful to his father, his younger brother was faithless. He kept all the rules for his father, while his younger brother broke all the rules. Yet dad was throwing a party for this outsider, younger brother, instead of for the insider, older brother?

And in his anger, Jesus tells us that the older brother wanted nothing to do with the younger brother. In his anger, the older brother would not go into the home where the party was. Jesus then concludes His parable by explaining how the father responded to the older brother in verse 31:

            "And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"

Now did you notice what the father did here? Did you notice how the father referred to the younger brother? "for this brother of yours". You see, the father desperately wanted the older brother to welcome the younger brother back into the family. The father basically said to the son "You have always been with me, you never left me. And remember, I already gave you the half of the inheritance that was coming to you as a result of being my son. But son, we had to throw a party because your brother was separated from us and has now been reunited in relationship with us. We had to throw a party because your younger brother was an outsider that was lost, but now he is an insider that has been found".

Now if you grew up in or spent any time in church, you know that this famous parable has a famous name that is attached to it. This famous parable is referred to as the parable of the prodigal son. But Jesus point in telling this parable was not to focus on the behavior of the younger son who was the prodigal. Jesus point in telling this parable was to focus on the behavior of the older son.

You see, just like the older son, the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled and complained about those who were outsiders that were lost and were far from God hanging out with the Son of God. Just like the older son, the Pharisees and scribes, in their judgmental anger, had disowned those who were outsiders that were lost and were far from God. Just like the older son, while God the Father had been searching for the those who were outsiders that were lost and far from God, the Pharisees and scribes were done with those who were outsiders who were lost and far from God.

After all, the Pharisees and scribes thought that they were insiders with God the Father, while viewing those who were lost and were far from God were outsiders. And in their anger with Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes were threatening to not go into the home of Heaven where the party was going to be held for those who were outsiders that were lost and were far from God but had been found by God through Jesus.

And it is here in this event from history from the life of Jesus involving a series of parables addressed to self righteous religious people, that we see revealed for us a timeless truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: Encountering Jesus will challenge us to pursue outsiders and celebrate when outsiders become insiders. Just as it was for these self righteous religious people, just as it has been for humanity throughout history, encountering Jesus will challenge us to pursue outsiders and celebrate when outsiders become insiders.

Encountering Jesus will challenge us to see that while self righteous religious people often view those who were outsiders that were far from God as being insignificant, God views those who were outsiders that were far from God as being very significant. Encountering Jesus will challenge us to see that while self righteous religious people often are not concerned about those who are outsiders that are far from God,  there is great concern in Heaven for those who are outsiders that were far from God.

Encountering Jesus will challenge us to see that while self righteous religious people often have joy about being an insider, there was more joy in Heaven when an outsider becomes an insider than there is over those who are already insiders. And encountering Jesus will challenge us to see that while self righteous religious people often disown those around them who are outsiders that are lost and are far from God, Jesus passionately pursues outsiders that are lost and far from God and celebrate when outsiders become insiders who experience the forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

So here is a question to consider: if you were to find yourself as a character in this parable, which character would you be? Or better yet, if those who knew you best were to put you into this parable as a character in this parable, which character would they say you would be?