Nail Scarred Hands Made New. John Shorack

or an “unclean one” (Gal 3:13; Lev. 13:45–46). This is when being “in Christ” is the last thing we want.

      The dilemma we face as the elder sibling is not only estrangement from our adversary (“this son of yours”). Our rejection is more fundamentally a rejection of God’s lordship (the father’s authority), evidenced in our refusal to reconcile with those we’re at odds with. We don’t want to celebrate together as family.

      In the parable, the father demonstrates his authority by bearing the shame of the younger son in such a way that blindness is exposed, prejudices revealed, and self-interests laid bare. With the words “this brother of yours,” the dad exposes his firstborn’s true heart while reasserting his authority to define the relationships. Then, in the heat of the moment with emotions running high, the father’s shockingly tender response to the older son’s abusive treatment shakes his hearers to the core: “my dear son.”

      The elder sibling tries to redefine the relationships by taking himself out of the family equation. The father then exercises a loving, mature authority without shaming the son for his insolent behavior. He simply reasserts the true nature of the family.

      God’s vision of restored humanity requires more than converting the masses that, like the younger son, know they are in trouble and need restoration. What the Bible describes variously as shalom/peace, justice, the new man/humanity, or new creation remains incomplete without restoring the decent, law-abiding, proud ones, too. Nobody gets left out of this kingdom equation.

      Yet this doesn’t come without a cost. I liken it to a holy clash with the Almighty. In biblical terms, this offense is called a “stumbling block.” The father and his two sons embody this divine conflict.

      This, of course, leads us to Jesus, the storyteller himself. For he is the one to whom the parable points and whose mission it portrays.

1. Bailey, “Four Misconceptions.”