5 Notes on Joanna (the Disciple of Jesus)

Intro

We first read of Joanna in Luke 8:1-3. We learn that she was healed by Jesus (of what we do not know), that she was the wife of Chuza who was the manager of Herod’s household (Herod was ruler over Galilee), and that she provided for the practical needs of the ministry of Jesus and his other disciples. 

Her name is of Hebrew origin (meaning “Yahweh is a gracious giver”) but in the Greek format, suggesting she was perhaps a daughter of Hellenistic Jews. 

A Woman of Prominence in Society

As the wife of Herod’s household manager (similar to a CFO), she would have been both wealthy and well connected. In first century Palestine, it would be no little scandal that she followed Jesus and his largely peasant group – all while unchaperoned! It appeared that she was humbled by Jesus’ grace toward her and no longer cared much of what others thought of her. 

Interestingly, tradition tells the tale that Herod, who had beheaded John the Baptist, buried his head in a dung heap. Joanna is said to have retrieved John’s head and to have buried it on the Mount of Olives. 

A Witness of the Crucifixion

Although she is not specifically named as being at the crucifixion of Jesus, it is likely she was among the company of women following Jesus to Calvary (Luke 23:27). Remember that she was a member of Herod’s court and that Herod had just finished mocking Jesus and sending him back to Pilate to die. The bravery Joanna showed in doing this is remarkable. 

A Witness of the Resurrection

In Luke 24:1-10, we see that the author mentions Joanna as one of the very first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. This was both an honour and a surprise. A women’s testimony in first century Palestine was not given much credence, yet the Lord chose these women to be his first post-resurrection encounter. As usual, Jesus was honouring and respecting women in a society that didn’t.

Joanna and Junia

In Romans 16:7, Paul mentions his “kinsmen and fellow prisoners” Andronicus and Junia. Evangelical Scholar, Richard Bauckham, believes that Joanna and Junia are one and the same person; Junia being the Latin form of Joanna. This makes sense since Paul goes on to say that “they were in Christ before me”.  It is worth noting that Joanna started out as prominent in Herod’s court yet gave it all up for Jesus. Now, in Paul’s epistle, we see she is prominent among the apostles.  

This reminds me of missionary, Jim Elliot’s, quote:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” 

Joanna remains a vivid reminder of courage, generosity and devoted love for Christ. 

Endgame: The Avengers and the Gospel

My kids have recently become interested in Marvel movies – specifically the Infinity Saga. With Christmas break upon us, we have decided to watch Infinity War and Endgame. These movies, of course, are not perfect Christian entertainment – they have unnecessary swearing and some violence etc., but I also have found that they can offer some interesting insights into the Gospel (especially for kids).  

So please humour me as I try to identify a couple of these insights. 

I’ve always been struck with the way Dr. Strange uses the Time stone to look into the future and see millions of possible outcomes for the Infinity War against Thanos (whose name likely comes from the Greek mythological “Thanatos” who was the personification of death).  After looking into the future, Strange tells his fellow avengers that out of the multitude of potential results there is only one in which they win and Thanos is defeated.  Only one. 

While this analogy will obviously break down at points, it makes me think of how God sees all the future, sees all the possible outcomes, and knows which one is for the best for everyone involved.  Despite tremendous pain and suffering from Thanos’ snap (that eliminates half of all living creatures), Dr. Strange decided to give him the Time stone anyway because it was the only way to win in the endgame.  While God does not cause evil (free will does that), God has infinitely more wisdom than any Marvel character when he allows pain and suffering to happen in our lives. 

It is also true that both Natasha (Black Widow) and Tony (Ironman) sacrificed their lives to win this war with Thanos. You probably see where I’m going with this. In the war against Death and the Devil, Christ sacrificed his life to gain victory for all of us. 

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Please know that I am not trying to Christianise the Avengers. I am trying though to use secular poets and storytellers to convey Gospel truth (similarly to what Paul did in Acts 17 at Mars Hill).  While Marvel movies have definitely gone down hill recently, the Infinity Saga survives as some great story telling.

God bless.

The Nicene Creed

A church creed is kind of like a statement of faith but from early Christianity (roughly the first 500 years).  It articulates what the Scriptures teach and is agreed upon across a variety of Christian churches. 

The Nicene Creed* was undertaken when many church leaders came together in 325 A.D. at the lakeside town of Nicaea in modern day Turkey. There were a few leaders who were questioning the reality of the Trinity and whether Jesus was fully God (specifically a bishop named Arius). After the meeting of Nicaea, the matter was settled with a vast majority agreeing that the teaching of the Trinity was in line with Scripture and that Jesus was indeed fully God incarnated in the flesh. 

They later formed the Nicene Creed (at Constantinople in 381) which is now known as *the* creed of the Church because all branches and virtually all denominations of the church accept it (including Evangelical) despite their other important differences. 

Although this period of time was marked by political – and even religious -unrest (and Constantine wanted some type of unifying creed), the wording of the creed was formed from the teaching of the New Testament and is now universally accepted by the Church. 

As Dr. Greg Lanier points out, “…the concepts that later coalesce in the creeds are right there in the pages of Scripture from the outset of the Christian Church.” 

Scholar, Michael F. Bird, confirms this, “In other words, (*the creeds of Nicaea and Constantinople) of the fourth century are not purely politically driven and radically innovative statements of faith. They are, instead, contextualized clarification of New Testament teaching.” 

 

*Portions of the Nicene Creed:

“We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made… 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets…”

God the Son: 11 Scriptures that Teach Jesus Is Fully Divine

 

There are many Scriptures (and other reasons) that prove that Jesus was fully God. Not just the Son of God (which sometimes merely referred to kings) but truly God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity.  This list is only a sample of all the Biblical evidence out there but I believe these are some of the best. 

For the sake of brevity, I do not post all the content of the Bible passages but I highly recommend you read them along with the blog. For further reading please see Greg Lanier’s “Is Jesus Truly God?” and Michael F. Bird’s “How God became Jesus.”  

 

#1 John 1:1-14  

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (v.1-2)

The Word, of course, speaks of Jesus and this passage is a ringing endorsement for his divinity. Some, like the JW’s, manipulate the Greek text to say “The Word was a god,” thus diminishing Christ to some type of creature. However, for those who know Greek (I am not one) the context obviously translates it as “The Word was God.” (See Lanier’s book, p. 111-112 and 123-124 for an in-depth explanation.)

We see in verse 3 that Jesus could not possibly be a creature according to this passage for “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (v.3). So we see he is above the creator/creature divide. And in verse 14 we acknowledge the equally important truth that Jesus became fully human. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

#2 Philippians 2:6-11 

“…Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (v.5-7)

What a stunning declaration of Jesus’ full deity – “in very nature God.” This statement is thought to go back even earlier than Paul’s writing; to the very earliest times of the church. The passage then talks about Christ “emptying” himself to become human; some say he emptied himself of his divinity but this does not fit the context. Jesus was always God and then became a human as well – fully God and fully man all at once. It was not His Divine nature He emptied Himself of but rather His Divine rights; not His Divine attributes but rather His Divine privileges. 

Verses 9-11 are equally amazing as they quote a passage from Isaiah 45:23 that referred clearly to Yahweh (Jehovah). But here, Paul applies it directly to Jesus – he is saying Yahweh and Jesus are the same triune God. 

#3 Mark 14:61-64 (Daniel 7:13-14)

“Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (v.61-62)

In answering the high priest, Jesus borrows from the prophet Daniel’s vision in the Old Testament. Daniel speaks of “one like a son of man” and, in context, we see this is a divine being given divine rights.  Here, Jesus applies it to himself! We can further see the weight of his declaration by the response of the high priest – he rends his clothes, accuses him of blasphemy and condemns him to death. 

#4 Colossians 1:15-20

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation… For by him all things were created… And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…” (v.15,16a,17,19)

This passage, like the Philippians one, may also go back to a much earlier time in the church. “Firstborn of all creation” refers to Christ’s pre-eminence in rank not the idea that he was ever created in time; we see this in the next verse when we read that all things were created by Christ. See also Colossians 2:9. 

#5 Hebrews 1:1-9

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (v.3)

The English word, imprint, is from the Greek, “charakter.” Again, we see that Christ created all things and upholds all things; something which only God could do.  Its interesting to note that (like some of our other passages) we see here a pattern. First Jesus 1) existed as God before time 2) then he humbled himself to redeem humanity while retaining deity and 3) was later exalted again to the right hand of the Father again.   Jesus did not become “adopted” by God as a son after his resurrection, he always was God the Son and always will be. 

In verses 9 and 10, the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 45:6-7, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” However, the author says that Yahweh was actually talking about the Son! “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”

#6 John 12:39-41 (Isaiah 6:1-10)

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD (Yahweh) of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)

In Isaiah 6 we get a glimpse into the throne room of God where the angelic seraphim’s praise God by declaring the above statement about Yahweh. Later, Isaiah is told about how difficult it will be to minister to his people.  

When we jump ahead centuries later, we see John the Apostle quoting this passage about hardships - but this time about Jesus Christ.  Then to drop a proverbial deity bomb, John says, “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.” (John 12:41). In context we realize John is saying that the glory Isaiah saw in the throne room was that of Jesus the Son. 

#7 John 10:30-33

“I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Here again we see religious leaders of the day clearly understanding what Jesus was saying and reacting accordingly. The first verse though, “I and my Father are one,” is really indicative of a beautiful theme in the Gospels of Jesus declaring his unique relationship to his Father (Mark 14:36, John 10:38) and vice versa (Luke 3:22, Mark 9:7). In fact, only Jesus uses the term “My Father” in the New Testament – everyone else says “Our Father.”  

John 3:16 as well as 4 other references in John refer to Jesus as the “monogenes” of God the Father. The translation of this term is debated but can mean “only”, “only begotten” or “unique”.  Truly whatever relationship Jesus has with his Father is beyond any other type of relationship that humanity has with God. 

This special Father/Son relationship, as well as the relationship of the Holy Spirit (thus the Trinity) can be found in Luke 10:21-22 – a passage that even the most critical of secular scholar’s claim belongs to Jesus.

#8 John 8:56-59

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad… Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (v. 56, 58)

This is just one of the instances when Jesus says “ego imi” or “I am” without a predicate following it. This connects to Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” But Yahweh makes the “I am” statement elsewhere in the OT as well (Deuteronomy 32:9, Isaiah 41:14 and 43:10 etc.). 

By repeating this statement, Jesus is not just matching himself to Yahweh; he is also reinforcing the monotheism of the OT while strongly implying that God is more than just one Person (i.e. the Trinity). 

#9 Luke 24:51-53

“While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” 

The Greek word for “worship” is proskynein. In addition to worship of God, it can also mean a servant bowing down to his master (see Matthew 18:26) so we have to look carefully to see which one it means in context.  In this example in Luke (one of the earliest Gospels written), we see that Jesus ascends to Heaven and then the disciples began to proskynien – clearly, they are not bowing down to a master because the Master has already left. This is indeed worship of God. 

Other examples of Jesus being worshiped as Yahweh include Revelation 5:13-14 and Matthew 28:9 and 17. We must also note that when this type of worship was offered to an Angel (Rev 19:10, 22:8-9) and to a man (Acts 10:25-26) both beings refused it as it was only meant for Yahweh. Jesus had no issue with being worshiped this way. 

#10 John 20:27-28

Then he (Jesus) said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Here Thomas confesses That Jesus is Lord and God. The Greek, theos, we admit can sometimes be used to refer to a god, not the God. However, as we look at the context of the Gospel of John as well as the early Christian worship of Jesus as Yahweh, we see clearly what Thomas meant. 

Two other instances (there are more) of Jesus being called theos come to us in Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1. The former declares that we are, “…waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” 

#11 Mark 2:5-11

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (v. 5-7)

Jesus often did things that a Jewish audience would recognize as something only Yahweh could do. In this example we see him forgiving sins and the reaction of the Jewish religious leaders. There are others though. Perhaps the most astonishing is that Jesus is said to have “created all things” and also to “sustain all things”. 

 

As Lanier points out, “One might even say that these two exclusive prerogatives are the ultimate litmus test for what it means to be God. And though it may have shocked Jewish ears, precisely these two exclusive prerogatives are ascribed to Jesus early and uniformly in the New Testament.” (p.67)

Conclusion 

There are critics who claim that Jesus was not God at all but later became exalted to a god-like figure with the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). As we have seen though, the Old and New Testaments together declare the full divinity of Christ almost immediately after his time on earth. There was no time for a legendary status to grow; those who knew Jesus personally believed he was God and worshipped him as such from the beginning (Luke 24:52).  I’ll close with a couple of quotes from the scholars mentioned at the beginning:

“In other words, (*the creeds of Nicaea and Constantinople) of the fourth century are not purely politically driven and radically innovative statements of faith. They are, instead, contextualized clarification of New Testament teaching.” Michael F. Bird

“…the concepts that later coalesce in the creeds are right there in the pages of Scripture from the outset of the Christian Church.” Greg Lanier 

To Judge or not to Judge?

The Scriptures seems to encourage us to not judge others but also to judge rightly.

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matthew 7:1

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:24

So how do we reconcile this?  I believe it helps to realize that there are (at least) 2 types of judging in Scripture and in life. 

The first type of judging is selfish. Its motivation is pride and its goal is to build ourselves up by stepping on the backs of others.   This is what Jesus talks about in the early parts of Matthew 7.  

 “… how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (verses 4 and 5)

Hypocritical judgement compares and looks down on others. Jesus forbids judging this way but, in the end, he does prescribe a fair judging. 

If the first type of judging is selfish, then the second type is selfless. Its motivation is love and its goal is to see the other person restored to a healthy place with God, themselves and the community. 

Paul exemplifies this when he confronts his fellow Apostle, Peter, in Galatians 2. 

Peter knew that he should no longer keep himself separated from Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians yet, essentially because of peer pressure, he does just that.  Paul says, “When Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face…” because his, “conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel…”(verses 11 and 14)

Here, Peter played the hypocrite and stepped outside of Gospel truth. He was thus in need of someone who cared about him (and cared about the Gospel) to call him out and bring him back to a healthy place. 

Its worth noting too, that later in Matthew 7, Jesus us calls us to judge whether prophets are true or false “by their fruit”.  Clearly healthy discernment is needed in our lives. 

May we have wisdom when judgement is needed. And may that judgement be filled with compassion; always seeking the best for others while fully humbled by our own hypocrisies.

Is our Conscience Infallible?

I’ve been wanting to write about the human conscience for a while now because of the hard lessons I’ve learned about it over my lifetime.  

Growing up Christian, I tended to think that conscience is law.  That to not follow conscience is tantamount to disobeying God.  The truth about conscience; however, is more complex than that. 

The human conscience is a good thing and listening to it is often a wise thing to do. Even in Christianity, however, we must acknowledge that our conscience has been affected by sin entering the world. 

Therefore, conscience alone is not infallible; it must be formed and informed by the Word of God.  In other words, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is not always synonymous with the feelings of our conscience.  

Consider this Scripture: “…for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” 1 John 3:20.  

On this passage, Charles Spurgeon comments: “Sometimes our heart condemns us, but, in doing so, it gives a wrong verdict, and then we have the satisfaction of being able to take the case into a higher court, for ‘God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.’”

Revelation 12:10 also reminds that the devil is called the “Accuser of our brothers and sisters” and he “accuses them before our God day and night”.

Professional Counselor, Ed Welch, runs into faulty consciences often in his practice. He warns, “Don’t forget that your sensors for guilt and shame are fallible. They can be silent when they should say something, and they can also sound false alarms.” (Shame Interrupted, p.11)

You don’t have to be a Christian, though, to suffer from a faulty conscience. While most consciences are healthy and well worth listening to, there are exceptions.  On one extreme we can consider the sociopath, who has little to no conscience nor cares much for how other people feel. 

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, we have people like me, who suffer with Moral OCD (or Scrupulosity). This condition denotes a highly overactive conscience that can lead its victim to great internal pain and outward awkwardness. 

Alan Noble, an associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, writes about his Scrupulosity:  “What nobody told me was that your conscience, or what feels like your conscience, can be entirely mistaken through no fault of your own. Just like it’s possible to feel no guilt when you should, it’s possible to feel guilt or anxiety or shame over things that you shouldn’t feel bad about at all. Nobody told me how your mind can be your own worst enemy. How it can fixate on imaginary sins.”

My hope is that this will reach the person who is battling with an faulty conscience – whether it be a small problem or a clinical condition – with the hope that your conscience is not the be-all and end-all of your life. For the Christian this means that, through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, input from our brothers and sisters and even professional help, we can find freedom. 

The Gospel tells us that we are all actually all guilty before God but we can be, in Christ, fully redeemed and have “no condemnation” (Romans 8:1)

Abba (not the 70's Swedish pop band)

 

Sorry, this isn’t about the 70’s Swedish pop band, it’s about something even better. 

“Abba” is an Aramaic (an ancient near east language) word meaning something like “father” and it appears 3 times in the New Testament. 

There is some debate about it’s exact meaning with some scholars saying it’s a childlike term such as “daddy” or “papa”. Other scholars insist it is not necessarily a childish term but concede that it is a term of endearment between a father and his child.  In either case, it is a profound way to address God Almighty. 

Paul the Apostle uses it twice in his epistles (see footnote about sons and daughters*): 

“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!””  Galatians 4:6

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” Romans 8:15

Creator: kieferpix

In his commentary, Tim Keller asks an excellent question, then answers it: 

“Why would Paul use an Aramaic idiomatic phrase in a letter to Greek-speaking Galatians (or Romans) who didn’t know Aramaic…?  Because Jesus Christ used it in talking to His Father (Mark 14:36).”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before his crucifixion, Jesus asked his Father if there was any other way to redeem humanity:

“And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”” Mark 14:36

Can you imagine that those of us who believe the gospel and trust Jesus to redeem us, can actually refer to Jesus’ Father in the same manner that he does?  Keller continues:

“It was a daringly familiar term to use to address the LORD Almighty. So when Paul says that we should use it, he is vividly asserting that we have legally inherited the rights of Jesus Himself… all that is his is ours.”

Although sin (through free will) has shattered our world, we can still know that the Father, Creator of the cosmos, loves us as He loves His own divine Son (John 17:23) and we share in his inheritance. 

Sometimes things are too good *not* to be true. 

*Some newer translations render “sons” as “children” but Keller points out: 

“If we are too quick to correct the biblical language, we miss the revolutionary… nature of what Paul is saying. In most ancient cultures, daughters could not inherent property. Therefore, “son” meant “legal heir”... but the gospel tells us we are *all* sons of God in Christ. We are all (both men and women) heirs.”  

This would have flown in the face of the Greco-Roman patriarchal society of the time.  

 

A Bit about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

I have lived with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) likely most of my life but was only properly diagnosed at age 25 (just before I got married). Before that, I often blamed my OCD symptoms on only spiritual things. 

When you first mention OCD, people often think of “neat freaks” or people who clean a lot.  The image of constant hand-washing or germaphobes also comes to mind. But OCD can be much more than that and it can tear an other-wise normal person apart if left untreated. 

OCD is classified as an anxiety disorder and, as the name suggests, consists first of obsessions (like over-reacting to germs) and then by compulsions (like washing your hands till they bleed). Some studies have shown that OCD originates in the caudate nucleus near the front of the brain (when it is over-stimulated). 

OCD will often focus itself on what’s most important to you (health, family etc) and then torment you with the idea of that thing being in constant danger.  

In my case, OCD does take on a spiritual flavour. My faith is very important to me and thus OCD attacks it (If I didn’t have faith, then it would just attack something else in my life). Some have called this spiritual type of OCD “scrupulosity” and as I survey history, I can notice it in certain people such as John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim’s Progress) and Martin Luther (the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation). 

In my personal struggle, this often looks like a persistent fear of losing my salvation. Theologically speaking, I do not believe one can lose their salvation once they have trusted in Christ; however, OCD is not rational and, in that sense, I wrestle daily with thoughts and anxieties about it. It is a constant battle and the amount of mental energy it takes to “keep it together” leaves me exhausted. 

At any rate, I’m not writing for pity. I’m writing as a way to help explain what OCD is and how it affects people. If you suffer with OCD, please be encouraged. Through things like medicine, cognitive behaviour therapy and the support of family and friends it can get better. 

For Further reading please see:

The Obsessive-Compulsive Trap by Dr. Mark Crawford

Brain Lock by Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz

The Prodigal Son and his Brother

 

You have probably heard of the “prodigal son” from somewhere. He originates in a parable told by Jesus in Luke 15:11-32.   In the story, he abandons his father and demands his full inheritance at once (which was unheard of in that time and culture). He then goes on to waste it all away on “reckless living” in a far away land. 

The prodigal son represented the "tax collectors and sinners" that were listening to Jesus at the time. These folks were the marginalized in society. 

But Jesus starts this parable off by saying, “There was a man who had two sons.”  That’s right, the prodigal son had an older brother and that brother plays just as important a role in the story.

'The Return of the Prodigal Son' by Rembrandt.
Notice the younger brother collapsed in utter humility while
the older brother (on the right) looks on in disdain. 

You see, this parable is about two ways to be lost and one way to be found. The prodigal son shows us the first way to be lost – through reckless living and rebellion toward God (who is played by the father in this lesson). This way is often obvious to other people but there is a second way to miss God entirely and be lost.

Enter the older brother. The younger brother finally returns home and is overwhelmed by his father’s gracious and joyous welcome. But the older brother is miffed. He resents his little brother and the party that his father is throwing for his return. 

Luke tells us that he says to 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.”

The older brother represents the Pharisees who were listening to Jesus tell this parable. They were the religious leaders of the day but in their hearts, they had wandered far from God. They had an appearance of righteousness but their hearts were full of sin and pride, judgment and resentment. 

They thought they could earn their way into heaven with law keeping and good deeds. They thought that they deserved what could only be freely given. This is the second way to be lost.

So we see two ways to be lost.  What is the way to be found?  The Gospel of Jesus. The gospel tells us that no sin is too great to be forgiven (i.e. the younger brother). It always tells us that no good deed is great enough to earn forgiveness (i.e. the older brother). 

Only Jesus’ substitutionary death and resurrection can bestow the kind of forgiveness we need. And we can only receive that personally by humility and faith. 

Whatever “brother” we are – let’s comes back to the Father through Jesus. 

*This blog was inspired by Timothy Keller's "The Prodigal God" - a very worthwhile read.