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The man and his wife were driving down the road one morning in his old pickup truck; the same one he took her out in on their first date all those years ago, when pickups had bench seats. This particular morning she had a slightly frustrated look on her face. “What is it?” asked her husband. “Oh, I was just thinking,” she said, “that when we were dating, and when we were newlyweds, we always sat right next to each other, and your arm was around me as you drove.” The man kept driving, thinking about it, but not saying anything. “Well?” said his wife. Finally he said, “I didn’t move”.
Shabbat Shuvah – the Sabbath of Repentance, between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, is an appropriate time to think about our relationship with the Lord. And, since the word shuv literally means ‘turn’ let’s consider what it means to do a 180° turn towards God. And, I can think of no better illustration than the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Luke 15:1-2
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the Scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them…”
You know what scares me? I wonder occasionally whether I might have grumbled just like the Pharisees or Scribes. That question never occurred to me as a young, zealous believer. But forty years in Messiah is plenty of time to fail, to have unworthy attitudes, to commit sin, and to see what I’m really made of; and I’m just grateful for His grace. May I never become smug and disdainful of sinners. I suppose we’re all at risk of that happening. Is it inevitable that we go from being brand-new, on-fire believers, reckless with joy and awe, into becoming stuffy, self-righteous party-poopers?
But the fact is that lots of un-religious folks and even big-time sinners like tax-collectors (the ultimate ‘traitors’ of that time) came to Yeshua to learn; and weren’t turned away. They must have sensed He was approachable and they were awed by His teaching. The fact that Yeshua welcomed them was not an endorsement of their lifestyles; but that welcome was the catalyst that led such people to repent and follow Him. Rabbi Paul had this in mind when he wrote, do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? (Rom. 2:4). Remember, it was from tax collectors that we got a Matthew and from ‘sinners’ that we got a Mary Magdalene.
So Luke tells us that all these alleged ‘lowlifes’ came to Yeshua, and the religious leaders were indignant about it. Maybe they knew deep down that His inspired teaching and gentleness stood in contrast to their own harsh, lifeless version of religion. In any case, these Scribes and Pharisees didn’t get it. They didn’t understand the heart of the Father. Yeshua went on to tell three parables, each one highlighting the joy in Heaven when even one sinner repents.
Alfred Edersheim, the great Messianic scholar of blessed memory, quoted a saying of the rabbis that reads: “There is joy before God when those who provoke Him perish from the world.”[1] What a stark contrast between the vindictiveness of legalistic religion and the determination on God’s part to bring sinners back to Himself in repentance.
And what a picture of activity in Heaven! Those who imagine Heaven as a pleasant but boring place have it all wrong. Every time a sinner turns from his ways and comes to God through faith in Messiah Yeshua, they are whooping it up there. On that Friday evening in March of 1981 there must have been a hundred or more people who, along with me, took the invitation to follow Yeshua, and who can begin to fathom the joy in Heaven that night? But we’re told there is more joy in Heaven over even one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who need no repentance. What I want to know is: where are those 99 people? Are there really any righteous people who need no repentance? As for me, I was definitely a stray. But our God searches out the strays – diligently, consistently and successfully.
God’s priority is the salvation of human beings. If our hearts are beating in concert with His, that will be our priority, too. On this Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Repentance, let’s see what God wants us to know. Let’s hear the story Yeshua told in this same chapter, beginning at verse 11.
And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.
We’re not told why the younger son was so eager to have his share of the inheritance. Evidently he took for granted the affection and provision and protection of his father’s estate. What the son did wasn’t normal behavior; it was extremely disrespectful. It was like saying, “I don’t want to wait until you die, I want my inheritance now!” The father wasn’t obligated to comply with his son’s demand, but he gave the foolish son what he asked for. It’s a good idea to think twice about what you ask for. You may not be morally or emotionally suited to properly handle the thing you ask for. Let’s continue.
And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
The young man not only alienated himself from the family, but departed for a foreign land. It is a clear picture of what exile is like – being far away from the place of blessing and safety. We’re not told what motivated the younger son to leave, but evidently he wanted to get as far away from his father’s estate as he could. Maybe he wanted to sample the wild life. The ‘grass-is-greener’ syndrome almost always proves to be a lie. The pursuit of pleasure left the young man bankrupt.
Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, but no one was giving anything to him.
The ‘exile’ to a distant land (a self-imposed exile, since it was his choice) was bad enough. Now it was compounded by famine. When we remove ourselves from God’s covering, we subject ourselves to uncertain and even perilous circumstances. Sometimes I think we take the blessings we have in Yeshua for granted. We start riding the fence; seeing how close we can get to the world without getting burned. I know several people who followed the example of the prodigal son, and most of them are still in ‘exile’.
Remember, this is the Jewish Messiah telling a parable to a Jewish audience. Today it might not seem so bad, but in the cultural context of that day we are meant to understand that this young man had completely hit rock bottom; stuck in a distant land, flat broke, having to work as a servant for a foreigner, feeding pigs for a living, and longing even to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating. His employer took advantage of his helpless condition, and wasn’t paying him. There’s actually a rabbinical saying, “When Israel is reduced to (eating from) the carob tree, then he becomes repentant.”[2]
But when he came to his senses…
This is the beginning of repentance. This is where it starts. There needs to be an honest admission. “I have screwed up, and it’s entirely my own doing. I can’t blame at anyone or anything else; I did this to myself.” The prodigal son was at his wit’s end. God could now speak to his heart: “Are you done now? Have you had enough of your own way?” God allowed the disastrous circumstances to overtake him, and it humbled him. He was now at the place of being able to admit his folly, beginning with the decision to leave his father’s estate, and that he had only himself to blame for his pathetic situation. That’s called coming to your senses.
But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father.
He came to his senses, and he acted on what he knew was true and right. He turned around and came home straightaway. This is more than a change in philosophy. This is more than mere intellectual acknowledgement of wrong. He turned. The same Hebrew verb (t’shuvah) meaning turn is also translated repent. Repentance isn’t defined by feeling bad about your sin. It means you turn away from that sin. You leave that way of life behind. And so he got up and returned to his father. That was a good move!
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son…’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
The father saw him from a long way off, and do you know why? Because the father had always been watching for him! That’s the heart of God! And notice how delightfully undignified the father is – he runs to greet his son! There are no pretensions of pride. The father didn’t stand aloof and say, “Oh, look who’s finally figured out he was an idiot! Well, if he wants forgiveness, let him come to me and beg me to forgive him.” There was none of that! With reckless abandon the father ran to his son and threw his arms around him. And you can bet the young man didn’t look very good or smell very good, considering his most recent employment and the long, long journey he’d been on. It didn’t matter. Who cares about such things when someone you love and yearn for returns home?!
The son is quick to confess his sin against his father and against God. Have you noticed that instead of saying, “God,” he said “I have sinned against heaven…”? It was a common and reverential way of speaking about God indirectly, lest we inadvertently ascribe any unworthy motive or emotion.
There’s no downplaying of the son’s folly and sin (“this son… was dead”), but the overwhelming joy at his return completely overshadows it, and a great celebration ensues. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us!” So yes, he had sinned, but he has repented and returned, and now it’s time for celebration! But not everyone was happy.
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…’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in;
At first blush, we’re inclined to say, “Good grief, why the attitude?” We wonder why the older brother is so bitter and resentful. We identify with the younger brother because all of us like sheep have gone astray and we identify with the Father, because of his love for and welcoming back of the prodigal son. But more of us suffer from the older-brother-syndrome than we’d like to admit. This parable has been interpreted in many different ways over the ages. Some theologians have interpreted the older, resentful brother to be Israel, and the younger brother, the wild prodigal, to be the Gentiles. At one time you could have certainly made the case; Rabbi Paul spoke of God bringing salvation to the Gentiles in order to make Israel jealous.
But suppose I told you that today the roles have reversed; that the shoe is now on the other foot. Sadly, some Christians resent the modern re-birth of the nation of Israel. I’ve met Christians (even pastors!) who are dismissive of the movement of Jewish people coming to faith in Yeshua; who look with disdain on Israel. Some even go so far as to say things like “Since the Jews rejected Jesus, (never mind that Jews were the first evangelists for Him!) they are out of the picture now, and the Church has replaced Israel.” Is it possible that some in the Church are the resentful, belligerent older brother? Listen to what happened next:
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…’ 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.’”
The first problem with the resentful older brother was that he felt he had to earn the good will of his father, whereas the truth is the father loved both sons, regardless of their good or bad ‘works’. Yes, the prodigal son rebelled, and as a result forfeited – for a time – the safety and abundance he once enjoyed on his father’s estate. But this could never destroy the love of a father for his son, not even one so wayward.
The second problem was the older brother allowing bitterness to dominate his thoughts. Rather than pity his younger sibling the inevitable woes that accompany godless living, the older brother saw himself as morally superior, and resented the fact that ‘walking the straight and narrow’ didn’t seem to get him any greater recognition.
Even if he felt his grievance was legitimate, he could have at least restrained his anger for the sake of his father, who was overjoyed at the safe return of his wayward son. We witness in the father’s plea to the older sibling yet more humility. Just as the father did not consider it beneath him to go running to greet his returning prodigal, he was not too proud to go out to the older son and beseech him to celebrate with them.
Yeshua never did finish the story – intentionally. He left us to think about who we most resemble. Are you the wayward one? If so, and if you think you have to clean up your act before you can return to God, then you completely missed the intent of this parable. He wants you to come home. It doesn’t matter where you were, or what you did – He’ll take you as you are, right now, and He’ll gladly and beautifully handle the clean-up job.
Are you the older brother? Are you holding a grudge? Do you resent what’s been done for someone else, thinking you’re more deserving? If you insist on holding a grudge, and not forgiving that person, then you missed the intent of this parable as well. Will you repent of self-righteousness and welcome those who may have hurt you, and who are only recently coming to their senses and returning home? Will you join the festivities that are even now in progress? The end of the story for each of us is yet to be played out. Will it end in joyous reconciliation or bitter isolation? It’s your call.
I should also point out that the ‘exile’ of the Prodigal Son, at another level, represents Israel’s 2,000 year exile from the estate of his Father, for having forsaken Messiah Yeshua. Consequently, we have had to serve other nations, and live in desperate conditions. We are now, however, beginning to come to our senses. Just as the son turned, so now Israel needs to turn to Yeshua.
Know this for certain: God seeks out the strays. I, for one, am grateful that He doesn’t give up His pursuit. He will go as far as is necessary, and in fact we know He already went to unimaginable lengths, and at great personal cost, to retrieve us. He sent His Son Yeshua, to sacrifice His own life in our place; taking the punishment that we deserved; dying so that we might live.
Aren’t you glad God sought for us? Aren’t you glad He succeeded?
Will you come home, return to the Father’s love, on this Shabbat Shuvah?
[1] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah © 1971 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, pg. 256 (quoting Sifre, Friedman ed. pg. 37).