An Alternate Telling of the Prodigal Son

[walla299]

This article is not mine. I found it here: An Alternate Telling of the Prodigal Son.

It's what might have happened if the Prodigal had met his older brother on the way back home before meeting his father.

This version of the story reminds me of the bad reception many receive in their families, communities, and some churches (certainly not all! This is not about church bashing.) I've heard the stories from others and you probably have as well. Perhaps we could discuss things. So here goes:

Quote

None of Us Will Ever Forget What You Did

The young man had forsaken his father, claimed an early inheritance, and blown it all in reckless living. Having fallen from riches to poverty, this prodigal son was now in the most desperate of straights—working hard, eating little, spiraling ever downward.

But on one brutal day, when he was as low as low could be, a thought suddenly flashed into his mind: “At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and I’m here dying of hunger!” The thought birthed an idea: “I will go home to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.’” He understood that though he was no longer worthy to be considered his father’s son, he would gladly take a place as his father’s slave.

So he set out to return home and at last arrived at the outskirts of his father’s holdings. As his foot hovered beside the boundary marker, he paused for just a moment to run over his plan and rehearse his words. “I have sinned. I am not worthy. Make me your servant. I have sinned. I am not worthy. Make me your servant.” With a whispered prayer, he steeled his gaze and began to shuffle forward.

He had taken only a few steps when suddenly, in the distance ahead, he saw someone approaching, running, almost sprinting in his direction. His arms looked to be open wide in a gesture of embrace. As the form came closer, there was a flash of recognition: his older brother. He must have been overseeing the field servants nearby when he spotted his younger sibling and came running toward him. Now, as he approached, the younger man saw that his brother’s arms were not open in embrace, but open in the universal gesture for “stop.” In just a few moments the two stood face-to-face.

The older spoke first: “What on earth are you doing here? After all you’ve done, how dare you set foot on this land?”

“I know I blew it,” the younger replied meekly. “I know I sinned. But I have nothing left. I’ve come to ask dad if he will let me be his servant.”

“Do you know what you did to dad when you left? Do you know how badly you shamed and embarrassed him in front of the entire community? He wants nothing to do with you.”

“I know he won’t ever take me back into the family. I wouldn’t even ask. But I know that he’s kinder to his slaves than most people are to their sons. I don’t need privileges. I just need kindness.”

“He doesn’t love you anymore. He doesn’t want you anymore. You’re dead to him.”

“I just want to talk to him. I just want to plead with him. I have seen him extend mercy to others—maybe he’ll extend it to me as well.”

“Mercy? To you? You’re an absolute disgrace. You disgust me and you’ll disgust him. You’re filthy. You stink.”

“I know. I know I do. I’ve been sleeping in barns. I’ve been eating with animals. I’m starving. I’m broken. I’m done.”

“I’m the future of this family. I’ve done everything dad has asked of me. I’ve obeyed his every word. It’s me he loves.”

“I know. I know you’re worthy of dad’s love. I know I’m not. But maybe dad has some love for the unworthy. I just want to ask. I just want to beg.”

“Come on! You know how just and fair dad is. He can’t just pretend you didn’t betray him. And he certainly hasn’t forgotten what you did to him. He won’t forget. He can’t forget.”

“I know. I can’t either.”

“None of us will ever forget what you did. None of us will ever forget who you are.”

As a tear cascaded from the young man’s eye, his older brother spoke once more: “Tell you what: You march yourself back up that road. I don’t want you to even think about coming back until you’ve cleaned yourself up, until you don’t stink anymore, until you’ve put on some decent clothes, and until you can reimburse dad every single penny you took from him. Then maybe, just maybe, he’ll be willing to see you.”

“I guess it’s only fair.”

“Go. Get out of here. You’re lost—don’t come back until you’ve found yourself.”

“You’re right. I’ll go. I’ll try to clean myself up. I’ll try to earn it all back. And if I do, I’ll return and prove myself to dad.”

And with that, the younger son turned around. He headed back up the roadway and past the boundary marker, each step extending the distance between himself and his father. His brother stood and watched him go, a satisfied grin on his face.

“I think I’m going to throw myself a little party,” he said. “I deserve it.”

(Author’s note: Have you ever considered what might have happened if the prodigal son met his older brother before his father?)

Source: https://www.challies.com/articles/an-alternate-telling-of-the-prodigal-son/

 

[LearningToLetGo]

What? That's a completely different story. I don't get it.

[walla299]

2 hours ago, LearningToLetGo said:

What? That's a completely different story. I don't get it.

How about: What if the Prodigal Son Met His Older Brother Before Meeting His Father?

 

[Michael37]

6 hours ago, LearningToLetGo said:

What? That's a completely different story. I don't get it.

It's a comparison exercise, the purpose of which is to show the difference between redemption under grace and condemnation under law.  

[LearningToLetGo]

44 minutes ago, Michael37 said:

It's a comparison exercise, the purpose of which is to show the difference between redemption under grace and condemnation under law.  

The older brother is condemned under the law and the younger brother is redeemed by grace? Is that the takeaway from this? If so, it seems directly at odds with the actual story of the prodigal son, e.g. Luke 15:31 (ESV) the father tells the older son, "And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.'"

The older son was never condemned.

Edited February 22, 2022 by LearningToLetGo

[kwikphilly]

17 minutes ago, LearningToLetGo said:

The older brother is condemned under the law and the younger brother is redeemed by grace? Is that the takeaway from this? If so, it seems directly at odds with the actual story of the prodigal son, e.g. Luke 15:31 (ESV) the father tells the older son, "And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.'"

The older son was never condemned.

I havent even read the story yet but Im pretty sure its the older brother wanting to condemn the younger brother..

Our Loving Father Gives us His Grace, unmerited, undeserved..... Who in the world gives a free pass to someone who does wrong & no doubt the older brother wants to see justice, his brother does not deserve a thing and he will condemn him

 Now Ill read it, sounds good- lol

[kwikphilly]

Wow.... Cool, sounded to me exactly what the enemy does ( that LIAR!)

 No one is Worthy, no one deserves Redemption but Jesus Paid the price for all of us.... How many times have we spoke about Jesus to someone who is convinced they are not going to be forgiven, that God must hate them, that they are too bad

  Oh but for the Grace of God- Praise Jesus!

With love in Christ, Kwik

[LearningToLetGo]

5 minutes ago, kwikphilly said:

I havent even read the story yet but Im pretty sure its the older brother wanting to condemn the younger brother.

The older brother was absolutely upset about how their father treated the younger brother and told him so in no uncertain words. I suppose if the older brother had met the younger brother on the road then something like this might have played out, but that's just fan fiction.

[kwikphilly]

2 minutes ago, LearningToLetGo said:

The older brother was absolutely upset about how their father treated the younger brother and told him so in no uncertain words. I suppose if the older brother had met the younger brother on the road then something like this might have played out, but that's just fan fiction.

For sure! It does make me think of how Blessed we are to be Called out- surely we have had those thoughts( condemnation) along the way before actually coming to the foot of the cross & yet our Lord kept tugging on our hearts, kept putting certain people in our lives to urge us on, kept Calling us to Himself.....WOW! Thank you JESUS❤

[Michael37]

3 hours ago, LearningToLetGo said:

The older brother is condemned under the law and the younger brother is redeemed by grace? Is that the takeaway from this? If so, it seems directly at odds with the actual story of the prodigal son, e.g. Luke 15:31 (ESV) the father tells the older son, "And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.'"

The older son was never condemned.

No-one is saying there is any credence to this alternative story, merely that if the older son had got to his younger brother before their father it would have been a case of "guilty under the law & worthy of punishment" rather than "forgiven under grace and made worthy by mercy". 

Such speculations abound in the messages of preachers, especially the radio ones I listen to every day. These "what ifs" and other possibilities serve to show just how blessed we are that God made provision for us to be pardoned rather than left us to the alternative.