I'm the older brother in this story. Please pray for me.

WOW! I’m blown away form this explanation and meaning!! 💥I’ve heard the story so many times and I thought I understood the parable (about true and unconditional love), but I didn’t fully understand it. This came up because my daughter doesn’t understand unconditional love and said that if she messed up she wouldn’t come back home because she thinks I’d “disown her”. She also thinks I prefer her younger brother and treat him better. I explained to her why I did what I did with her brother (why I punished him differently than her for doing the same thing. … children respond differently to certain punishments) and that God doesn’t disown us because we have sinned and have now repented. I told her I will always love her. And asked her if she remembered the story of the prodigal son. She and her brother never heard of it, so I went online to find a cartoon that would explain it and I found your explanation. Praise God! As God led me to your video! Not only did my children learn something, but so did I!!

Wow. This explanation was DEEP! This parable was never explained in this way to me before. I knew that I am/was the younger, but I now see the elder brother in me in part also. Praise God for enlightenment!

I've had to repent of being that older brother because of all my self righteousness. I've learned that I have access to all of God''s promises because ofJesus Christ is my Savior, not anything I have or have not done.

Keller is the greatest preacher of his generation, imho. May we take heed.

Am Martin from East Africa. What a wonderful explanation of this seemingly simple parable. I feel so blessed! Thank you pastor Keller

I understand this parable so much more! Greetings from Philippines

Thank you for explaining this parable. It was uplifting!

Thank you sir

Absolutely love how beautifully this parable is illustrated here! Wow! Thanks Bro. Keller your work is shared all the way in Lebanon, Pa!! Keep being faithful and true , till we see each other in Glory - Amen🙏🏼💒❤️ Pray that I stay faithful & true 🙏🏼

Wow, what a wonderful explanation of the elder brother.

Thanks. God is building me as seeker of Juses Christ, my saviour and lord. That involves breaking my ego, which is perceived as pain, humiliation, and separation. But by now I do know He is behind me watching over me with great sympathy and love. Thanks my God father.

beautiful and mind blowing way to look at this parable

Thank you for explaining this parable. The first time I heard this, I really feel bad to the older brother because kinda relate to him. I always ask why God not listening to my prayers when I'm always good to him but I'm completely wrong. I'm so sorry 😔

I keep in mind *who* Jesus is speaking to when he tells this parable. In context of the passage as a whole, he's answering the Pharisees. The beginning of the chapter opens with Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’ Luke 15:1‭-‬2 NIV This is what Jesus was responding to when he answered by telling this parable. It's clear that the elder brother was an analogy for the pharisees who kept and enforced the letter of the law but it didn't reach their hearts. Meaning that, like the elder son, they had no love for the Father and just worked according to the letter of the requirements of the law for the sake of their own self interests.

Amazing! Thank you very much!

Wow! Great insights! Thanks Tim!

Wow I never understood this story before until now. Thank u

Good word brother…thank you

That was good! Religious people have always been this way, still are. When a new believer comes in especially if they don’t have a bunch of religious baggage and they ask God for healing or some miracle and they get it quickly. The older brother mind set shows up, I’ve been going to church for 40 years and God hasn’t healed me and such. No doubt there are a lot of people who go to church every week that are not born again yet. No worries so long as there’s breath we can change whatever needs changed! God can’t be fooled and the Bible works only when you do it accordingly. You can’t supposedly do all the right things and not have the relationship with Jesus and the father. The benefits of serving God only happen when you are genuinely serving God and putting his things first place. The older brother already received his inheritance when the younger did. The father in the parable explains all that he has is his and he could throw a party anytime he wanted to. Now we all know no matter how much we love God and strive to do everything correctly that none of us have ever accomplished that. Minus Jesus of course 😎. So the older brother definitely wouldn’t have done everything as he said even though it’s a parable. We absolutely can and should strive to live perfectly as Christ did. It is possible to never sin or mess up because Jesus did it as our example. Now that Jesus died and rose again if we have repented of sin and confessed Jesus as not only savior but lord we can. We have the advantage of the Holy Spirit living in us and IF we will always listen and follow his leading we will never fail to live up to Jesus example. Like I said nobody has since Jesus and I certainly wouldn’t claim to be resembling Christ like perfection lol. I’m not and not even close but it’s possible. God is so patient and forgiving, he loves us so much we don’t comprehend how much.

Wow! This is a whole, new level of deep philosophy about Jesus' message. The story brought tears to my eyes earlier today. But, now I feel ashamed and exposed for perhaps having a part of the elder brother's arrogance and entitlement. I need to analyze why I'm nice to not only other people, but to God. I may be foolish enough to manipulate others into thinking I'm more righteous than I really am or to gain favor. But, if I'm doing this to Our Lord, God help me.

GREAT explanation 💯

Thank you Jesus!

I taught this parable at a Prayer Meeting a few nights ago and ran out of time to discuss the elder son. This video presentation is a brilliant summation of the most valuable lesson to be gained from this parable. Thankyou Tim for your wonderful thoughts on the parable. So well articulated.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom,sir!

Powerful

👍 thank you

A few thoughts come into my brain upon the conclusion of this profound exegesis of the Prodigal Son parable: my motives must always be pure. And, the chant of the crowd in Krakow when Pope John Paul II spoke to the Polish people, who were still under communist control. The crowd chanted, "WE WANT GOD" and didn't stop until it sent the message to the world. Also makes me think of Saint Thomas Aquinas. After writing on the Eucharist, St. Thomas entered into a great ecstasy. He then heard a voice from the crucifix on the altar say: “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?” St. Thomas’ reply was: “Non nisi Te, Domine. Non nisi te. (Nothing but you, Lord. Nothing but you).”

that final line is a wall breaker. awesome

Very true

I think besides the elder son caring for the father's "things" is a care for recognition. Just a thought.

Older brother better off, committed less sins, younger brother becomes better off, thru change of heart. We need both, remission of sins and change of heart. Working common job brings mighty change of heart, as does attending church where preacher receives zero money for service. Marriage brings change of heart. Community in which people share resources brings big change.

Please take a moment and pray for Jeff and Shay to be reconciled in marriage. Thank you.

Just a wonderful little message of Jesus.

Wonderful sermon thanks

Thank you, God, for saving me from becoming a self-righteous angry pharisee like the elder brother.

Nicely and clearly explained.. Totally a different perspective.. appreciate

The Father of the prodigal Son - I haven't read anyone talking about how Parents give their kids things at the wrong time. Could both the Father and Son be experiencing self inflected judgment ? Isn't it a type? God himself gave Adam and Eve everything in the garden but then God himself was saddened and he took the responsibility for giving them everything and had to send Jesus..

Come to the party!

Amazing wow ! How do u get the idea

Great message but the music kept interfering

Older son is wise and kind the younger son is sad and alone

Not sure I fully agree with this take. In some ways I do, but not all. This video didn't mention the full details of the story or the full ending. It's not left totally open in the way portrayed here. The father at the end of the story tells the elder son, that all his belongings were "already his", and he could have had the fattened animal any time he wanted. But the younger son was celebrated because of his repentance, and his life being saved from certain death. This echoes what Jesus had been continually saying, that he came not for the righteous, but for the sinners. And again, the scripture which says the angels rejoice more over one sinner being saved, than righteous people. Because righteous people don't need saving. But the big plot twist to everything, is that ,we're all sinners who need saving. The flaw of the elder brother, was not that he desired his father's belongings I don't think, that's never mentioned. He already "had" the belongings. But the elder brother was self righteous, and didn't accept the repentance of his brother being rewarded, and the elder brother wanted all the attention. He wanted "recognition" for his righteousness. But true righteousness doesn't desire recognition or reward for doing the right thing. That's pride. . The elder brother represents the self righteous religious zealots, that's what the Pharisees were doing. The younger brother represents the common people and the unfaithful sinners like the tax collectors, harlots, Samaritans, etc. The younger brother learned this lesson before the elder one, because he was willing to make himself a hired slave in his father's household and to no longer be recognised as his father's son. Hence, Jesus also says "look, the harlots and tax collectors are going into the kingdom before you do! The last will be first, and the first last!" So, I don't think it's about greed at all, and I don't think it's right to say "we have to repent of the reason we repented in the first place". Not everyone repents because they see themselves as righteous or because they want recognition, or they greedily "want God's reward". Some people do, but many of us repent because Jesus simply offered us a way to be saved from our sins. He came offering to "save us from death" by faith in him. It was a major part of his sermons that those who believe in him will never die, it was part of his "call", and so believing in him because we don't want to die, is nothing to be repentant over in itself I don't think. If so, Jesus would never have mentioned it as part of advertising himself as the Messiah for us all. But he did also teach what genuine self sacrificing righteousness is. That you should be good, even if you get nothing out of it, even if you die for it. But at the same time, there is nothing wrong from wanting be saved from being eternally condemned. That's normal, that's fear, not selfishness or sin. God had always told us that he will save the faithful from death and destruction. And there is nothing wrong in hoping in that. But at the same time, obeying God has to grow beyond simply wanting to be saved out of fear, or out of a reward. Our faith should be matured more and more by love over time, by the "depth of character", that even if you died, even if there was no hope or reward, you should still act morally upright and good, because that's what "true" righteousness is.

Wow. Self righteousness and rebellion. Sides of the same coin.

This isn't true at all. The elder brother isn't just worried about the father's things. In killing the fatted calf for the loose, errant prodigal son and not the dutiful son, it may give the impression that the father loves the lost son more than the one who follow the rules. I think everyone who cares about their parents feels the slight of favoritism not just in the things but actually in the sentiment. My dad loves him more than me

The father NEVER once rewarded the older son for his lifetime of obedience so essentially the father used him his entire life. The father is hardly the innocent victim here.

He wouldn't voluntarily join the feast. "It was his turn now to assault the integrity of the family." Jesus' listeners were agast at hearing this part of the story. Theologians make this crystal clear. Christ upset many people and caused much resentment in the proud and the arrogant. God was denouncing false righteousness. Even to angels, Our Lord's message was disturbing. Lucifer rebelled just as we humans rebel." How dare you, God! How dare you not play by my rules!" Clearly, when we adhere to our own will, we find suffering. Even after years of fake righteousness, we discover the Truth has not been compromised. All our efforts to trick our way into Heaven instantly evaporate, as if they never existed. That will be the ultimate vulnerability; when we discover our plans never could succeed. Without God, we were never truly successful. Our lack of faith was voluntary. The anger will surely prevent us from entering the feast. 'If that's what You love, count me out!' This is beautifully portrayed in the "Great Divorce" by CS Lewis. (**Spoiler alert**) When those in purgatory are called to heaven by none other than their greatest adversary in life, most refuse. They get back on the bus and return to nothingness.

Isn't it interesting how This channel deletes any and all critiques of Mr. Keller's erroneous teaching on the Lunk 15 parable? Mr Keller and this channel knows full well their reinterpretation of Luke 15 cannot stand solid biblically based exegetical criticism.

First of all the Eternal Word who is God manifest in the Flesh of Jesus of Nazareth told a Parable revealed in three phases, a lost sheep, and a lost piece of silver and a lost Son, to answer the attack of the religious leaders of Israel who condemned Him for having a meal with people who were on the payroll of the Romans who had conquered them, and to add insult to injury they were lying to embezzle more money for themselves by demanding more than what was due , but the Lord's motive in sharing a meal with them was to welcome them into the family of God because they were like Zacchaeus, the small tax collector in Luke chapter who had climbed a tree to see Jesus and had demonstrated His repentance by doing what Paul preached in Acts chapter 26v20, do works fit for repentance by giving away the half of his possessions and if he had defrauded anyone , I will give them four times more than the sum I stole from them, what a contrast from the repentance preached by modern preachers. The threefold parable about the lost sinners who have been found by God, involves ninety nine sheep who who were not lost, and were just,or righteous and did not need to repent, in Luke chapter 15v7, and nine pieces of silver that were not lost, and one elder Son who had never transgressed any of His father's commandments at any time, in v29, and His Father told Him that everything that His Father possessed was his

For some reason, this video comes across a bit awkard. The book, however, is very good!

Guys. No. Think of it this way. The older brother is a type of Christ, as is true in every OT story. Jesus went to the cross reluctantly, not for his love for us or us deserving it, but because he was obeying His Father. This is mirrored again in Jonah (who didn’t want to save Ninava) and Hosea (who didn’t want to marry Gomer). It was a death to self for the older brother to eat with the younger. It increases the love of Christ that he wanted the cup taken from him but did it anyways. This matters because Jesus’s love for the Father will never change and Gods own glory (which is why He is saving us) will never change. And there in lies our s assurance of salvation. We cannot lose salvation through sin (after repentance) just as we cannot earn it in the first place. Because it was never about us in the first place. It’s about Christ and about Gods glory.

The elder son and younger son both believe in the pagan idea of God’s justice including retribution. This is man’s definition of justice, not God’s. Our human nature is to define fairness and justice as retributive. We see God redefining fairness and justice throughout scripture. We see this in the parable of the Vineyard workers. The resent political discussions of “fairness and justice“ are of the same human retributive nature, not God’s. The Father’s idea of justice in the parable does not include retribution, but forgiveness. This idea makes people (religious people especially - the older brother) very uncomfortable. Why? It sounds to good to be true! It is not merit based and feels very unfair. As someone making this argument, I can transparently say that I don’t like the parable of the vineyard workers because it doesn’t feel fair. However, I also believe God is revealing something beyond beautiful and in doing so I trust God’s heart above my human sense of fairness or justice. In Genesis 4:24 we see Lamech’s “justice” of 70×7 retribution. In Exodus 21:24 we see justice as eye for an eye, which is still a form of retribution. In Matthew 18:15-20 we see Jesus not quoting eye for an eye, but turning Lamech’s 70x7 retribution on its head by defining God’s justice as forgiveness, NOT retribution. Forgiveness allows for healing. God‘s JUSTICE is NOT us getting what we deserve, it is God getting what God desires. God desires our healing, redemption, restoration & ONEness with The Relationship of God (The Father, The Son, The Spirit). Why have we been taught that God‘s Justice includes retribution? For more than one reason. Just to name two: 1. pagan influences - Tertullian, Augustine and other Church leaders have influenced a retributive interpretation of God’s nature. 2. very poor translations - the word propitiation should have never been used in any version of the Bible - original-me.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Propitiation-1.pdf Tim Keller believes this also! He believes God has a dark side? “Christian” teaching often implies that God (the Father) crucified Jesus (the Son). God the Father did not. Man did. God the Father was in Jesus reconciling us to God - 2 Cor 5:19. Contrary to what most of us have been taught, the Father never abandoned Jesus on the Cross. The Father was face to face with Jesus - Psalm 22:24. It doesn’t take very long for the assertion that the infinite God(F,S,S) was separated (torn apart) by our finite sin to seem quite absurd when it is pointed out. Such a belief is central to Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA) theory. There are numerous theories of AtOneMent, but PSA is the most prevalent in Western Protestantism. The idea that the Father turned His back on Jesus while on the cross is central to PSA. If that’s not what happened at the Cross, then PSA looses its strongest argument. See the following link that discusses how Scripture strongly indicates that not only did the Father NOT turn his back on Jesus, but that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have never been separated. To separate any One from the Other is to fracture the relationship of God, which would mean somehow the INFINITE nature of God would be torn in two and fractured by our finite sin. How is that even possible? Read more at Did the Father Turn His Face Away? - bendavidtrigg.com/2011/05/08/did-the-father-turn-his-face-away/

Good message spoiled by irritating obtrusive music. Why add music? In what way does it aid our understanding? It is so very worldly and something Tim Keller would not condone.

Ruined by the foolish addition of unnecessary background music. Why? It is so polluting and worldly and adds nothing.

Why didn't the father ever through a party for the elder brother? A simple thank you would have made the elder brother's day ! The problem in this stroy is that this is about rewarding a loser that came back coz he had 'no where to go'. If the younger brother had somewhere else to go he wouldn't have come back. Sadly he had no option. Having said that, the father is being unjust to the elder brother. The elder brother gives the reaction he gave coz of the excitement he saw in the father when the younger brother came back. I deduce that the father never showed the same level of excitement / love / gratitude to the older brother. The elder brother is right to get angry. I read this story when I was like 7-8 years old ( in a Church Sunday School). The villain in this story is the father. The character is dum. He is so engrossed in the younger son (who is a failure) that he forgets the elder brother. The reaction from the elder brother is just and perhaps that is the reason why the father gave a week excuse that your brother was dead and has now come back. If he was dead, the father should have thanked the elder brother to stay with him (take care of the family business - farming I guess) This story is not about how god's love it's about how God selects complete idiots (younger brother) who have no place to go but God. And forgets the treasure he already has (older brother).

The name of the series is not great...The Prodigal God? Prodigal means, "spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant." God certainly isn't prodigal...

read the kjv bible repent of your sins ask god to forgive you in the name of Jesus and rejoyce in his forgiveness..... i dont understand why this video was made really its like adding to it ...God already accomplished in our hearts and soul in his parable. in his own words .

Another preacher who has no idea what the parable means

Greedy? Such a modern take. The brother gets abandoned by the prodigal as well. So now all the work is on HIS shoulders. But despite his hurt, his exhaustion, his daring to question things means he is “greedy”? Wealthy people of that time were not “Scrooge mcduck” on a poke of money. They were agriculturalists, working hard , just like this man who was IN THE FIELD. Your modern analysis is very much analogous to the way our society treats those who grow the food, keep the lights on, make the payroll. At best, like in this story, they get the brush off. At worst, like the modern “analysis “‘here, they are called greedy and unloving. Wow. How dare you question this? You can’t have these feelings! Now get back to work because OTHERS have need of your services. No compassion. HE’s “self righteous “, and need to “repent “…. Wow… doesn’t matter if maybe, just maybe he was hurt by the brothers abandoning HIM as well. But hey, maybe it’s time for your manicure, so I’ll stop

Consider this allegorical interpretation of this parable: 1. Father = ABBA God 2. Younger son = Jesus 3. Older son = Lucifer This would answer why Lucifer is tolerated and paints all of the Bible and history as a family squabble and a battle between 2 brothers. It also answers why there is a scapegoat yearly commanded to be released for Azazel. The older son was asking for a goat for him and his friends. The father is saying, here you go, the goat you lamented for. A yearly reminder to Satan that the Father still remembers him. Ultimately the Father wants the family unified but he allows rebellion for the gain of true love and obedience and so after a long period of indulging Lucifer there must be punishment. And so judgment and the lake of fire comes. And God so loved the world that He gave his son Jesus to die for us on the cross so that who ever believes in him will be saved.

I feel a deep sense of injustice when I see that the father wanted to bail out the prodigal son with the obedient sons money. Its just wrong.

Is it possible that the older brother is essentially satan before he rejects his heavenly family and establishes a new faction that forever resents the Father and Son for giving away what he considered his rightful legacy? Obviously, Christ never went rogue and dissipated Himself in sinfulness. So, perhaps this is just a lesson about the deeper, nefarious states of fraudulent righteousness of humanity that rarely gets exposed? Such a fascinating synopsis of Christ's parable. Like Fulton Sheen, Dr. Keller's wisdom opens up greater profoundness in the Gospels. Jesus was never boring. He was most often shocking and terrifying. It's why it's imperative that we make a choice about His authenticity. If He is who He said He Is, then we have to give our entire lives to Him. If He's not, then he's a dangerous, bad man who deserved what He got. There's no middle ground. There's no both. There's no fence-sitting. Which do you believe? That's the ultimate question underlying our lives. It changes everything.