Interestingly, I just attended one of Timothy Keller's church campuses in New York City and I enjoyed the service and the pastor who spoke that night very much.
I watched the whole sermon on the Prodigal God (about 38 minutes long) by Timothy Keller. It is amazing. It threw everything I thought about this parable upside down. And the way Timothy Keller explains it is clear & concise, and deep. He points out that this story is not meant to raise sentimental feelings about the younger son returning home. It is not only about one brother. It's about two brothers, and they are both lost, and we can all relate to them no matter where we are in life.
So many thought-provoking concepts are introduced in a way you never thought about. Everything hits you personally, as it should. That is the point. You are in the story. You just have to see the sermon.
Click here to watch the full sermon. It is definitely worth the 38 minutes.
The point of this well-know parable that Jesus tells is to show that everything we think we know about God is wrong. It's not about keeping the rules like the Pharisees focused on. It's not about buying our way to God with goodness. It's not about what we think we deserve because we have been good all along. That is what the older brother thinks and what most of us think. And we are wrong. I was shocked to look into myself and see so much of the older brother in me. So much of that attitude of: I followed the rules and did this or did that, so I should get this or that.
It's about accepting the invitation. Jesus seeks us out, one by one. Remember the parable of the lost coin? Or the lost sheep? We are the lost sons. We are the lost objects in this parable, and Jesus is the one out there to find us.
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