Jacob and Prodigal Son

Jacob and Prodigal Son

Epilogue of Jacob’s Story

                                                                                                      

Luke 15:11-32

                     

1.    Jacob  

During August, I have preached on the Jacob’s Story as an example of our spiritual journey. When I was in a middle school, one teacher said that “life is Waltz.” As you know, Waltz is music of three bits.

He said, “as Waltz has three bits, our life story has 3 stages.”

Here are the 3 stages in the Jacob’s story: hometown, foreign land and coming back home.

At his home, Jacob was like a child. Everything was sufficient and provided.

He was favored by his mom and protected by his father. But once he left his home, he faced reality. He struggled to survive in a foreign land. He worked hard, had his own family and became more responsible. On the way back home, he had a near death crisis but it became a chance to meet God.

When Jacob came back home, Jacob was not the same person as when he had left home 20 years before. He came back as a successful and matured person.

Jacob’s story is not an uncommon story. It is one of several life styles.

There are many Jacobs in this world. They left their parents’ home, built up their successful career and had own family, and came back to their hometowns.

The main emphasis of Jacob’s story is at Bethel and Jobbok river. The story emphasizes that we need to begin our journey with God, and come back with God. As we build our successful career, we also have to build up our relationship with God.

As a surgeon, when Mary Neal built up her career, she recognized that career was not everything. She needed some space for God in her life so that God actually intervened to protect her in the case of crisis. She went to heaven and came back home because she made a space for God in her life.

Jacob was blessed by God, because he made a space for God in his life.

Brothers and sisters!

Invite God into your life. Set a time aside for God, and pray and listen to His voice. Remember Wednesday 9am to pray for the church, church members and also for me. We need each other’s prayers.  

2.    Prodigal Son

Now, here is another version of Jacob’s story in the New Testament. He is called a prodigal son. Prodigal son is one of the most famous bible stories. When youth groups have a summer retreat, they always play a skit with the prodigal son. The storyline is pretty simple as Jacob’s: hometown, foreign land, and coming back home.

There are two sons. Guess, who is leaving home?

It is the second son, because he does not have a birthright. So he asked his father for his portion. Since his father was still alive his request for his portion was disrespectful to his father. But his father was generous and gave him his portion, and the second son left home.

In the foreign land, he spent all of his money in entertainment and with prostitutes. He became homeless. He fed pigs for his living and even ate pig’s food to satisfy his hunger. Then, he thought that it must be better to be a servant at his father’s house rather than being hungry in a foreign land.

He came back home, asked his father for forgiveness and took him as a servant. His father was so glad that he came back alive that he gave him new clothes, restored his state as a son and offered a banquet. It is a happy ending.

While Jacob came back as a successful man, the prodigal son came back as a looser. Jacob was responsible, but the prodigal son was irresponsible.

But after leaving home and spending time in a foreign land, they each learned the something. They needed God. Jacob asked God father for protection and blessing at the Jobbok river and the prodigal son asked his father for forgiveness.

We may succeed in our life as Jacob or we may fail our life as the prodigal son, but the most important thing is that we should recognize God in our life.

Henri Nouwen, a famous priest, said “I am the prodigal son every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found.”

Like the prodigal son, we all want unconditional love where we can be accepted as who we are. But the place is not in a foreign land, but it is at our father’s house.

When the prodigal son lived with his father, he didn’t recognize his father’s love. They just lived together. When he left home and experienced pain, loneliness, hunger and anxiety, he learned how important his father was to him. 

And when he came back home, he was forgiven and accepted by his father.

Even though the prodigal son made many mistakes, and wasted all his money, at least he learned something from his mistakes. So when he came back home, he could have a much better relationship with His Father.

We all make mistakes at some points in our lives. But we are Christians, who learn from our mistakes and grow from the learning. God does not punish us because we made mistakes, but God really worries about us when we do not learn anything from our mistakes.  

When we learn from our mistakes, when we return to God, we are forgiven and we will have a new life again.  

3.    A Hidden Character  

As we read, verse 11-24 is about the prodigal son’s story, and it concludes with a happy ending for the second son. But this is not the end of the whole story. There is a hidden character, the first son. His story is in verse 25-32.

The first son came back from his work in the field and found that there was a banquet for the second son. His younger brother wasted all of his portions, but his father forgave him, accepted him and threw a feast for him. He got upset and complained to his father.

We kind of understand the feeling of the first son. He always stayed with his father and worked for him while the second son spent all his money with prostitutes. The first son complained that his father never held a banquet for him with his friends but he does for the second son. It seems his claim is legitimate.

But we also know that there is no love in his heart. The first son definitely cared more for his portion rather than for his younger brother.

When the second son wasted all of his money and came back home, his father accepted him, but it does not mean that he will have another portion again. Since he received his portion, there would be no more inheritance from his father. But the emphasis in the story is about relationship. The second son was forgiven and accepted by his father.

In the beginning of the story, the first son might want to leave his home instead of the second son. But he could not. He was the first son. He would inherit his father’s estate. If he left his father, he had to give up his birthright. He didn’t have a choice but stayed home, was obedient to his father and waited until he would inherit all of his father’s estate.

Therefore, the first son’s relationship with his father was superficial. The relationship was not developed. Where there is no crisis, a relationship does not develop. Then, a crisis came when the second son came back. The first son worried if the second son took his father’s estate again. When he felt his portion was threatened, he began complaining to his father.

He expressed his jealousy and anger to his father. He might not be thoughtful or matured. But at least he became honest to his father about his feeling. Father came to him and said, “Oh! My son! You are always with me, and all I have is yours. But your brother was dead and is alive again. Isn’t it right to celebrate his life?”(vv.31-32)

As you can see this picture, the father and the second son are reconciled. And now, the father asks his first son to join the celebration. The story ends here and we do not know how the first son responded. It is an open end story.

I was born in a Christian family and attended the church service all the time in my life. I was always in the church with God, but I did not feel God closely.

Then, when I saw new members coming to church and experienced God’s grace I became jealous. I was always with God, but I had never experienced such grace. I was not happy about it until I became a pastor.

When I became a pastor I could understand our heavenly father, and I realized that the true first son is not the one who inherits father’s estate but is the one who inherits our father’s heart.

Brothers and Sisters!

The Kingdom of God is for those who understand heavenly Father’s heart, and inherit His compassion. 

BY: Pastor HK

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