BibleProject | Upside-Down Kingdom / Part 1 - LukeSample

Jesus’ Kingdom is good news for the afflicted, and it’s open to everyone who understands their need for God. To illustrate this, Luke tells us about Jesus attending dinner parties with the sick and the poor who receive his forgiveness, healing, and generosity. In contrast, Jesus also attends dinner parties with the religious leaders who reject his message and argue about his methods. They don’t understand what the Kingdom of God is all about, so he tells them a parable. It goes like this.

There’s a father who had two sons. The older son is trustworthy and honors his father, but the younger son is a mess. He snatches his inheritance early, travels far away, and spends it all partying and being stupid. Then a famine strikes, and the son runs out of money, so he gets a job taking care of someone else’s pigs. One day he gets so hungry that he’s ready to eat pig slop, and it occurs to him that he had it way better at home working for his dad. So he treks back home, rehearsing his apology. While the son is still far away, the father sees him, and he’s so happy. His son is alive! He survived the famine! The father runs to him and can’t stop kissing and hugging him. The son starts his speech, “Dad, I don’t deserve to be your son. Maybe I can come and work for you...” But before he can finish, the father calls his servants to get the nicest robe, new sandals, and a fancy ring for his son. They are to prepare the best banquet because it is time to celebrate that his son is home. As the party begins, the older son comes in from a long, hard day of work to discover that all this music and food is for his loser brother. He’s ticked off and refuses to join the celebration. The father meets his eldest son outside and says, “son, you are already in our family. Everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate your brother. He was lost, but now he’s found. He was dead, but now he’s alive.”

In this story, Jesus is comparing the religious leaders to the older son. Jesus sees how offended the religious leaders are by his acceptance of the outsiders, but Jesus wants them to see outsiders like he does. The outcasts of society are returning to their father. They are alive! There is enough of God’s goodness to go around. All that he has belongs to those he calls his children. The only requirement to enjoy his Kingdom is to humbly receive it.

Read, Reflect, and Respond:

• How do you relate to the older son and the younger son in Jesus’ parable?
  
• Notice how the younger son left his father but changed his mind when things got hard for him. Has suffering ever helped you turn back to God the Father? How does the father’s welcome of the younger son impact you (see 15:20-24)?
  
• Consider the older son’s anger in the story (see 15:28-30). Have you ever felt offended when someone received something he/she didn't deserve? If so, how does the father’s response to the older son sit with you (see 15:31-32)?
  
• Let your reading and reflection prompt a prayer. Talk to God about how his generous mercy amazes you, be honest about your struggle to receive others with generosity, and ask for what you need to grow in mercy.