Corporate Confession
Corporate Confession
"The Man receives sinners and eats with them." And so, the nightmare of every Pharisee became a reality. There was Jesus, the new rabbi on the scene, (the teacher who had received the unreserved endorsement of that powerhouse prophet, John the Baptist), not only allowing the riff-raff to become disciples, but also having communal meals with them. Worse still, He did it right out in the open. It was such a repulsive sight to the "healthy" that they could not hold their tongues in mixed company, after they blurted out their disgust; Jesus answered their Tourette's sindrome with the parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son.
In that story we see the genius of Jesus, as He responds to the Pharisees, in picturing the glory of the gospel and the grace given to the covenant community. He begins with two categories—two sons. The "righteous" elder son represents the scribes and Pharisees. This son stays with the farm but mistakenly thinks that his priorities are in step with his dad's. He is wrong; if they were he would have rejoiced with his father when his brother returned home. He would have joined his father in calling for the fatted calf. And since his heart isn't gladdened as his father's, he really doesn't understand love, forgiveness, repentance, restoration and therefore, joy. The father defines the Father's home! The elder son, the Pharisee, is in the house but not of the house.
Pharisees have no joy. That's what happens when you want the attention and praise of men. You have to constantly import to yourself things that seem to matter. The Pharisees want the best seats at the table, recognition of their spirituality and, fatted calves. They have no concept of repentance, the lowering of oneself to reflect our true state, undeserving of anything good from the hand of God the Father. The more they get the less they have. The fatness of their "spirituality" brings leanness to their souls. They lack the one factor that brings joy: repentance.
The prodigal son represents the sinners that Jesus was receiving. Here we have someone who has no right to be in the Father's house. The elder son was correct here. His evaluation of his brother was dead on. The scribes and Pharisees were right. No sinners allowed. But, repentant sinners—ah! The sinners in our story are not what most people assume. Jesus wasn't hanging out with "bikers and hookers." The sinners were those who, like the prodigal, were repentant.
This parable teaches us that repentance is the key to the Father's house. "I have sinned" is the password. That is how we all got in! The prodigal's story is our story. Now we all sit around the table and joyfully talk about the grace of the Father, about how we don't deserve His forgiveness. We each live out the penitent speech the prodigal had practiced for his father, "I have sinned and am no longer worthy." In turn, each person in the Father's house lives this out communally. We know each other's story because it is our own. None of us deserve a place in the banquet hall of God. Outside of grace, we, unclean, vie among the swine for slop!
This creates a loving, forgiving atmosphere among all the members of the family of God. We dare not err in not forgiving others as the Father has forgiven us. We prefer one another in love because as we are sitting at the table we face others for whom the Father rejoiced over, for whom Christ died. We pass to each other the cup of blessing all the while praising God with grateful hearts. We are the Church, the Household of Faith, the People of God, and the Lost who were found.
Next time you read this story, found in Luke chapter 15, notice that this allegory of the church is preceded by two shorter parables. One is about a lost sheep. The other is about a lost coin. Like the story of the prodigal son, they end with rejoicing over what was lost being found. The stories of the lost sheep and lost coin are designed to set the audience up for the story of the lost son. In the first two the application of recovering what was lost is repentance. That is how Jesus/God can receive sinners and eat with them. This reception and communion is more than a formal relationship. The shepherd who finds the lost sheep and the woman who finds the lost coin is so full of joy that they must tell everyone they know. The doctrinal postscript of these two preliminary parables moves from earth to heaven as Jesus reveals that joy emanates from the Throne of God when sinners repent. This didactic conclusion turns into a panorama of the Covenant of Redemption.
As Jesus speaks, the scribes and Pharisees are transported to the wilderness to witness a shepherd finding a lost lamb. The scene fades as they find themselves up in heaven where they hear the swell of rejoicing. Before they can make a comment they are then whisked away to watch a woman sweeping her house by lantern light. They see the concern on her face as she looks everywhere for something. Then joy fills every line on her face as she lifts a coin from the floor—the woman is gone! They are back in heaven again where they see angelic beings awash in the glow of pure joy. Time and space become relative as the next scene plays out before them. Two sons are receiving their inheritance—Jacob and Esau. Jacob lies, deceives, and leaves the home. Esau stays, but his heart is wrong. He is in the house but not of the house. Jacob is brought to repentance. That repentance leads to a scoundrel becoming a prince with God.
Should Jesus receive sinners? God does. Should we receive each other? Be patient with each other? Love each other? May we have a love as prodigal as our Father's.