“If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.” – Deuteronomy 21: 18-21
In Deuteronomy we encounter a stern decree – a law prescribing a harsh consequence for a rebellious son. It is assumed that the son is not a child or teenager, but an adult who is past the age of accountability and has spurned his parents’ teachings, bringing shame upon his family due to his unrepentant disobedience.
The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated, as the rebellious son faces the ultimate penalty: death by stoning. This Old Testament law was paints a picture of justice being met with extreme severity, reflecting the uncompromising nature of the legal code at the time. As to what degree this law was strictly enforced in those days, we don’t really know. There is the possibility that this law was implemented as more of a deterrent than an actual practice. Suffice to say, a disobedient son was seen as a blight on both his family and his community. It was a very serious matter.
But looking ahead approximately 1500 years, Jesus painted a radically different picture of this very situation. As he was teaching in the temple, he began spinning a tender narrative of a father dealing with his own rebellious son. In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a wayward son who has squandered his inheritance in reckless living, only to find himself destitute and broken. When he returns home, expecting judgment, he is met not with condemnation but with open arms. The father, symbolic of God’s boundless love, welcomes his prodigal son back home with forgiveness and reconciliation, and celebrates his restoration with a great feast.
So how do we reconcile the difference between the law in the Old Testament and this tender narrative talked about in Luke? We don’t have to. Jesus did the reconciling for us.
Today, we still may face the consequences of our rebelliousness or poor choices. Deuteronomy reminds us of the gravity of our actions. But the parable Jesus relates in his narrative of the prodigal son points us to a Savior whose love knows no bounds. In Christ, we discover a God eager to forgive, eager to reconcile, and eager to restore… a God whose grace surpasses the severity of any law.
Former Blackout Artist 