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The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian faith
Newsweek called renowned minister Timothy Keller “a C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century” in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, he uses one of the best-known Christian parables to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation.
Taking his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity, Keller uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.
Taking his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity, Keller uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
Timothy J. Keller
397 books5,761 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
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March 3, 2017
If you think something is wrong with today's Christianity, and you can't exactly put your finger upon the specific problem, then this may very well be a book that provides profound insight. If I had more time I would try to draw out the distinctions between authentic Christianity and its impostors, but let me share a single quote to give you the flavor of this book:
The gospel of Jesus is not religion or irreleigion, morality or immorality, moralism or relativism, conservatism or liberalism. Nor is it something halfway along a spectrum between two poles - it is something else altogether.
The gist of the book is that the elder son in the parable, the one who faithfully followed the father's directions was just as selfish, sinful and self-centered as the spendthrift younger son who demanded his inheritance early and squandered it in licentious living. There is not only one lost son in this parable, but two. Each son rebelled, one by being very bad, the other by being very good. You can be alienated from God either by breaking his rules or keeping all of them diligently. It is a shocking message, but timely.
The gospel of Jesus is not religion or irreleigion, morality or immorality, moralism or relativism, conservatism or liberalism. Nor is it something halfway along a spectrum between two poles - it is something else altogether.
The gist of the book is that the elder son in the parable, the one who faithfully followed the father's directions was just as selfish, sinful and self-centered as the spendthrift younger son who demanded his inheritance early and squandered it in licentious living. There is not only one lost son in this parable, but two. Each son rebelled, one by being very bad, the other by being very good. You can be alienated from God either by breaking his rules or keeping all of them diligently. It is a shocking message, but timely.
December 5, 2023
This short book may be Keller’s most distilled essence. Reading it again 15 years later, I was surprised at how fresh and insightful it still feels.
March 10, 2010
Like many people, I assumed the word prodigal meant "wayward or wasteful." So when Timothy Keller's book first hit the book shelves, I remember looking at the front cover, noticing the "NY Times Bestseller" sticker on the label and thinking to myself, "Bah, this must be another self-help 'spiritual' book about a god who wants to be in a relationship with man in order to bless him but needs some help finding his way." But after noticing this book under the arms of men whose faith I admire and seeing it distributed with the Angel Tree gifts our church sent out last Christmas, giving the book further investigation seemed like a wise choice.
Keller's book starts out by clarifying the definition of prodigal—1) recklessly extravagant, and 2) having spent everything—which gives understanding for the book's title, The Prodigal God. He then puts the story in context with the rest of the chapter of Luke, noting that this parable is Jesus’ response to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes around him and that Christ starts the story by saying, "There was a man who had two sons." By the end of the first chapter, I realized that Timothy Keller's careful handling of Biblical exegesis would not allow this book to just be another dry re-hashing of a wayward son who wound up gnawing on pig feed because of his disobedience to God, and the reader can come away with more than just the knowledge that God is rich in mercy and grace no matter what we've done.
Keller goes on to lay a solid foundation to the story by drawing attention to the fact that the older brother does not enter into the feast at the end of the parable. So what we have is two lost sons; the moralistic older brother who follows all the rules, trying to merit his father's good graces, as well as the wayward and reckless younger brother. These are two personalities everybody can identify with; and apart from walking in God's grace, these two brothers represent the way in which man alienates himself from God.
Our society is divided into two cultures, as Keller points out. The culture of the "older brother" is the conventional moral conformist, commonly known for "stability" as well as striving to please authority figures. The "younger brother" culture lives by their own rules, walking a path of self-discovery. Every person gravitates to one of these two categories, and some combine the two. Both cultures proclaim, "If those people would follow our example, the world would be a better place." Our problem is that, no matter what side of the cultural divide we land on, we still play the role of the two lost sons, alienating ourselves from the Father by a self-centered focus on either keeping all the rules or breaking them all.
Within every person's heart is a hunger for home. The Prodigal God seeks to show us there is no satisfaction in our own efforts and pursuits to fill that longing with the things of this world since they are only here to serve as signs and reminders pointing to the feast—Christ's saving work. If you want a deeper understanding of how we live next to the feast without entering or wander far from it, and if you want a better idea of what this feast looks like, then I recommend reading this book.
Keller's book starts out by clarifying the definition of prodigal—1) recklessly extravagant, and 2) having spent everything—which gives understanding for the book's title, The Prodigal God. He then puts the story in context with the rest of the chapter of Luke, noting that this parable is Jesus’ response to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes around him and that Christ starts the story by saying, "There was a man who had two sons." By the end of the first chapter, I realized that Timothy Keller's careful handling of Biblical exegesis would not allow this book to just be another dry re-hashing of a wayward son who wound up gnawing on pig feed because of his disobedience to God, and the reader can come away with more than just the knowledge that God is rich in mercy and grace no matter what we've done.
Keller goes on to lay a solid foundation to the story by drawing attention to the fact that the older brother does not enter into the feast at the end of the parable. So what we have is two lost sons; the moralistic older brother who follows all the rules, trying to merit his father's good graces, as well as the wayward and reckless younger brother. These are two personalities everybody can identify with; and apart from walking in God's grace, these two brothers represent the way in which man alienates himself from God.
Our society is divided into two cultures, as Keller points out. The culture of the "older brother" is the conventional moral conformist, commonly known for "stability" as well as striving to please authority figures. The "younger brother" culture lives by their own rules, walking a path of self-discovery. Every person gravitates to one of these two categories, and some combine the two. Both cultures proclaim, "If those people would follow our example, the world would be a better place." Our problem is that, no matter what side of the cultural divide we land on, we still play the role of the two lost sons, alienating ourselves from the Father by a self-centered focus on either keeping all the rules or breaking them all.
Within every person's heart is a hunger for home. The Prodigal God seeks to show us there is no satisfaction in our own efforts and pursuits to fill that longing with the things of this world since they are only here to serve as signs and reminders pointing to the feast—Christ's saving work. If you want a deeper understanding of how we live next to the feast without entering or wander far from it, and if you want a better idea of what this feast looks like, then I recommend reading this book.
December 10, 2023
For such a relatively small tome, the impact it's left on me has been tremendous.
*prod-i-gal/prodigel--adjective
1. recklessly extravagant
2. having spent everything
(The duality of that definition never occurred to me before I got a hold of The Prodigal God.)
This book dissects one of the most oft-recited parables in all of Jesus' ministry: The Prodigal Son. Though the author is quick to point out that the story Jesus used as a teaching illustration wasn't named that by Him...he simply started out by saying: “There was a man who had two sons.” Keller suggests that instead of focusing on the lost son, as so many reading or teaching this parable are prone to do, we consider looking at it as a story of TWO lost sons. And from there, he lays out a studious argument for why both sons were in fact equally lost in their own destructive ways. One went off in overt rebellion and in-your-face dishonor/selfishness, while the other suffered from a more insidious heart condition—one masked by legalism and pride. Both were equally wrong. Both grieved their father.
It took until I was well into adulthood before I grasped the actual context of this story. Jesus was hanging out with a crowd of what Jewish society at the time would have considered the most 'undesirable' people—tax collectors and other all-around sinners. The uber-religious folk of that time/culture (Pharisees and teachers of the law) were of course watching and muttering amongst themselves about the poor quality of company Jesus was keeping. It was in the midst of this setting that Jesus told not one but three parables, culminating with the one The Prodigal God focuses on.
If I let myself highlight everything that struck me as poignant in this book, there would be more highlighting than not. >.< But here are a few favorite/illuminating quotes:
*"Religion operates on the principle of “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.” The basic operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.”
*"The key difference between a Pharisee and a believer in Jesus is inner-heart motivation. Pharisees are being good but out of a fear-fueled need to control God."
*"If, like the elder brother, you believe that God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior."
Keller also brought to my attention this critical point I'll admit I somehow overlooked for my almost entire life: It was the wild younger son who ultimately repented and reconciled himself to his father...but we're left not knowing if the self-righteous elder son did or not. (Jesus may have invented the cliffhanger ending. >.>)
If I've not realized the depth and significance of such a small piece of scripture, I have to wonder how very limited my understanding of the rest of it must be. And I'm both humbled and inspired to spend more consistent time in studying that which my tiny mind can never fully comprehend—the mysterious and boundless nature of God.
*prod-i-gal/prodigel--adjective
1. recklessly extravagant
2. having spent everything
(The duality of that definition never occurred to me before I got a hold of The Prodigal God.)
This book dissects one of the most oft-recited parables in all of Jesus' ministry: The Prodigal Son. Though the author is quick to point out that the story Jesus used as a teaching illustration wasn't named that by Him...he simply started out by saying: “There was a man who had two sons.” Keller suggests that instead of focusing on the lost son, as so many reading or teaching this parable are prone to do, we consider looking at it as a story of TWO lost sons. And from there, he lays out a studious argument for why both sons were in fact equally lost in their own destructive ways. One went off in overt rebellion and in-your-face dishonor/selfishness, while the other suffered from a more insidious heart condition—one masked by legalism and pride. Both were equally wrong. Both grieved their father.
It took until I was well into adulthood before I grasped the actual context of this story. Jesus was hanging out with a crowd of what Jewish society at the time would have considered the most 'undesirable' people—tax collectors and other all-around sinners. The uber-religious folk of that time/culture (Pharisees and teachers of the law) were of course watching and muttering amongst themselves about the poor quality of company Jesus was keeping. It was in the midst of this setting that Jesus told not one but three parables, culminating with the one The Prodigal God focuses on.
If I let myself highlight everything that struck me as poignant in this book, there would be more highlighting than not. >.< But here are a few favorite/illuminating quotes:
*"Religion operates on the principle of “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.” The basic operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.”
*"The key difference between a Pharisee and a believer in Jesus is inner-heart motivation. Pharisees are being good but out of a fear-fueled need to control God."
*"If, like the elder brother, you believe that God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior."
Keller also brought to my attention this critical point I'll admit I somehow overlooked for my almost entire life: It was the wild younger son who ultimately repented and reconciled himself to his father...but we're left not knowing if the self-righteous elder son did or not. (Jesus may have invented the cliffhanger ending. >.>)
If I've not realized the depth and significance of such a small piece of scripture, I have to wonder how very limited my understanding of the rest of it must be. And I'm both humbled and inspired to spend more consistent time in studying that which my tiny mind can never fully comprehend—the mysterious and boundless nature of God.
March 4, 2022
Livro lido em ebook (Scribd) e depois também escutei o audiobook (Pilgrim).
July 3, 2019
Short treatise on the parable of the prodigal son. Excellent points about not only what we often think of as the point of the story, the son who goes astray 'the prodigal', but also a great point about the dangers of being the 'elder son', but the best thing of all about the book is a short look at the word 'prodigal'.
It is God who is the lavish giver in this parable. He lavishly gives to his undeserving sons, both of them.
prod·i·gal
/ˈprädəɡəl/
adjective
1.
spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.
"prodigal habits die hard"
synonyms: wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift, improvident, imprudent, immoderate, profligate, thriftless, excessive, intemperate, irresponsible, self-indulgent, reckless, wanton
"prodigal habits die hard"
2.
having or giving something on a lavish scale.
"the dessert was crunchy with brown sugar and prodigal with whipped cream"
synonyms: generous, lavish, liberal, unstinting, unsparing, bountiful; More
noun
noun: prodigal; plural noun: prodigals
1.
a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way.
It is God who is the lavish giver in this parable. He lavishly gives to his undeserving sons, both of them.
prod·i·gal
/ˈprädəɡəl/
adjective
1.
spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.
"prodigal habits die hard"
synonyms: wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift, improvident, imprudent, immoderate, profligate, thriftless, excessive, intemperate, irresponsible, self-indulgent, reckless, wanton
"prodigal habits die hard"
2.
having or giving something on a lavish scale.
"the dessert was crunchy with brown sugar and prodigal with whipped cream"
synonyms: generous, lavish, liberal, unstinting, unsparing, bountiful; More
noun
noun: prodigal; plural noun: prodigals
1.
a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way.
October 11, 2012
It is hard to imagine a person who loves God, or a person considering the existence of God, not benefitting from reading this beautiful exposition of the parable of the two lost sons (aka, the prodigal son). The book is simultaneously short and simple, deep and profound. It is one that I will return to again and again. God used this book to penetrate my soul deeply resulting in personal confession and worship.
Quotes:
If, like the elder brother, you believe that God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior.
It’s not the repentance that causes the father’s love, but rather the reverse.
Repentance is not less than that, but it is much more, because the list approach isn’t sufficient to address the condition of the elder brother.
To truly become Christians we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right.
The key difference between a Pharisee and a believer in Jesus is inner-heart motivation. Pharisees are being good but out of a fear-fueled need to control God.
Rather, he is saying that the inevitable sign that you know you are a sinner saved by sheer, costly grace is a sensitive social conscience and a life poured out in deeds of service to the poor. Younger brothers are too selfish and elder brothers are too self-righteous to care for the poor.
Religion operates on the principle of “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.” The basic operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.”
Quotes:
If, like the elder brother, you believe that God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, then Jesus may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior. You are serving as your own Savior.
It’s not the repentance that causes the father’s love, but rather the reverse.
Repentance is not less than that, but it is much more, because the list approach isn’t sufficient to address the condition of the elder brother.
To truly become Christians we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right.
The key difference between a Pharisee and a believer in Jesus is inner-heart motivation. Pharisees are being good but out of a fear-fueled need to control God.
Rather, he is saying that the inevitable sign that you know you are a sinner saved by sheer, costly grace is a sensitive social conscience and a life poured out in deeds of service to the poor. Younger brothers are too selfish and elder brothers are too self-righteous to care for the poor.
Religion operates on the principle of “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.” The basic operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ—therefore I obey.”
March 4, 2019
A balm to my soul. A compassionate, joyful, fleshed out reminder of the Gospel. I can see why Keller is compared to a modern Lewis. This was my first book of his but it won’t be the last. And you cranky people can put that in your pipe and smoke it. ;)
November 22, 2019
2011: I finally read my first Tim Keller book! Excellent, very engaging. His main point -- there are two brothers in the parable, not just one. And thus, moralism is just as bad as the behaivour we normally call sin. Which means that both the 'sinful' person and the 'moral' person are both far from the Father, because neither is relying on his grace to meet their true need. I also loved the chapter on hope, where he presents the biblical theme of exile and homecoming. This chapter was where I most agreed with the comparisons I've heard between Tim Keller and CS Lewis.
Read again 2019: Even more compelling.
Read again 2019: Even more compelling.
March 14, 2017
I had heard from at least three people who read this book that it changed their lives. I was curious. I don't like Timothy Keller's books and have to say that this one didn't give me warm fuzzies about him either. The preface and first chapter set it up like he knows this great new way of looking at the prodigal son.
I am one who believes that Jesus gives parables to those who have ears to hear. He says Himself in Matthew 13 that there would be some who persisted in unbelief. The purpose of the prodigal son (some Bibles have "the parable of the two sons" as a heading to this chapter so this idea that both sons needed saving is not a new concept unique to this book) was to show along with the lost sheep and lost coin the great joy that comes to God when someone repents and turns to Him.
I am not super impressed by the claim on the front jacket "he uses one of the best-known Christian parables to reveal an unexpected message of hope." He writes a lot of things I haven't heard written or spoken of when I hear or read this parable taught. For example:
"he is especially upset about the cost" (the fatted calf) the elder brother is jealous, not concerned about how much the party costs! I have lived long enough to know that what was burning in his heart when the younger brother returned was not about how much money the father spent but pure jealousy because bad behaving brother is getting a party and good behaving brother is not. It is human...Cain and Abel / Jacob and Esau.
"the bad son enters the father's feast but the good son will not"... we actually don't know what happened to the older brother. The story ends with the father affirming his love for the older brother without his response. We don't know that for a fact because that was not the point of the parable Jesus taught.
"because sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior" so, this is Keller's big reveal...a new definition of sin. Not so much. There is nothing new about this. There is no 2nd grader that leaves my Sunday school class after a year with me who doesn't know that sin is putting something else or our own self before God. For another example of how this is not some new revelation that we are hearing, you can turn to Exodus 20 where God gives commandment number 1 to Moses (and I learned it in the old King James early in my life) "Thou shalt have no other God's before Me" That is pretty clear. The 10 commandments have been around a long time.
Keller talks about a pattern that the elder brother is in "it may be that the elder brother, to bolster his own image of himself, needed a chronically wayward sibling to criticize, and the smug older brother only made it harder for the younger to admit his problems and change his life." WHAT? So when the younger comes home and the father welcomes him he writes "the elder brother realizes that the pattern is being broken and his fury is white hot." This is taking the passage way out of context. If this isn't pop psychology injected into God's word at its finest, I don't know what is.
TK spends time talking about our natural desire to be home, the nostalgia of the home we remember and then he compares the nostalgia with the longing of the younger brother to go home. The truth is, the younger son was penniless and had no food. It is clear from Jesus' words that he was looking for a way to survive. He was going to settle being his father's servant rather than starve. It doesn't sound like nostalgia, it was survival.
All in all I could pull many examples of Keller reading a lot more into this parable than Jesus intended. Just studying the context. Yes he was speaking to Pharisees and sinners, yes there are many Christians today that are operating out of the Pharisee handbook and may have heard something that was for them. The point is, Jesus gave parables to those who have ears to hear.
I felt that as he wrote of the "True Elder Son" the message was weak. There was so much more in the book that was speculation and reading into the parable than actual hope. He claimed to share new insights to the parable and indeed he did. I am just not so sure that the sweeping generalizations of younger son and elder son will resonate with everyone. It didn't for me.
For those stuck in legalism and those in rebellion against God there may have been some good points they could ponder but the Bible says we shouldn't be adding to or taking away from His written word. Keller says numerous times that this parable was aimed primarily at the Pharisees. They didn't have an ear so I would have to disagree because of what Jesus says in Matthew 13. Maybe it planted a seed or two in a couple of people but Jesus wants us to know His great joy when a sinner repents...the lost is found.
I will end with this. On page 81 we read "Jesus knew His Bible thoroughly". I don't know what stopped me there other than the very thought that who would think He wouldn't? I question Keller's theology in that Jesus IS the WORD. He IS the Bible, and because of that very fact I bow down before Him. I worship Him, I read His word knowing that He will change me through it. I can't do anything myself...there are a lot of places where I read in this book that "we have to..." works. He does it in us and it starts with right interpretation of scripture.
You can find the lessons Keller is trying to pull out of this parable many other places in the Bible. I found stuffing all of this into this one parable, like the whole Bible revolves around this one story a little exhausting. God is an extravagant God, there is not doubt but the fact of this parable is this...no matter what your sin, Jesus saves anyone with extravagant grace who will come to Him, believing in their hearts and confessing with their mouths that He is Lord. From the highest of heights arrogance to the lowliness and filth of the pig trough.
I am one who believes that Jesus gives parables to those who have ears to hear. He says Himself in Matthew 13 that there would be some who persisted in unbelief. The purpose of the prodigal son (some Bibles have "the parable of the two sons" as a heading to this chapter so this idea that both sons needed saving is not a new concept unique to this book) was to show along with the lost sheep and lost coin the great joy that comes to God when someone repents and turns to Him.
I am not super impressed by the claim on the front jacket "he uses one of the best-known Christian parables to reveal an unexpected message of hope." He writes a lot of things I haven't heard written or spoken of when I hear or read this parable taught. For example:
"he is especially upset about the cost" (the fatted calf) the elder brother is jealous, not concerned about how much the party costs! I have lived long enough to know that what was burning in his heart when the younger brother returned was not about how much money the father spent but pure jealousy because bad behaving brother is getting a party and good behaving brother is not. It is human...Cain and Abel / Jacob and Esau.
"the bad son enters the father's feast but the good son will not"... we actually don't know what happened to the older brother. The story ends with the father affirming his love for the older brother without his response. We don't know that for a fact because that was not the point of the parable Jesus taught.
"because sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior" so, this is Keller's big reveal...a new definition of sin. Not so much. There is nothing new about this. There is no 2nd grader that leaves my Sunday school class after a year with me who doesn't know that sin is putting something else or our own self before God. For another example of how this is not some new revelation that we are hearing, you can turn to Exodus 20 where God gives commandment number 1 to Moses (and I learned it in the old King James early in my life) "Thou shalt have no other God's before Me" That is pretty clear. The 10 commandments have been around a long time.
Keller talks about a pattern that the elder brother is in "it may be that the elder brother, to bolster his own image of himself, needed a chronically wayward sibling to criticize, and the smug older brother only made it harder for the younger to admit his problems and change his life." WHAT? So when the younger comes home and the father welcomes him he writes "the elder brother realizes that the pattern is being broken and his fury is white hot." This is taking the passage way out of context. If this isn't pop psychology injected into God's word at its finest, I don't know what is.
TK spends time talking about our natural desire to be home, the nostalgia of the home we remember and then he compares the nostalgia with the longing of the younger brother to go home. The truth is, the younger son was penniless and had no food. It is clear from Jesus' words that he was looking for a way to survive. He was going to settle being his father's servant rather than starve. It doesn't sound like nostalgia, it was survival.
All in all I could pull many examples of Keller reading a lot more into this parable than Jesus intended. Just studying the context. Yes he was speaking to Pharisees and sinners, yes there are many Christians today that are operating out of the Pharisee handbook and may have heard something that was for them. The point is, Jesus gave parables to those who have ears to hear.
I felt that as he wrote of the "True Elder Son" the message was weak. There was so much more in the book that was speculation and reading into the parable than actual hope. He claimed to share new insights to the parable and indeed he did. I am just not so sure that the sweeping generalizations of younger son and elder son will resonate with everyone. It didn't for me.
For those stuck in legalism and those in rebellion against God there may have been some good points they could ponder but the Bible says we shouldn't be adding to or taking away from His written word. Keller says numerous times that this parable was aimed primarily at the Pharisees. They didn't have an ear so I would have to disagree because of what Jesus says in Matthew 13. Maybe it planted a seed or two in a couple of people but Jesus wants us to know His great joy when a sinner repents...the lost is found.
I will end with this. On page 81 we read "Jesus knew His Bible thoroughly". I don't know what stopped me there other than the very thought that who would think He wouldn't? I question Keller's theology in that Jesus IS the WORD. He IS the Bible, and because of that very fact I bow down before Him. I worship Him, I read His word knowing that He will change me through it. I can't do anything myself...there are a lot of places where I read in this book that "we have to..." works. He does it in us and it starts with right interpretation of scripture.
You can find the lessons Keller is trying to pull out of this parable many other places in the Bible. I found stuffing all of this into this one parable, like the whole Bible revolves around this one story a little exhausting. God is an extravagant God, there is not doubt but the fact of this parable is this...no matter what your sin, Jesus saves anyone with extravagant grace who will come to Him, believing in their hearts and confessing with their mouths that He is Lord. From the highest of heights arrogance to the lowliness and filth of the pig trough.
December 28, 2025
Keira sent me this & WOW it was incredible. Made me so excited for the marriage supper of the Lamb & reminded me the cost of salvation. It is free! The most generous gift! But someone had to pay. And it was costly. Thank you Jesus!!!!!!!
September 10, 2018
The title of this book intrigued me. We normally entitle the story from Luke 15, the "Prodigal Son." However, Keller names his book, "The Prodigal God." And in the first part of the book, he defines the word prodigal. It means "recklessly extravagant, having spent everything." And then he drops the hammer - that is our God when it comes to the grace and what He offers! He is and has been recklessly extravagant (who would give their only Son to die for wicked sinners?) and spent all that He had.
He then names the parable differently then you might expect. He entitles it, "The Parable of the Two Lost Sons" and shows that both of these sons show two different types of people and the way they attempt to gain favor with God. They are both wrong but he shows with extraordinary tenderness and skill that the "elder brother" type is so much more dangerous due to it being so much more difficult to detect.
I must admit, God convicted me throughout the book. He also showed me that one of the major reason that young people are fleeing our Bible-believing churches in droves today is due to the "elder brother mindset." We look at disdain at the "younger brother" types and are often angry and upset with them instead of acting like the father acts towards them. Oh the conviction!
Thank you Lord for sending this book my way - it is what I needed!
He then names the parable differently then you might expect. He entitles it, "The Parable of the Two Lost Sons" and shows that both of these sons show two different types of people and the way they attempt to gain favor with God. They are both wrong but he shows with extraordinary tenderness and skill that the "elder brother" type is so much more dangerous due to it being so much more difficult to detect.
I must admit, God convicted me throughout the book. He also showed me that one of the major reason that young people are fleeing our Bible-believing churches in droves today is due to the "elder brother mindset." We look at disdain at the "younger brother" types and are often angry and upset with them instead of acting like the father acts towards them. Oh the conviction!
Thank you Lord for sending this book my way - it is what I needed!
March 2, 2014
Quick read. Small book (both physically and in its 148 pp). Whole thing is based on the parable of the prodigal son. Most of us just think it's about forgiving Rowdy Roddy (#2 Son), but Keller spends 150 pp. telling us, "Nope. Wrong." Nicely, I mean.
For him, the parable is about equally bad bros -- both the prodigal who burns through Dad's money and then comes back as a penitent AND the elder, who resents the fact that his father welcomes Rowdy home. Guess who comes out smelling like a Biblical rose? Yep. Dad.
Anyway, Keller first divides much of mankind between "elder brother" and "younger brother" types -- the tow-the-rope, self-described pillars of society and religion and the free spirits who go off and blow it off. They're equally sinful, in their way, and Keller equates religious zealots who judge others as being guilty of the elder son's sin. Cool. He takes it beyond that, drawing in a few literary references along the way, and finishing with a rather open and refreshing view of religion (Christianity started as an anti-religion, if that helps).
Easy, thought-provoking stuff. Atheists who dismiss believers are in here too. Guess what? Elder son sorts. Just like the Pharisees. Go figure....
For him, the parable is about equally bad bros -- both the prodigal who burns through Dad's money and then comes back as a penitent AND the elder, who resents the fact that his father welcomes Rowdy home. Guess who comes out smelling like a Biblical rose? Yep. Dad.
Anyway, Keller first divides much of mankind between "elder brother" and "younger brother" types -- the tow-the-rope, self-described pillars of society and religion and the free spirits who go off and blow it off. They're equally sinful, in their way, and Keller equates religious zealots who judge others as being guilty of the elder son's sin. Cool. He takes it beyond that, drawing in a few literary references along the way, and finishing with a rather open and refreshing view of religion (Christianity started as an anti-religion, if that helps).
Easy, thought-provoking stuff. Atheists who dismiss believers are in here too. Guess what? Elder son sorts. Just like the Pharisees. Go figure....
April 6, 2018
Keller has been called the C.S. Lewis of our day, and I agree they are similar in clarity of thought and expression. (Keller's work is not as dense or full of useful illustrations as Lewis'.) In this book, he discusses the parable usually referred to as the prodigal son, but focuses on the "prodigal" (reckless) love of the father in the story, which of course is really about God's reckless, pursuing love of us. He talks a lot about the older brother and how we might be more like the older brother than the younger, but how God pursues him, too, in all his curmudgeonly religiosity.
April 2018: What stood out to me the most in this reading of the book was Keller's discussion of spiritual homesickness--we are all longing for our heavenly home and will experience glimpses of it here. I appreciate the way he creates contrast, such as between the two lost brothers, but then introduces a 3rd option we hadn't thought of, like Jesus as the elder brother who pursues us in our state of lostness. And although I said his work is not as full of useful illustrations, he does give plenty of apt examples and illustrations from other works, from Amadeus to Babette's Feast.
April 2018: What stood out to me the most in this reading of the book was Keller's discussion of spiritual homesickness--we are all longing for our heavenly home and will experience glimpses of it here. I appreciate the way he creates contrast, such as between the two lost brothers, but then introduces a 3rd option we hadn't thought of, like Jesus as the elder brother who pursues us in our state of lostness. And although I said his work is not as full of useful illustrations, he does give plenty of apt examples and illustrations from other works, from Amadeus to Babette's Feast.
December 10, 2010
Nearly every Christian knows, in an obvious way, that he most repent of his rebellious sin and loose living. But, repenting of good works? This is almost completely foreign. Good works are what Christians are supposed to pursue, right? How can they be a bad thing?
In this book, Tim Keller excellently demonstrates how good works without a proper gospel foundation are damnable before God. Keller elaborates on what he calls "Elder Brother-ness," referring to the elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. After breaking the parable into two acts, Keller examines the root heart issues in each brother's story and how each desperately needs God's grace, grace which God dispenses prodigally on his children.
This book is for church people, and I know many church people who need it. From the super-rigid Reformed folks to the light-hearted Charismatics, all believers have much to gain from reading Keller's work. I was both encouraged and convicted through the entire read. Definitely a winner here.
In this book, Tim Keller excellently demonstrates how good works without a proper gospel foundation are damnable before God. Keller elaborates on what he calls "Elder Brother-ness," referring to the elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. After breaking the parable into two acts, Keller examines the root heart issues in each brother's story and how each desperately needs God's grace, grace which God dispenses prodigally on his children.
This book is for church people, and I know many church people who need it. From the super-rigid Reformed folks to the light-hearted Charismatics, all believers have much to gain from reading Keller's work. I was both encouraged and convicted through the entire read. Definitely a winner here.
November 17, 2023
SORRY WHAT???? KELLER NEVER MISSES
articulates the gospel through the story of the two lost sons- the selfish & the self righteous
chpt 7- feast of the Father had be bawling, beautifully explains that Christ cares about the material world. We’re confident of this by looking at his ministry & seeing him restore flesh.
“Remember the final goal of history is a meal, the wedding supper of the lamb”
“The ultimate purpose of Jesus is not only individual salvation and pardon for sins but also the renewal of this world”
We become beautiful THRU Jesus’s sacrificial love, dang this book was such a good reminder
articulates the gospel through the story of the two lost sons- the selfish & the self righteous
chpt 7- feast of the Father had be bawling, beautifully explains that Christ cares about the material world. We’re confident of this by looking at his ministry & seeing him restore flesh.
“Remember the final goal of history is a meal, the wedding supper of the lamb”
“The ultimate purpose of Jesus is not only individual salvation and pardon for sins but also the renewal of this world”
We become beautiful THRU Jesus’s sacrificial love, dang this book was such a good reminder
July 27, 2024
If I could put one book (other than the Bible) in the hands of every person on earth, it might just be this one. It’s so profoundly helpful for younger sons and older sons alike.
December 1, 2025
I am eternally grateful for Tim Keller. His commitment to the centrality of the gospel in a Christian’s life is inspiring. This book, which expounds upon the parable of the prodigal son, gets to the core of the human heart and why we need a savior. May we (Christians) continue to rediscover and deepen our understanding of the Gospel throughout our lives.
January 28, 2024
Do you know how in cartoons, sometimes there's a book that has a boxing glove on a spring inside, and when the character opens the book, the boxing glove comes out and punches them in the face? That is what this book is for me.
This is my second time through, and even years ago when I first read it, my husband and I laughed at how much Keller had me pegged with his description of the elder brothers of the world. This time, years later and still struggling with the same old ugly sins, it humbled me to the dust.
Apart from its personal effect on me, Keller's rich exposition of the parable made me excited for how intentional and deep all Jesus' parables must be, even if familiarity makes me slow to see. If I did have a complaint (which I'm not sure I do), it would be that the last two chapters largely leave the younger brother/elder brother paradigm behind in their discussion of God's solution. But as a freshly-convicted elder brother, smarting from my sins, I would've loved to hear more about how elder brothers specifically can recover from their self-righteousness and joyfully come into the feast.
This is my second time through, and even years ago when I first read it, my husband and I laughed at how much Keller had me pegged with his description of the elder brothers of the world. This time, years later and still struggling with the same old ugly sins, it humbled me to the dust.
Apart from its personal effect on me, Keller's rich exposition of the parable made me excited for how intentional and deep all Jesus' parables must be, even if familiarity makes me slow to see. If I did have a complaint (which I'm not sure I do), it would be that the last two chapters largely leave the younger brother/elder brother paradigm behind in their discussion of God's solution. But as a freshly-convicted elder brother, smarting from my sins, I would've loved to hear more about how elder brothers specifically can recover from their self-righteousness and joyfully come into the feast.
March 23, 2024
Really enjoyed this book - it’s based on the parable of the prodigal son, but Keller argues that it wasn’t just the younger brother that is lost. The elder brother is lost too, perhaps more (since he doesn’t realize it) but in a different way. Keller ties it back to the church and world today and what younger/older brothers may look like in ourselves. But he also explores the fact that there was a missing true older brother, and that Jesus was telling this parable to bring us back to Him. I found it to be an easy but convicting and comforting read, lots to think about. Would definitely recommend :)
March 6, 2022
Took me ages to actually finish this, so the start is a little far back in my memory but it finished really string likening the parable to the entire history of the world. Highlights some super interesting and vital truths about our desire for home, which will never be satisfied in this life. Super encouraging 🎉🎉
September 29, 2023
Goes straight to the heart of Christ. And our own.
Clear depictions of the elder and younger brothers (our two tendencies), and our loving Father -- eager to lavish the humble with grace.
Can't believe it took me so long to get to this one! It's short, illuminating, and Classic Keller. Listening to him read it was like hearing an extra-long sermon.
Clear depictions of the elder and younger brothers (our two tendencies), and our loving Father -- eager to lavish the humble with grace.
Can't believe it took me so long to get to this one! It's short, illuminating, and Classic Keller. Listening to him read it was like hearing an extra-long sermon.
February 25, 2016
If you don't understand the gospel, this book is for you! I was humbled and repented for my elder-brotherliness! Humility and love echoes in this book. This is the gospel.
May 4, 2022
A very interesting and convicting book with a new look at the parable of the prodigal son…
December 24, 2024
What an encouraging and convicting book. I love how Timothy Keller uses the story of the prodigal sons to remind us that we, not only have a God who welcomes home the wayward son, but also loves the self-righteousness older brother.
The "older brother" in me needed to be reminded of the beauty of the gospel. All I need is to be with the Father and that is enough for me 🥹😭🤟🏾.
The "older brother" in me needed to be reminded of the beauty of the gospel. All I need is to be with the Father and that is enough for me 🥹😭🤟🏾.
November 11, 2024
I’ve read several of Keller’s books, and this one is by far the most compelling and challenging. Keller takes the familiar story of the Prodigal Son and completely expands it with fresh insights that deepen its meaning. A powerful, thought-provoking read that invites you to rethink grace, forgiveness and the gospel.
June 11, 2017
Sometimes big things do come in small packages. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller is one of those “big things.”
Keller tackles the Parable of the Prodigal Son. His approach confronts the typical interpretation that fixates on the sin of the younger brother in Christ’s parable – the prodigal son. Keller does not minimize the sin of the younger brother. Rather, he emphasizes the heinous nature of his sin and explores the sin of the older brother as well – whose sin that is no less evil than his wayward brother.
The two brothers and their father not only set up the framework for the parable; they provide the basis for Keller’s assertions. The younger brother is the rebel; the one who sinfully squandered his inheritance. The older brother despised the act of mercy and grace demonstrated by the father toward the wayward son. The younger son tries to find happiness and fulfillment through self-discovery. The older son tries to find happiness through moral conformity. Keller adds, “The message of Jesus’s parable is that both of these approaches are wrong.”
The remaining sections of the book redefine sin, lostness, and hope – all based on the parable under consideration. Keller implies that all people gravitate toward one of the two brothers. He explodes traditional categories and offers fresh encouragement to rebel types and Pharisee types. At the end of the day, readers are challenged to repent of the sins of self-discovery and/or moral conformity.
The Prodigal God is a reaffirmation of the biblical gospel set forth in categories that are understandable to believers and unbelievers alike. I plan to utilize this resource as an evangelistic tool. I also plan to read this little treasure from time to time to remind myself of the gospel realities that emerge in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Keller tackles the Parable of the Prodigal Son. His approach confronts the typical interpretation that fixates on the sin of the younger brother in Christ’s parable – the prodigal son. Keller does not minimize the sin of the younger brother. Rather, he emphasizes the heinous nature of his sin and explores the sin of the older brother as well – whose sin that is no less evil than his wayward brother.
The two brothers and their father not only set up the framework for the parable; they provide the basis for Keller’s assertions. The younger brother is the rebel; the one who sinfully squandered his inheritance. The older brother despised the act of mercy and grace demonstrated by the father toward the wayward son. The younger son tries to find happiness and fulfillment through self-discovery. The older son tries to find happiness through moral conformity. Keller adds, “The message of Jesus’s parable is that both of these approaches are wrong.”
The remaining sections of the book redefine sin, lostness, and hope – all based on the parable under consideration. Keller implies that all people gravitate toward one of the two brothers. He explodes traditional categories and offers fresh encouragement to rebel types and Pharisee types. At the end of the day, readers are challenged to repent of the sins of self-discovery and/or moral conformity.
The Prodigal God is a reaffirmation of the biblical gospel set forth in categories that are understandable to believers and unbelievers alike. I plan to utilize this resource as an evangelistic tool. I also plan to read this little treasure from time to time to remind myself of the gospel realities that emerge in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
December 6, 2009
A great introduction to Jesus and Christianity for moderns and postmoderns. Keller takes us deep into the heart of one of finest stories ever told by Jesus. The self-righteous will squirm as Keller points out that there are two prodigals, not one, in the story. But both kinds of people—religious and rebels—will feel the attractive pull of Christ when they discover what kind of elder brother He is.
Following Clowney, Keller has seen deeply into this parable. His skill and scope in applying its truth to modern people is breathtaking. His ability to relate Christ to so many things people today care about makes this book the best candidate to give to searching friends.
Following Clowney, Keller has seen deeply into this parable. His skill and scope in applying its truth to modern people is breathtaking. His ability to relate Christ to so many things people today care about makes this book the best candidate to give to searching friends.
August 31, 2024
Keller expertly charts a course through the two pitfalls outlined in the parable of the prodigal son (or, as Keller would name it, "The Two Lost Sons"). The two pitfalls are moral conformity (self righteousness) and self-discovery (personal actualization). Immediately, I was able to see the effects of these two paths manifested in both our current political landscape as well as divisions in the church. Thankfully, Jesus calls us to live in the tension of truth and grace! In short, this book excels at denouncing 'older-brother' attitudes in the church while encouraging grace for 'younger-brother' seekers.
March 9, 2024
It was good. I feel like I have heard a lot of sermons based on this book lol
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