September 21, 2025 | The Rebel, The Rule-Keeper, and the Feast of Rest

The Rebel, The Rule-Keeper, and the Feast of Rest | Galatians Part 7

Luke 15:11–32 (The Prodigal Son)

Galatians 2:20–21 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (ESV)

In Luke 15:11–32, Jed Gillis shows how both the younger “rebel” and the older “rule-keeper” are restless in different ways. One runs after freedom and ends up empty. The other stays home and tries to control the father through performance. Both miss the father’s heart. The turning point is the father’s compassion: he covers, claims, equips, and celebrates the returning son, picturing God’s undeserved favor. Set beside Galatians 2:20–21, the message is clear: righteousness does not come through the law. We live by faith in the Son who loved us and gave himself for us. Performance, whether rebellious or religious, cannot give rest. Grace does. The invitation is to leave self-justification, come home, and share the feast of rest in the Father’s house.

Transcript of The Rebel, The Rule-Keeper, and the Feast of Rest | Galatians Part 7

Jed Gillis: If you'll take your Bibles and turn to Luke chapter 15. As we do that, children, if you're headed out the door to Children's Church, you can head out the back door or we're glad to have you stay in here with us as well.

As we've looked at the book of Galatians, we've seen Paul lay a foundation, a, a bedrock for true rest. We come to the end of that section. At the end of chapter two where he says, we're justified by God's grace. We're justified through faith and not of works of the law because works of the law can never give us the rest that we want in our souls.

Why is Paul So Upset?

Jed Gillis: But as we come to the end of this section, I think it's fair to pause and ask, why is Paul so upset? He says some of the strongest language in the New Testament is found in Galatians, and he says, if somebody comes to you preaching some other gospel, let 'em be accursed. Let 'em be sent to hell. Later in the book, we'll see some other strong language. And he is, he is really about as strong in his condemnation of people in the Book of Galatians of the false teachers as he is anywhere else or as any New Testament writer is.

So why is he so upset? Well, Paul's anger in Galatians isn't just a theological disagreement. It's the rage of a shepherd who sees someone poisoning his sheep. It's the anger of seeing someone teaching a gospel that says Jesus plus something else. Is necessary for salvation. And in doing so, he's taking from them the true joy and the true rest of the gospel.

So Paul is angry because he sees people he deeply cares about. He deeply loves being harmed.

The Prodigal Son

Jed Gillis: This morning we're gonna see a different story, a story Jesus told. That. I think if we set it alongside Galatians, we'll get some of the feelings that Paul had when he looked at what was being done at the church in Galatia. We'll see that in both cases there's a misunderstanding, a false gospel, a misunderstanding of grace, where the story Jesus tells in Luke 15 mirrors what is going on in Galatians.

Reading Luke 15

Jed Gillis: So I wanna read Luke 15 beginning in verse 11. And Jesus said there was a man who had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them.

Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country. And there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need.

He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread? But I perish here with hunger. I will arise. I'll go to my father, and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son, but treat me as one of your hired servants.

And he arose and he came to his father, but. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, father, I've sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring the fat and dec calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate for this. My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they began to celebrate.

Now, his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing, and he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant, and the servant says to the older son. Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.

But the older son was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father. Look, these many years I've served you and I never disobeyed your command. You never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends, but when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.

And the father said to him, son, you are always with me. And all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.

The Rebel's Hunger

Jed Gillis: There's a reason, this is one of the most famous stories that Jesus told, and I think we can see ourselves in it, but we can see the church at Galatia in it as well. 'cause the first we're introduced to, to the younger son, the character, the rebel, and we see. This rebel starts with, we think he gets hungry later, but really the problem is he had hunger in his soul to start with.

The rebel had hunger for something different. So he chases freedom, independence. He says, I know there's an inheritance coming. I wanna have it now. I don't wanna sit here and have you father, tell me how the house runs and manage all your resources. Gimme mine so I can go run it myself. He feels something in his soul, some kind of ache that he says, I need something besides what I currently have, and my refuge is gonna be, I'm gonna have freedom or independence or pleasure or comfort.

Now I want you to notice the first thing he describes in this text is not that the rebel goes off chasing, reckless living. That's not first. That's true. He does chase restless living, but that's not the first thing he does. The first thing is he just wants independence. He says, give me the money that's coming to me.

We're not told if he had this whole plan and he was going to a far away country, he just says, give me the right to do whatever I want and gimme the resources to do it. That's where this rebel starts. He has hunger in his soul and this freedom, this independence, he thinks is going to. Solve it for him.

In other words, he wasn't just reckless, he wasn't just pleasure loving. He was a preacher. A preacher of a false gospel, and he preached this false gospel to himself, a false message that would say, here's how I can have peace. Here's how I can have rest. If I have my independence, my freedom, and I can do whatever I want.

Now Jesus masterfully tells the story and he repeats something that we know happens over and over the rebel hungers for something and chases freedom. And what does he find? He finds famine. He finds more hunger. Eventually his resources run out. We don't know how much resources did the father give him enough for him to get out and get in trouble. It's his own resources and eventually they run out.

So the text tells us, and don't miss some of these phrases tucked in the the story in verse 14. He goes out, things have seemed okay until a severe famine comes up and he began to be in need. This is what happens with our souls. We start out thinking, freedom, independence, I'll do what I want. That'll solve the problem. Then we find. Oh, my resources aren't enough, and we start to feel even greater need.

So what does he do after that? Verse 15, he hires himself out to one of the citizens of that country. He enslaves himself. His resources have run out, so he says, well, I guess I'll become this guy's servant. That's my my possibility. He says, I'm hungry enough then that anything will do. To the point that he longs for what the pigs would eat. He longs for trash and he can't even get that.

Now, if you think about the way it works in our souls, no surprise, Jesus is a master storyteller. We have a hunger, a desire, a restless ache, and apart from grace, we think something I do, something I control. If I can just have freedom and independence that will solve this problem.

Our hunger may not be literal. It's not looking at the pig slop. It might be the addicted credit card spending or the incessant scrolling. The numbing our mind with whatever you look to. It might be addictions, it might be perfectionism. I'll rest if I can just perform well enough. We have all kinds of hunger, and you don't need to be near pigs to know what restless hunger feels like.

And so we have these phrases, these thoughts in our mind. If I just have more fill in the blank. Then my soul can have peace, more pleasure, more money, more time. If I just have more something that I can do my resources just more than I can rest. And so what do we do? It works for a little while. So we think, oh, this is good.

But then we end up like this person worse than where we started. We end up enslaving ourselves to the things we thought were going to solve our problems, chasing after a little bit more and a little bit more, and a little bit more, and eventually we just long for anything to give us relief, even if we know it's trash.

That's exactly where this rebel ended up longing for anything that would satisfy, but he knew it was trash.

This is not an incidental story. It's the way it always works. If my soul reaches out for things I can do or control to solve the restless ache and hunger within me, I will always find myself in need, enslaved, and longing for trash. That's exactly where this rebel found himself.

The Rebel's Change of Heart

Jed Gillis: Then he comes to himself and he thinks a slave at my father's house is better than this. Think about it. There's been a change here. At first, he says, I just want to be able to do whatever I want. And now he says, even if he told me everything to do like a slave, it would be better than what I have. He thinks I don't need to belong. I don't need favor with God, with the father and the story. He'll just tolerate me. Let him tell me everything to do. I'll just say, yes, sir, and do it. It's better than I can do myself now. That's a real change it brings about then a start to rehearse his speech.

You ever do this with God? Sometimes you go, okay, here's what I'm gonna tell God. He's rehearsing his speech. Right? And we read through it a minute ago.

But think about the pieces of what he does first. It's confession, father. I have sinned against heaven and before you. That's a good confession, by the way, right? Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you.

But now notice what he does. He, he switches to kind of self punishment. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Which tells me something that tells me this younger son. He thought there was something about his sonship that was based on his worthiness to begin with. I'm no longer, not just, I'm not worthy. I'm no longer, I used to be, I had this performance, but I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

So he has confession. Yes. Good. That sounds good. Then he has this self punishment built on the wrong view of performance. Therefore shame. Woe is me. I'm not worthy of any of it.

And what he hopes for is not grace. It's not the favor of the father. It's will you just tolerate me and let me live in your house. He knows it's undeserved. It's unworthy. So he says, I just want undeserved tolerance. I think it echoes the way my heart crafts these speeches for God naturally so well, because our speeches overflow with yes confession and then self punishment. I'm no longer worthy, and then shame, and then could you just tolerate me, God?

But those kind of speeches don't give your soul rest. It didn't give him rest either, but it did start him back towards the father. Here's the incredible news. Even if we look to the father hoping for unmerited tolerance, that's not what you find when you meet him. You find undeserved favor, not tolerance. That's all the son could hope for, but when he looked to the father, he found something better.

The Rebel's Restoration

Jed Gillis: While he was a long way off. Many of you have heard this story taught and you've, you've heard people think through, what does that mean? While he was a long way off, you know, he couldn't pick up his cell phone and say, Hey, son, is that you?

Do I see you coming in across the horizon? He couldn't do that. His son didn't send a text message ahead and say, I am be there about noon. While he was a long way off means the father had to be looking in this picture, the father's not going. I hope I never see that son again. In fact, I wonder if the father was watching, would he have maybe seen somebody come into sight a few times and he started to hope and said, oh no, that's not him. Maybe sometime in this process he looked out and saw someone and he started running and then realized, oh, that's not my son.

The picture is the father is expectantly, watchfully waiting. And when the son comes in sight, he runs to him. Before that, though, he saw him and he felt compassion. Don't skip past that phrase. He didn't see him and feel duty. I guess I have to. He's my son. No. He saw him and he felt compassion.

He felt deep in his soul, a love for that son. He said, yes, my son's here. He's back. Before he even ran, which would've been shameful in that culture. Men did not like grown. Men did not run. Some of you might think, yeah, grown men don't run now either. Grown men did not run. But before that, if you were standing next to him and he looks out and goes, that's my son.

And you can tell he loves him. You're like, you're crazy. That guy took like a third of your stuff. I can tell by the way he is dressed, he's not coming back in triumph.

It's wild to think he sees him and he doesn't say, well, I guess I have to. He loves him. He feels compassion, and then he demonstrates favor and not just a little favor, a lot of favor. He runs to him. He embraces him. I'm sure he didn't smell great. He embraces him and he kisses him.

By the way, the son has not given his speech yet. The grace of the father is so great, so full that before the rebel can even get the speech out of his mouth, the favor is just pouring out on him.

So the son had his plan for how the father might tolerate him. The father doesn't even let him get all the way through describing it. Notice the speech is cut short. In verse 21, I have sinned against heaven and before you. Yes, good confession. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son, and it's as if he says it was never based on your worth to begin with. Let me stop you there.

So he says, instead you belong. Let's celebrate. He says, my favor is not hired or negotiated. The father's like. My favor towards you is not like payment for services rendered. That's not how it works. It's grace.

The Rule-Keeper's Anger

Jed Gillis: Now we're gonna come back to that feast in just a minute. Before we do that though, we see the rebels hunger. He's chasing after freedom and he finds famine. Now let's look at the older son. We'll call him the rule keeper, and instead of hunger, we find the rule keeper's anger.

He's not chasing freedom. He's happy to say, yes, I'll do what you said. I've never disobeyed. But what instead he chases is he's chasing fairness. I served you, I obeyed you, I performed well. I measured up. So in his mind he says, my actions should have guaranteed your favor, and let's take a step beyond that. The older brother really says, my action should guarantee I have more favor than that loser.

You see older brother, rule keepers don't storm out of the house. They stay, they serve, they perform, they look good, but they completely miss the heart of the father.

So instead, he chases fairness and he finds fury. This isn't fair that jerk treated you so terribly he can't possibly belong like this. We shouldn't celebrate this. He didn't work hard enough. Maybe if he performs differently, we could celebrate him. That's his anger. That's what's stewing inside his soul.

This rule keeper, ironically. The one who has stayed home. This rule keeper is not living like a son. He's living like a slave. The one who's in the house still. He's saying, I'm going to work for my welcome. He's living like he's hired Instead of living like a son.

The rebel dishonors the father by breaking all the rules. The older son tries to control the father by keeping the rules. Both insult the father.

The rebel insults the father by wanting freedom. Don't tell me what to do. I do whatever I want. The rule keeper insults the father by saying, I'll control your favor by the way I perform. Both of them insulted the father.

The person who lives in our world. Seeking pleasure and freedom and independence and not caring what God says is, is an insult to the God who made them. And the person who says, I will look good in a religious way and I will earn the favor of God is an insult to the Father who created him.

And both were restless. Notice, the rebel, I've gotta get outta here. I've gotta have something better. And the older son didn't express it the same way, but when the rubber meets the road, the older son says, you never gave me this joy I wanted. He's hungry in a different way. He's aching, he's restless. Both of them were restless.

The rebels restlessness looked like freedom, sinful, living pleasure, addiction. The rule-keeper's restlessness looked like anger, self pity, doubting, and contempt. But they both insulted the father and they both had no rest in their souls. That's because we will always be restless until grace brings us home. Both of them were restless because performance can never bring rest.

I want you to hear God's message. His word. If you feel restless, if you feel like you don't have peace, it's not because you didn't perform well enough. That can never give you rest. That's what Paul said in Galatians, by works of the law, no flesh is gonna be justified.

Because if a law had been given that could give you that, then that's how righteousness would come. But the law can't. Performance can never ever give rest, whether it's rebellious performance or religious performance.

So Why was Paul so Angry in Galatians?

Jed Gillis: So before we look at that feast, why was Paul so angry in Galatians? Because some rule keepers were telling some forgiven rebels that they really needed religious performance in order to have the favor of the father.

This is like a year later from the story. If the older brother was talking to the younger son and he said, Hey bro, now that you've been back for a year, we, we really need to talk. I know you've enjoyed the favor of the father, and I admit I was mad about that. It's been good to see you get some things straightened out, but now that you're here, trust me, I know how to get on dad's good side. Forget that favor you think he showed. I'm gonna show you the real favor. You work the fields correctly. If you manage the servants this way, if you work really hard, make sure you say the right things to him, then you'll really see the favor of the father and you'll make sure you always have it.

That's why Paul's mad because he's sitting there going to the saying to the rule keeper, didn't you see the favor the father poured out on the younger son? Didn't you hear his invitation to you to come enjoy it? All that I have is yours? Paul knows that this kind of teaching will steal their rest. It will steal their peace, and he loves them too much to be quiet about it.

In our world, you find many people telling you you can have peace. If you just perform in a sinful way, go live the way you want to go. Ignore what God has told you. Go find comfort, find peace, find joy, find fulfillment. You'll find people who tell you that.

But you'll also find people who give you religious answers, who say, show up to church all the time. Read the Bible, pray. Do all these things. Make sure you perform and check the list off. And that's how you'll find peace and both are restless. Because resting in the grace of God is the only thing that can bring you true peace.

The Father's Feast

Jed Gillis: Alright, so let's look at the father's feast then. I love this detail in the text after he's shown favor, after he ran, after he embraced him, after he kissed him, after he felt compassion. Son starts to speak, cuts it off, then he gives a celebration.

Notice first the father covers the son. Verse 22, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him. Take two different points from that. Bring quickly, like don't wait around. It's like everybody looking can see the shame of my son who just came to me. Bring quickly, cover that shame. Just as God gives us the robe of Christ's righteousness to cover our shame, that's what the Father is doing here. Or we could say in terms of Galatians, he's justifying him by faith. He's not saying you deserve it. He's saying, here you go. Here's a gift to cover your shame. You are approved. You are accepted. So he says, bring it quickly.

Second thing, he doesn't stop there, he says, and put it on him. He doesn't even say bring the robe, stick it over there, make my son go put it on. He says, bring it quickly and get that robe on him. Why? Because he is going to cover his son. Leave no doubt that this son is accepted, is loved, is covered. Just like we say, God, our father covers us in the righteousness of Christ, and he doesn't lay it over there and say, when you put it on, then you'll be accepted. He says, by faith, it's yours. It's on. So the father covers him.

The father claims him. He says, put a ring on his hand. That's how they would identify. Oh, he has the master's ring. He's the son. They would adopt children like grown children. They would give them a ring to identify with them. The father claims him. He says, if you're gonna look down on this son, you need to know he's my son. He sealed him, if you will, as his child, as God The father gives us his Holy Spirit and seals us as his children. The father covers him. The father claims him.

The father equips him. He puts shoes on his feet. We could go to Ephesians and talk about feet shod with the preparation that comes from what? The gospel of peace or the gospel of rest, the good news that gives peace. That's the preparation. He says he has shoes so that he can do what he needs to do. He's equipped. He's prepared. God does that for us. He gives us the gospel and prepares us to walk in freedom and love.

Father covers him, claims him equips him, and then he celebrates with him. He says, bring the fattened calf. Now. Pause a second and think about that. This son has already cost a lot of money. He has already cost a ton. Not only resources, but just the shame, the embarrassment, the difficult conversations. He has cost this father a lot. So then he says, bring the fattened calf, which was like one of the most valuable assets they would have. It's not something you could just replace, like you had to take years to do it. He says, bring the fattened calf. He's already cost so much, but bring this valuable asset and let's celebrate. If you're the rebel, the the son, the younger brother sitting at the table. You might believe, well the father, sure. He's just tolerating me so that he looks good. You maybe, maybe you could believe that up until you're sitting at a table and you're kind of pinching yourself like, this is too good to be true. You smell this fattened calf, you who used to want pig slop taste it, and you go, it's so good. And he thinks. My father paid this price after I cost him so much to celebrate with me.

And we feast as God's children. When we remember communion, we feast as God's children saying, my father paid this price to celebrate with me after I cost him so much after I insulted him.

The younger brother says, it's not just tolerance, it's grace. Every gift, the ultimate fulfillment of every gift he lists here is Jesus. Jesus is the one telling the story, but he's telling it about himself. This is a feast of grace, and grace is full. There's nothing held back. Grace is free. There's nothing earned, and Grace is final. There's no repayment. The son's not paying this one back. It's a Feast of grace because Jesus had completely paid the price. So the Father invites him his restless rebel to come rest at the table and feast with him.

Living by Faith in the Son of God

Jed Gillis: Now, if you'll turn over to Galatians, I want you to take that story and think about a few verses that we read at the end of last week from the end of chapter two, where Paul says in verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

I think the story of the prodigal son can help us understand what on earth does he mean? And the rest of the Book of Galatians will help us to understand more. But what does he mean? The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. I think he means as a son who has received undeserved favor, he gave himself for me to celebrate with me. I now live in the house of my father, not restlessly trying to perform. I live in joy and freedom precisely because I rest in his grace.

I'm like the younger son saying the father loves me this much. I am thrilled to live in his house. Because of the powerful grace of God, Paul says, I live the kind of life that flows from rest in Jesus, that flows from faith. The life I live, I live by faith. I have this total rest in Jesus Christ, and because of that, my life looks different. The reality of what the father has done in showing grace reshapes our fears.

Can you imagine the prodigal son walking back to the father thinking, he's not gonna accept me. He can't love me again. I've hurt him too much. I'm not good enough. Maybe I can just be a servant. And the rest at the feast of the grace of the Father reshapes all those fears so that he says, I felt those fears, but I don't now because of the grace of God. So he's gonna live life differently than he did before. The grace of God lets us have this deep sigh of relief that says I don't have to perform well enough to be loved.

Grace lets us just go, [exhale]. Grace lets us feel the joy of belonging, not wondering if you belong, but actually belonging. It gives us freedom to love other people without calculating, if I love this person, will they gimme enough in return?

Paul is saying the old life of restless performance, whether it's rebellious performance or religious performance, doesn't matter. They're both restless performance. The old life of restless performance has died with Christ. My self-justification is over. That's what he says here. I've been crucified with Christ. That means my performance is not the basis of my value and my image. That means my shame isn't crushing because it can't destroy my life. I've already died with Christ.

But he does live a life. He lives the life that is rooted is nourished, is built in the rest that he finds in Jesus Christ. That changes him. That means the restless rebel who left the house was crucified with Christ. That means the restless rule keeper who stayed, was crucified with Christ.

And the life Paul lives is no longer restless. It's by faith, it's full of rest. and reliance in the son who loved him and gave himself for Paul and for you, which is why Paul continues in verse 21, I don't nullify the grace of God for if righteousness were through the law, Christ died for no purpose.

You have two choices. You either nullify the grace of God by relying on human performance, or you nullify human performance by relying on the grace of God. You can't mix those two.

The first the nullifying the grace of God leaves you starving and angry, just like the rebel and the rule keeper, but to nullify human performance and rest in the grace of God, you're invited to feast.

Apart from grace we're all restless. I want to ask you to think about yourself. Some of you may feel like you're too far gone, you messed up too bad, and you wonder if God could ever really welcome you. Maybe you know he'll welcome you, but could he ever really pour out favor towards you.

Others, might not admit this out loud, you might feel like you've done pretty well. And honestly, you might say, do I even need the favor of God? Do I even need his welcome?

And most of us are both of these things. We're a rebel in the morning and a rule keeper in the afternoon. And then we're back to being a rebel because our hearts are so addicted to performance. This is how I will find rest for my soul. So we go rebellion, religion, rebellion, religion, and we find ourselves starving and angry, Because self-salvation, self-justification, performance always leaves you hungry with the pigs or angry in the field. That's where you end up. But grace seats you at the feast.

Just like the father in the story. Grace covers your shame. Grace claims you. Grace equips you and it celebrates with you.

Our father is not stingy or begrudging. He's so generous. He doesn't merely tolerate his children. He's ready to celebrate together because of what Jesus has done. The robe is ready. The ring is in his hand. Jesus has already died to show you how extensive and undeserved God's favor is. Will you rest in His grace?

Not just theoretically. But in every fear that is in your soul, in all of the deep fears you feel, will you rest in his grace? In the anxiety you feel, will you rest in the grace of your father? In every anger you feel, will you rest in his grace, he invites you. He's looking for you to come across the horizon so he can run to you and embrace you.

Because in this story, the younger son's not the hero and the the older son's not the hero. The father is. So rest in his grace. I'll invite you to take just a moment, close your eyes. Thank God for his grace. If you see in your heart restless performance of either kind, confess it and feast on the grace of God, and then we'll sing together.