Book Review: The Prodigal God (Keller)

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller - 4.5 out of 5 stars

My brother bought me this book for Christmas, and I finished it today. I actually was able to go through the entire book today, while taking notes, so you can know that it isn't a huge book. It is small and roughly 13o pages.

The story itself centers around the Prodigal Son (it is completely about the Prodigal Son). He overwhelmingly focuses on the elder son in the story.

Let's start with what I really liked about the book. Tim is very well read, and intelligent. He's a great pastor from everything I can gather at Redeemer Pres. in NYC. He brings out some great stuff in the story and is also able to add an incredible amount from stories and examples in real life.

One of his most striking points is when he discusses how the "Prodigal Son" is the only passage of the three in Luke 15 that doesn't involve someone physically being gone and retrieved, and he makes the claim that perhaps it should have been the older brother to do the retrieving. Keller argues that in a way, Jesus is how the older brother should have been - he left his glory, emptied himself and came to earth to die for the sake of all of us who were guilty while he was innocent. Now this illustration obviously is not what the Scripture says, and depending on how deep you want to go with that it could have its problems, but it still made me look at the story in a new way and with new insight. After all, God implied to Cain that he was his brother's keeper, and no doubt the elder son in Luke 15 was his brother's keeper as well.

Some of my favorite quotes in Keller's book are as follows:

-There are some traditional looking elder brothers that, as a release valve, maintain a secret life of younger brother behavior.
-Elder brothers obey God to get things. They don't obey God to get God himself - in order to resemble Him, love Him, know Him, and delight him.
-One of the ironies of the parable is now revealed. The younger son's flight from the father was crashingly obvious...though the older son stayed at home, he was actually more distant and more alienated...because he was blind to his true condition.
-This quote by John Newton in one of his hymns was one of my favorites as well: Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before, since we have seen his beauty, are joined to part no more.

The only negative aspect, I think, of Keller's book comes in small sections, and I think after reading the book can only be gleaned from misinterpretation. It is really hard to discuss self righteousness and distinguish between that and piety or seeking to imitate Jesus as Scripture commands. It's hard at certain times for Keller to seem like he isn't making the argument that both doing good and bad things are just as pointless. Quotes that would be dangerous by themselves are:

- (When speaking about the elder son) "it's not his wrongdoing but his righteousness that is keeping him from sharing in the feast with his Father." - well, not exactly how I would put it, and that would be dangerous if not seen in the light of what Keller really means about the elder son's righteous acts being meant to earn his Father's riches and position.

- "So religious and moral people can be avoiding Jesus as Savior and Lord as much as the younger brothers who say they don't believe in God and define right and wrong for themselves." Well, possibly, but that is also going to need a lot of explanation to what you mean by that as well.

Other than that, Keller makes a couple of claims about the points of Jesus' parable on the Lost Things that I don't find as outright wrong, but I just personally disagree with. I don't think that Jesus "is pleading not so much with immoral outsiders as with moral insiders" in these parables. I think this story has depth to offer everyone. I'm not sure that Jesus' intent was primarily directed at the Pharisees on this story as Keller suggests, though he has every right to make that assumption.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think you will too. This is a great book for anyone interested in the story of the Prodigal Son.