Question: Please confirm.
God’s answer:
It stroked their ego.
I was being diplomatic.
Placate means “to allay the anger of, especially by making concessions; appease.” 40 Stroke someone’s ego Fig. to flatter and praise someone.41 It stroked their ego because they thought Jesus was referring to them as the older son (the good son).
In the second part of His answer, Jesus is saying that although He was critical of their behavior, He tried to impart his message in such a way that it wasn’t impolite.