PARABLE 31 – LUKE 15:11-32 – THE PRODIGAL SON
Some say the parable of the prodigal son is perhaps better named the parable of the lost son, since it is designed to go with the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin.
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Discussion Questions – Parable 31
Some say the parable of the prodigal son is perhaps better named the parable of the lost son, since it is designed to go with the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin.
PARABLE 31 — LUKE 15:11-32 — THE PRODIGAL SON
1. What are the differences and similarities between this parable and the two preceding ones? (All three were told at the same time to the same audience)
In our study of the “lost” parables we have actually been discussing lost souls. The soul that knows it is lost, but does not know how to get home (the lost sheep); the soul that is lost but does not even realize its lost condition (the lost coin); and finally, the soul that is lost but knows that there is a loving, Father who welcomes back his prodigal children (the prodigal son).
The major theme of this parable seems not to be so much the conversion of the sinner, as in the previous two parables of, but rather the restoration of a believer into fellowship with the Father. In the first two parables, the owner went out to look for what was lost (Luke 15:1-10), whereas in this story the father waits and watches eagerly for his son's return. We see a progression through the three parables from the relationship of one in a hundred (Luke 15:1-7), to one in ten (Luke 15:8-10), to one in one (Luke 15:11-32), demonstrating God’s love for each individual and His personal attentiveness towards all humanity. We see in this story the graciousness of the father overshadowing the sinfulness of the son, as it is the memory of the father’s goodness that brings the prodigal son to repentance (Romans 2:4).
Surely, we all see ourselves, or have seen ourselves, in one of these descriptions. Jesus would have us to correctly identify our lost condition and act accordingly. If you are lost and do not know how to go home, the Lord is calling to you through His word. Take the time to read and listen as He speaks to you. If you have no realization that you are even lost, read the New Testament. In it, your sin will be pointed out to you. If you are lost and know how to come home, then all that is lacking is your decision and will power to do what you know is right. Come back to the Lord in repentance and you will be welcomed with open arms.
2. Who do the three major people in the parable represent (father, older son, younger son) in Jesus’ day? Who do they represent today?
The main character in the parable, the forgiving father, whose character remains constant throughout the story, is a picture of God. In telling the story, Jesus identifies Himself with God in His loving attitude to the lost. The younger son symbolizes the lost (the tax collectors and sinners of that day, Luke 15:1), and the elder brother represents the self-righteous (the Pharisees and teachers of the law of that day, Luke 15:2).
The father, of course, represents God the Father. The Prodigal Son represents those who have rebelled against God, who have repented, and return to God. The eldest son represents those who are self-righteous and think they have no need for repentance.
3. The younger son asked for his inheritance, left home, and wasted his money on riotous living. What was the reason he returned home? How can that be applied today?
"But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants' " (Luke 15:17-19)
The prodigal turns homeward because he is hungry, not because he is sinful. This parable demonstrates that people turn to the Father for reasons that are not necessarily spiritual, but the reasons do turn them toward home.
Let’s look at the reasons the prodigal son wanted to go home again.. He ran out of funds. He may have enjoyed his party life. He may have never changed if he had not lost his money.
He ran out of friends. He was alone for the first time in his life. Loneliness can make us aware that we are alienated from God and from ourselves. One reason people keep active and keep the radio and television on is to keep from thinking about where they are and what they are and where they could be. The prodigal son thought of home. It would be better than having pigs as his only companions.
He ran out of food. There was a famine in the land. The real dramatic turning point in this story was the pang in his stomach.
It was not his conscience. It wasn’t his moral awareness that he had done wrong by wasting his father’s money. Hunger drove him home. He wasn’t particularly interested in changing himself. He simply wanted to change his circumstances.
Many people never think about God or want to think about Him until they find themselves up against a wall or at the end of their rope. Imagine their moment of humility. All their natural confidence is gone. They realize they cannot go forward on their own. They realize their need for God. The journey is now at its most crucial moment. God is at work, He is calling them home.
4. What do the actions of the prodigal son teach us?
They teach us the depths to which our own misuse of freedom will take us. If we are bent on leaving God, things will go badly for us. We will be humiliated in this uncaring world. The farther we get from the Father's loving care, the worse off we will be, and our best course is to return to God and his forgiveness.
The word prodigal may be defined as “rashly or wastefully extravagant”; the son in the story showed this behavior with his handling of his share of his father’s estate. Having prematurely gotten hold of his inheritance from the father he “squandered his wealth in wild living” then, “began to be in need.” The natural state of unreformed mankind is always toward lust and greed and extravagance of all kinds; without God we squander our resources and energies until we are void and empty. When the younger son found himself in this state, he remained in the far country working in a job he hated and was willing to eat the food he was feeding to the pigs which were under his care. When we remain in a place of alienation from God, we descend into a state of uselessness, darkness, and humiliation.
The parable of the prodigal son indicates, however, that we do have the opportunity to make a change; we do not have to stay in our hopeless state; we can come to ourselves. The lost son realized that in his father’s house there was food and provisions for him; he humbled himself, willing, if necessary, to be his father’s servant, and started back home. This turning in our lives is the first indication of God’s love for us. Even recognizing our sinful, hopeless state is initiated in us by God, Himself. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:4).
5. What do the actions of the father teach us?
The first lesson is that the father will not treat a son as a hired servant. The younger son is still a son! As a result, his return is something to be celebrated! He is to wear a fancy robe! A fancy ring! Shoes! There is to be a fancy feast for everyone! There is to be music and dancing! Why? Because "This my son was dead, and is alive again" and "He was lost, and is found."
What is amazing here is that the father had been waiting and watching for the son to come back home because he saw him and recognized his son, “while he was still a long way off.” His father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
This shows us God's reaction when we return from being lost in sin. He doesn't begrudge us what we have done. He doesn't take us back reluctantly. Like the father in the parable, he takes us back joyously! Eagerly!
This is a wonderful picture of the great love of God towards us. He seeks after us, reaches out to us. When we come to Him, He washes away all our evil deeds of the past, not holding them against us. “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities, and He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19).
6. What do the actions of the eldest son teach us?
This is the story of a father who had two sons. He “lost them both, one in a foreign country, the other behind a barricade of self-righteousness.” Popularly known as the parable of the prodigal son, a more appropriate title might be the parable of the forgiving father, because the focus of the story is primarily on the father’s love and mercy toward his sons.
The parable also shows the attitude of the self-righteous sinner, pictured by the older son. He quarreled with his father that the younger son had messed up and yet the father had prepared for him the “fatted calf.” Because he considered himself better than the younger son, he could not share in the father’s joy. “My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”
The older son’s hardness of heart made him unaware of the riches available to him in his father’s house. This son complained that he had “slaved all these years.” He had no more love for the father than the younger son; nor did he avail himself of all the good things the father freely provided for him at all times. Both sin and self-righteousness separate us from God. We all require God’s grace, His unearned, unmerited love for us. The father went out to the disgruntled older son. God is He who always continues to seek after us, regardless of the state we are in.
7. What do the three parables in Luke 15 (lost sheep, lost coin, lost son) reveal about God’s love?
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a story, a wonderful story that Jesus told to illustrate the Father's joy at the repentance of a lost sinner. But these are more than stories -- of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Jesus lived out this seeking and rejoicing day by day. He sought out those who were wandering and gave them hope. He treated the lost and shunned of a righteous society with respect and love. And at the conversion of Zacchaeus, one of those real-life sinner tax collectors, Jesus rejoices and sits down to a jubilant dinner with the man and his friends, saying, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:9-10)
8. How can you guard yourself from feeling resentful when God shows mercy to people you think don’t deserve it?
If this is the way my Father in heaven feels towards the wayward and sinful -- full of compassion and mercy -- so must I nurture his attitude toward the lost around me. As a disciple I must not be proud or self-righteous, but boast only of the grace of God. It's not a matter of fairness toward sinners, but of love.
See on blog – What is Repentance?
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