The Parable Of The Prodigal Son

Today we’re going to look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s Jesus’ longest parable and one of the most famous.

We can look at this story from several perspectives. We could reflect on the father in the story and what he shows us of God’s extraordinary grace. We could think about the younger son. He represents most of humankind which has turned away from God and gone its own way. Or we could think about the elder son. One commentator I read described the elder son’s story as a ‘sub-theme.’ But more than a third of the parable is about the elder son. I think that Jesus’ main focus throughout Luke 15 is the elder son and his attitude.

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Let’s first take a look at what’s going on in this chapter.

If you glance over Luke 15, you’ll see there are three parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the lost son.

These three parables are a set.

They’re clearly related. The first parable concerns a sheep being lost, the shepherd searching for it and rejoicing when he finds it. The second parable is quite similar, except it’s a woman who loses a coin. The third parable concerns a son being lost, his father yearning for his return, and rejoicing when he does.

The parables are also presented as a list. The second parable starts at verse 8. Jesus asks, ‘OR what woman…’ The third parable starts at verse 11. Jesus says, ‘AND he said…’

So, the three parables are a set. Jesus is giving three examples to make a point.

What prompted Jesus to tell these parables?

Can you go back to the start of the chapter? In verse 1 we read that tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus. In verse 2 we read, ‘the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ”This man receives sinners and eats with them.”‘

So, in these two verses there are two groups of people. One group is the tax collectors and sinners. The other is the Pharisees and scribes.

Now look at verse 3. It says, ‘SO he told them this parable.’ ‘SO’ means, ‘this is WHY Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep.’ But since the three parables are a set, it tells us why Jesus told all three parables. Why did Jesus tell these parables? Look at verses 2 and 3 again.

‘The Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” SO he told them this parable.’

JESUS TOLD THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP – AND IN FACT, ALL THREE PARABLES – IN RESPONSE TO THEIR GRUMBLING. HE WANTED TO ANSWER THE CRITICISM, ‘YOU SHOULDN’T BE RECEIVING SINNERS AND EATING WITH THEM.’

Now that we understand that Jesus told the parables to answer this question, we can look at his answer. Why should Jesus receive sinners and eat with them? And applying it to ourselves, why should we?

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Jesus starts his answer with the Parable of the Lost Sheep and then went onto the Parable of the Lost Coin.

The message of these two parables isn’t complicated.

In the Parable of the Lost Sheep a shepherd loses a sheep. It was precious to him and he takes considerable risks to recover it. The shepherd rejoices at finding his lost sheep.

In the Parable of the Lost Coin a woman loses a coin. It was precious to her and she turns the house upside down to find it. The woman rejoices at finding her lost coin.

The tax collectors and sinners are like the lost sheep and the lost coin. They are lost, but very much worth searching for, turning the house upside-down for.

The first part of Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees and scribes is an implicit question. ‘Shouldn’t you be like the shepherd and the woman? Shouldn’t you also rejoice at the fact that the lost are being found?’

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Let’s now move on to the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

To understand the parable we need to see who corresponds to whom. We saw that there were two distinct groups who Jesus was speaking with. One was tax collectors and sinners. The other was Pharisees and scribes.

In the parable there is a wayward younger son who the father welcomes and lays on a banquet for. He corresponds to the tax collectors and sinners who Jesus received and ate with.

There is also a grumbling elder son. He corresponds to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes.

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The Parable of the Prodigal Son is longer than the other two parables and we have more to unpack.

I’d like to start by imagining why the Pharisees and scribes grumbled at Jesus for eating with sinners.