Luke 15:11-32
The Story of the Prodigal Son
Jesus tells of a lost son who returns home and a father who receives him with compassion and joy.
Setting and Context
The Prodigal Son is part of Luke 15, where Jesus answers religious criticism that He receives sinners. The parable follows the lost sheep and the lost coin, building toward the joy of restoration and the offense of grace.
The Story
The younger son asks for his inheritance, leaves home, and wastes everything in a far country. When famine comes, he is reduced to hunger and humiliation. His return begins when he comes to himself and decides to go back to his father.
Before the son can finish his prepared confession, the father runs to him, embraces him, clothes him, and restores him. The celebration is not because the son minimized his sin, but because the lost son is alive and found.
The older brother refuses to enter the celebration. He sees his service as leverage and resents the father's mercy. The father pleads with him too, showing that both rebellion and self-righteousness can keep a person outside the joy of grace.
Meaning and Importance
A younger son wastes his inheritance and returns in shame. His father runs to meet him, restores him, and celebrates his return. The older brother struggles with the father's mercy.
The Prodigal Son is a story about repentance, restoration, and the father's heart. It also warns that a person can be near the house and still miss the father. Jesus uses the parable to defend mercy toward sinners and expose resentment toward grace.
Biblical Art Connected to This Story
Key KJV Verses
Luke 15:20
“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.”
Read Luke 15Luke 15:24
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”
Read Luke 15Luke 15:32
“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.”
Read Luke 15What This Story Teaches
- Repentance is met by the father's compassion.
- Grace can offend those who measure worth by performance.
- The story reveals joy over the lost being found.
Questions about Prodigal Son
Where is the Prodigal Son in the Bible?
The parable of the Prodigal Son is found in Luke 15:11-32.
What is the meaning of the Prodigal Son?
The parable shows repentance, the father's compassion, and joy when the lost are restored.