# The prodigal son: a story of return (Luke 15:11–32)

> In Luke 15 Jesus tells of a son who wastes his inheritance and comes home expecting to be a servant, a father who runs to meet him and throws a feast, and an elder brother who cannot bring himself to join in. The story ends with an open invitation.

> 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.
> — Luke 15:20 (King James Version)

> For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
> — Luke 15:24 (King James Version)

## Why Jesus told it

Luke 15 opens with religious leaders complaining that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. He answers with three stories about something lost and then found: a sheep, a coin and a son. The third is the longest and the most personal.

## The younger son

A younger son asks for his share of the inheritance, leaves for a distant country and spends everything. When famine comes he ends up feeding pigs, hungry enough to envy their food. He decides to go home and ask to be taken on as a hired servant, rehearsing what he will say.

## The father

The father sees him while he is still far away, is moved with compassion and runs to embrace him. Before the son can finish his speech, the father calls for the best robe, a ring and sandals, and orders a celebration: the son who was lost has been found.

## The elder brother

The older son hears the music, learns what has happened and refuses to go in. He has served faithfully for years and feels overlooked. The father goes out to him too, and pleads with him: everything he has belongs to his elder son, but it is right to celebrate a brother's return.

## Questions to carry

Jesus does not say whether the elder brother went in. Where do you find yourself in the story — leaving, coming home, waiting, or standing outside? What would it mean to be met the way the father meets each son?

## Read the whole parable

Read Luke 15:11–32 in full in your Bible or in the Versea app. For another passage about God's welcome, read [Psalm 23](/en/read/psalm-23).

## Sources

- [Luke 15 (King James Version)](https://api.getbible.net/v2/kjv/42/15.json)