Rotation.org Writing Team

The Parable of the Prodigal Son
A Bible Background for Teachers and Fans

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)

For several reasons, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is arguably the most important and popular of Jesus' teachings. It's relatable, surprising, and teaches us a profound truth about God's forgiveness.

• It is personal -- speaking to our own journey with sin, confession, acceptance, and impulse to be self-righteousness and unforgiving.
• It is exemplary -- demonstrating how we should talk to and treat God and others, especially the sinners and outcasts Jesus welcomes.
• It is unexpected -- revealing the longing, running, embracing, and joyful heart of God.
• It reminds us that we all are on a journey back to the Father; none of us is more loved or welcome than another.

It is the parable form of the Great Commandment -- to love God and each other (Luke 10:25-28).

It is also the "long form" of Luke's shorter "lost sheep" and lost coin" parables found in Luke 15.

Like many of Jesus' teachings, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is also corrective, if not openly subversive of a particular biblical tradition and religious establishment that didn't (and doesn't) like Jesus' emphasis on unconditional forgiveness and the inclusion of sinners in his Kingdom. They have a hard time imagining God running to embrace a sinner, failing to demand penance, going after a single lost sheep, healing lepers, eating with sinners and tax collectors, or being willing to die for our sins on a cross. As much as the parable is addressed to those who need to turn their lives around and return to a forgiving God, it's also addressed to those who thought they had earned their place in the family of God. After all, didn't they "serve all these years and never disobey orders"? (Luke 15:29).  (This paragraph's pithy points are especially made plain in the brilliant Jesus of Nazareth movie clip used in the Video Workshop for this lesson set.)

Thank you Jesus, for teaching us that nothing is so lost that it cannot be found -- and celebrated by God's family.

Objectives for this Lesson Set

1. Teach the story in memorable ways so that each student can retell the story at a level of detail appropriate for their age and abilities.

2. Focus on the nature of God in the parable -- the father's giving, waiting, running, and joyful reconciliation.

3. Explore the personal journey of the younger son as an analog to our own -- what it means to "come to our senses" and confess our sins to God.

4. Examine the lack of acceptance by the older son as an example of how we sometimes treat others, and imagine how he could have responded to his brother's return and father's generosity.

Words and Phrases That Stand Out in the Parable

In this section, we look at some interesting and surprising words Luke chose to capture Jesus' story, it nuances, humor, and action. For example, see the word Luke used to describe how the father "ran" to greet his son and what he did when he got there! The links in these word studies open the authoritative "Blue Letter Bible" and its biblical Greek language tools. (For more about using word studies to stoke your understanding and creative teaching, read Rotation.org's article "Getting Creative Ideas from the Text.")

"give me my share of the estate"  (aka "my inheritance") ~ Luke 15:12

According to the Jewish Mishnah (ancient commentaries), even if a Jewish father decided to divide up his property among his heirs, neither the father nor the heirs could dispose of the property while the father was still alive. Doing so would have been an affront to the family. By squandering his father's wealth, the son was literally saying, "You're dead to me."  https://www.crivoice.org/inheritance.html

Question: What has God given you that he wants you to spend and give wisely, and wasting would send a message of disrespect?

Squandered in wild living  -- Luke 15:13

Luke uses two interesting Greek words to describe the actions of the younger son.

• Luke's word choice for "squandered" is "dee-as-kor-pid'-zo" which in Greek literally means to "toss it up in the air, scatter it." The same word is used to describe separating wheat from its chaff. It's easy to imagine Jesus making that motion as he described the son's wastefulness.
  
  
• "Wild living" in Luke's Greek is the word "as-o'-toce," which means "riotous or loose (sinful) living." When the Bible was translated into Latin, the Latin word for "wild sinful living" was "prodigalis" from which we get the words "prodigious" and "prodigal" in English, i.e. someone who wastes or spends wildly. A prodigal is someone who lives by their own rules, not God's.

Pigs!  Luke 15:15

Jews were forbidden by the Law of Moses to eat pork or touch it (in Leviticus 11:7-8). So when Jesus says that the Prodigal was taking care of pigs and thinking of eating their food, his listeners would not only have thought that was gross, they would have understood it as a sign of just how much the Prodigal had become unclean, dirty with sin, and unacceptable to God. It's also comical because if you've been around pigs, you know they smell, and pretty soon YOU smell like them. The new robe and sandals were not only a sign of acceptance, they were a sign of the son being forgiven (made clean, worthy) before his father. Today we might order him to go take a bath too!  ...And in fact, that's just what people are pretending to do when they get baptized. As we say in the church, these are "outward signs" of an inward change and grace.

Check out this video of pigs eating pig slop. It's exactly the kind of memorable "gross out moment" Jesus would have been hoping for.

"When he came to his senses" -- Luke 15:17

Luke literally writes, "when he came to himself."  We might say, he "took a good look in the mirror," or "realized the error of his ways." Jesus is suggesting that repentance is a decision, a realization that we've been wrong and a decision to return to what we know is right. The father says as much when he rationally appeals to his older son. Repentance, forgiveness, and compassion are choices we make.

Questions: On a scale of 1 to 10, how good of a person do you think you are? How good of a person do you think Jesus thinks you are? If Jesus were standing right here, what would you "confess" to him about your life?

"Trekh'-o!" The father's "trek and tackle" ~ Luke 15:20

When Luke describes the father's run to greet his son, he uses the word "trekh'-o" which most Bibles translate as "ran." In ancient Greek literature, "trekh'-o" often describes a type of running that is more "athletic and exuberant." In fact, we get the word "track" and "trek" from "trekh'-o." Imagine his listener's faces when Jesus described the old man running like a track star in his robe!

Various commentators have suggested it would have been unseemly for a father to run with such exuberance in full view of his servants and family, and in a robe, nonetheless. Not very "dignified" -- but very Jesus.

When the father "TACKLED" his son ~ Luke 15:20

Most translations use the polite word "embrace" to describe how the father greeted his son. But Luke's text and Jesus story isn't so boring. "Embrace" in Luke's text is the much more exuberant Greek word, "ep-ee-pip'-to" which literally means “he fell on him”!  Have you ever seen two people hug each other so hard that they almost fell over? (or did?) Once again, Jesus paints a picture of a God who doesn't hold back, but fully embraces us to the point of never letting go.

Take turns demonstrating the father's "trekh'-o" and "ep-ee-pip'-to."
What does a "running tackle-hug" look like? What does this scene tell you about God?

The older son hears "music" ~ Luke 15:25

This verse is the only place in the New Testament where the Greek word "symphōnia" is translated as "music." It suggests "a band" and is the word we get "symphony" from. In other words, "there's a party going on!"

"...and dancing" ~ Luke 15:24

The word Luke uses here for "dancing," is "choros" which is actually a rather rare Greek word used in ancient Greek literature to describe "ring dancing" or "dancing in a circle."  We get the word "chorus" from it, which describes a group of people singing together. When people do a circle dance, they put their arms around each other and everyone joins in a rhythmic set of stepping to the right, stepping to the left, moving toward the center and back. It is the dance of a community gathered to celebrate the return of one of their own. It is God' circle where there's always room for more.

Create a band and group of circle dancers to get an idea of how happy God is when you confess your sins. After practicing, see if you can add new dancers "on the fly" to show that God's circle is meant to welcome others.

"But"... Luke 15:22

The word "BUT" is found twice on the lips of the father in this parable when he responds to his sons. The first time he uses it to interrupt his son's confession of sin in Luke 15:22. The second time he uses it to interrupt his older son's confession of anger in 15:32. In Greek and also in English, the conjunction "but" is known as an "adversarial" or "disjunction," which is used to denote opposition or a change from what precedes it. For example, "He wanted to go left, but he went right," or "I hear what you're saying, but I need to interrupt you with this."   

When the father interrupts his confessing son in verse 31, he's not stopping to lecture him, or punish him, or warily and conditionally accept his apology as many would expect a father (or God) to do. Jesus' father doesn't do that. Instead, he orders new clothes and a party.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! ..."

He didn't say, Well I told you so and don't expect things to be the same..." He said, "But..."

In verse 32, the father once again has to interrupt his son's expectations and all of those who were listening to this unexpected behavior. The older son is questioning his father's actions, and the father cuts him off with the word, "but."

32 "But we had to celebrate and be glad..."
Not "I'm sorry we started the party without you, and of course things will be different and your brother isn't going to be treated the same as he was before, etc., etc." Rather, the father explains his grace by simply saying,"But we HAD TO CELEBRATE, he was lost and now is found."  No conditions. No withholding. No rehashing the past. And no requirements for penance (of which there are many in the Law of Moses.)  No, "You'll remain first and favored."

"lost" ~ Luke 15:32

In the last verse of the parable (verse 32), the father says, "This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." The Greek word Luke uses for "lost" (ap-ol'-loo-mee) is translated in many different ways in other scriptures, including: useless, killed, condemned, ruined, destroyed.

This brother of yours was...   a liar, an addict, a criminal, a bully, an atheist, has a ruined reputation, an enemy, a ____________ (fill in the blank of something you despise).

Recognizing your own "lostness" is the first step to being found. Feeling God's embrace and the embrace of others is the next step.

"alive" ~ Luke 15:33

When the father declares his lost son "alive" in verse 32, Luke uses the Greek word "zaō" which many other New Testament scriptures also use as a metaphor for "breathing, restored, spiritually refreshed, living a true life worthy of the name, thriving, blessed."  Jesus is speaking about the spiritual change that has come over the Prodigal, not simply that he has returned home. Of course, the journey is not over. Like a baby taking its first breath, there's a lot of growing and learning ahead.

The Parable's Ending

The parable ends with the Older Brother standing outside the party with his father. Jesus didn't vilify the Older Brother, nor does he abandon him. His father is right there with him at the end, waiting for his son to make a decision: will you be merciful like me, or will you reject the kind of love and grace that brings me joy?

Certainly, if the Prodigal Son can change his mind and return to his father, the Older Brother can too.

Reflect on the older brother's response to the party: "became angry and refused to go in." (Luke 15:25) Then create several possible endings for the older brother.

Parable of the "Prodigal" or "Lost" Son? (or "Prodigal Father"?)

Your students may not know the word "prodigal" but will likely hear it as they grow older,  thus we recommend identifying the parable by both of its commonly used English titles -- Prodigal Son and Lost Son -- and defining the term in your lessons. If you want to be technically correct, it should probably be The Parable of the Lost Sons -- because the older son is "lost" as well. How did he live his life with his father and not understand his father's grace? We could ask the same of most Christians.

Ancient manuscripts of Luke 15 do not title the parable, and neither does the King James Bible. The title "Prodigal Son" first appeared in the 1599 Geneva Bible which was popular among Protestants, and "Prodigal" is still the title used by the influential New Revised Standard. However, many modern English translations commonly used in Sunday school use the contemporary title "lost son" instead of "prodigal son."  These include the NIV and NLT.

The word "prodigal" first started appearing in the English language in the Middle Ages, and was based on a French/Latin word meaning "lavish, profuse, prodigious." (source). Over time and due to the influence of its use as a title for this story in printed Bibles, the term "prodigal" now generally refers to a child who squanders their wealth in sinful living and then returns home.

Prodigal Father, Prodigal God?
Timothy Keller, the popular Reformed pastor, suggested in his 2016 book The Prodigal God that we should apply the term "prodigal" to the father in the parable because HE is lavish and profuse with his wealth TWICE in the story, and may have been considered "wasteful" or a "squanderer of his wealth" by Jesus' listeners. Not so coincidentally, Jesus repeats the theme of a lavish God in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13 and Luke 8). The planter scatters his seed on all kinds of soil, good and bad. To a farmer, this kind of planting is reckless and wasteful. With God, however, all things are possible. God's grace is not on a budget.

Lost Sons (plural)
The older brother was lost too. Even though he had always been with his father, he obviously had not developed his father's sense of compassion and at the end of the parable, he is left standing outside the party. The usual interpretation is that the older brother represents the Jews whom Jesus repeatedly called out for following the letter of the law, but not its heart. They were regularly in his audience. But we too can be "older brothers" when we feel our place in the family is threatened, or feel we have been cheated in some way, or we think it is "unfair" that someone who doesn't deserve it gets treated well or is given a second chance.

Lavish or Reckless?
The controversy of portraying God's prodigious grace as "reckless" became an issue when the Grammy-nominated song by Cory Asbury titled "Reckless Love of God" hit the airwaves in 2017. Below is a fan-created video on YouTube featuring scenes of healing from The Chosen TV series about Jesus set to Asbury's song. It reminds us that the father's lavish grace toward his lost son was something Jesus demonstrated throughout his ministry, and such "reckless" behavior cost him his life.

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99
And I couldn't earn it
I don't deserve it, still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God

Written by Rev. Neil MacQueen
Neil is a Presbyterian minister specializing in Christian education.
He is also the Lead Writer at Rotation.org.

Prodigal Father artwork by Mitch Mann. Used with permission.