The Prodigal Son
A lost son and a running father
The older brother says his brother spent money on prostitutes, and the story includes hunger and a famine.
Two things you can tap
- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Jesus: The one the Gospels present as the promised Messiah and the Son of God. He is teaching on his way to Jerusalem.
- Tax collectors and sinners: People others looked down on. They came close to hear Jesus.
- Pharisees and scribes: Pharisees were a Jewish group devoted to carefully keeping God's law. Scribes were teachers of Moses's law. They were unhappy about the people Jesus spent time with.
- In Jesus's story: A father and his two sons, one younger and one older. Also the father's servants, and a man in a far country who owned pigs.
Setting
- Jesus is teaching a crowd somewhere on the road to Jerusalem. His story moves from a family farm to a far country and back again.
When
- During Jesus's work, about 2,000 years ago.
Before the Story
This is a parable. A parable is a short story Jesus told to teach something. The people in it are made up, but the point is real.
"Prodigal" is not in the Bible. It is an old word that means wasteful. People gave the story that name much later. Some call it the parable of the Running Father, or of the Two Sons.
It is the third "lost" story in a row. Jesus told all three to answer one complaint.
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: The story does not end when the lost son comes home. It has a second son, and Jesus ends with him.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A complaint | 15:1-3 | Leaders grumble that Jesus welcomes sinners |
| 2. Give me my share | 15:11-12 | A younger son asks for his inheritance early |
| 3. Far from home | 15:13-16 | He wastes it all and ends up feeding pigs |
| 4. Coming to his senses | 15:17-19 | He plans a speech and heads home |
| 5. The father runs | 15:20-21 | The father runs to meet him |
| 6. A party | 15:22-24 | Robe, ring, sandals, and a feast |
| 7. The older son | 15:25-30 | The older son hears the music and gets angry |
| 8. The father goes out again | 15:31-32 | The father pleads with his older son |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 8A Complaint
A crowd gathered around Jesus. Tax collectors were in it. So were people known as sinners. They all came to listen.
The Pharisees and the scribes did not like it. They began to grumble. To grumble is to complain in a low, unhappy voice.
They said, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them" (15:2). Back then, sharing a meal was often a sign of welcome and friendship.
So Jesus told them stories. First he told about a shepherd who found one lost sheep. Then he told about a woman who found one lost coin. Both times, the finder called friends and neighbors to celebrate.
Then Jesus told a third story. This one was about a lost son.
Scene 2 of 8Give Me My Share
There was a man who had two sons.
The younger son came to his father. He said, "Father, give me my share of the estate" (15:12). An estate is everything a family owns, such as land, animals, and money.
Usually, sons received their share when their father died. This son wanted his share now, while his father was still alive.
The Bible doesn't say how the father felt. But he did what his son asked. He divided his property between his two sons.
Scene 3 of 8Far from Home
A few days later, the younger son packed up everything. He traveled to a distant country.
There he "squandered his wealth in wild living" (15:13). Squandered means wasted. This is where the old word "prodigal" comes from. It means someone who wastes.
Then all his money was gone. After that, a terrible famine hit that country. A famine is a time when there is not enough food. Now the son was in need.
He got a job with a man who lived there. The man sent him into the fields to feed pigs.
Jesus's listeners knew what that meant. Moses's law called pigs unclean (Leviticus 11:7). Jewish people did not eat them. For a Jewish young man, this was about the worst job there was.
He was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pigs' food. But no one gave him anything.
Scene 4 of 8Coming to His Senses
Finally, the son "came to his senses" (15:17). That means he started to think clearly again.
He thought about home. Even his father's hired workers had plenty of food. And here he was, starving.
So he made a plan. He would go back to his father. He even planned what to say.
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants" (15:18-19).
"Heaven" here is a respectful way to say God. The son knew he had wronged God and his father. He did not hope to be a son again. He hoped to be a worker.
Halfway thereThis is a good place for a break. Your spot is saved on this device.
Scene 5 of 8The Father Runs
So the son got up and started home.
He was still far down the road when his father saw him. One likely reason he saw him so far away: the father was watching the road.
The father "was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him" (15:20). Compassion means caring deeply about someone who hurts.
He ran. In that time and place, many scholars say, a respected older man did not run in public. This father did.
The son started his speech. "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."
But the son did not say the part about being a hired worker. The Bible doesn't say why. But remember: the father had already run to him and kissed him.
Scene 6 of 8A Party
The father called to his servants. He told them to hurry.
"Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet."
"Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's feast and celebrate." A fattened calf was fed extra so it was ready for a special celebration.
Then the father said why. "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found" (15:24).
"Dead" is a comparison. The son was not really dead. He had been gone, and to his family it was as if he had died. Now he was back.
So the party began.
Scene 7 of 8The Older Son
All this time, the older son was out working in the field.
He walked back toward the house. He heard music and dancing.
He called a servant over and asked what was going on.
The servant told him. "Your brother is back. Your father killed the fattened calf, because he has him home safe and sound."
The older son was angry. He refused to go inside.
So the father came out to him. He pleaded with him to come in. The father had already gone out to meet his younger son. Now he went out again, for his older son.
The older son said, "Look. All these years I have served you. I never disobeyed you. But you never gave me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends."
"But this son of yours wasted your money on prostitutes. Now he comes home, and you kill the fattened calf for him."
The older son did not say "my brother." He said "this son of yours" (15:30).
Scene 8 of 8The Father Goes Out Again
The father answered him. "Son, you are always with me ... and all that is mine is yours" (15:31).
The father had not forgotten his older son. Everything that remained of the father's property belonged to the older son.
Then the father said, "But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (15:32).
The older son had said "this son of yours." The father said "this brother of yours."
That is where Jesus ended the story.
The party was going on inside. The older son was standing outside. His father was standing with him, asking him to come in.
At the start, the Pharisees and scribes grumbled about Jesus welcoming sinners. Jesus told this story to them.
Did the older son go in? Jesus does not say.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them" (15:2) | The leaders meant it as a complaint. It is also a true description of Jesus. |
| "Father, give me my share of the estate" (15:12) | The son wanted his inheritance now, not when his father died. |
| "Squandered his wealth in wild living" (15:13) | He wasted everything. This is why the story is called "prodigal," which means wasteful. |
| "He came to his senses" (15:17) | He saw his life clearly. He turned around and went home. In the first two stories, Jesus calls turning back like this repenting (15:7, 15:10). |
| "He ran to his son" (15:20) | The father did not wait for his son to reach the door. He went out to meet him. |
| "Was dead and is alive again" (15:24) | This is a comparison. To the family, it was as if the lost son had died. Now he is back. |
| "All that is mine is yours" (15:31) | The older son had never lost his place. He had been in the father's house all along. |
Back Then
A younger son got a smaller share. Moses's law gave the firstborn son a double portion (Deuteronomy 21:17). With two sons, that means the younger son got about one third.
Sons usually waited. Sirach is an old Jewish book of wisdom, written about 200 years before Jesus. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include it. Lutherans count it as useful to read but not equal to Scripture. Sirach tells readers not to give their property to a son or anyone else while they live. It says to divide the inheritance at the end of life (Sirach 33:19-23 in the KJV and RSV, 33:20-24 in some newer Bibles). Many scholars today say that asking early was deeply shameful. Some say it was like wishing your father were dead.
Pigs were unclean. Moses's law said Israel must not eat pigs or touch their dead bodies (Leviticus 11:7-8). A Jewish young man feeding a foreigner's pigs was in about the worst place he could be.
The pods were probably carob pods. Carob trees grew in that region. Their bean pods were fed to animals and eaten by the very poor. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Older men did not usually run. Sirach says the way a person walks tells others what kind of person they are (Sirach 19:30). Many scholars say a respected father running down a road would have looked undignified. He would probably have had to pull up his long robe.
The robe, ring, and sandals mattered. A ring could be a sign of honor and authority. Pharaoh put his own ring on Joseph's hand (Genesis 41:42). One likely reason for the sandals: hired servants and slaves often went barefoot, but sons wore sandals.
Literal Reader Alert
Is this a true event? It is a parable. Jesus made up the story to teach something true.
Did the younger son really spend it on prostitutes? Jesus, telling the story, says only "wild living" (15:13). The older son is the one who says prostitutes (15:30). The Bible doesn't say how he knew. But he was angry when he said it.
Is the older brother "the Jews"? No. Everyone in this story is Jewish, including the father and the younger son. The tax collectors and sinners in the crowd were Jewish. So were the Pharisees and scribes. So was Jesus. The older brother stands for anyone who works hard to do right and gets angry at God's welcome for others. That can be church people today too.
Does God only love people who come back? No. The father saw his younger son while the son was still far away. The father was filled with compassion. He also went out to his older son, who was angry and would not come in.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The Pharisees and scribes | Upset | Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them (15:2) |
| The younger son | Desperate | He was starving and no one gave him anything (15:16-17) |
| The younger son | Ashamed | He felt he was no longer worthy to be called a son (15:19) |
| The father | Compassion and joy | His lost son had come home (15:20, 15:24) |
| The older son | Angry | His brother got a party after wasting everything (15:28-30) |
| The older son | Unseen | He had served for years and never got a celebration (15:29) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Which son are you today? Tap one.
The younger son
Then this story is for you first. The father ran to his son before the son said a word. You don't have to earn your way home.
The older son
Doing right and feeling unseen is a real hurt. The father came out for you too. "All that is mine is yours."
Honestly, both of them
Most of us are. The father goes out to both sons, one on the road and one outside the door.
The one waiting
Waiting for someone to come home is hard. The father in this story saw his son while he was still far away and ran to him. God sees the one you are waiting for, and God sees you.
It's really bad right now
Thank you for saying so. Please tell a trusted adult today. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 any time. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the U.S., findahelpline.com can help you find someone to talk to.
You Might Have Heard
"The Prodigal Son teaches that if you say you're sorry, God will take you back."
What's true: The younger son did turn around and go home. Turning back to God matters.
What the story is mainly about: The father. He ran to his son before the son said a word. He gave him a son's welcome, not a worker's place. Then he went out again for the older son. The story is less about a good apology and more about a father who goes out to find both of his children.
Where Jesus is: Jesus told this story because he was welcoming sinners and eating with them (15:2). In Jesus, the running father comes down the road to us.
Good News
The younger son had a speech ready. He planned to work his way back as a hired servant. He never said that part. The father gave him a robe, a ring, and a party instead.
The older son said he had served for years and never got even a young goat. The father told him everything was already his.
Neither son earned the father's love. That love was there the whole time. In Jesus's first two stories, the joy belongs to heaven (15:7, 15:10). That is why many Christians see God in the father. God runs to meet us first, and God goes out to plead with us when we stand outside.
Big Idea
God runs to welcome lost children home, and goes out to plead with the ones who stayed.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
In the Small Catechism, Luther explains the prayer "Forgive us our trespasses." He says we are not worthy of anything we pray for, and we have not deserved it. But we ask God to give it all to us by grace (Small Catechism, Fifth Petition, 1529). That is the younger son's speech, "I am no longer worthy," with the father's answer.
In Church
Many churches follow a reading plan called the Revised Common Lectionary. It reads Luke 15:1-3 and 15:11b-32 on the Fourth Sunday in Lent in Year C. The "11b" means the reading starts partway through verse 11. The first two lost stories are read on a Sunday in September of Year C (Luke 15:1-10).
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
How did that feel?