In brief
The prodigal son is the hero of a parable told by Jesus in Luke 15, not a historical figure. Jesus is answering the Pharisees who accuse him of welcoming sinners. The younger of two sons demands his share, wastes it in a far country, then returns, hungry and repentant. His father runs to meet him and throws a feast. The older son refuses to go in.
What does the name The Prodigal Son mean?
This character has no name: he is a teaching figure. The word “prodigal” means “one who spends without counting.” It is not found in the text of Luke 15: it is a title given later by tradition. Jesus simply begins: “A certain man had two sons.”
The story of The Prodigal Son
Why Jesus tells this parable
Luke 15:1-10Tax collectors and sinners draw near to Jesus to hear him. The Pharisees and scribes grumble: “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” Jesus answers with the lost sheep, the lost coin, then the story of the two sons. All speak of God's joy when a sinner repents.
The share demanded and wasted
Luke 15:11-16The younger son asks his father for the share of the estate that will be his. Not many days later, he travels to a far country and wastes his property with riotous living. When a famine strikes, he hires himself out to a citizen who sends him to feed pigs. He longs to fill his belly with their pods, but no one gives him anything.
Coming to himself
Luke 15:17-19At the bottom of his misery, the son “came to himself” and remembers that his father's hired servants have bread enough to spare. He prepares his confession: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.” He no longer counts on his rights, only on his father's goodness.
The father who runs
Luke 15:20-24While he is still far off, his father sees him, is moved with compassion, runs, falls on his neck and kisses him. The son begins his confession, but the father has the best robe brought, a ring, sandals, and the fattened calf killed: “this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.”
The older son who refuses to go in
Luke 15:25-32Coming in from the field, the older son hears music and becomes angry. He refuses to go in and complains that his father never gave him even a goat. The father comes out and pleads with him: you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. The parable ends without saying whether the older son went in, a question left to the listeners.
Test your knowledge
What The Prodigal Son teaches us
- No distance is too great for the Father: he sees from afar those who return and runs to meet them.
- Repentance begins when we come to ourselves and take the road home, without excuses.
- The Father's grace exceeds our calculations: he restores his son without letting him finish his confession.
- We can stay at home and have a heart far from the Father, like the older son filled with anger.
- Heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents; the Church is called to share that joy.
Key verses
The father does not wait for his son to reach the door. Moved with compassion, he runs to him. Jesus thus reveals God's heart toward the one who returns.
The son's return is described as a passage from death to life. Repentance is not just a change of conduct: it is a life regained that brings the Father joy.
The parable of the lost sheep gives the key to the whole chapter: there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
Sermons about The Prodigal Son
- What If the Prodigal Son Were You : the Older Brother?The preacher recalls that the title “prodigal son” is not in the Bible and that Jesus first tells this story to the Pharisees. He invites us to recognize in ourselves the signs of an older brother's heart.
- God Runs Toward You: The Parable of the Prodigal SonThe message explains that in that day, asking for one's share of the inheritance amounted to telling one's father that one wished him dead. Yet the father divides the estate, then runs to his son: it is God's heart running to meet you.
- From Death to Life: Your Identity Restored in ChristThe preacher sees in the two sons two dead ends: the younger who sets out on his own and ends up with the pigs, the older who stays faithful but keeps a heart full of resentment.
- Strive to See Emmanuel in Every SituationThe message dwells on the father who sees his son from afar: looking and seeing are two different things. The Father does not merely watch, he sees, he is moved, he runs.
Frequently asked questions
Did the prodigal son really exist?
No, the prodigal son is a character in a parable. Jesus tells this story to answer the Pharisees who criticize him for welcoming sinners (Luke 15:1-3). The account begins with “A certain man had two sons”: it is a teaching figure who reveals God's heart and the attitude of those who listen.
What does the word prodigal mean?
The word “prodigal” describes someone who spends without counting. It does not appear in Luke 15: it comes from tradition, which remembered the younger son who “wasted his property” (Luke 15:13). Some readers note that the father, by his boundless generosity, is also prodigal, but in love.
Where can I find the parable of the prodigal son?
It appears only in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11 to 32. It follows the parable of the lost sheep and that of the lost coin, which also speak of the joy of finding what was lost.