Christian Literature

Parable of the Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-31

¹¹A man had two sons. ¹²When the younger told his father, I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die!⁷ his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³ A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there wasted all his money on parties and prostitutes. ¹⁴About the time his money was gone a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. ¹⁶The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the swine looked good to him. And no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, "At home even the hired men have food enough and to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! ¹⁸1 will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹and am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man."

²⁰ So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming, and was filled with loving pity and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

²¹ His son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and you, and am not worthy of being called your son-"

²² But his father said to the slaves, "Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. And a jeweled ring for his finger; and shoes! ²³And kill the calf we have in the fattening pen. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴for this son of mine was dead and has returned to life. He was lost and is found." So the party began.

²⁵ Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working; when he returned home, he heard dance music coming from the house, ²⁶and he asked one of the servants what was going on.

²⁷"Your brother is back," he was told, "and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast to celebrate his coming home again unharmed."

²⁸"The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹but he replied, "All these years I've worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to; and in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰Yet when this son of yours comes back after spending your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have on the place."

³¹"Look, dear son," his father said to him, "you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours. But it is right to celebrate. For he is your brother; and he was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!"

Background Information:

Luke is one of Jesus' s apostles, the beloved physician. He was a Gentile thought to have been a native of Antioch. He had been trained in medicine in the great school of Alexandria in Egypt. He came on the scene late and found Jesus after hearing about Him from many who had known Him. Later, Luke traveled with Paul on some of his missionary journeys. They went to many cities where only a small part of the population were Jews. Luke understood the Greek culture and it was to them that he addressed his Gospel- a more complete history compared to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John. He presents Jesus in particular as the Son of Man- God manifested in human flesh, experiencing life as we know it (Holy Bible, K3V, 1998; Jepson, 1993).

Literary Concepts:

Repetition: It is used both in poetry and prose; it is a technique in which a word or group of words is repeated throughout a selection. Repetition of words and phrases often helps to reinforce meaning and to create an appealing rhythm. *

Parable: A parable is a brief story that is intended to teach a lesson or illustrate a moral truth. Although the characters, action, and dialogue are simple and direct, they point to fundamental ideas about how humans should live. *

Inferences: Inferences are ideas and meanings not directly stated in a material. Making inferences often means reading between the lines to understand the main idea. In order to be able to understand and interpret passages from the Bible, it is important to be able to make inferences from the text about the spiritual lesson being taught.* (* Applebee, et. at.f 2000)

 Vocabulary Study:

1.   estate, one's entire property

2.   "distantland": spiritually, this means being away from God

3.   famine: a wide-spread scarcity or dearth of food

4.   swine, domesticated hog

5.   prodigal one who spends money extravagantly; a waster; a spendthrift

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