Who is the prodigal son in luke

The brother's response to all of this is also worth checking out, especially in terms of Luke's attempt to come to terms with the negative response of the Jewish leaders to Jesus in general. Like the Jewish leaders, the brother claims to have been faithful to his father's every "command" and is pretty resentful of the prodigal son's second chance; sounds like the Jewish leaders in , , , and , right?

But the brother's concern is voiced sympathetically here , and the father levels honestly—even tenderly—with his faithful son. Does that mean the grumbling of Jewish leaders also has substance? Will they join the Jesus party? Will the other brother? Everyone loves a second chance, right? That might just be why this particular parable has such staying power. Gospel of Luke. What's Up With the Ending? There's no doubt you've heard of it, but let's dig deep.

The Other Brother The brother's response to all of this is also worth checking out, especially in terms of Luke's attempt to come to terms with the negative response of the Jewish leaders to Jesus in general. Logging out…. His relationship to his father was based on work, not love.

But the father would have given a goat if the son had asked verse The son felt unappreciated and unrewarded; his complaint suggests that he had a long-smoldering resentment. The younger son had wasted part of the family estate, failing in his duty to provide for his father.

Perhaps the financial waste had begun before the son left home, or perhaps some reports had come back from the far country. Both are possible, but the story says nothing about it. This suggests that the older son perhaps like the Pharisees was making an unsubstantiated accusation. Some commentators speculate about the legal status of the property rights and whether the younger son could have inherited something, but the parable says nothing about it.

Inheritance details are not the point; acceptance or reconciliation is. Older sons inherited twice as much as other sons because they had a responsibility to the family.

The older son would have had a duty to take care of a brother who fell on hard times. But the older son was not willing to accept this responsibility; he like the younger son! The implication is that it is necessary for him to rejoice — and by extension, for the Pharisees to rejoice at what Jesus was doing. The context helps us understand the lessons of the parable. Verses tell us that sinners and tax collectors were being taught by Jesus. Pharisees criticized Jesus — not for teaching such people, but for eating with them, which was a sign of social acceptance.

Perhaps they were worried that Jesus was making it too easy on people, and his acceptance might encourage others to be lazy.

Jesus then gave the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, both concluding that God rejoices about each sinner who repents. There would be rejoicing for them, too, if they would accept it. The parable of the lost son continues the theme of rejoicing and adds to it. The first half of the parable illustrates rejoicing over a sinner who returned; the second half more directly addresses the situation Jesus faced: criticism about his willingness to be with sinners.

In the first two parables, the lost were found by searching. But the younger son was found by waiting. The spiritually lost were already coming to Jesus. They had been spiritually dead and were now showing interest — they wanted to be taught by Jesus. Jesus received them and ate with them. But the parable is not just about Jesus in the first century; it is also a timeless message about God the Father. He rejoices over cf. This lesson is illustrated by the father: He is always ready to welcome a returning child.

The parable shows that sinners can confess and return to God. Since God is gracious, sinners can return to him with confidence that he will warmly welcome them. But in the parable, poverty is more prominent than sin.

As Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, encouraging sinners to return was not the main issue; the main issue was what to do about sinners who were already willing to return. If Jesus, the King over all creation, values the least of these, how much more so should we?

We are to share in their joys and sorrows and live in harmony with them. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit….

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