The Prodigal Son

What does prodigal mean?
The word "prodigal" is mysterious to us. Almost the only time we ever hear it is in the
title of a parable Jesus spoke of in the scriptures.
It's basic meaning is "wasteful" particularly with regard to money.
It comes from Latin roots that mean "forth" (pro­) and "to drive" (agere).
It indicates the quality of a person who drives forth his money, who wastes it by
spending with reckless abandon.
That's what the prodigal son does in this study.
Why Jesus shared this parable?
This question is answered at the beginning of Luke 15;1­3
Actually, Jesus tells three parables:
The parable of the lost sheep
The parable of the lost coin
The parable of the lost son (or, as we know it, the parable of the prodigal son)
All three parables are on the subject of recovering the lost, which is the implicit
explanation of why Jesus receives sinners and eats with them.
They are lost, and he wants to recover them.
Interestingly, the parable of the prodigal son (and the parable of the lost coin) occur
only in Luke.
NLT Bible. Luke 15:1­3
[1] Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
[2] This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was
associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
[3] So Jesus told them this story:
NLT Bible. Luke 15:11­32
11] To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.
[12] The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you
die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
[13] “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a
distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.
[14] About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he
began to starve.
[15] He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to
feed the pigs.
[16] The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs
looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
[17] “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired
servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
[18] I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven
and you,
[19]and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired
servant.”’
[20] “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his
father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced
him, and kissed him.
[21] His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am
no longer worthy of being called your son.’
[22] “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and
put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.
[23] And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,
[24] for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now
he is found.’ So the party began.
[25] “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he
heard music and dancing in the house

26]and he asked one of the servants what was going on.
[27] ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf.
We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
[28] “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and
begged him,
[29] but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved 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.
[30] Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on
prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
[31] “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and
everything I have is yours.
[32] We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come
back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
There is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns away from sin.” Jesus said this to
explain to the Pharisees why He hung out with tax collectors and other people that the
rule makers considered to be sinners. Just as there were celebrations when the sheep
and the coin in the parables were found, there is a celebration in heaven when even
one sinner leaves his sinful life behind and turns toward Jesus.
Today’s parable, the Parable of the Lost Son, shows how even people get lost
sometimes by living a rebellious and sinful life.
But we are never so lost that God cannot find us. And when someone who is lost
because of sin turns away from that sin, there will be a great celebration to welcome
him home again.
The younger son made a couple of really bad decisions.
First, he decided to try and meet his own needs instead of depending on his father. He

thought that if he had enough money, he could live exactly as he wished to live.
But the Bible tells us that we should Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not
depend on your own understanding.
The son thought he had it made in the shade with all that money he got from his
father. But he made the terrible decision to exchange the love and warmth of his
family for the temporary pleasures of sin. He didn’t want to work in the fields
anymore. All he wanted to do was to spend his dad’s hard­earned money. He wasted
his father’s money on all kinds of things he didn’t need and things that were not even
good for him.
Then he began to think clearly again. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired
workers have more than enough food! But here I am dying from hunger! I will get up
and go back to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven. And
I have sinned against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son. Make me like one
of your hired workers. So he got up and went to his father.
God is willing to accept you back in fact He yearns to welcome a lot sheep of Christ
the shepherd.
Whatever sin you may have sunk in, remember and be quick to return to your father.
What do you think will happen when the son returns home?
Celebration upon celebrations. A warm welcome awaits the son who returns back to
His father’s arms.
There is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns away from sin.
What is amazing here is that the father had been waiting and watching, for you to
come back. Hallelujah!
It's my prayer that whatever sin that is keeping you afar from your father may you be
wise to drop it and return to your father in Jesus name. Amen