The parable of the prodigal son tells the story of a man with two sons. The younger son demands his inheritance from his father and squanders it through wild living. When a famine hits, he has nothing left and must work feeding pigs. He decides to return to his father and ask for forgiveness. When his father sees him returning, he embraces his son and celebrates his return. The older son is angry that his father celebrates the return of the wasteful younger son. The father explains that they must celebrate the return of the lost son. The parable teaches that God welcomes repentant sinners and that His kindness leads to repentance. It also shows the self-righteous attitude of

1. The Parable ofthe Prodigal Son (Lost son) – 15th
September2016 AA
“But we had to celebrate and be glad,because thisbrother of yours was deadand is aliveagain;he
was lostand is found"(Luke15: 32).
As Christiansalmostall of usknee the parable of the Prodigal son. Jesustellsaparable thatwe findin
Luke 15: 11-32: "There wasa manwho hadtwo sons. The younger one saidto his father,'Father, give
me my share of the estate.' So he dividedhis property between them”. "Notlongafter that, the
younger songot together all he had,set offfor a distantcountry andthere squanderedhis wealthin
wildliving.After he had spent everything,there was a severe faminein that whole country,and he
beganto be in need. So he went and hiredhimselfout to a citizen ofthat country, who sent himto his
fieldsto feed pigs.He longedto fill his stomachwiththe podsthat the pigs were eating, but noone
gave himanything”.
"Whenhe came to hissenses,he said,'How manyof myfather'shiredmenhave foodto spare,andhere
I am starvingto death!I will setoutandgo back to my fatherandsay to him:Father,I have sinned
againstheavenandagainstyou.I am no longerworthytobe calledyourson; make me like one of your
hiredmen.'Sohe got upand wentto hisfather."Butwhile he wasstill alongway off,hisfathersawhim
and wasfilledwithcompassionforhim;he ranto hisson, threw hisarmsaround himand kissedhim.
“The sonsaidto him,'Father,I have sinnedagainstheavenandagainstyou.Iam no longerworthytobe
calledyourson.'"But the fathersaidto hisservants,'Quick!Bringthe bestrobe andput it onhim.Put a
ringon hisfingerandsandalson hisfeet.Bringthe fattenedcalf andkill it.Let'shave a feastand
celebrate.Forthissonof mine wasdeadand is alive again;he waslostand isfound.'Sotheybeganto
celebrate.
"Meanwhile,the oldersonwasinthe field.Whenhe came nearthe house,he heardmusicand dancing.
So he calledone of the servantsand askedhimwhatwasgoingon. 'Your brother has come,'he replied,
'and your fatherhaskilledthe fattenedcalf because he hashimbacksafe and sound.'"The olderbrother
became angryand refusedtogo in.So hisfatherwentoutand pleadedwithhim.Buthe answeredhis
father,'Look!All these yearsI've beenslavingforyouandneverdisobeyedyourorders.Yetyounever
gave me evenayounggoat so I couldcelebrate withmyfriends.Butwhenthissonof yourswhohas
squanderedyourpropertywithprostitutescomeshome,youkill the fattenedcalf forhim!'
"'Myson,' the father said,'youare always withme, and everythingI have isyours. But we hadto
celebrate and be glad,because thisbrother ofyours was deadand is aliveagain;he was lost andis
found'" (Luke15:31-32).
The parable of the prodigal sonisone of the mostwell-knownstoriesof Jesus.Itismore commonly
referredtoas the story of the prodigal sonwhile some refertoitas the Lost son.The word prodigalis
not foundinScripture. AsChristiansalthoughwe know thisparable,itisimportantthatwe must
understandthe meaningandthe reasonwhyJesusbroughtour same.To characterize the sonas “lost”
emphasizesthatsinnersare alienatedfromGod;to characterize the sonas “prodigal”castsan emphasis
on a waywardlifestyle.Intruth,thisparticularparable hasmanypointsto bringoutconcerningthe
nature of manand God.
The ‘prodigal ‘soninthe story exhibitedthisbehaviorwithhishandlingof hisshare of hisfather’sestate.
Havingprematurely demandedand gottenholdof hisinheritance fromthe fatherhe “squandered his
wealthinwildliving”,finishedall the moneyand then,“begantobe inneed.The natural state of

2. unregenerate mankindisalwaystowardlustandgreedandextravagance of all kinds;withoutGodwe
squanderourresourcesandenergiesuntil we are void andempty.Whenthe youngersonfoundhimself
inthisstate,he remainedinthe farcountryworkingina contemptiblejobandwillingtoeatthe foodhe
was feedingtothe pigswhichwere underhiscare.Whenwe remainina place of alienationfromGod,
we descendintofutility,darkness,andhumiliation.
The parable of the prodigal son indicates thatwe dohave the opportunitytomake a change.We do not
have to stay inour hopelessstate.We candecide tochange and come to ourselves withoutdwellingin
sinand sinfulness.The lostsonrealizedthatinhisfather’shouse there wassustenance forhim;he
humbledhimself,willing,if necessary,tobe hisfather’sservant,andstartedbackhome.Thisturningin
our livesisthe firstindicationof God’slove forus.Evenrecognizingoursinful,hopelessstate isinitiated
inus by God, Himself.We come across an importantquestion inRomans2:4 , “Or do youshow
contempt for the riches of hiskindness,tolerance andpatience, notrealizingthat God'skindnessleads
you towardrepentance?”.
The parable of the prodigal sonalsoshowsthe attitude of the self-righteous olderson.He quarreled
withhisfatherthat the youngersonhad messedupandyetthe fatherhad preparedfor himthe “fatted
calf.”We can learnfrom Luke 15: 28-31, “The older brother became angry and refusedto goin. So his
father went out and pleadedwith him. 29
But he answered hisfather, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been
slavingforyou and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a younggoat so I could
celebrate with my friends. 30
But when this sonof yourswho has squanderedyour property with
prostitutescomes home, youkill the fattened calffor him!’ The olderson’shardnessof heartmade him
to not considerthe richesavailable tohiminhisfather’shouse. The final passage tellsusof the fathers
reply:“Myson,’the father said,‘you are alwayswith me, andeverything I have is yours. 32
But we had
to celebrate and be glad,because this brother ofyours was dead andis aliveagain;he was lost andis
found.’”(Luke15: 31-32).
The wise fatherseekstobringrestorationbypointingoutthatall he has isand has alwaysbeen
available forthe askingtohisobedientson,asitwashis portion.The picture of the fatherreceivingthe
son backintorelationshipisapicture of how we shouldrespondtorepentantsinners.Because as
Christianswe needtoacceptthat we are all sinners: “All havesinnedandfall short of the gloryof God”
(Romans3:23). We are includedinthat“all,”and we mustrememberthat“all our righteousactsare like
filthyrags”as we learnfrom Isaiah64:6, “All of us have become like one whois unclean, andall our
righteousacts are likefilthyrags; we all shrivel up like a leaf,and likethe windour sinssweep us
away”.Therefore we need faithinJesusChristasour Lord andSaviour,Repentforoursinsand seek
salvationandbe saved…and forthat all of usneedGod’sgrace. We can learnthat“For it is bygrace you
have been saved, throughfaith—andthisisnot fromyourselves,it is the gift of God— 9
notby works,
so that no one canboast” (Ephesians2:9). That is the core message of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.