Lesson of the Prodigal Son?

Given that the preface to this group of parables is 15:1-2, I think the message is that we shouldn't get all grumpy when we learn that God has welcomed people that (in our estimation) are more sinful than we are.

The central thing I remember about the prodigal son (I call it the parable of the compassionate Father) is the Father waiting at the window, watching for the return of His son. The other issue I think is the reaction of the son who remained. Jesus said the father divided all his life to both his sons, meaning the son who remained also received and possessed half of what the father divided. I find the reaction of the son that remained odd. All was his. He could have a fatted calf any time he wanted. It is a case of, apparently, that the son who remained did not fully know what was his. He did not know what belonged to him. Why? Perhaps he was simply ignorant. Perhaps he did not believe the father. Most extreme is perhaps he did not know who he was! Jesus, I believe, spoke this to the Jews. He was showing them that they were the son who remained. The Jews did not know who they were, who their Father was, and perhaps did not believe what their Father has said.

Yes the son was always a son...

He didn't loose his salvation by walking away.

Salvation is about who we are.

As the answers given so far reveal, the story is important because it has MANY lessons … each important to someone at some point in their journey to becoming ‘Christ-like’.

• The Father (God) always loves his children and waits expectantly for them.
• We all play the fool at some point, and we can all “come to our senses” and return to our Father.
• That God loves someone else (enough to forgive them) does not diminish his love for us (No jealousy is necessary).
• … and many more.

ByTheSpirit said:

So to you it's more about identity and understanding the implication of that?

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Yes...

ByTheSpirit said:

So not sure where to ask this and I'm looking for a variety of responses so hopefully it's ok to ask here.

I've seen a number of responses to what the theological lesson of the Prodigal Son is and am curious what I can learn from this group.

What in your estimation and/or learning is the lesson to be taught from the Prodigal Son in Luke 15?

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A few things come to mind.

1. The son asking for his share was akin to saying to his father, I wish you were dead.
2. The Father was evidently continually watching for his son to return since he caught sight of him at a distance.
3. God will accept imperfect repentance. The son came back because he was hungry, not because he had an epiphany about what he did.
4. We have an awesome loving Father on Heaven.

The father was more ready to receive and bless his son, than his son was ready to be accepted and loved and blessed.

Like this, God is more ready for a person, than the person is ready to be forgiven and accepted.

And there are Christian people who are like this. They are more ready for you, than you are ready to think they are

There are some powerful lessons to be learned by looking at the other son as well. In many ways there were 2 prodigal sons, only one never left home.

I remember years back presenting a drama in church on this passage.

It ended with the older brother storming out of the church shouting in anger - "you can have your party"

Very impacting...

ByTheSpirit said:

So not sure where to ask this and I'm looking for a variety of responses so hopefully it's ok to ask here.

I've seen a number of responses to what the theological lesson of the Prodigal Son is and am curious what I can learn from this group.

What in your estimation and/or learning is the lesson to be taught from the Prodigal Son in Luke 15?

Click to expand...

That we’re all prodigals, alienated from the Father, here on earth to learn that Adam was wrong, that life is a pigsty apart from God. Then, when He comes knocking on our door we may be all the more ready and prepared to open it.

Here we taste-we literally know-good and evil daily, the good innate in God’s creation along with the evil that stems from autonomy from Him and His will. Here we may choose between the two, we may discover whether we prefer Adam’s way, carrying on the family tradition of sin as we prefer to remain free from God or if we might turn back to Him, having become jaded and sickened by a world where man’s will reigns, with injustice and harm to neighbor so often resulting. Here we can develop a hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness and truth in a world which so often tramples upon those things.

Man was made for communion with God and is lost, sick, dead, apart from Him. He’s our true home. God never left man; we left Him. He’s always been their waiting for our return.

ByTheSpirit said:

So not sure where to ask this and I'm looking for a variety of responses so hopefully it's ok to ask here.

I've seen a number of responses to what the theological lesson of the Prodigal Son is and am curious what I can learn from this group.

What in your estimation and/or learning is the lesson to be taught from the Prodigal Son in Luke 15?

Click to expand...

Luke 15 Prodigal Son

1. How significant is the order in the Lost and Found Trilogy?

2. Who is Jesus’ audience for these parables and what question are they addressing?

3. Would the Pharisees and the teachers of the law be saying “Amen” to the first two parables?

4. What would be the objection the Pharisees and the teachers of the law might have with the third parable?

5. Was the prodigal son worthy of death under the Old Law?

6. When I read the Parable of the Prodigal Son to people not familiar with the story, they strongly object to God’s parenting method and cannot get by that description without an explanation, so what should I say?

7. Is Jesus giving us an example of good parenting?

8. Did God “curse” the young son by letting him go?

9. Yesterday, I read 1 Corinthians 16: 22 “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!”, to a friend speak student, who though Paul was not being Christ like in “cursing” nonbelievers, so how should we address that concern?

10. What are some of the differences to our parenting our children and God parenting humans?

11. How parallel are at least one of the sons to your life?

12. How parallel is the way God treats us humans to the way the Father treated his sons?

13. What do we learn about man’s objective while on earth?

14. If the son did not return would the father be less glorious?

15. Would the father be more glorious if the older son went to the party or does that not impact his glory?

16. The Father has an objective in allowing and doing all He did to help the son fulfill his objective, so what is the objective?

17. List some of what we learn about God’s: Love, patience, and values from this story?

18. If the young son had really been macho, “loved” his father enough to not disturb his father further, and been willing to give some satisfying relieve to his brother, would he have not stayed and died in the pigsty and taking the fair just punishment for his own actions?

19. Did the young son believe he was worthy of a job in his father’s house?

20. Did the young son return out of “Love” for his father?

21. Did the young son return for selfish (sinful) reasons? Those with strong Calvinistic believes say: “Sinful man cannot do anything: righteous, worth, honorable, glorious, holy or admirable, so their conclusion is man cannot accept Christianity, because that “acceptance” is at least worthy of something and could be considered righteous behavior” and I am in full agreement with that conclusion. One scripture, along with other scripture, I use is the prodigal son story, where the young son did nothing worthy of anything and being selfish is never righteous. He wimped out, which is not glorious.

22. Do we know if the older son when to the party after the father addressed his questions or did not go? Who was left to answer that question?

23. Did Christ just string along those Pharisees and teachers of the Law?




1. What do the three lost and found parables (Sheep, Coin, and Son) in Luke 15 reveal

about God and God’s heart?

2. The Loving Father goes out to both the Prodigal Son and the Older Brother. Which is

more significant and why?

3. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them,” is the criticism of Jesus preceding the

Lost and Found Trilogy. How can we follow Jesus’ example and welcome and eat with

sinners?

4. What are the religious self-interests and desires getting in the way of God’s mission

today?

We have a mission statement of: Loving others, sharing Christ and changing lives which is one way of stating “God’s mission”, but is our unstated “desire” to just: “Get more people coming to our church”? Is that not also in our own self-interest?