Luke 15:11-24
A Father Runs to His Son
Read the passage
11Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.
12The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.
14After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.
15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
16He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing.
17Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food, but here I am, starving to death!
18I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
21The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.
24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
A man has two sons. The younger asks for his share of the property, and the father divides his living between them. Soon afterward, the younger gathers everything, travels to a far country, and wastes his property in reckless living.
A severe famine comes, and he hires himself out to feed pigs. He longs to eat the pigs' food, but no one gives him anything. He comes to himself and remembers that his father's hired servants have bread enough while he is dying from hunger.
He plans to return, confess his sin against heaven and his father, and ask to be treated as a hired servant. While he is still far off, his father sees him, feels compassion, runs, embraces him, and kisses him.
The son confesses, but the father orders the best robe, a ring, and shoes. He orders the fattened calf killed and calls for a celebration because the son was dead and is alive again, lost and found.
The son planned to ask for a hired worker's place. His father receives him as his son. The wasted inheritance has not been recovered, and the son admits that he is unworthy. Yet the father runs to him before hearing a proposal for how he could make himself useful. Jesus shows a welcome grounded in compassion, a welcome that gives a returning sinner reason to come home honestly.
Questions
1 What does the younger son do with his inheritance?
AnswerHe gathers it, travels to a far country, and wastes the property in reckless living before a famine leaves him destitute.
2 What brings him to his senses?
AnswerHunger and degradation make him remember his father's household, where even hired servants have bread enough.
3 How does the father receive him?
AnswerHe sees him from far away, feels compassion, runs to him, embraces him, kisses him, and restores him with a robe, ring, and shoes.
4 Why does the father celebrate?
AnswerHe celebrates because the son was dead and is alive again, lost and now found. Restoration is treated as a reason for joy.
What This Means for Us
The father does not deny the son's waste or pretend that the departure caused no pain. He receives the returning son with mercy before the son can earn a servant's place.
Grace is not a command to trust an unrepentant person with every responsibility immediately. It is an invitation to make repentance and restoration possible without turning shame into the family's final word.
Prayer
Father, thank You for welcoming repentant sinners. Give our household courage to confess, wisdom to rebuild trust, and a mercy that celebrates restoration without pretending that harm never happened. Amen.