What Does the Story of the Prodigal Son Really Mean?

The “Prodigal Son” is one of the many parables found in the New Testament, in the Gospel account of Luke.

Jesus used parables during His earthly ministry to explain “the secrets of the kingdom of God” in relatable ways (Luke 8:10, ESV). In other words, He told stories to the people around Him that would help them understand spiritual truths.

The “Prodigal Son” is an allegorical story that Jesus told to a skeptical group of people to teach them what God’s love really looks like, and how it often contrasts with our self-centered human nature.

There’s much to learn from this parable, like:

• What happens in Jesus’ story
• What the context tells us
• The characters in the story
• How this story helps us today

Let’s begin with what actually happens in the story.

What happens in Jesus’ story?

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The word “prodigal” means to waste money or to spend recklessly, so the “Prodigal Son” is a story about a son who demands money and spends it frivolously, without thinking about the consequences.

We can read the full parable in Luke 15:11-32. We’re introduced to two sons who are working for and living with their father. The younger son asks for his share of the inheritance early because he thinks it will bring him happiness and independence.

(Spoiler alert: it does, but only for a very short time.)

His father agrees and when the son gets his share of the estate, he moves to a distant land and quickly squanders his riches on “wild living” (verse 13, NASB).

Soon, the area he’s living in suffers a severe famine and he becomes so poor that he can’t feed or house himself. Ashamed, he decides to go back to his father and ask for a job because the servants who work in his father’s house are living much better than he currently is.

To his surprise (and the surprise of his older brother), his father gets word of his return and runs out to meet him. He welcomes him back into his home, but not as a servant…as his son!

The father throws a huge feast to celebrate the return of the lost son. The elder son, however, is really upset about it all because he chose to stay home and continue working for his father but was never celebrated for it.

In the end, his loving father explains that everything he has also belongs to him, his elder son. But isn’t it worth celebrating that a family member, his own brother, “was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found”? (verse 32, CSB)

What does the context of Luke 15 help you understand?

To better understand the parable, we have to zoom out a bit and notice what’s happening around Jesus.

When several Pharisees, a class of religious leaders in Israel, saw Jesus talking and eating with “tax collectors and sinners,” they started to complain (verses 1-2, ESV).

The Pharisees were an influential religious group among the Jews, but they were focused on works and reputation. Jesus’ ministry, however, was focused on community and restoration. So they felt offended and threatened by Jesus’ actions.

Jesus told three parables in response to the Pharisees’ complaints.

The first, “The Parable of the Lost Sheep,” is about a shepherd leaving 99 sheep to go find just one that got lost.

The second, “The Parable of the Lost Coin,” is about a woman who lost one of her 10 coins and got on her hands and knees to search for the one she’d lost.

“The Parable of the Prodigal Son” was the third in this series, and it stayed with the theme of demonstrating how God values every individual equally. But this one put that theme into a human scenario.

So while all three stories illustrate unconditional love, the “Prodigal Son” is different because the focus of the story is love between people, and the restoration of one who left his family for selfish reasons.

Who are the characters in the story?

Each character in the “Prodigal Son” is relatable because each one demonstrates real human experiences and emotions. So it’s likely that you’ll see part of yourself in at least one of the characters, though possibly in all three.

The father

The father in the story is a wealthy member of the community with two sons that he loves very much.

When his youngest son asks for his inheritance early, the father surprisingly grants him his request.

The very act of granting his younger son’s audacious request shows that he values freedom of choice, experience, and independence.

And when he later meets his wayward son on the road back home, he tells his servants to clothe him with the best robe, shoes, and jewelry! Then he tells them to prepare the fattened calf, the choicest meat that was usually reserved for a special occasion.

The father values the restored relationship much more than anything else, and welcomes his son home with open arms.

The elder son

The parable doesn’t provide much description of the elder brother/son. For most of the story, he is obedient to his father and stays home to work for him.

It isn’t until the end of the parable that we get to know the older son’s personality and mindset. When his younger son returns home and his father throws a party, we’re told that he’s angry and questions his father’s actions (verses 28-30).

He’s quite upset about the whole thing and refuses to celebrate with everyone.

We can tell by his response to his younger brother’s return that the older son feels like all of his hard work should be rewarded, and his brother’s return home should not be celebrated because of what he’d done.

The “prodigal” (younger) son

The main character of the parable is the younger brother/son who makes what could easily be considered an insulting request…to get his share of the family estate early.

Soon after he gets his money, he packs up and moves to a distant country so he can live his life on his own terms (Luke 15:13).

We can tell from his actions that he was probably tired of living under his father’s watchful eye. He wanted to do things his own way. Getting his inheritance early gave him the opportunity to pursue things he thought would give him more excitement and enjoyment.

But he realizes his mistake once he’s poor and living among pigs.

Luke 15:17 says, “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!’” (ESV)

He decides to return home as a servant, feeling that because of what he’s done, he isn’t worthy to be called his father’s son anymore (Luke 15:19).

But before he even reaches his father’s house, his father meets him on the road, clothes him, and celebrates his return.

How can we use this Bible story today?

There are many lessons in the “Prodigal Son,” but how is any of it relevant for us in our day-to-day modern lives? How can we use these principles today?

Let’s look at the several relatable and relevant points of view we find in the story.

When we feel like the older son

It can be so easy to feel like the older brother in this story when we’re trying to do what we’re supposed to, and yet we see others (often who were not always doing what they were supposed to) getting praise and attention. And sometimes we rarely even get a “thank you” for a job well done.

Yes, it can be disheartening. And it can lead us to compare ourselves to others around us, wondering if there’s something we’re missing or not doing right.

And if others are forgiven of wrongs we’d never even think of committing…that can almost feel like an injustice! It can make us jealous, indignant, resentful…even to the point that we don’t want to be a part of celebrating their repentance.

Relatable as this may be, especially from our limited human perspective, acting on these types of feelings means we’re choosing to lock ourselves in a prison of negativity instead of living freely and soaking up goodness wherever we can find it. It means letting entitlement and resentment rule our actions instead of love.

So what can we learn from the older brother’s character?

We might wonder how close this older son really was to his father. He seemed to be more focused on doing the right things (especially with language like “these many years I have served you” in verse 29 [NKJV] or “been slaving for many years for you” [CSB]) rather than maintaining a close, familial relationship. He didn’t seem to view himself as on the same “team” as his father, and instead reflected a more transactional kind of relationship.

We could wonder the same about his relationship with his brother. Yes, sibling relationships can be tense and complicated. But that doesn’t have to mean that we wish them harm, or that we don’t care if they come back home—and refuse to celebrate if they do.

When we feel betrayed, brushed aside, forgotten, cheated, unappreciated, etc., it’s natural to start to see things like the older brother did and resort to fault-finding. But even though the world’s way is to “keep score” on people’s worth, we can remember that God, our Heavenly Father, loves and celebrates us all equally.

Plus, when we “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15), we allow the goodness they receive to spill over into our own lives.

When we feel like the younger son

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Sometimes, we can feel like the prodigal son.

It can be so tempting to receive something early that we know will belong to us eventually. Or sometimes we think that if we could just do some things our way, we’d be significantly happier.

Especially if we’re often thinking about or experiencing part of something we want to have more control (or just fewer restrictions) over, it can be so hard to be patient. Sometimes it might even feel just plain wrong!

When something seems so close, we might think we just need one more dollar, one more opportunity, one more obstacle out of the way…and then we’ll truly be happy.

Sometimes we let waiting taint the gift because we start to feel ownership over something that’s promised to us, but it isn’t the right time for us to have it yet.

So we might demand our “share” early, like the younger son did.

And when we receive it, we feel free—like a weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. Because we’ve been obsessing over it for so long.

But it’s a shallow, short-lived, and superficial freedom. For many possible reasons.

We might not be mature enough to handle the responsibility of the gift we’re granted. Or maybe the gift needs to “cook” a little longer before it’s ready to be received and experienced in full. Or maybe something else is happening altogether that God knows, but we don’t know.

But hindsight is 20/20. And the younger son became filled with shame because he realized how quickly he’d wasted an inheritance that was supposed to last him a lifetime, and possibly beyond his lifetime to his children and children’s children.

Going back to a parent (or a respected authority figure) in shame, especially if you’ve insulted them or taken them for granted, can be humiliating.

But the prodigal son’s choices, though selfish, opened his eyes extra wide to exactly what he had taken for granted while living in his father’s house.

He realized his mistake, took accountability for his actions, and understood that he ruined his relationship with his father. That’s what prompted him to return to him as a servant, rather than as his son.

Even though he’d lost everything, he returned home in a better state of mind—with humility and hope that he’d at least be able to upgrade his life, even if he couldn’t return to the high place he had before.

That’s commendable.

Being grateful for little is a much better mindset than taking a lot for granted.

When we feel like the father

Even if we’re not parents, we can still empathize with the father who just wanted his loved one back home.

One of the deepest pains we can experience is rejection.

When we love someone and express that love by preparing something for them with the utmost care, and they don’t recognize or accept it—that just hurts. Plain and simple.

The father had no idea if he’d ever see his son again, and knowing that surely crushed him.

It must have been excruciating watching his son pack up and leave home. But this father knew he’d done his best to raise his son well, and now he was an adult. So he didn’t stop him from leaving. He allowed him to make his own decisions for his own life.

Even though rejection can cut deep, it doesn’t cancel out the love a person has for one of their own. Though it would have seemed so easy (maybe even appropriate) for the father to say “I told you so” or ask “What were you thinking??”…that didn’t even cross his mind at the moment his son came back.

He didn’t reflect anger or resentment or even pain once he heard the news. Instead, he poured all of his energy into loving his son rather than criticizing him. His deepest desire was that his estranged son would come back home—and that eclipsed everything else.

Love is so risky because it doesn’t force someone to return that love.

True love is freely given, and it doesn’t try to control.

And true love forgives.

The father was so full of relief when he heard his son was returning home that he ran to meet him (verse 20) and immediately threw him a huge party (verse 22).

We’ve heard the old adage, “If you love someone, let them go.” That’s exactly what the father did.

And if we’ve ever had to let someone go, whether that’s a child, a sibling, a parent, a friend, or even a mentor or mentee…how sweet would that relief and joy be if they willingly come back into our lives!

Seeing God’s character in the story

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But where is Jesus in all of this? Why did He tell this story to the Pharisees?

The father in the story represents Jesus Christ.

Sometimes Jesus will give us what we are asking Him for even though He knows we aren’t ready for it, and even when He knows it will draw us further away from Him.

But he is always waiting for us to return home.

And when we return with a humble and repentant heart, like the prodigal son did, Jesus rejoices and embraces us not as His servant, but as His child.

Anyone—no matter their background, culture, or history—can come to Jesus and receive His love. And all of heaven will celebrate (Luke 15:7).

This is the lesson Jesus had for the Pharisees, His disciples, and all His followers who were listening that day. And it’s still a lesson He wants us to understand today.

The Prodigal Son tells us that we can return to God even when we’ve left Him. And He will always welcome us home (Ephesians 2:1-9).

All we have to do is take the first step toward Him, and He will meet us on the way.

Want to learn more about other parables Jesus told in the Bible?

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