The Prodigal Son and other spiritual videos? Jesus had his specific audience, a mixture of “sinners” and “righteous,” in mind when he told these three stories. Jesus was prompted to tell these parables because the Pharisees and teachers of the law were accusing him of welcoming sinners and eating with them (verse 2). Clearly, the Pharisees and teachers of the law viewed themselves as righteous and the other half of the audience as sinners. Jesus told the stories of the lost sheep, coin, and son to clear up the matter of who is truly “lost.”
The first parable was about a lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7). In this story, the shepherd had 100 sheep. When one became lost, he left the 99 to search for the errant sheep. After finding it and bringing it home, he rejoiced with his friends and neighbors.
In the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32, we are told of a wealthy man who had two sons. The younger son gets up one morning and decides to leave home and go about himself. He asks for and gets his inheritance from his father and he heads off to a strange land. Since he had so much money and possessions, he begins to lavish his substance on vanities – without thinking of his future. He had wine, women, and other pleasures whenever he wanted. Eventually, his profuse and wasteful expenditure costs him all his inherited fortune.
“Prodigal” means being wastefully extravagant. In this story the man’s son recklessly and wastefully spends his inheritance. In the context of this famous parable, the prodigal son has also come to mean someone who is spiritually lost and someone who has returned after an absence. What is commonly understood: God loves us When we understand that a parable is an imaginary story to illustrate a spiritual point, we can quickly perceive that Jesus is using this account to teach us of God the Father’s love for each of us.
After being hit by difficult living conditions – owing to his foolishness – he decides to humble himself and return home to his father. Instead of being rejected by his father, he gets a warm welcome with gifts and celebration. This gets his big brother crossed and starts a quarrel with his father. His father placates him and reassures him that all that he has belongs to him. Come along with me as we, together, learn the rich lessons in this parable. I divided it into four parts for a much easier understanding. Please do well to open your Bible and read the entire story (Luke 15:11-32). Discover additional information on the The Prodigal Son video on YouTube.
Meanwhile though, the older son had been faithfully working in the fields for his father. Seeing his father celebrating the return of his rebellious brother, he felt angry and refused to join the celebration. His father pleaded with his older son to try to understand his joy over the return of what he had lost. It was like his youngest son had been dead and was alive again. He had been lost and now was found! The story concludes with the father pleading with the oldest son. Many have concluded that this parable is primarily about the oldest son, rather than the prodigal.
