Prodigal Son (Lost Son)

Prodigal Son (Lost Son)

Luke 15:11–32

Opening: A Road Home and a Door Ajar
Luke 15 opens with tax collectors and sinners drawing near while scribes and Pharisees grumble. Jesus answers with three stories about what is lost and what is found. The third scene slows down so we can feel every step: a younger son leaves, wastes everything, comes to himself, and begins the long walk home; a father watches, runs, and restores; an older brother hears music, refuses the celebration, and stands outside. The Lord holds up a mirror to every heart: some wander far, some stay close and grow hard, all need the Father’s house.

The Departure: Desire Without Restraint
“A certain man had two sons.” The younger asks for his portion—something like wishing his father’s life finished—and travels to a far country. He spends his inheritance in reckless living, a famine strikes, and he hires himself out to feed pigs. Hunger presses him lower until he longs for the pods the pigs eat. Sin always promises freedom and drains a life empty. The road away shortens the purse, thins the friendships, and leaves a soul with nothing to show.

Coming to Himself: Clear Sight and a Choice
The turning point arrives: “He came to himself.” He remembers his father’s house—bread enough and to spare. He prepares a confession: “I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” Repentance begins in the mind, speaks with honest lips, and moves feet in the right direction. The Lord ties salvation to obedient response: “He who does the will of My Father” (Matthew 7:21). “He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). The son obeys the truth he now sees and rises to go home.

The Father’s Heart: Seeing, Running, Embracing, Restoring
“While he was still a great way off, his father saw him.” That line tells us where the father’s eyes lived. He runs, falls on his neck, kisses him. The son gets his confession out; the father answers with actions—a robe for honor, a ring for authority of the household, sandals for a free man, a feast for welcome. Lost becomes found; dead becomes alive. The father’s joy shapes the whole house and calls the community to rejoice. This is how heaven thinks about one sinner who turns back.

The Older Brother: Close to the House, Far from the Father
The older son comes in from the field, hears music, learns the news, and burns. He will not go in. He counts years of service, itemizes the feast he never asked for, and refuses to call the prodigal “my brother.” The father comes out and pleads. He answers with a catalog of grievances. The father answers with relationship: “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.” He reminds him of truth: “It was right to make merry and be glad.” The scene ends on a doorstep. The question hangs in the air: will he enter?

Two Paths in One House
The younger illustrates obvious wandering. The older shows how a spirit can stiffen within sight of the father’s table. One deserted duty and returned with repentance. One kept duty and resisted mercy. Jesus places both sons before His listeners—sinners who draw near with brokenness and religious hearers whose hearts grow tight. Both need the Father’s way. The Father’s way includes truth, repentance, restoration, and shared joy when a brother comes home.

What Obedience Looks Like
The Lord’s preaching always moves toward response. Those who desire reconciliation accept God’s terms, not their own. Scripture teaches a clear path: hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe Jesus is the Christ (Mark 16:16), repent of sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30), confess His name (Romans 10:9–10), and be baptized to wash away sins, rising to walk in newness of life (Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3–4; 1 Peter 3:21). Then keep learning all He commanded and do it (Matthew 28:20). The younger son models repentance in motion; the older son warns against standing still outside while the Father calls.

Marks of a Heart Coming Home

1. Honesty about sin. “I have sinned against heaven and before you.” No dodging, no blame-shifting.
2. Humility about standing. He asks to be a servant; the father restores him as a son.
3. Steps toward the Father. He rose and went. Talk becomes travel.
4. Willingness to share the Father’s joy. When a brother returns, a right heart enters the celebration.

When We Play the Older Brother
Resentment surfaces when we forget what God has already given—presence, promises, inheritance. Suspicion clouds our eyes when we measure others by their worst day and ourselves by our best intentions. The cure is to stand where the Father stands: the porch, the road, the doorway of welcome. The Father’s words set our course: “It was right to make merry and be glad.” Refusing to forgive keeps us outside while music plays.

Congregational Lessons
Congregations that reflect the Father’s heart become places where wanderers know the way back. That culture grows where truth is preached plainly, repentance is called for, restoration is practiced, and older brothers are lovingly urged to step inside. Shepherds lead in this. Teachers reinforce it. Every member participates—watching the road, making room at the table, and learning the song of return.

Storms and Endings
The parable ends without telling us whether the older brother enters. Jesus leaves the door open for His hearers to answer. He hands that same open ending to us. If we have wandered, the road home is open today. If we have stayed near and grown cold, the Father stands outside urging us to share His joy. “Today” remains the Lord’s word for decisive obedience.

Conclusion: Rise and Return; Enter and Rejoice
If you have drifted, get up and come home. If you are nursing resentment, move your feet toward the music and step into the Father’s gladness. The Father sees. The Father runs. The Father restores. Choose the house, choose the family, choose the feast, and keep walking in the way the Lord set before us.

Exhaustive Sermon Outline

• Context and Audience
  • Luke 15:1–2—sinners draw near; Pharisees grumble
  • Three “lost” scenes; the third expands: son, father, older brother
• The Younger Son
  • Demand for inheritance; distant country; waste; famine; pigs (vv. 12–16)
  • “Came to himself” and formed a confession; rose to go (vv. 17–19)
  • Repentance defined: mind changed, lips confess, feet move (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:9)
• The Father
  • Watching, running, embracing, kissing (v. 20)
  • Robe, ring, sandals, feast—signs of full restoration (vv. 22–24)
  • Heaven’s joy when one returns (Luke 15:7, 10)
• The Older Brother
  • Hears music; anger; refusal to enter (vv. 25–28)
  • Complaint catalog; the father’s appeal; reminder of relationship and duty to rejoice (vv. 29–32)
• Doctrinal Anchors for Response
  • Hearing and faith (Romans 10:17; Mark 16:16)
  • Repentance (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30)
  • Confession (Romans 10:9–10)
  • Baptism for remission, raised to new life (Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3–4; 1 Peter 3:21)
  • Continuing in all He commanded (Matthew 28:20)
• Applications
  • Personal: practice honest confession; take the next obedient step today
  • Family: create “Father’s house” habits—read Scripture, reconcile quickly, make room for the returning
  • Congregational: teach repentance and restoration; celebrate returns; counsel older-brother hearts
• Warnings and Encouragements
  • Wandering drains life; coming home restores life
  • Standing outside hardens the heart; entering shares the Father’s joy
  • “Today” is the time to rise and the time to enter

Call to Action

1. If you are away from God, write your confession as the younger son did, then act—contact faithful Christians and arrange today to be baptized into Christ if you have not obeyed the gospel (Acts 22:16).
2. If you are near yet cold, list the Father’s gifts you already possess; pray through Luke 15 and step into the work of welcoming the penitent this week.
3. Tell one person the road back is open and walk it with them.

Scripture Reference List

• Luke 15:11–32 — Full parable; repentance, restoration, and the appeal to the resentful
• Luke 15:1–10 — Context of lost sheep and lost coin; heaven’s joy over repentance
• Matthew 7:21 — Entrance tied to doing the Father’s will
• Hebrews 5:9 — Eternal salvation connected to obedience
• Romans 10:17 — Faith comes by hearing
• Mark 16:16 — Belief and baptism in the Lord’s commission
• Romans 10:9–10 — Confession with the mouth, belief with the heart
• Acts 22:16 — Arise, be baptized, wash away sins
• Romans 6:3–4 — Buried with Christ, raised to walk in newness of life
• 1 Peter 3:21 — Baptism as appeal to God for a good conscience
• Matthew 28:20 — Continue in all the Lord commanded
• Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30 — Repentance required

Prepared by David Hersey of the church of Christ at Granby, MO