Luke 15:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.

NIV: The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

NASB: The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ And so he divided his wealth between them.

CSB: The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them.

NLT: The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

KJV: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

NKJV: And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.

Jesus begins the main body of the parable of the prodigal son. A man has two sons. The younger asks for his share of his father's estate. Because he is apparently unmarried, he is likely in his latter teens.

The first occurrence of "property" or "estate" is tēs ousias in Greek, which means wealth, not necessarily land. The second is ton bion which means "the life" or "the livelihood." The son is asking to be immediately given what he would have inherited when his father dies. In essence, he'd rather his father were dead so he could have the money instead. It would be an understatement to say this is a brutally callous, uncaring demand.

The actual amount the son seeks to gain is irrelevant to the story, and so it is not included in the text. Deuteronomy 21:17 indicates that if there are only two sons, the youngest can receive one-third of the total estate. Abraham lived before the Mosaic law, of course, but he "gave gifts" to Ishmael and his sons through Keturah, then sent them away from Isaac so they would not be rivals (Genesis 25:1–6). The younger son seems to want something similar. He takes the money and moves far away (Luke 15:13).

In the Roman Empire during Jesus' earthly ministry, nearly three-fourths of the population were slaves or servants of some kind. Even in Jewish territories, relatively few people owned land. This father, however, has servants, fields, cattle, and goats (Luke 15:22, 23, 25, 29). It appears he is quite wealthy and as a landowner would have a respected position in the community. Yet this teenager despises his family, preferring money, instead. He dishonors his father and shames him as the patriarch and a leader in society. And yet the father gives him what he asks for and lets him go.

Luke 15:11–32 records the famous parable of the prodigal son. To be "prodigal" is to be wastefully extravagant. Jesus is speaking to Pharisees who condemn His association with sinners. His point is that God seeks sinners so they can be saved (Luke 15:1–10). In this parable, Jesus presses others to join God's celebration over the return of repentant sinners. This is one of the most detailed and developed parables in the Bible, almost on the level of allegory, and is unique to Luke. Next, Jesus teaches how the lives of Christ-followers should differ from those in the world (Luke 16:1—17:10).

To answer criticisms that He associates with sinners, Jesus tells three parables. A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to rescue a single lost member. A woman searches diligently to locate a lost coin. A father eagerly forgives his wayward son when the young man returns in humility and repentance. All these lead to celebration. In the same way, Jesus teaches that God cares about restoring those who have fallen, and we should mirror His joy whenever that happens.

Luke 15 contains three parables with the theme of something "lost." The lost sheep, coin, and son represent sinners who leave God foolishly, unknowingly, or rebelliously. God seeks the foolish and the ignorant and waits patiently for the rebel to return to Him in humble repentance. Next is a collection of teachings on the differences between worldly and kingdom living (Luke 16:1—17:10). After two more groups of a miracle, teachings on the kingdom, and teachings on salvation (Luke 17:11—19:27), Jesus will enter Jerusalem and prepare for the crucifixion.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.