Parable of the Prodigal Son--Textual Notes

The following notes on the text of this parable will help the passage come alive to you and, through you, to those to whom to you minister. We can divide the passage neatly into four sections: (1) The Younger Son's Demand and Life (vv. 11-16). (2) "Coming to Himself" (vv. 17-20); (3) An Unexpected Reuinion (vv. 20-24); (4) The Elder Son (vv. 25-32). Here are some comments, verse by verse.

v. 11. It is a "certain" man who has two sons. He isn't specified. Jesus gives us the impression that it could have been anyone. Only when the parable unfolds do we recognize this "certain" man is God. Thus, the story "creeps up" on you.

v. 12. The action happens incredibly quickly. It is presented matter-of-factly. This heightens the irony of the younger son's request, because he is making an insulting request. He asks for the money before the father has died. He is saying to the father, "You are already dead to me." So quick are the words of Jesus. He just says, "He divided the inheritance between them." No discussion. No requests for reconsideration. The parable moves along with lightning quickness to get to the issue--the younger son's conduct.

v. 13. The son engaged in "riotous" living. The Greek word is rare in the NT--asotos. The adverb is derived from the Greek verb sozo, which means to "save" and is the normal term in the NT for salvation. Thus, the son lived in such a way not only to squander his inheritance but "unsavingly." He lived as if he was beyond the power of any to save. And this is reasonable, for from what source did he think he needed salvation? He had his money and his youth. What else did he need?

v. 14. The word translated "when he had spent everything," is rare in the NT, but is the verb also used in Mk. 5:26 to describe the way that the woman with the hemorrhage of blood spent all her money on doctors and grew only worse. She spent everything in desperation; he spent it all in one orgy of pleasure-seeking. We can imagine the exhaustion that spending it all brings on the spenders.

v. 16. The last words of v. 16 bring the action to a dead halt. When he was spending his money and living riotously, the verbs tumbled over themselves in one long symphonic sentence of indulgence. Now, he runs out of money, and doesn't know what to do. The words at the end of the verse simply say, "And no one gave to him." We want hastily to add the word "anything," as the English text does, but let's just pause there with "no one gave to him." No one gave the time of day to him; no one gave a care to him; no one gave anything to him. By rushing to fill the textual silence with our word "anything," we miss some of the emptiness of the younger son. We think just in terms of money or possessions; by letting us pause on the four Greek words without adding "anything," our mind can play with other lacks that he would face.

v. 17. A major shift in the narrative hapens with four words, "But coming to himself.." When is our point of realization, of recognition, that leads us to want to change our lives? When do we "come to ourselves?" It is a phrase that can better be exposited homiletically than grammatically.

v. 18-19. Is the son sincere as he prepares his lines for his father? Or is this just another instance of his calculation? The text doesn't really tell us. Maybe it isn't that important. Maybe we never really know the inner heart of a person, or ourselves, in this life.

v. 20 One of the richest words in the language is in this verse. It is splanchnizo. The innermost parts of a person's "guts" are the splanchna. Indeed, we have the word in English, though only medical doctors use it. I have argued in this essay that we should retain its Biblical usage in Englist today. In any case, when the father sees the son, he overflows with mercy; his guts are flowing out; his very viscera flow. In the older translations of the Bible, the noun form of the word is translated as "bowels." So, in Phil. 1:8, one older translation has Paul saying, "For God is my witness how I long after yo in all the bowels of Christ..." It is the most vivid word possible for expressing one's mercy on someone else.

v. 22. The father cuts off the son just before he can say, "Treat me as one of your hired servants." Instead, the father calls the real servants to deal with the son. There are interesting word plays here not only on son/brother but on who is the real servant or slave. Is it the son who labors for nothing in a far-off land? Is it the older brother who "slaved" (v. 29) for the father? Are the real servants the people in the background who prepare the fatted calf?

v. 23. "You bring," and "we enjoy." The language suggests a strong social distinction between the people of the house and the servants. They do all the work (2nd person plural), but we celebrate (1st person plural). But the question arises, 'Are the servants included in the "we" of v. 23?'

v. 24. I lay out the problem of your son/your brother in the previous essay. No more needs to be said here.

v. 27. The servant speaks well here. In fact, the servant "interprets" the father's action which he has witnessed. Never underestimate the interpretive capacities of the "little" people in any story. The servant says that the father sacrificed the fatted calf, "because he received him (the son) safe and sound." Well, that is a gloss on the father's actions in vv. 23-24. There the father only says that the son was "found." Now the servant is interpreting the father's words even more positively. The son has been found "safe and sound," or "hale and hearty." It is almost an invitation to the elder brother to join in on the fun.

v. 28. The older brother was pissed off. Pure and simple. That is the first word of v. 28, and it is a strong Greek word for expressing anger. It is almost as if the notion of his brother being "safe and sound" evoked the anger in the elder son. What thoughts had he been entertaining while his brother was away? He had probably indulged in pleasant thoughts about his brother's destruction--and how he, the older son, would take pleasure in the younger brother's comeuppance. After all, the older brother was quite invested in his view of the world. A person engaging in riotous living who is apparently "rewarded" for so living just doesn't fit into his "world view." Thus, he is angry. He reminds me of Jonah, whom God asks, "Is it right for you to be angry"? when the Ninevites have repented and God decides not to destroy them.

v. 29. I have already spoken at length in the previous essay about the 10 words that begin the verse, and that illustrate the older brother's view of things. Ingratitude fills his heart.

v. 30 More things can be said here about the "my son/your brother" dichotomies. We see the older brother almost spitting in the face of the father--just like the younger brother had figuratively done previously when he asked him for his share of the inheritance. Only here does the word pornon appear--licentious living. It is almost as if the older brother's imagination had been working overtime to conceive of what his brother must have been doing. We don't know if the younger brother engaged in "pornographic" activity; the earlier text never says so. What the older brother is saying by using the word pornon is what he would have done had he been so "free" as the younger brother. He would have dived into the prostitutes. Anger reveals our deepest thoughts and anxieties, even if we think we are only commenting on others' behavior.

v. 31. The verse ought to be memorized. Each part is a sermon in itself. Teknon (child) is how the father addresses the older son. Why doesn't he say, "My son"? "You are always with me." Isn't that a big phrase? And, bigger still is, "All that is mine is yours." If we truly took in that verse, we would never complain again.

v. 32. The last word is that the prodigal son is really "your brother." That is the last word to the hearers. They are really our brothers. Recognize the riches that we have, that have always been available to us. What more can God say or do?

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