The Prodigal Son

Michael Hopkins
34 minutes ago
6 min read

A Bible Study on the Father Who Runs

Compiled with reflections from Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints

Introduction

Few stories Jesus told have gripped the human heart quite like the parable of the prodigal son. It is a story of rebellion and return, of shame and grace, of two very different sons and one relentlessly loving father. Luke sets the scene plainly:

"And he said, A certain man had two sons." — Luke 15:11 (KJV)

This parable comes at the end of a trio of stories in Luke 15 — the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son — each responding to the same criticism from the religious leaders: "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them" (Luke 15:2). Jesus tells these three stories to answer a single question: what does God actually think about the people the religious establishment had written off? Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints often frames this passage for his congregation by pointing out, "Jesus didn't just tell a story about a wayward son. He told it in response to people who were offended that He'd sit at a table with people like that son. The parable is an answer to their complaint."

This study will walk through the parable in three movements — the younger son's departure, his return, and the older son's response — and consider what each reveals about the heart of God.

Part One: The Younger Son's Departure (Luke 15:11-16)

The younger son does something scandalous by asking for his inheritance while his father is still alive — effectively saying, "I wish you were already dead to me." The father grants the request anyway, and the son travels to "a far country," where he "wasted his substance with riotous living" (Luke 15:13).

The story doesn't linger on the son's sin for its own sake — it moves quickly to consequence. A famine arrives, his money is gone, and he ends up feeding pigs — about as low as a Jewish audience could imagine a person falling, given the ceremonial uncleanness associated with swine. He is "in want" so severe that he longs to eat the pods the pigs are eating (Luke 15:16).

This descent is not merely a plot device. It is an honest picture of what sin often looks like from the inside: a promise of freedom that ends in emptiness, and independence that ends in slavery to circumstances far worse than what was left behind.

Part Two: Coming to Himself (Luke 15:17-20a)

The turning point in the parable is one of the most understated and powerful phrases in all of Jesus' teaching:

"And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" — Luke 15:17 (KJV)

"Came to himself" suggests the son had, in some sense, not been himself at all during his rebellion — that sin is a kind of self-forgetfulness, and repentance begins with waking up to reality. He rehearses a speech of confession: "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son" (Luke 15:18-19), and plans to ask only to be made a hired servant.

Notice that his plan is modest and shame-filled — he expects, at best, a demotion to servanthood. He has no reason to expect anything more.

"And he arose, and came to his father." — Luke 15:20a (KJV)

Part Three: The Father Who Runs (Luke 15:20b-24)

What happens next overturns every expectation, both the son's and the original audience's:

"But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." — Luke 15:20b (KJV)

In the culture of Jesus' day, a dignified older man did not run — running required lifting one's robes and exposing one's legs, an undignified act reserved for the very young. For the father to run toward his son — publicly, before the son has even finished his rehearsed confession — is an act of scandalous, self-emptying love. The father doesn't wait at the door with arms crossed for an apology. He is watching for his son, and the moment he sees him, he runs.

The son barely gets through half his rehearsed speech before the father interrupts with restoration: the best robe, a ring signifying authority, shoes marking him as a son rather than a servant, and a feast to celebrate: "for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:24).

Pastor Michael Hopkins of Jehovah Saints often highlights this moment for his congregation at Jehovah Saints, teaching, "The son planned a speech about becoming a servant. The father planned a celebration about welcoming home a son. Grace always outruns our rehearsed shame."

Part Four: The Older Son's Response (Luke 15:25-32)

The parable doesn't end with the celebration — it pivots to the older son, who returns from the field to find a party underway and refuses to go in. His complaint reveals a heart just as far from the father's as his brother's had been, though in a very different direction:

"Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends." — Luke 15:29 (KJV)

The older son had stayed physically present but had related to his father as an employer to be satisfied through obedience, not as a father to be loved. His resentment exposes a heart of quiet entitlement rather than genuine relationship. The father's response is tender even here: "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine" (Luke 15:31) — reminding him that everything he resented not having, he already possessed all along.

The parable ends without resolution — we never learn whether the older son goes in to the feast. Jesus leaves the ending open, likely as a direct challenge to the religious leaders listening, who resembled the older son far more than they wanted to admit.

Part Five: Two Ways of Being Lost

This parable teaches that there is more than one way to be far from the father. The younger son was lost through rebellion — leaving, wasting, returning in shame. The older son was lost through self-righteousness — staying, obeying, yet never truly knowing his father's heart. Both needed grace. Only one recognized it.

Pastor Michael Hopkins often closes his teaching on this passage by reminding his congregation, "You can be lost a thousand miles from home in a far country, or you can be lost standing right outside the door of the party. Distance isn't measured in miles. It's measured in how well you actually know the Father's heart."

Part Six: Practical Application

Recognize what "coming to yourself" looks like. Repentance often begins not with a grand gesture, but with an honest moment of clarity about where sin has actually led.
Trust the father's posture, not your rehearsed shame. Like the younger son, we often expect a colder reception than God actually gives. Approach Him expecting to be run toward, not turned away.
Examine older-son tendencies. Ask whether obedience has become a transaction rather than a relationship — serving God to earn favor rather than resting in a love already given.
Extend the same welcome to others. The father's grace toward the younger son is a model for how believers are called to welcome those who return, rather than standing at the door in resentment.

Closing Reflection

The parable of the prodigal son is, at its heart, a parable about the father. Both sons are lost in different ways, but the father's love is constant — running toward one, pleading with the other, holding the door open for both. It is one of the clearest pictures in all of Scripture of how God receives those who return to Him.

"For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." — Luke 15:24 (KJV)

Discussion Questions for Group Study

Do you relate more to the younger son, the older son, or have you experienced both postures at different seasons of your life?
What does the phrase "came to himself" (Luke 15:17) suggest about the nature of sin and repentance?
Why do you think the father ran to meet his son rather than waiting for him to arrive and apologize first?
The older son stayed home but was still far from his father's heart. What does that reveal about the difference between obedience and relationship?
The parable ends without telling us whether the older son goes in to the feast. Why might Jesus have left that ending open?