What is the meaning of Luke 15:11? Then Jesus said Luke records, “Then Jesus said,” signaling that what follows is the very word of the Lord. • Jesus is speaking with absolute authority (Matthew 7:29). • The setting is a single conversation that began when “all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to hear Him” and the Pharisees were grumbling (Luke 15:1-2). • Whenever Jesus introduces a parable, He does so purposefully. He is answering the criticism that He welcomes sinners—just as in Luke 19:10 He states, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” There was a man Jesus paints a picture of a father, immediately inviting us to see the heart of God. • Throughout Scripture, a compassionate father represents the LORD’s own disposition toward His children (Psalm 103:13; Isaiah 64:8). • In Luke’s Gospel, fathers often illustrate God’s generosity—consider Luke 11:13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children…” • By beginning, “There was a man,” Jesus grounds the story in everyday life so everyone listening can relate, whether Pharisee or publican. Who had two sons The focus now tightens: two sons, two paths, two responses to the same father. • The younger will soon picture the openly wayward sinner (Luke 15:12-13); the older will reflect self-righteous religiosity (Luke 15:28-30). • This duality recalls the contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:10-14. • God deals individually with each child, just as He did with Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:23) and as Jesus describes in Matthew 21:28-31. • By mentioning “two sons,” Jesus signals that the parable is not about economics or inheritance laws but about relationship: both sons belong to the father, and both need grace. summary Luke 15:11 opens the beloved Parable of the Prodigal Son with a simple, loaded scene: Jesus—speaking with divine authority—introduces a father and his two sons. In that opening, He sets the stage for unveiling the Father’s loving heart, the estrangement of humanity in both reckless rebellion and cold self-righteousness, and God’s readiness to receive anyone who will return to Him. |
    |