What is the meaning of Luke 15:15? So he went - The younger son acts on his own decision, physically departing from his homeland (Luke 15:13). - Scripture shows that stepping away from God-given provision brings trouble (Jonah 1:3; Proverbs 14:12). - The action is literal: he truly “went,” distancing himself from his father’s household and its safety. and hired himself out - He is no longer an heir but a hireling, exchanging sonship for servitude (Galatians 4:7; John 8:34). - Leviticus 25:39 warns Israelites against selling themselves to strangers; his choice highlights desperate spiritual bankruptcy. to a citizen of that country - The “citizen” is a Gentile resident of the far country (Ephesians 2:12), underscoring how far the son has strayed from covenant community. - Psalm 1:1 cautions against close alliance with the ungodly; here the alliance is employment under them. who sent him into his fields - Instead of hospitality, the employer dispatches him to labor—no special favor for a prodigal. - Genesis 3:23 mirrors this exile to toil outside paradise; sin’s path often ends in harsher work, not freedom. - Isaiah 55:2 asks, “Why spend your labor on what does not satisfy?” The fields yield no true fulfillment. to feed the pigs - Swine were ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 11:7). Caring for them places the son at the lowest social and spiritual rung. - The detail is historical and literal; it communicates total degradation. - 2 Peter 2:22 pictures sin’s filth with a pig wallowing in mire, showing how unrepentant choices soil one’s life. - Mark 5:11-13 links pigs with demonic oppression, deepening the image of spiritual contamination. summary Luke 15:15 portrays, step by step, the prodigal’s plunge from privileged son to humiliated swineherd. Each clause records a factual descent: departing, self-enslaving, leaving covenant community, working in exile, and wallowing in uncleanness. The verse warns that sin’s promises end in servitude, isolation, futile labor, and defilement—yet sets the stage for the Father’s redeeming grace that follows. |
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