Luke 15

The chapter

Luke 15 contains Christ's three great parables of mercy, spoken together in one setting: the lost sheep (vv. 3-7), the lost coin (vv. 8-10), and the lost son — the prodigal (vv. 11-32). It is called by many Christians 'the Gospel within the Gospel.'

Who wrote it

Luke the beloved physician, in the third Gospel.

Historical and geographical context

Set during Christ's Perean ministry, c. AD 29-30, addressing 'the publicans and sinners' who drew near and the Pharisees who complained (Luke 15:1-2).

Important verses

• Luke 15:7 (KJV) 'Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.'
• Luke 15:18 (KJV) 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,'
• Luke 15:20 (KJV) '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 15:24 (KJV) 'For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.'
• Luke 15:32 (KJV) 'It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.'

Christ-centred reading

Every parable of Luke 15 has the same shape: something is lost — searched for — found — rejoiced over. The Church has read all three as portraits of the Father's mercy toward every sinner. The prodigal's father is the Father Christ came to reveal.

In Christian tradition

• Read at nearly every parish mission and household retreat.
• The parable of the prodigal son is called by some Fathers the greatest short story ever told.
• In the Byzantine liturgical year, the 'Sunday of the Prodigal Son' is one of the four preparatory Sundays before Great Lent.
• Rembrandt's 'Return of the Prodigal Son' is one of the most beloved Christian paintings.

Connected People

• Christ Jesus — the teller.
• Luke — the preserver of the parables.
• The publicans and sinners — the primary audience.
• The Pharisees and scribes — the resistant audience.

Connected Places

• The Perean side of the Jordan (traditional setting).

Household application

Read Luke 15 aloud at every household reconciliation. Read it aloud when a child or grandchild has been away.

Do not miss the second half of the third parable (vv. 25-32). The elder brother's resentment is a truer portrait of many Christian households than the younger's rebellion.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Luke 15 aloud at any household reconciliation.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray the prodigal's prayer (v. 18) as an act of contrition.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son (three Sundays before Lent begins), read the chapter at the table.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy' (Joseph Hart, 1759).
• Learn (Workshop) — Study Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son (a modern Christian meditation).

Further reading

Luke 15 in the KJV.

Rembrandt's 'Return of the Prodigal Son' (c. 1668).

Any good study of the three parables as a unit.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Christ Jesus
• Luke
• 1 Corinthians 13
• Lazarus
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.