Luke 15:11-16 11And he said, “A certain man who had two sons. 12And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give the share of the property coming to me.’ And he divided the possessions between them. 13And after not many days, after gathering together all his things, the younger son took a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his property in wasteful living.
The next parable Jesus tells the Pharisees and those gathered around is one of his best known ones. It is one of the longer stories recorded in the Gospels and is unique to Luke. It follows the same theme of something lost and then found. The opening line prepares the listener to a two-part story about two sons. The typical memory of this parable focuses on the first son, who is known as the prodigal. But the second son is also significant. The plot has two separate sub-plots that contrast. Multiple messages emerge throughout the whole parable, depending on what part of the story one might emphasize.
The story focuses first on the younger son and his request to his father to receive his inheritance. Jesus gives little background information about this story, which leaves a lot to the imagination (and speculation!). We should not over-interpret the story but focus on the clear facts and what can be known from the historical situation. Several curious items present themselves right at the beginning. For example, it seems odd that the younger son would ask for his share of property before the father has even died. The father seems still in relatively good health in the story. The unusualness of this request is what gets the plot started. It perks the listener’s attention as a bit odd. Why would the son ask for this? As the story goes on, we find that it is in his character of selfishness.
The son had a plan and a reason why he asked for his inheritance since verse 13 starts with the after not many days. He wanted to leave home and had figured out how to get money to do it. He had dreams and connived to make these dreams come true. He wanted to leave home and go far away. Many families have children like that who want to travel and get out into the world. Those dreams are not necessarily wrong, but how this son went about it only created problems for himself. He was not a wise steward with his wealth and squandered (dieskorpisen) it. This word can mean to scatter and figuratively to waste something as if it has no significant value. The son basically threw his money away on wasteful (asōtōs) living. This word is rare in the New Testament and is related to debauchery and dissipation. Here it is an adverb that describes how he wastefully threw his money out and is if it had no value.
The type of lifestyle he followed was flagrant, selfish, and produced nothing positive. One possible implication is that he valued himself more than his family heritage and the hard work of his father and those who helped build the wealth. The son wanted to please his fleshly desires. Temptation overcame his already clouded thinking. Money is a powerful tool but can also be a strong temptation. In the case of the prodigal son, it fed an already selfish person who wanted to get out in the world rather than support his family. Adventure is not bad if done with the right motives and with God’s blessing and direction. But this young man already had his plans, and it was all about him.
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