Luke 15:11

Luke 15:11, in plain English

Jesus begins the most beloved story ever told: 'A man had two sons.' Both sons have a problem, but only one knows it.

Why it's here

After the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus goes deeper — now it's a lost person, and the story has two sides to it.

Who's speaking

Jesus starts a story that will leave everyone — sinners and Pharisees alike — seeing themselves in it.

Where it sits in the story

This is the big one. A father, two sons, and a journey that reveals what God's love really looks like.

The scholarly reading

Jesus introduces the Parable of the Prodigal Son with 'a man who had two sons' — a narrative framework that will address both the younger son (sinners) and the older son (Pharisees).

Language and setting

This is the third and climactic parable in the lost trilogy. The two-son structure allows Jesus to address both groups present: the sinners who gather around Him and the Pharisees who criticize.

Voice

Jesus begins the most elaborate of the three parables, setting up a family drama that will expose the hearts of both His followers and His critics.

Significance

Jesus opens the most famous parable in the Bible: a father with two sons, one who will leave and one who will stay — and both will need the father's grace.

9And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’

10In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

11Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.

12The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.

Read all of Luke 15 — Three things go missing — a sheep, a coin, a son. The father's response in the last story is the heart of the gospel in a single embrace.