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Luke 15:11-32
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11Jesus continued: “There was
a man who had two sons.
12The younger one said to his
father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property
between them.
13“Not long after that, the
younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there
squandered his wealth in wild living.
14After he had spent
everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be
in need.
15So he went and hired
himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed
pigs.
16He longed to fill his
stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17“When he
came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food
to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18I will set out and go back
to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against
you.
19I am no longer worthy to be
called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
20So he got up and went to
his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was
filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him
and kissed him.
21“The son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to
be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his
servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his
finger and sandals on his feet.
23Bring the fattened calf and
kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24For this son of mine was
dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25“Meanwhile, the older son
was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26So he called one of the
servants and asked him what was going on.
27‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has
killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became
angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
29But he answered his father,
‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your
orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my
friends.
30But when this son of yours
who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the
fattened calf for him!’
31“‘My son,’ the father said,
‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32But we had to celebrate and
be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found.’”
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1)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 11 and 12 what did the younger one of the two sons ask his
father to do for him?
o
He asked his
father to give him his share of the estate.
2)
What was the
younger son literally telling his father in asking for his share of the estate?
o
He wished that
his father were dead.
3)
How did the father
feel about the younger son’s request?
o
He was deeply
§
Hurt.
§
And humiliated.
4)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 12 what did the father do regardless of how he felt?
o
He divided his
property between his two sons.
5)
How much of the
family property did the younger son get?
o
He got one third.
o
Because
o
The first-born
son got a double portion.
6)
Did the father
have to divide his property between his two sons and why did he do it?
o
No, he did not have
to.
o
He did it because
he knew
§
That his younger
son was going to abandon his family in hot pursuit of wild living.
§
And that as the father
he needed to practice tough love.
§
So that
§
His younger son
would learn a hard lesson that would turn him from the error of his way.
7)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 13 what did the younger son do not long after he had
received his share of the estate?
o
He
§
Got together all
he had.
§
Set off for a
distant country.
§
And there
squandered his wealth in wild living.
8)
Why did the
younger son set off for a distant country?
o
He wanted to
pursue wild living in anonymity and uninhibited.
9)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 14 what happened after
the younger son had spent everything?
o
There was a
severe famine in that whole country.
o
And he began to
be in need.
10)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 15 and 16 what was the living condition of the younger son
after he hired himself out to a citizen
of that country?
o
He was sent to the fields to feed pigs.
o
He longed to fill
his stomach with the pods.
o
That
o
The pigs were
eating.
o
But
o
No one gave him
anything.
11)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 17 what did the younger son realize
when he came to his senses?
o
He remembered many
of his father’s hired servants had food to spare.
o
And there he was starving
to death.
12)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 18 and 19 what did the
younger son decide to do after he came to his
senses?
o
He decided to
§
Set out and go
back to his father.
§
Confess his sins
Ø
Against heaven.
Ø
And against his father.
§
Acknowledge that
he was no longer worthy to be called his father’s son.
§
And ask his father
to make him like one of his hired servants.
13)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 20 what happened as he got up and went to his father?
o
While he was
still a long way off, his father
§
Saw him.
§
Was filled with
compassion for him.
§
Ran to him.
§
Threw his arms
around him.
§
And kissed him.
14)
How did the father
manage to spot his younger son while he was still a long way off?
o
He
§
Went up to the
highest place in his mansion everyday.
§
Waited for his son
Ø
Patiently.
Ø
And expectantly.
§
And so spotted his
son.
§
While
§
He was still a
long way off.
15)
What was the
implication of the father running to his son in the Middle Eastern culture?
o
A Middle Eastern
man never ran.
o
If he were to
run, he would have to hitch up his tunic.
o
So
o
He would not trip.
o
If he did this,
it would show his bare legs.
o
In that culture
it was
§
Humiliating.
§
And shameful.
o
For a man to show
his bare legs.
16)
Why did the father
subject himself to shame by running to his son?
o
We need to
understand an important first-century Jewish custom.
o
If a Jewish son
§
Lost his
inheritance among Gentiles.
§
And then returned
home.
o
The community
would perform a ceremony, called the kezazah.
o
They would
§
Break a large pot
in front of him.
§
And yell, “You
are now cut off from your people!”
o
The community
would totally reject him.
o
The father
probably ran in order to get to his son.
o
Before
o
He entered the
village.
o
The father runs —
and shames himself — in an effort to get to his son.
o
Before
o
The community
gets to him.
o
So that
o
His son does not
experience the
§
Shame.
§
And humiliation
of their
Ø
Taunting.
Ø
And rejection.
o
After the
emotional reuniting of the son with his father, it was clear to the community.
o
That
o
There would be no
kezazah ceremony.
o
Despite what
o
He had done.
o
For details
please refer to the web page: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/biola-magazine/2010/the-prodigal-sons-father-shouldnt-have-run
17)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 21 what did the son say to his father?
o
He said to his
father
§
That he had
sinned
Ø
Against heaven.
Ø
And against him.
§
And that he was
no longer worthy to be called his son.
18)
What do we call
the change of mind of the younger son from disobedience to obedience to his father?
o
Repentance.
19)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 22 what did the father tell his servants to do to clothe his son?
o
He told his
servants to quickly
§
Bring the best
robe.
§
Put it on his son.
§
And put
Ø
A ring on his
finger.
Ø
And sandals on
his feet.
20)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 23 what did the father tell his servants to do to celebrate?
o
Bring the
fattened calf and kill it.
o
Let’s
§
Have a feast.
§
And celebrate.
21)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 24 what reason did the father offer for the celebration?
o
This son of mine
§
Was dead.
§
And is alive
again.
o
He
§
Was lost.
§
And is found.
22)
What was the
change of mind of the younger son that precipitated the transformation that he was
dead and is alive again and that he was lost and is found?
o
Repentance.
23)
What was the
father so keen on celebrating?
o
The repentance of
his younger son.
24)
How did the father’s
tough love for his younger son pay off?
o
The father
permitted his younger son to learn a hard lesson from his senseless dissipation that turned him from the error
of his way.
25)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 25 what did the older
son who was in the field notice when he
came near the house?
o
He heard
§
Music.
§
And dancing.
26)
What was the older
son doing in the field?
o
He was working
for the family.
27)
What might be the
reason the father did not send a servant to tell the older son that his younger brother had come home?
o
He knew that his
older son was upset with his younger brother.
28)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 26 and 27 what did the
servant tell the older son when he was
asked what was going on?
o
He replied, saying
§
That his brother had come.
§
And that his father had killed the fattened calf.
§
Because
§
He had his brother
back
Ø
Safe.
Ø
And sound.
29)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 28 what did the father do when his older son became angry and refused to go in upon hearing what
happened?
o
He
§
Went out.
§
And pleaded with his
older son.
30)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 29 and 30 what did the older
son say to contrast the way his father had treated him and way his father had
treated his younger brother in total disregard of their individual conduct?
o
His father never
gave him even a young goat.
o
So
o
He could
celebrate with his friends.
o
Regardless of his
§
Hard work.
§
And obedience.
o
But his father killed
the fattened calf for his younger brother.
o
Regardless of his
squandering family property with prostitutes.
31)
How much family property
did the younger son squander?
o
One third of the family
property.
32)
What did the
older son accuse his father of?
o
He accused his
father of playing favorites to the worst extent possible in light of the individual
conduct of his two sons.
33)
In what way did the
older son misconstrue his father’s treating his younger brother with grace as
mistreating him?
o
He misconstrued
his father’s treating his repentant younger brother with grace as playing favorites
against him.
34)
How alienated was
the older son from his younger brother
from the way he referred to his younger brother before his father?
o
He referred to
his younger brother as ‘this son of yours’ before his father.
o
So he refused to
acknowledge his relationship with his younger brother as siblings.
35)
What was the
basis upon which the older son abandoned his relationship with his younger
brother, given that he uttered this phrase to his father in verse 30: ‘this son
of yours who has squandered your property’?
o
He abandoned his relationship
with his younger brother.
o
Because
o
His younger
brother squandered one third of the family property.
36)
How did the younger
son fare when it came to his older brother even while he escaped the shaming
and cutting off of relationship by the community?
o
He could not escape
the cutting off of relationship by his older brother.
37)
What was the
degeneration in attitude of the older son
in contrast to the repentance of the younger son and the grace of the father in
terms of how they regarded family relationship?
o
The older son did not consider the younger son worthy to
be his brother because of the younger son’s misconduct.
o
The younger son did
not consider himself worthy to be called his father’s son because of his own
misconduct.
o
The father considered
his younger son worthy to be his son regardless of the younger son’s misconduct.
38)
How did the
father view the loss of family property and the
repentance of his younger son?
o
The loss of family
property
§
Was inevitable
for the repentance of his younger son.
§
And was worth it.
o
That was why he divided
his property between his two sons.
39)
What did the
father’s seeming lack of concern over his younger son’s squandering family
property and his joy in having him back safe and sound say about how he valued
his son?
o
He valued his son
more than family property.
40)
How did the
older son view the loss of family property and
the repentance of his younger brother?
o
The loss of family
property was senseless to the older son.
o
Because
o
He did not value the
repentance of his younger brother.
41)
What did the
older son’s fixation on the loss of family property
and his seeming lack of joy in having his younger brother back safe and sound
say about how he valued his brother?
o
He valued family property
more than his brother.
42)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 31 what did the father say to placate his older son?
o
He said
§
That his older
son was always with him.
§
And that everything he had was his older son’s.
43)
Whom does the
father in the parable represent?
o
The father in the
parable represents God.
44)
How should the older
son regard being always with his father in terms of blessing?
o
He should regard being always with his father to be the
greatest blessing.
45)
What did the younger
son forego by abandoning his family?
o
He forewent the
greatest blessing.
46)
How should the older
son regard a mere fattened calf used for the celebration in light of the fact
that everything his father had was his?
o
He should not
blow the fattened calf out of proportion.
47)
How should the older
son consider the degree of blessedness between him and his younger brother based
on what his father said to him?
o
He should
consider himself to be far more blessed by his father than his younger brother.
48)
How did the father
attempt to repair the older son’s relationship with his younger brother in the
way he referred to the younger son before the older son in verse 32?
o
He referred to the
younger son as ‘this brother of yours’ before the older son.
49)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 32 why did the father say that they had to celebrate and be glad?
o
It is because his
younger brother had repented such
§
That he
Ø
Was dead.
Ø
And is alive
again.
§
And that he
Ø
Was lost.
Ø
And is found.
50)
How was the father
teaching his older son the value of repentance by talking about the necessity
of the celebration of the repentance of his younger son and not talking about the
loss of family property at all?
o
The repentance of his younger son is worth celebrating
regardless of the loss of family property.
51)
What was the older
son trying to accomplish in slaving for his father and never disobeying his orders
all those years as he said in verse 29?
o
He was trying to
earn his father’s love.
52)
How could the older
son have learned his lesson from the way his father treated his younger brother that he did not really need to earn his father’s
love?
o
He could have
learned it from his father’s grace for his younger brother.
o
That
o
His father loved
him unconditionally as his son.
o
As
o
He did his
younger son.
53)
Why was the older
son unable to learn his lesson from his father’s grace for his younger brother?
o
It is because
some people simply have difficulties understanding and appreciating grace.
o
This
kind of people have difficulties
accepting the gospel.
54)
Who was more
distant from the father, the younger son in the midst of wild living in a
distant country or
the older son at home living with his father?
o
The older son was
no less distant from his father than his younger brother.
55)
What is the
unfortunate and uncertain side of an otherwise happy story of repentance and
grace?
o
The repentance of
the older son is a lingering issue and anything but certain regardless of the
demonstration of the father’s grace for his younger son.
56)
Whom do the
younger son and the older son represent respectively?
o
The younger son represents
tax collectors and sinners.
o
The older son represents
the Pharisees.
57)
What is a more
accurate name for the parable than the parable of the lost son?
o
The parable of
the lost sons.
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Luke 15:11-32
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