Text -- Luke 15:28-32 (NET)

15:28 But the older son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and appealed to him, 15:29 but he answered answered his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends! 15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 15:31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours. 15:32 It was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 15:28

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the older son, v. 25) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The aorist verb ὠργίσθη (wrgisqh) has been translated as an ingressive aorist, reflecting entry into a state or condition.

³ sn Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.

NET Notes: Luk 15:29

¹ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

² tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

⁴ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

NET Notes: Luk 15:30

¹ sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).

² sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.

³ sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.

⁴ sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

NET Notes: Luk 15:31

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the parable.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 15:32

¹ tn Or “necessary.”

² sn By referring to him as your brother, the father reminded the older brother that the younger brother was part of the family.

³ sn The theme he was lost and is found is repeated from v. 24. The conclusion is open-ended. The reader is left to ponder with the older son (who pictures the scribes and Pharisees) what the response will be. The parable does not reveal the ultimate response of the older brother. Jesus argued that sinners should be pursued and received back warmly when they returned.