Luke 15:32

15:32 It was appropriate ¹  to celebrate and be glad, for your brother ²  was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’” ³ 

[15:32]  ¹ tn Or “necessary.”

[15:32]  ² sn By referring to him as your brother, the father reminded the older brother that the younger brother was part of the family.

[15:32]  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.