ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Luke 15

Luke 15:1 Tax collectors (see notes on 3:12–14; Matt. 5:46–47) and sinners are also linked in Luke 5:30; 7:34; 19:7. Were all drawing near to hear him reveals Jesus’ popularity with society’s outcasts (see 14:35).

Luke 15:2 receives sinners and eats with them. For similar criticisms, see 5:27–32; 7:39; 19:7. For the implications of eating with sinners, see note on 5:30.

Luke 15:3 So he told them. The following parables are directed to the Pharisees and scribes. The lost sheep (vv. 4–7), lost coin (vv. 8–10), and prodigal son (vv. 11–32) all correspond to lost sinners being found by Jesus (that is, entering the kingdom of God).

Luke 15:4 See 19:10.

Luke 15:5 lays it on his shoulders. The sheep is too weak to return on its own.

Luke 15:6 calls together his friends and his neighbors. Compare v. 9. The Pharisees and scribes should rejoice that the lost sheep of Israel are entering the kingdom.

Luke 15:7 righteous persons who need no repentance (compare 5:31–32). This is best understood as an ironic description of those who think they are righteous and therefore have no need to repent.

Luke 15:8 ten silver coins. Perhaps about 10 denarii, or 10 days’ wages for a laborer.

Luke 15:12 give me . . . property . . . coming to me. The younger son does not want to wait for his father’s death to receive his inheritance. He was probably a teenager, since he was unmarried. His share would have been half of what the older brother would receive, or one-third of the estate (see Deut. 21:17).

Luke 15:13 Gathered all indicates that the son converted all of his inheritance into cash.

Luke 15:15 Pigs (unclean animals; Deut. 14:8) would have been offensive to the son.

Luke 15:17–18 When the son came to himself he realized that his sin was against his earthly father, but in the deepest sense it was against heaven, that is, against God himself.

Luke 15:20 A long way off emphasizes the father’s great love; he must have been watching for the son. ran. The father ignored behavioral expectations of the time, since running was considered undignified for an older or wealthy person. embraced him. Literally “fell on his neck”; see Gen. 45:14.

Luke 15:21 The prodigal repeats his prepared speech (see vv. 18–19). The father does not let him finish, however, showing that he has forgiven him.

Luke 15:22 The ring may have contained a seal, indicating that the son has been welcomed back as a full member of the family.

Luke 15:23 fattened calf. Kept for special occasions (Gen. 18:7).

Luke 15:24 The son was (assumed to be) dead, but is now alive (united with the family) again. This is a picture of membership in God’s kingdom, with adoption into God’s family.

Luke 15:25 While the younger son represents tax collectors and sinners, the older son represents the Pharisees. Both groups were listening to the parables of this chapter (see vv. 1–3), but the Pharisees were probably the primary intended audience of this parable.

Luke 15:28 He was angry mirrors the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes (v. 2).

Luke 15:29 but he answered his father. The older brother compares life with his father to years of servitude without celebration.

Luke 15:30 this son of yours. The older brother refuses to acknowledge the prodigal as his brother.

Luke 15:31 Son. An affectionate appeal by the father, showing that he still loved the older son and wanted him to join in the celebration. Jesus is still inviting the Pharisees to repent and accept his teaching.