What is the moral lesson of the parable the prodigal son?

Answer 1

You can be forgiven, no matter how bad you have been, or how much you have messed up.

ANSWER:

The parables of Jesus are usually concerned with spiritual truths rather than morals. Parables are a way of teaching spiritual truths. The spiritual truth is hidden in stories of everyday life - "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning." The real meaning of the parable is hidden to those who are not seeking spiritual truth or are not willing to think about the parable.

The parable of the Lost Son is the third parable in a group of three parables - The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and the Lost Son. These three parables are about God's love for people who are lost and, in the context of the parables, God's love for the 'lost' nation of Israel.
The lost son has come unto repentance. When one improves their state, it is better than if they had been good that whole time, simply because they are making progress. The older brother should not have been jealous, but happy that his brother was making progress.

The parable of the lost son is about people coming to the realization that they are lost and turning to God for forgiveness.

The lost son is the repentant sinner, the elder son represents the scribes and pharisees (the religious) of Jesus' time.

The parable is teaching that whatever condition we are in and we realize our condition and turn to God He will forgive and accept us.

Luke 15:10 - 32

(though verses 4 - 9 are relevant too, as they're being amplified by the following story, often called "the parable of the prodigal son".

IMO, the bottom line - "It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found." (verse 32) is a pretty clear restatement of the idea in verse 7 ("I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.").

Answer:

The parable of the Prodigal Son is a parable directed to the nation of Israel. When Jesus tells this parable some Pharisees and scribes are listening as well as a multitude of people:

Luk 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

Luk 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luk 15:3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: .........................

In the parable the father represents God, the youngest son represents Israel and the oldest son represents the scribes and Pharisees.

The oldest son is prejudiced towards the youngest son because the youngest son is treated well, given a lot of attention etc by the father.

In the gospels we can see Jesus paid a lot of attention to the ordinary people the scribes and Pharisees of the day were jealous because they thought they were the spiritual men of Israel. They were put out that Jesus "received sinners" they thought Jesus should have been spending time with them - they were the spiritual ones.

If Israel had repented, accepted Jesus as the messiah and returned to true worship of God (not legalism through obeying evry degree of the Law) then there would have been singing and dancing - as in the parable

Answer 2

The existential lesson is that we are ALL loved continually. We have all, however, wandered into the world of the self-sufficient and illusory ego mentality, where we live in a perceptual world of thinking ourselves (and our own "tribe" or nation) being separate from others and from our common Divine Creator, who - contrary to our illusion - calls to us continually to "awaken" from our false, judgmental and typically fearful ego-driven mentality and thus be freed to experience the utter joy of our Oneness with all others and our common Creator/Source/Parent. Only then can we be equipped to be "instruments of the Divine" in the healing of this world; only then can we be at peace; only then can we love as does the Father - "with no bounds" (see Mt 5:43-48). Only then do we experience our full potential as a child of God; the potential with which we were in fact created.

Answer:

But if you look at the context of the parable - Matthew 15 - the parable of the lost son follows the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In the begining of the chapter the Scribes and Pharisees complain that Jesus is spending times with tax collecters and outcasts. So Jesus tells these three parables in response. The parables are directed at the Scrbes and Pharisees. The parables are about the lost of Israel and the nation of Israel.
The lesson of the prodigal son is that of the waiting Father, who is always ready to welcome home any who stray from His provision and love. This means that God will not despise 'a broken and contrite heart' as the prodigal certainly had. And also that there is indeed 'great joy in heaven over one sinner that repents.' This great truth had been lost on the religious leaders of Jesus' day.

There is an additional lesson from the grumpy older brother who, like the pharisees of Jesus day, was self-righteous and proud and did not have a caring heart towards his younger brother. In like manner the pharisees did not really seek to win lost sinners but only dealt with respectable people.
Well, there are probably a lot of lessons that can be learned, but one of them is repentance. God accepts us back without any reservations when we change our lives and return to him. The story has an inherently religious context, since it is found in The Bible. However, if you were looking for something non-reliegious, maybe the point is the value we as a society place on family relationships. Because the prodigal *was* a son, he was welcomed back.
Don't run away from something you know is

good, for something that seems to good to be true
Parables especially those in the Bible, do not always have a moral. The Biblical parables are usually presenting a spiritual truth using everyday things as illustrations.

When Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son some Pharisees and Scribes are also listening:

Luke 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and Scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luke 15:3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: .........................

In the parable the father represents God, the youngest son represents Israel and the oldest son represents the Scribes and Pharisees.

The oldest son is prejudiced towards the youngest son because the youngest son is treated well, given a lot of attention etc by the father.

In the gospels we can see Jesus paid a lot of attention to the ordinary people of Israel the scribes and Pharisees of the day were jealous because they thought they were the spiritual men of Israel. They were put out that Jesus "received sinners" they thought Jesus should have been spending time with them - they were the spiritual ones.

If Israel had returned to God and accepted Jesus as Messiah there would have been singing and dancing.
God takes back His children that have strayed from Him, as did the father in the prodigal son.
No matter how much we squander our inheritance, no matter how low we sink. If we return with a broken heart and a contrite spirit we will always be forgiven.
The moral of the story is that God is for ever waiting for man to repent and to forgive us our sins.
It is the message of Salvation. We make choices that cause us to reject God and suffer consequences because of those choices. God is always willing to accept us back when we seek Him. Just as the father in the parable rejoiced when his son returned home, Heaven rejoices when a lost soul returns.
When Jesus tells this parable some Pharisees and scribes are also listening:

Luke 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luke 15:3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: .........................

In the parable the father represents God, the youngest son represents Israel and the oldest son represents the scribes and Pharisees.

Israel turned away from God, Jesus through many of His parables trys to show the people of Israel that is they accept Him as the messiah there would be celebration (just like the celebration when the lost son returned to his father).

The oldest son is prejudiced towards the youngest son because the youngest son is treated well, given a lot of attention etc by the father.

In the gospels we can see Jesus paid a lot of attention to the ordinary people the scribes and Pharisees of the day were jealous because they thought they were the spiritual men of Israel. They were put out that Jesus "received sinners" they thought Jesus should have been spending time with them - they were the spiritual ones. This parable is a parable aimed at the scribes and Pharisees.

Some people say the lost son represents people who turn away from God and then return to Him. But if this is a correct interpretation who does the oldest son represent?
the moral value is that no parents is can"t forgive their child.. the father here is our only one God, even you are the most sinner in the world he still there waiting for you to come back to him, and realize that you're wrong,,,

Answer 3

In this parable Jesus is trying to show the people with Him that the nation of Israel turned away from God.

When Jesus tells this parable some Pharisees and scribes are also listening:

Luk 15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

Luk 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luk 15:3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: .........................

In the parable the father represents God, the youngest son represents Israel and the oldest son represents the scribes and Pharisees.

The oldest son is prejudiced towards the youngest son because the youngest son is treated well, given a lot of attention etc by the father.

In the gospels we can see Jesus paid a lot of attention to the ordinary people the scribes and Pharisees of the day were jealous because they thought they were the spiritual men of Israel. They were put out that Jesus "received sinners" they thought Jesus should have been spending time with them - they were the spiritual ones.

Answer 4

There is no moral to the prodigal son.

Parables are not usually told to convey moral lessons. They usually convey spiritual truths.

The parable was told as a rebuke to the scribes and pharisees who resented Jesus speaking to the lost people of Israel (the lost son)

Answer 5

Two things are central, possibly three.

Firstly, sin and self-indulgence don't pay - at least not in terms of long term peace and happiness.

Secondly, God ( as illustrated by the waiting father), although He does not force anyone to repent and turn back to Him, is still always ready to welcome back the repentant sinner.

Thirdly, the older brother is considered illustrative of the self-righteous who think they have no need of repentance and thus look down on 'sinners', not realising the wickedness and self-indulgence of their own heart.

Answer 6

The moral is that even those who stumble and fall, or sin, will always be received by God with open arms when they realize the error of their ways (repent), and go back to Him.

Answer 7

Forgiveness