27. ANOTHER LOST SON (Luke 15:25-32)

1. Why didn't the older son leave his home like the younger one did?
   • What did this man long for more than anything else?
   • Why was there so little happiness in the life of the older son?
      
2. Why did the older brother consider himself a slave rather than an inheritor (verses 12b, 29, 31)?
   • Why didn't the older brother trust in his father's word?
      
3. In what situation have you felt as though you have toiled for God's kingdom without getting "even a goat" for recompense (vs. 29)?
    
4. The older son humiliated his father in front of the whole village by refusing to come to the feast. What do you think were the reasons he didn't love his father?
   • Discuss on the basis of this parable: If we don't love God, what can be the possible reason?
      
5. The elder son was mistaken when thinking he had fulfilled all of his father's commandments (vs. 29). What was actually the will of this father regarding his son?
   • In what ways may even devoted believers go against the will of God without being aware of it?
      
6. In the parables of Jesus, celebrations often refer to heaven. Who, according to this parable, gets to heaven and who doesn't?
    
7. Why did Jesus seem to interrupt this parable in the middle (vs. 32)?
    
8. Imagine the situation that happened the next morning when the brothers went to work in the fields - how did their feelings differ?
    
9. Where is Jesus himself in this parable?