Luke 15:30 (WEB)

Passage

But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

Nearby Context

Luke 15:28 But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and begged him.

Luke 15:29 But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

Luke 15:30 But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

Luke 15:31 “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

Luke 15:32 But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "devoured", "living", "prostitutes", "killed", "fattened", and "calf". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "devoured", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "But he answered his father Behold these..." into verse 31's "He said to him Son you are...", so "came" and "devoured" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "devoured" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.