Luke 15:21 (YLT)

Passage

and the son said to him, Father, I did sin--to the heaven, and before thee, and no more am I worthy to be called thy son.

Nearby Context

Luke 15:19 and no more am I worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hirelings.

Luke 15:20 `And having risen, he went unto his own father, and he being yet far distant, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and having ran he fell upon his neck and kissed him;

Luke 15:21 and the son said to him, Father, I did sin--to the heaven, and before thee, and no more am I worthy to be called thy son.

Luke 15:22 `And the father said unto his servants, Bring forth the first robe, and clothe him, and give a ring for his hand, and sandals for the feet;

Luke 15:23 and having brought the fatted calf, kill <FI>it<Fi> , and having eaten, we may be merry,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "said", "father", "sin--to", "heaven", "before", "thee", and "worthy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And having risen he went unto his..." into verse 22's "And the father said unto his servants...", so "called" and "said" 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 "called" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.