Luke 15:11

‘And he said, “A certain man had two sons,” '

The parable is about two sons. But it is so easy to lose sight of the elder son (partly due to the vividness of the story, and partly because in our sinfulness we relate most closely to the younger son). Yet to Jesus the elder son was important, for he represented many of those to whom He spoke. He wanted them to come to repentance too.

However, it is the younger son who dominates the first part of the parable, and he is therefore the one whom we have to consider first.