“And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:”
My Notes
What Does Luke 15:23 Mean?
The father in the parable of the prodigal son orders the celebration: "bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry." The fatted calf was the household's most valuable livestock — reserved for the most special occasions. The father doesn't offer a modest meal. He slaughters the best animal in the barn.
The three commands — bring, kill, eat — escalate from preparation to celebration. The father's response to the son's return isn't measured or proportional. It's extravagant. The son who asked for bread as a hired servant (verse 19) receives a feast as a restored son. The father's generosity vastly exceeds the son's request.
The invitation to "be merry" (euphraino — to celebrate, to make glad) makes the party communal. This isn't private relief; it's a household celebration. Everyone is invited to participate in the father's joy. The return of the lost son benefits the entire community.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What reception do you expect from God when you return — and how does the fatted calf challenge that expectation?
- 2.Why does the father's response vastly exceed the son's request?
- 3.How does the communal nature of the celebration ('let us eat and be merry') change the prodigal's restoration?
- 4.What 'fatted calf' might God be preparing for you that you haven't dared to imagine?
Devotional
Kill the fatted calf. The best animal in the barn. Reserved for the most important occasion the household will ever see. And the occasion? A filthy, broke, pig-smelling son just walked up the driveway.
The father's response to the prodigal's return is one of the most extravagant reactions in all of Scripture. The son rehearsed a speech asking to be made a hired servant (verse 19). He'd calculated his worth at the lowest possible level: not son, not even regular servant — hired help. And the father's response? The fatted calf. The family ring. The best robe. A feast for the entire household.
The disproportion is the theology. The son expected scraps. The father served the best. The son expected demotion. The father threw a party. Every expectation the son carried — based on his own accurate assessment of his failure — was shattered by a father's love that operates on a completely different economy.
"Let us eat, and be merry" — the father doesn't celebrate alone. He invites the whole household into the joy. The return of the lost son isn't a private matter between father and child. It's a community event. Everyone eats. Everyone celebrates. The prodigal's restoration feeds the entire family.
This is God's response to your return. Not the measured, arms-crossed, "prove yourself first" reception you expected. The fatted calf. The feast. The invitation for everyone around you to share in the celebration of your coming home.
What are you expecting when you return — and what is the Father actually preparing?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it,.... By which Christ is designed, in allusion to the calves offered in…
Be merry - Literally, “eating, let us rejoice.” The word “merry” does not quite express the meaning of the Greek.…
The fatted calf, and kill it - Θυσατε, Sacrifice it. In ancient times the animals provided for public feasts were first…
We have here the parable of the prodigal son, the scope of which is the same with those before, to show how pleasing to…
Luk 9:51 to Luk 18:31. Rejected by the Samaritans. A lesson of Tolerance.
This section forms a great episode in St…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture