---
title: Luke 15:11
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/luke-15-11/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/luke-15-11.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Luke 15:11
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Luke 15:11

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (1984 edition): "Then he said: 'A certain man had two sons.'"
- NWT (2013 revision): "Then he said: 'A man had two sons.'"

## JW Usage

JWs read the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) as a story of repentance and reinstatement. The Watchtower frequently uses the parable in conjunction with the judicial committee and reinstatement process: the wayward son represents the disfellowshipped member, and the father's welcome represents the eventual restoration extended by the elders after sustained evidence of repentance. The emphasis often falls on the son's "coming to himself" and his rehearsed confession (vv. 17-19), with the father's running and embracing treated as a happy outcome rather than as the parable's load-bearing shock.

## Protestant Usage

Luke 15:11 opens a parable that, read whole, dismantles the judicial-committee architecture from the inside. The structure matters: the son rehearses a careful confession (vv. 18-19), but the father runs to him while he is still a long way off (v. 20) and embraces him before the rehearsed confession is finished. The father does not convene a tribunal; he calls for the best robe, the ring, the sandals, and a feast. Pair this verse with Hebrews 4:15-16 (confident approach to a throne of grace) and Matthew 11:28-30 (Jesus' own invitation to the weary). On the doorstep, ask gently whether the experience of walking into a back-room meeting with three elders matches the picture of the running father in this parable. The Watchtower system trains the wayward member to rehearse a confession and submit to evaluation; the parable shows the Father preempting the rehearsal with embrace. Those are different gospels.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [No Pastoral Grace — The Judicial Committee vs the Throne of Grace](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/no-pastoral-grace-confession.md) — Hebrews 4:15-16 — A sympathetic high priest [Salvation]