The prodigal son's destitution reveals the helplessness of one who has come to the end of himself and pictures Israel's desperate need for Christ.
After wasting everything he had, the younger son was reduced to feeding swine and longing for the husks the pigs ate, yet no one gave him anything. His poverty shows that he could do nothing for himself, and that is exactly what Jesus was showing to Israel. Les Feldick teaches that no one is originally God's child; all are sons of Adam, rebels from birth, so the parable is about recognizing one's need and turning back to the Father.
Luke 15:14-17 — This passage directly describes the prodigal son's destitution and the moment he came to himself, which is the core of the question.
In Luke 15, the younger son takes his inheritance, travels into a far country, and wastes his substance with riotous living. After he has spent all, a mighty famine arises in that land and he begins to be in want. He joins himself to a citizen of that country, who sends him into the fields to feed swine; he longs to fill his belly with the husks that the swine eat, and no man gives him anything. Only then does he come to himself and say that even his father's hired servants have bread enough while he perishes with hunger. The Bible presents his destitution as the lowest point of a son who has wasted everything.
Les Feldick sets the parable of the prodigal son within Jesus' ministry to Israel. He explains that God deals with Israel on two levels, national and personal, and that nationally Israel is blind even though individual Jews can still be saved. In the parable of the lost coin, the lost item pictures that which was God's by covenant promises, and God goes after the lost one and brings it to Himself, just as the shepherd does for the lost sheep. Les then turns to the prodigal son with a vital warning: no one has ever originally belonged to God, because we are sons of Adam and have been rebels since the day we were born. Therefore the prodigal son should not be interpreted as a saved person who chose to walk away from God. Both sons in the parable are children, and that distinction shows why the parable must be left in its proper setting: Israel's need for the Father and for Christ.
Jesus told these parables to a Jewish audience, and Les keeps them in that setting. The lost coin, like the lost sheep, pictures the nation of Israel that was lost and needed to be sought and restored. The prodigal son, reduced to feeding pigs and unable to fill his stomach, shows the same national picture: a people in want, unable to help themselves. In John's Gospel, the nobleman's sick son and the man blind from birth are also used as pictures of Israel, and the signs show their need even when they do not name a specific sin.
Les says plainly that we have never originally belonged to God. We are sons of Adam, rebels since birth. That means the prodigal son is not a picture of a saved person losing salvation. The younger son's destitution is the natural, deserved condition of every human being. The hope of the parable is not that he was already a child who had to return; it is that the father welcomes the one who comes to the end of himself and turns back.
His poverty brought him to realize that he could do nothing for himself. He saw that even hired servants in his father's house had bread enough, while he was perishing with hunger. That is the point of the destitution: a person must come to the end of himself before he can see the only place to turn. Les insists that the parable must stay in its proper setting, addressed to Israel, so that it is not twisted into a story about believers losing their standing with God.
We Are Sons of Adam, Not Originally God's Children
Les sets up the prodigal son by reminding us that no one originally belonged to God; we are sons of Adam and rebels from birth. He stresses that the parable must be understood in its Israel setting, where a lost coin pictures the nation that was God's by covenant promises but was lost and sought by God.
The Nobleman's Son as a Picture of Israel
Les points to the nobleman's sick son as a picture of Israel. The signs in John show Israel's need, even though most of them do not explicitly reveal sin.
The Blind Man as a Picture of the Nation
Les calls the man blind from birth a picture of the nation of Israel, noting that the impotent man and the blind man are linked by their association with sin and with a pool. Both reveal Israel's inherent need.
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Luke 15:13: And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
Shows the son's total waste before the famine and destitution arrive.
Luke 15:14: And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
Directly introduces his destitution.
Luke 15:15: And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
His degradation reaches its lowest point.
Luke 15:16: And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
No one helped him; he had absolutely nothing.
Luke 15:17: And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
His destitution leads to self-awareness and the decision to return.
He had spent everything and a severe famine hit the country. He joined a citizen who sent him to feed pigs, and he even longed for the husks the swine ate, showing how desperate his destitution had become (Luke 15:14-16).
Les Feldick says no. He teaches that no one has ever originally belonged to God; we are all sons of Adam and rebels from birth. The prodigal son's loss is not about losing salvation but about showing a nation's need and a person coming to the end of himself.
Les sets the parable in the context of God's dealings with Israel on national and personal levels. The lost coin pictures Israel lost by covenant promises and sought by God, and the prodigal son's destitution pictures the nation in want, needing the Father.
Watch the Teaching: What the Bible Really Says About the Prodigal Son