Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 15:14

"And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want." — Luke 15:14 (ASV)

There arose a mighty famine in that land.—This again was no unusual incident. The famine which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar (Acts 11:28) was more extensive and memorable than others, but it was far from standing alone. And now the hardship came. His treasure was gone, and for the fullness of bread there was hunger and cleanness of teeth (Amos 4:6).

In the individual interpretation of the parable, the mighty famine is the yearning of the soul’s unsatisfied desire, the absence of its true food, of the bread that cometh down from heaven (John 6:32).

In its wider range, it is the craving of humanity for what it cannot find when appetites are not satisfied and their usual supply ceases—the famine, not of bread and of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11); the want of a message from the Eternal Father to sustain the life of His children.