Introduction
Do you feel like God is angry with you? Like you are waiting for his patience to run out at any moment? You are afraid you have not been doing enough for Him to be pleased with you. Or perhaps you feel like you could never do enough for him to love you. It is normal to have these worries in our walk with Jesus. In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables that remind us that God saves all who are lost. We will see how Paul applied this good news to his own life, and how God delights in saving a sheep, a coin, a son, and a murderer.
Two Audiences
In Luke 15:1–2 we see that tax collectors and sinners were drawing near
1 to Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes grumbled
2. Tax collectors and sinners were people the world perceived as being outside of God’s people. In contrast, the Pharisees and scribes were seen as being a part of God’s people.
Jesus tells a series of parables targeted at these two audiences. Today we will focus on the meaning of the parables for the tax collectors and sinners. In my next post, we will look at what these, and the following parables mean to the Pharisees and scribes. Pay special attention to the progression of the three parables and how their messages relate to one another.
Some of the ideas in this post are based on the book The Surprising Genius of Jesus by Peter J. Williams. If you are interested in an in-depth look at these parables, and the brilliance of how Jesus taught, I would highly recommend this book.
A Sheep
Jesus begins by asking his hearers to consider how, if one out of your one hundred sheep went missing, you would leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost.
3 Upon finding the lost sheep, you would rejoice and invite your friends to celebrate with you. Jesus tells us there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
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Even though this parable is short, holds a rich meaning for those both inside and outside of God’s family. We will meditate on three aspects of this parable:
- Every person matters.
- The distant will be found.
- Heaven and earth rejoice.
Every Person Matters
What is special about the lost sheep? The only special thing about it is that it is lost. That means there is nothing special about the lost sheep; any of the sheep could have been the lost sheep. This is good news. Jesus wants us to understand that there is nothing we can or must do before we are worthy of being saved. Any person who is lost is worthy of being saved—not because of anything they have done or could do, or because of the people group they belong to. All people are made to reflect God, and are precious enough for God to save.
The Distant Will Be Found
An important detail of the first two parables is where the lost are located. The sheep is lost when it goes away from the shepherd. Can those who are not a part of God’s people be saved? Yes. Every sheep is worthy of rescue, no matter the cost, even leaving the safety of the green pasture to search in the wilderness. In this way, Jesus left his place of glory in heaven and came into this chaos-filled world so that we could be saved.
Keep this in mind as we look at the other parables—there is one who is lost by going away, and when they return there is rejoicing.
Heaven and Earth Rejoice
When the lost sheep returns home, Jesus tells us there is rejoicing with friends. More importantly, when a sinner repents there is even greater rejoicing in heaven. Notice how the rejoicing in heaven for the saved is mirrored by the rejoicing on earth. If heaven rejoices for those who are saved, we should as well. This is part of what it means when we pray, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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A Coin
After the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus asks his audience to consider a woman who lost a silver coin. The woman seeks diligently until she finds it.
6 Just as with the lost sheep, when the coin is found, her rejoicing mirrors that of heaven. Why does Jesus tell both of these parables? They are very similar; surely one would have sufficed. The key difference we will meditate on is where each item was lost.
The Near Will Be Found
In the parable of the lost sheep, the sheep is with the shepherd, then wanders away. In contrast, the coin is lost even though it never leaves the home. Something can be lost even if it never leaves the home. Even though it does not appear to be lost from the outside, because it never leaves the home. Jesus wants us to understand that being in God’s house, does not mean someone is not lost.
Discovering that something is lost in your home can be difficult; it requires light, cleaning, and diligent seeking. Just as with the lost sheep, there is no price too high to find what is lost at home. Likewise, there is rejoicing in heaven and earth at the return of someone who is lost at home.
A Son
Of the three parables in Luke 15, the third parable is the most well-known; it has become known as the parable of the prodigal son. According to Merriam-Webster, prodigal
means characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure.
Based on what we have learned, about the previous parables, we understand that the prodigal nature of the younger son may not have been Jesus’ main point. In light of what we have learned, we will see how Jesus uses this parable to build on the previous ones.
Jesus tells the story of a man with two sons. The younger son displays open contempt for his father by asking him for his inheritance before his father is dead. The father gives the inheritance to both sons, and the younger goes away to a far country. While there the younger son squandered his property in reckless living.
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Famine fell upon the land, and the son had to work feeding pigs. When he was so hungry that the pig food looked appetizing, he decided to return to his father’s house. He determined to become a servant, and work his way back into his father’s favor. Rehearsing his apology speech, he returned home. However, as he approached his father’s house, the eagerly watching father ran and embraced his son. The father interrupted the apology speech by calling for a celebration, because his lost son had returned.
When the older son learned of the celebration, he became angry. He said to his father, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command,…but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!
8 The father replies by telling his elder son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.
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Two Lost Sons
With this parable, Jesus combines the meaning of the previous two parables, and deepens their meaning. Like the lost sheep, the younger son is lost when he leaves his father’s house. So what does this tell us about the older son? Just like the coin that is lost inside the house, the older son is lost even though he never leaves home.
Jesus never tells us how the older son responds to the father; this is on purpose. Jesus intends for the Pharisees and scribes to meditate on this ending. But we will look at the meaning of these teachings for them next time. Let us focus on the father and the younger son, and what this means for the tax collectors and sinners who are present.
The Younger Son
Like the younger son, the tax collectors and sinners had chosen to turn away from the father and go their own way. Does the father have the right to be angry? God is just and will punish those who do wrong. However, God is also abounding in steadfast love
10, and desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
11 Even after open contempt for the father, and falling to rock bottom, the son was still celebrated upon his return. If the celebration on earth mirrored the celebration in heaven for the lost sheep and coin, we know there was greater celebration for the return of the lost son. Often, like the younger son, we want to work our way back into God’s favor. But, the debt of our rejected inheritance is too great to ever be repaid. Jesus wants us to know that no matter how far we feel from God, or how far we have fallen, God delights in our return. If we have a truly repentant heart, and desire to return to him, God has made a way for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. This picture of a loving, forgiving father is not just a story; it is the reality that transformed the lives of the apostles themselves, including one who saw himself as the worst of all.
A Murderer
It is difficult to allow the truth of God’s grace and mercy to penetrate our hearts. We are aware of our own shortcomings, and can feel discouraged. The apostle Paul struggled with these same feelings of inadequacy and encourages Timothy in his first letter. Paul reflects on how he was a murderer, and lived in opposition to God. But, despite this past he says, the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
12 We can look to Paul’s life for encouragement, because Jesus displayed his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
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Whether you are lost in God’s house, or you have wandered away, God will always celebrate when you are found. Are you a sheep or a coin? Or which son are you? If you need to be found by God for the first time, pray and admit you are lost and need him, believe that you can only be found through Jesus death and resurrection, and commit to follow Jesus as your shepherd. If you are a part of God’s people, but have become lost, pray that God will draw you back to Himself, and thank him for his never-ending faithfulness and patience.