Luke 15:1-2 Jesus receives sinners
and eats with them. This complaint by the Pharisees and scribes is repeated
several places. (Matt 9:11, 11:19; Mark 2:16, Luke 5:30, Luke 7:34) They do not
understand God's heart for the lost. Jesus tries with three metaphors to
explain it to them.
Luke 15:3-7 Parable of the lost
sheep. Even though the odds are nowhere near 99:1 of righteous to sinners in
this life, that is not the point. There is great joy in heaven when even one
sinner repents. More so than over those who do not need to repent. The lost
sheep has been found. This is scarcely the only place where God's people are
compared to sheep, and this point should not be glossed over. We use goat-rope
as a metaphor for trying to catch something that is elusive and actively tries
to avoid being brought into control. But sheep are dumber than goats. They
stumble into trouble because they don't know what they are getting into.
Innocence is too strong a word, but clearly there is less culpability on the
lost sheep's part - it just wandered off. And so the Good Shepherd (John
10:11-16) goes in search and brings it back to the flock. And He rejoices when He
has done so, and all the angels with Him.
Luke 15:8-10 Parable of the lost
coin. A woman loses a day's wages - one drachma. That might not be her entire
cash reserve - not enough to retire on, but enough to sustain life. And when
she finds it, she calls her neighbors to celebrate. This parable is for the
materially minded, to whom losing money is the paramount disaster. The point is
the same.
Luke 15:11-32 Parable of the lost
son. One of the most famous of Jesus' parables, this deals with broken relationships.
The Father's heart for the lost is most clearly shown here. The father in the
parable saw the return of the lost son from a long way off and ran to meet him
and welcome him home. There is no talk of his having learned his lesson, and
the father brushes off the son's request to become a slave because he is
unworthy to be a son. But the older son thought about these things. It was
unfair that this younger brother should get away with it - no word of reproach,
no process of earning his way back into his father's love. But that is the way
God handles it. His love is sooooo strong that He welcomes back the repentant
sinner without reproach. He may not be able to undo the damage that years of
sin have done, just as the father in the parable could not bring back all of
the wasted wealth that the younger son blew. But the relationship was restored,
just as God receives back sinners and restores their relationship with Him. And
the Pharisees could not have missed the point, because it confirmed what they
complained about at the beginning of chapter 15. And Jesus wants them to
understand that He heard their complaints, and they had correctly assessed the
situation. But they did not understand God.
Do
we understand God's heart for the lost? More importantly, do we share it? How
hard do we pray, and work, to reach out to those outside the grace of God?
Outside His family of those who know Him and walk with Him? Let us pray that we
are not like the older brother who believe that we can or have earned God's
favor.
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