Issachar_Luke15 - The Visual Bible Explorer Series

Chapter 15 Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep (vv. 1-7)

¹ One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, ² the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, ^a “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!” ³ So Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep ^b and loses one of them – what does he do? He leaves the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture ^c and goes looking for the one that got lost until he finds it. ⁵ When he finds it, he is so happy that he puts it on his shoulders ^{d 6} and carries it back home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!’ ⁷ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents ^e than over ninety-nine respectable people ^f who do not need to repent.”

Interesting Stuff:

^a The Pharisees and teachers of the Law objected to Jesus receiving such people because their rule was that one must not associate with an ungodly man. This attitude was taken so seriously that the rabbis would not associate with such a person even to teach him the Law. Eating with these people was regarded as worse than mere association. It implied welcome and acceptance. But Jesus did not let this prevailing attitude affect his ministry to such people who were hungry to hear his word.
^b The situation Jesus described was a common one. One hundred sheep was a normal-size flock. A count was taken nightly.
^c The ‘pasture’ or ‘open country’ was a safe place to leave the sheep, though they would be left in someone’s care.
^d The frightened, confused, or even hurt sheep would have to be carried.
^e God’s concern and joy at the sinner’s repentance was set in stark contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.
^fThese probably refer to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law who considered themselves righteous and saw no need for repentance.

Questions:

Relate the parable of the lost sheep (vv. 4-7).

2. Who was Jesus addressing the parable to (vv. 1-2)?

3. What is the main point of this parable?

What other lessons can you learn from this parable?

4. What other lessons can you learn from this parable?

Summary of Section:

One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law started grumbling that Jesus was welcoming the outcasts and eating with them.
Jesus then told them three parables to point out how much God rejoices when a sinner repents.
The first parable was about a shepherd who has 100 sheep and loses one of them:
a. He leaves the other 99 sheep in the pasture and goes looking for the lost sheep until he finds it.
b. He is so happy that he puts it on his shoulder and carries it back home.
c. He calls his friends and neighbours together to celebrate with him because he is so happy that he has found his lost sheep.
Jesus ended the parable by saying that in the same way, there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 respectable people who do not need to repent.

Nuggets of Wisdom

The theme of chapter 15 is stated right at the beginning – Jesus was criticised for welcoming sinners and having fellowship with them. So Jesus used three parables to justify his attitudes and actions to his accusers, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.
The tax collectors, although despised as being dishonest by the Jews, have so far been presented by Luke as persons who were responsive to the call to repent. Similarly, the ‘sinners’, i.e., people whose main fault was that they could not be included among the ‘righteous’ either because they had no status in society or they were not ‘religious’ enough, have been presented as people in need of forgiveness and who were willing to repent. By way of contrast, the Pharisees (though not all) and teachers of the Law have been portrayed as those who oppose Jesus.
Jesus’ point in telling the parable to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law was to confront them with the fact that these very people whom they looked down upon and would not even seek to help were the ones whom God sought to save. And God would rejoice more over such people than over people like them who were too self-righteous to see their need to repent.
The rabbis would generally agree that God would welcome a repentant sinner but the idea that God is a seeking God, taking the initiative to seek out sinners, is a new one.
All three parables made the same point to his hearers – that God actually makes the first move to search for His wayward children and He rejoices greatly when even one person repents, regardless of the kind of person he or she is.

The Parable of the Lost Coin (vv. 8-10)

⁸ “Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins ^g loses one of them – what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully ^h everywhere until she finds it. ⁹ When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”

Interesting Stuff:

^g The ‘coin’ is the Greek drachma which was the wage paid to a labourer for a day’s work. It is roughly equivalent to a Roman denarius (see chap 12, note g). These coins could be the woman’s savings or, as some suggest, strung together as an ornament for a headdress. What is important is not so much what it was but that it was precious to the woman.

^h Palestinian houses would have no windows or very small ones and only earthen floors, making a search for the coin difficult. Thus she would have to light a lamp even in daytime and sweep very carefully to find the coin.

Questions:

Relate the parable of the lost coin (vv. 8-10).

2. In what ways is it similar to the parable of the lost sheep?

Summary of Section:

This parable is about a woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them:
a. She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it.
b. Then she calls her friends and neighbours together to celebrate because she is so happy that she has found the coin she lost.
Jesus concluded the parable by saying that the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.

Nuggets of Wisdom

This parable is similar to the parable of the lost sheep. There is the identification of the lost sheep and coin with the sinner, and therefore the recovery of what is lost with the repentance of the sinner.
Again the emphasis of the parable is not so much on the recovery of the lost item but on the heavenly joy that results from the repentance of a sinner.
Jesus’ point was therefore that there is much rejoicing in heaven over all those tax collectors and sinners who turn to God in repentance and with whom he would gladly accept and welcome into fellowship.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (vv. 11-32)

¹¹ Jesus went on to say, “There was once a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the property ⁱ now.’ So the man divided his property between his two sons. ¹³ After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. ¹⁴ He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. ¹⁵ So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. ^{j 16}He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. ¹⁷ At last he came to his senses and said, ‘All my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers.” ’ ²⁰ So he got up and started back to his father.

“He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. ²¹ ‘Father,’ the son said, ‘I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’ ²² But the father called to his servants, ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. ^{k 23}Then go and get the prize calf ^land kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’ And so the feasting began.

²⁵ “In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him, ‘What’s going on?’ ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come back home,’ the servant answered, ‘and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. ²⁹ But he spoke back to his father, ‘Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat ^m for me to have a feast with my friends! ³⁰But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!’ ³¹ ‘My son,’ the father answered, ‘you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’ ”

Interesting Stuff:

ⁱThe share of the property that a younger son would inherit would be one-third because the older son would inherit two-thirds according to the Law (Dt 21:17). A Jewish father might divide the inheritance but he would retain the income from it until his death.
To give to a younger son his portion of the inheritance upon request was highly unusual.
^j This was the ultimate indignity for a Jew. Not only was the work of feeding pigs demeaning, but pigs were also considered ‘unclean’ animals to them.
^k The ‘best robe’, ‘ring’ and ‘shoes’ were each a sign of position and acceptance. The robe was a ceremonial robe given to a guest of honour. The ring signified authority and the sandals or shoes were those only a free man would wear (slaves were barefoot).
^lThe ‘prize calf’ or ‘fattened’ or ‘fatted’ calf, as some translations have it, was carefully tended for special occasions.
m This was cheaper food than a fattened calf.

Questions:

Who are the main characters in this parable told by Jesus (v. 11)?

2. What did the younger son say to the father (v. 12)?

3. What happened to him after he received his share from the father (vv. 12-20)?

4. How did the father respond when he saw his son returning home (vv. 20-24)?

5. Describe what happened when the older brother returned home from the field (vv. 25-28).

Why did the older brother react negatively to what the father did (vv. 28-30)?

6. How did the father explain his actions to the older brother (vv. 31-32)?

7. Who does the father represent in this parable?

What can you learn about God from this parable of the prodigal son?

8. Who do you think the older brother might represent?

Give your reasons.

Summary of Section:

Jesus went on to tell this parable about a father who had two sons:
a. The younger one wanted his share of the property and so the father divided his property and gave him his share.
b. After a few days, he sold his share of the property and left with the money. He went to a far away country where he wasted all his money on reckless living.
c. A severe famine came upon the land and he was left with nothing. So he went to work for someone there who owned a pig farm.
d. He wished he could eat the bean pods that were fed to the pigs because he was starving but no one gave him anything to eat.
e. At last he came to his senses. He realised that even his father’s workers had more to eat than him. He decided that he would go back and ask for his father’s forgiveness because he had sinned against God and against him. He would ask his father to treat him as one of his workers because he recognised that he was no longer fit to be called his father’s son.
f. And so he went home. While he was still a long way from home, his father saw him. The father’s heart was filled with pity, and he ran and threw his arms around his son and kissed him.
g. The son told the father to forgive him for he had sinned against God and against him and was no longer fit to be called his son.
h. But the father called to his servants to bring the best robe for him, and to put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Then they were to kill the prize calf because the father wanted to celebrate the return of his son with a feast.
i. The father said that this son of his was dead but now was alive; he was lost but now he had been found. And so the feast started.
j. In the meantime, the older son was out in the field. When he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing and so he asked one of the servants what was happening.
k. The servant told him that his brother had returned and his father had killed the prize calf to celebrate his coming home safe and sound.
l. The older brother was very angry and would not go into the house. The father came out and begged him to go in.
m. He told the father that he had slaved all these years for him and had never disobeyed his orders, yet the father had not even given him a goat to celebrate with his friends. Now the younger son who had wasted all his father’s property on prostitutes had come home and the father had killed the prize calf for him.
n. The father tried to reassure the older son that all he had was the son’s to have and enjoy since he was always there with the father. However, the father said that he had to celebrate and be happy because his brother who was dead and lost, was now alive and found.

Nuggets of Wisdom

From two short parables about the celebration of the lost-and-found, Jesus turned to a more extendedaccount of a lost-and-found son. The loss becomes more important – the first was one sheep out of a hundred, the second, one coin out of ten, and now this third one is one out of only two, and involved a son.
At the moment of the son’s encounter with the father, before he could even speak of his plans for a new form of relationship with the father, the father had already accepted him and restored him back into the family. It was the return, and not the confession, that made the reconciliation possible.
A wealthy landowner running down the street of his village would be something extraordinary in Jewish society. And likewise the public embrace of a son who had shamed his father. Jesus was painting the picture of a father who loved his son so much and who was so overcome with joy at his son’s return that having the son back was the only thing that mattered to him.
The celebration that followed was a full-scale banquet, as if the father was sparing no effort or expense to celebrate the return of a son who was considered dead, who had cut off all ties with his family, and was now alive, who was lost and was now back home.
Whereas the father responded in compassion to the return of the son, the elder brother responded with anger. In his refusal to join the feast, he was showing that he did not and would not support the father’s decision to restore the younger brother.
The likeness to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law was unmistakable. Like them, the older son saw himself as the model son and he could not understand why his father could welcome back such a useless and prodigal son, one who had even shamed him and shunned him.
Jesus left the parable open-ended. It was an open invitation to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law to embrace God’s will and join Him in welcoming people like the tax collectors and sinners into the family of God and rejoicing over their restoration.