PREVIEW LUKE CHAPTER15
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Luke 15 - The Joy of Finding the Lost

A. The lost sheep, the lost coin

1. (1-3) Jesus responds to an accusation from the Pharisees
a. This, one of the most beloved chapters in the Bible, is made up of parables spoken in response to the accusation This man receives sinners and eats with them
b. The Pharisees divided men into two classes: the unclean and the righteous; they would have nothing to do with the "unclean." Of course, many who name the name of Jesus do the same today

i. The rabbis were so serious about not associating with the ungodly, they would even refuse to teach them the word of God
2. (4-7) A lost sheep is found
a. It isn't strange that a sheep would be lost; "No creature strays more easily than a sheep; none is more heedless; and none so incapable of finding its way back to the flock, when once gone astray: it will bleat for the flock, and still run on in an opposite direction to the place where the flock is: this I have often noticed." (Clarke)
b. The shepherd's concern is for the lost sheep; the one who is not lost is not in his immediate concern. And, when finding the sheep, the shepherd is happy, not angry

i. Notice the word rejoicing in verse 5: when Jesus carries us, He does it with rejoicing; not with a grudge, but gladly
c. When Jesus found us, He had to carry us also; For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)
d. The rabbis believed that God would receive a sinner who came to Him the right way. But in the parable of the shepherd and the sheep, Jesus teaches that God actively seeks out the lost

i. God does not grudgingly receive the lost; He searches after them; God finds the sinner more than the sinner does find God
ii. This was a completely alien thought to Jesus' audience; they believed that they were more righteous than others because they had diligently sought God and others had not

e. The application is plain: there is joy in heaven when the lost are found, and come to repentance; even though there may be no joy among the Pharisees, there is joy in heaven!
3. (8-10) A lost coin is found
a. If the shepherd was interested in one in a hundred, it makes sense that the woman would be interested in one in ten; she does not just account the coin as lost and care nothing
b. Possibly, this coin refers to one that would be held with several others on a silver chain worn round the head as a mark of a married woman; it was a precious ornament to the woman, and would make the loss all the more severely felt

c. Just as the sheep would be hard to find, so a small coin would be hard to find on a dirt floor

d. Why does Jesus associate with sinners? Because God naturally wants to recover His things that are lost (just like us)

i. There is an instinct in us that prizes something all the more simply because it is lost (like a lost set of keys)
e. God (and the angels) rejoice when one who was lost is found
i. We don't often think of God as rejoicing; this tells us that He does, and in what circumstances. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5); The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
ii. The religious people of Jesus' day believed differently, and even had a saying: "There will be joy in heaven over one sinner who is obliterated before God." In our zeal to speak out against the sin of our culture, do we give the same impression?

B. The lost son
1. (11-16) How the son came to be lost
a. Give me the portion of goods: in those days, a father could either grant the inheritance before or after his death, but it was usually done after - the younger son is asking for a special exception
i. The father clearly illustrates God's love; his love was a love that would allow rebellion, that would respect man's will. The father more than knew what would happen to the son, but allowed him to go his course none the less
b. The son left the area to become independent of the father - but he soon found himself in worse bondage than ever!
c. Pigs were, of course, considered unclean by Jews (Leviticus 11:7), and there could be no more disgusting profession than to feed pigs. And think of the smell!

d. If somebody were to support this prodigal in his prodigal life, he would be delaying the day that he came to himself and got right with God

2. (17-19) The lost son's decision to return to his father
a. When the son came to himself, he didn't join a self-help group. He didn't seek to repair his inner child. He didn't blame his friends, his boss, or the pigs. He went back to his father!
b. Jesus doesn't say that the man returned to his village, or to his home, but to his father. That is how we need to come back to God - to come back to Him, first and foremost, before coming back to church or coming back to Christian friends

i. Of course, when the son returned to the father, he also came back to the village and to the house; but his focus was on coming back to the father
c. The son displays his complete sense of unworthiness and confession of sin - essentials to receive the forgiveness the father would give us. We must come to God willing to be total slaves; out of His love, He makes us total sons
3. (20-24) The father joyfully receives the lost son
a. The father had a love that waited, and never forgot the one who was loved, even when he was away; and it was a love that fully received, not putting the son on probation
i. How passionately did the father receive the son? Kissed him is emphatic; he kissed him repeatedly
b. None of the four things mentioned to be brought to the son were necessities; they are all meant to honor the son and make him know he was loved. The father is doing more than meeting the son's needs
c. The younger son had two petitions. Father, give me: a request that showed rebellion; this request made him poor and destitute. Father, make me like one of your hired servants: a request that showed submission; this request made him rich and loved

4. (25-32) The bitterness and resentment of the older son
a. The exaggerations of verse 29 (I never transgressed . . . you never gave) are common for those who have harbored bitterness in their hearts. Now, it finally comes out before the father, but the bitterness has done its corrosive damage in the heart already
i. "The proud and the self-righteous always feel that they are not treated as well as they deserve." (Morris)
b. The older son was very obedient, yet very far from his father's heart; he will not even see his younger brother. The older son is a perfect picture of the heart of the Pharisees, who despised that God would receive the lost multitudes coming to Jesus
i. But notice that the father loved the older son, and he came out after him as well
c. It is easy to see ourselves as the prodigal; how many of us can see ourselves as the elder brother? It is all a matter of focus. The younger son's focus is on the father; the elder son's focus is on himself and how much he has been wronged
d. Some have criticized this parable because it makes repentance seem apart from Jesus and the work on the cross. But we should see Jesus as being the way; the very road back to the Father. The prodigal can never come to God the Father unless he comes by way of the Son

C. Observations
1. We can see this chapter as one parable in three scenes
a. Each scene illustrates a different aspect of God's work: the Son seeks the lost as the Good Shepherd; the Holy Spirit seeks the lost with searching illumination; and the Father in seeks the lost with open arms upon return
b. Each scene illustrates an increasing severity of loss: of the sheep, 1% were lost; of the coins, 10% were lost; of the and sons, 50% were lost

c. Each scene illustrates a different way of being lost

i. The sheep was lost by foolish wandering - as are so are many today!
ii. The coin was lost by the work of others; but only because it was an inanimate or "dead" thing

iii. The son was lost because of rebellion; a rebellious departure required a submissive return by the one lost

2. We should never miss the main point: Jesus is answering the question of why He associates with sinners. Of course, He should seek after sinners, even as a shepherd seeks after sheep, a woman seeks after a coin that is lost, and as a father seeks after a lost son - it is only natural
a. Do you have the heart of God? Who is lost that you are seeing to see them found in the Lord?
3. Summary: "The truth here taught is just this: that mercy stretches forth her hand to misery, that grace receives men as sinners, that it deals with demerit, unworthiness and worthlessness; that those who think themselves righteous are not the objects of divine compassion, but the unrighteous, the guilty and the undeserving, are the proper subjects for the infinite mercy of God; in a word, that salvation is not of merit but of grace." (Spurgeon)

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