Losing and Finding

Luke 15:3-32

Welcome! Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus, and we come to some of the most well-known, most discussed parables of all. Lots and lots of people who have never cracked open a Bible to read it for themselves still know something about these parables. And for those of us who have gone to church for many years, it can be hard to look at these parables freshly, attentively, because we think there is nothing else that can be said, nothing new to learn.

 But I challenge you today to fight against this attitude, to believe in faith that God can still stir your heart freshly with these parables. These parables are well-known, oft-discussed for a reason: they are powerful. They are deep. Actually they are amazingly rich, in my opinion the magnum opus (great work) of parable writing for all time.

When we began this series I explained that a parable literally a “laying alongside,” a telling of a story with common everyday scenes and situations to draw an easily understood picture to tell us something about something else, a spiritual truth, something more abstract, something deeper, something that is otherwise harder to understand. Now there are lots of different reasons spiritual things can be difficult to understand. One that you might first think of is that it is strange, complex, seemingly even self-contradictory, like the twin Biblical truths of predestination and free will, or the nature of God as three-in-one. But another reason a spiritual truth can be hard to grasp is because we just can’t accept it; it goes against a core belief we have that we just can’t seem to abandon. I would argue that today’s parables are really in this latter category.

And what is that spiritual truth? The grace and love of God. And what stands in our way? What causes us to resist this truth in the deepest parts of our hearts even though we might know it in our heads? Our beliefs about failure, justice, and shame. I’m not only talking about how we see ourselves, in fact, that’s not even the primary focus, but I’m talking about how we see and judge these things in others.

Now as I said, I consider today’s parables to be a masterpiece in that they touch on many themes and issues, and there is no way for me to touch on all of these in one message. I am really going to focus on one thing today, what I believe is the “first” point of these parables, because it is not often the main thing people talk about, and it is also what has really struck and impacted me as I have reflected on these parables in preparation for this message.

So enough of talking abstractly! Let’s get into the Word and explore the parables themselves. We are in Luke 15 today. I am actually going to start back in verse 1 because this gives us a critical hint about what why Jesus is telling these parables to these people at this time, so it shows us what the issue is that Jesus is “laying alongside” with His parable.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” – Luke 15:1-2 

Now we could spend our entire time today discussing why the Pharisees and teachers of the law would say this. Of course we would never get to the parables! But I do want to spend a few minutes on this. What do you think is going on in their brains? What do you think they are really thinking?

Here are some things I think. They see themselves as VIPs (very important Pharisees), and as such, “above” the “common” people. Here though, they saw Jesus talking not even with common people but with the “dregs of the barrel,” the bottom feeders, the lowest of the low, people who were to be scorned and hated, and so they saw it as totally inappropriate for Jesus to spend time with them. And by association, this meant that Jesus wasn’t spending time with them! They might not have really liked Jesus anyway, but they thought it was outrageous that Jesus would choose these lowlifes over them. 

Now by “sinner” what they meant was people who were Jewish and yet were well known to have basically abandoned the Law; they weren’t doing any of the outwardly observable things that Jews were supposed to do. Some of these things were actual things in the Law, but others were cultural additions. To make a modern analogy, some fundamentalist churches teach that dancing is a sin. So in today’s time, maybe these “sinners” might be like people who didn’t go to church (which is something Scripture says believers should do – see Hebrews 10:24-25, for example) and who, gasp, were “dancers!” (which is something Scripture does not condemn, and I would say, at least implicitly encourages). When I picture these “sinners” Jesus was talking to, I picture people who just flat out rejected the authority and practices of the Pharisees, rejecting the good (back then, following the Law) as well as the bad (the countless cultural rules the Pharisees had added). Of course the Pharisees would be disgusted with them, right?

But what about the tax collectors? Why do they get such a bad rap in Scripture? The following concise explanation is from the website gotquestions.org: “There are a few reasons for the low view of tax collectors in the New Testament era. First, no one likes to pay money to the government, especially when the government is an oppressive regime like the Roman Empire of the 1st century. Those who collected the taxes for such a government bore the brunt of much public displeasure. Second, the tax collectors in the Bible were Jews who were working for the hated Romans. These individuals were seen as turncoats, traitors to their own countrymen. Rather than fighting the Roman oppressors, the publicans were helping them—and enriching themselves at the expense of their fellow Jews. Third, it was common knowledge that the tax collectors cheated the people they collected from. By hook or by crook, they would collect more than required and keep the extra for themselves. Everyone just understood that was how it worked. The tax collector Zacchaeus, in his confession to the Lord, mentioned his past dishonesty (Luke 19:8). Fourth, because of their skimming off the top, the tax collectors were well-to-do. This further separated them from the lower classes, who resented the injustice of their having to support the publicans’ lavish lifestyle. The tax collectors, ostracized as they were from society, formed their own clique, further separating themselves from the rest of society.”

Were the Pharisees right to have misgivings about the people Jesus was talking to? Well, yes, they were! Were these people in fact doing bad things, according to God’s standards? Yes, they were! Are there people today that we would be similarly right to have misgivings about? Yes, there are. We’re not supposed to just pretend that sin doesn’t exist, or that there aren’t people out there whose beliefs and actions hurt those around them, whose beliefs and actions hurt society. But would Jesus be out there talking to the homosexual activists and the abortion doctors? Yes, He probably would. If you were there, and they were there, He would probably be talking to them instead of you. How does that make you feel? My point is that we all have at least a little Pharisee in us. Let’s see how Jesus responded:

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. – Luke 15:3-7

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:8-10

There’s a lot more Jesus will say, but let’s digest this for a bit. There is a wonderfully archaic term for what is going on here: monomania. Monomania is an obsession for a period of time with one idea or topic. The shepherd and the woman are monomaniacs. We say we are a multitasking culture today, and for those who can listen to music while doing homework, or carry on a texting conversation while simultaneously having a live conversation, or knit while listening to a sermon, that is probably true. But even the most multitasking-capable of us has times when we drop everything and focus on one thing. No interruptions. No distractions. Nothing but the task at hand. Monomania. 

We all have approached someone hoping to join in a conversation or ask a question while the person ignores us, focusing on the conversation already underway. It happened to me at work just a few days ago. I waited for several minutes (it felt like eternity) and then I gave up. I had something I needed to do with my laptop for a few minutes, so I left (nobody noticed) and went to an unoccupied side room, restarted my laptop, and took care of what I needed to do. Then I went back to the hallway and saw that the conversation was finishing up, and I got the attention of the person who I needed to talk to just as he was about to walk away. What was going on was monomania. That other person’s conversation was important to the person I wanted to talk to, so important that he (consciously or unconsciously) blocked me out. I can picture Jesus doing this to the Pharisees, and I actually feel a little bad for them. So then they grumble, assuming (I would guess) that Jesus didn’t hear them. But He did, and so He does break off the conversation, but proceeds to tell these two parables, presumably in the presence of the tax collectors and sinners. That’s a little embarrassing, isn’t it? Oh, well. If you want to talk with Jesus, and you are not willing to possibly be embarrassed, then maybe you should rethink your plans.

Let’s be blunt here. The message of Jesus’ parable really is the fact that, at that moment, talking with the tax collectors and sinners is far more important to Jesus than talking to these supposedly have-it-all-together Pharisees. That hurts. But it shouldn’t, if we really understand why. Do you understand why? 

It’s because Jesus loves these people, and these people are lost. The very things that they do that are bad, the very things that we should have misgivings about, are tell-tale signs of their lost-ness, of their need to be found and brought back to where they should be, in restored fellowship with God. Jesus said, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Wait, more? Not the same? Essentially a hundred times more? Wait, is that right? Jesus, that seems a little excessive. Maybe that’s not fair to the 99 righteous people. Isn’t it possible to go too far, Jesus? All things in moderation, right? Well, let’s keep reading.

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. – Luke 15:11-12

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. – Luke 15:13-16

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. – Luke 15:17-20a

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. – Luke 15:20b

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ – Luke 15:21

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. – Luke 15:22-24

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ – Luke 15:25-27

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ – Luke 15:28-30

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” – Luke 15:31-32

There’s so much to say here. First, think back to the opening of the chapter. Remember the Pharisees’ complaint: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Jesus response is these three interrelated parables – you can actually think of it as one parable in three parts. The first two parts gave simple comparisons, showing someone dropping everything for the one thing they lost. These are similar in style to many of the other parables we have looked at in our series. But the third part even more directly deals with the Pharisees’ complaint. Jesus is in effect saying, “You see that I welcome sinners and eat with them and you complain. Well, let me tell you a story about a man who welcomed a sinner and ate with him, while another person witnessed this and complained.” 

Second, I called this the masterpiece of parables. To me it is in parable form what Bach did when creating masterful multi-part fugues out of common musical themes. Bach would do amazing things to his themes to make them work out together – sometimes he would change their speed, or rhythm, or even reverse the notes in time or pitch (two different kinds of upside down). Did Jesus do this? Yes – He took the story of Isaac and his sons Jacob and Esau from Genesis 27 to 36 and turns it on its head, while still addressing the question and complaint of the Pharisees. It’s like a fugue – how did He do that? Well, He’s God, He can do that. 

What am I talking about? Well, in both stories there are 2 sons, and the younger one wants to take his inheritance. In both stories he does so, and does so in a rather bad way. In both stories the younger son goes off into a far country and the older son stays home and is mad. There are some reversals too – for example, Jacob starts off poor and ends up rich, whereas the prodigal son starts off rich and ends up poor. When Jacob leaves his second “father” Laban he is confronted and told “all that is yours is actually mine.” When the non-prodigal son complains to his real Father, he is told “all that I have is yours.” In both stories at the son’s return there is physical contact with a spiritual presence, an incarnation of sorts – with Jacob it is wrestling with an angel, whereas with the prodigal son it is an embrace with the father. In both stories someone runs and kisses the younger son when he returns; with Jacob it is his brother, whereas with the prodigal son it is his father. There are many more parallels and anti-parallels – I don’t have time to go on with this, but you get the idea. 

I think it is intentional that the other story is the story of Jacob – because who is Jacob? Israel! The father of the 12 tribes! To the Jews, he is foundational to everything. Yes, there are three “patriarchs,” Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but it is from Jacob that we get the name Israel and the people of Israel, the people of the 12 tribes. By comparing Jacob to the prodigal son, to those willing to listen, Jesus is making an important point to his audience – He is asking them to even question who they really are. Are they those who are of the household of God after all, or maybe, are they prodigals too? The truth is that we are all prodigals, or more precisely, we were all prodigals. Even if you became a believer and Christ follower at an early age, you follow Him now because He has forgiven you, and there were things you did that needed forgiving. We are all sinners saved by grace. 

The prodigal son story is also has a fascinating degree of parallelism (or perhaps more precisely, something we might call anti-parallelism) within itself. The chart below demonstrates this.

YOUNGER SON	OLDER SON
A. Is home (appears angry) (11-12)	A. Is away (appears contrite) (25a)
B. Goes away (13)	B. Comes home (25b)
C. Has nothing (14)	C. Has plenty (25c)
D. Joins a stingy foreigner’s house (15-16)	D. Joins his extravagant father’s house (26-27)
E. Appears contrite (17-19)	E. Appears angry (28a)
F. Father comes out (20)	F. Father comes out (28b)
G. Son says he has sinned (21)	G. Son says he hasn’t sinned (29-30)
H. Father shows love (22-24)	H. Father shows love (31-32)

Isn’t the degree of parallelism amazing? Notice that in every case involving a son (A through E and G), the older son does the opposite of the younger son, whereas in every case involving the father (F and H), the father is consistent with regards to both sons. He shows love in both cases, although the older son doesn’t think the father has been fair.  

Now in general, it is a mistake to say that every aspect of a parable is symbolic for something. For example, a parable may have a character that is somewhat analogous to God the Father, but also takes human actions that would not be an action that God the Father would do because that is not His character. For example, the character who relents because his neighbor keeps persistently asking for something at night just to get rid of her; the character has some analogies to God the Father, but it would be blasphemous to suggest that that is how God thinks of us. That being said, in this parable, there really is a strong relationship between the characters and real-life people.

Go back to the context of the parable. Jesus has been talking with, in effect, younger sons. We don’t know if at this moment they were repentant, but we do know they were listening and interacting with Jesus. We certainly have plenty of other scripture passages where it is obvious that “tax collectors and sinners” are repenting; I think of the “sinful” woman (likely a prostitute) who wiped Jesus’ feet with her tears and I think of the tax collector Zaccheus who promised to give back all the money had cheated from others. Who are the older sons? They are clearly the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We have countless examples of their antagonism towards Jesus, ultimately culminating in the plot that led to Jesus’ being killed on the cross. And what of the father in this parable? Does he accurately portray the heart of God the Father? I think so, yes, absolutely! We know this because this is ultimately the point of the parable. The Pharisees want to know why Jesus is spending time with these “disgusting” (that would be their word) people? It’s because Jesus’ heart, which is God’s heart, is such that He would do anything for them, because He loves them even though they have done really bad things. 

By the way, to the Jewish listeners, this story would have produced multiple gasps of shock. They would have been shocked at the chutzpah of the younger son to ask for his share of the inheritance. They would be shocked that the father didn’t just beat up his son and throw him out of the house; not only this, but the father agreed! Not only this, but the father actually liquidated his belongings (actually a violation of Jewish law) so the son could “cash out.” They wouldn’t be shocked that the son soon after went to a distant country, because they understood that the whole village, indeed, the whole region would hear of it and would refuse to deal with the son at all. In fact, there was a ceremony for this kind of thing, called the qetsatsah ceremony. If the son dared to come back, the village would declare him cut off and order everyone not to have anything to do with him. Knowing that the son would absolutely need to preserve his wealth, and even begin to grow it, they would be again shocked to hear he quickly spent it all away. (Note that “wild” living is not the best translation; better would be extravagant living.) They would have been shocked again to hear mention of pigs – this meant he was working for a gentile, and would have been disgusted to think of this person longing to eat pig slop side by side with the pigs.  

They would be shocked that the son would even contemplate the plan he actually carries out. To their ears, this again would be a plan with tremendous chutzpah – how could he even think of going back, even as a slave? They would think he just needs to find a better job and begin to provide for himself; he just needs to “man up.” Of course he had no skills, so he had a problem. They would not have compassion on him because of his repentance; indeed, they probably would not have seen this really as repentance at all, but just a self-serving plan. The phrase “when he came to his senses” in the Greek does not specifically refer to repentance; in Acts it describes Peter as he is released from prison. He basically has this talk with himself, and, Jesus’ hearers probably would have concluded that the son was simply practicing a speech of false repentance so that he could get the servant job; this particular job the son wanted was one that would also train him so that he would eventually be able to work on his own. Note he doesn’t ask to just be an unhired slave, but a job as a hired servant. Also, this translation says one of “your” hired servants, but the “your” is not really there. Probably this meant that he wanted the father only to put in a good word for him in a neighboring village so that he could actually get one of these hired servant training type of jobs somewhere. It was too much to imagine that his father would let him work for him, or even stay in his own village.

What would Jesus’ listeners expect to happen next? Probably the Pharisees desired outcome would be that the father would reject the wicked son and cast him out altogether. But knowing how Jesus was fraternizing with sinners, they may have expected the father to agree to the plan, under the provision that the son pay the father back everything he had demanded from him, no matter how many years it took to do so. As for a relationship between son and father, that was hopelessly ruined. This is probably what Jesus’ listeners thought. 

But that’s not what happens, is it! Talk about shocking! Before the child even gives the speech, the father runs and kisses his son, not having any idea what the son will say or do. The father runs after his boy, just like what the shepherd did and the woman did. This would have been publically humiliating in the extreme. Men were to walk with a stately gait; to run with your robe picked up was to be an extreme embarrassment. Nobody but a fool does this! Think back to the Jacob story and others like it – you are supposed to come with extravagant gifts; the father sees the son – no gifts, not even nice clothes anymore – so even though nothing has been said, the father knows what must have happened – the son has squandered all the father’s wealth he had given him. This is God-sized grace!

The son is undone. In response to the Father’s astonishing and shocking demonstration of love and grace, the son asks for nothing but simply states that he is a sinner and unworthy. He no longer has a plan of his own for his father. This is true repentance and it is a beautiful picture of the gospel. Notice the son never understood the father’s love for him in his whole life until he saw his father comes as, essentially, a suffering servant, and at this point, he understands that coming to him must be without a plan of his own, but instead utterly dependent on his father. It is in the same way that we come to God – we see Christ the suffering servant, going to the cross for us, and in response, we cannot have a plan either; there is nothing we can do. All we can do is admit our sin and unworthiness to Him.

What is repentance, then, in this parable? It is admitting our lost-ness, and our inability to be found. It is admitting our sin and unworthiness, and our inability to fix things. And the consequence of this repentance is a celebration – a great celebration, because the lost one is now found. This is the Father’s heart towards us. 

How did our Pharisee listeners take this? Probably not well at all. Unless you open yourself to this kind of self-sacrificial love, you will see the father as foolish and embarrassing. This is not what this spoiled brat deserved, not at all!

So now we come to the other son. He has missed all the action. He comes home and hears music. What’s going on? Your brother has come home, he is told, and your father has killed the fattened calf as part of a lavish celebration.  The Greek indicates that the brother would understand this was not rejoicing because the son was safe, but because the son was restored, that there was reconciliation. The brother finds this outrageous, and the Pharisees would have agreed with him. 

Now the son does this publically – he makes a scene, refusing to go in. This type of behavior, forcing the father to come out, and then having a public argument with him, is not something you do in a face-saving culture. But given the extreme nature of the affront against the older son, Jesus’ listeners probably would have understood. If ever there was a time to do this, this might well be it, they might have said. 

So the father again goes out, taking the role much like a suffering servant, again losing respect in his village, because he loves this son too. But the son’s words are harsh. He says he has spent years “slaving” for his father. He exaggerates and says his son wasted the money on prostitutes (we don’t know whether this is true or not; certainly the son doesn’t know this). He says his father never gave him anything, which is likely quite untrue. 

But again, the father doesn’t respond in anger – again, he shows grace and communicates grace. He tells him everything he has (not just a portion, but everything) is his son’s. He explains that the purpose of the celebration, like the celebrations over the found sheep and the found coin, is because the lost one has been found – this is worthy of celebration!

And the older son responds by… well, Jesus doesn’t tell us! It feels like the parable is unfinished, but it really isn’t. The real question is how will Jesus’ listeners respond? How will anyone who hears this incredible parable and testimony of God’s love respond? We would hope they respond like the younger son, because this is the only way to come to God, to truly be “found” by Him. The Father has taken the first step – He has sacrificed His own and only Son so that we might be reconciled to Him. Our role is to acknowledge our sin, our need for Him. We need to accept His offer and go in with Him to the celebration.

Briefly I want to mention one application of this parable. If we are to really embrace God the Father’s heart towards humanity, we need to have the same kind of heart towards people that God has, and this includes the prodigals of the world. No person, no group of people, are our enemies, even if they intend us harm. Nobody is beyond saving. There is no such thing as too great a sinner. They are lost, and if we are to be about our Father’s business, our role is to bring Christ to them, to show them the Father’s heart through our words and actions. This includes homosexual activists and abortion doctors. It includes Muslims and Atheists. God’s grace is scandalous, because it is offered to everyone. But if it were not scandalous, it would never have been offered to us. So go out there and practice monomania when an unbeliever begins to be receptive to the gospel; go out there and be ambassadors for our scandalously loving God.