WELCOME
PRAYER
SONG
SILENCE
Most of us have a chapter or set of passages that rank among our personal favorites and Luke chapter 15 is among mine.
I like it for a number of reasons: First, it’s layout.
It begins with publicans and sinners getting close to Jesus to hear him. It continues with the Pharisees and Scribes murmuring about this, and it then slides into Jesus providing three different responses to their murmuring.
These responses are really great – and they evidence the wisdom and insight of Jesus as the Master Teacher more than many others. So let’s get into the chapter by reading it through – before we come back and hit it verse by verse.
Luke 15.1-24
February 16th 2020
Meat
Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
11 ¶ And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Okay, we most likely will not get through the whole chapter but lets at least begin with the first verse
Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
We know in chapter five that Levi threw a party of the same and the same thing resulted but this seems to be a separate event where the same people thronged and the same people criticized – and speaking of them (verse 2)
2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
This verse sets the stage for the rest of the chapter contents as the three parables that Jesus tells seem to be in direct response to this criticism of the Pharisee’s and Scribes.
As we read notice that Yeshua presents to them story of a lost sheep but when he finishes telling it Luke offers up no reply or response from the audience. Just silence.
Luke provides an example of a woman and a lost coin, but again, gives us nothing in terms of a response.
We then arrive at a story to which nearly all human beings can relate, the story of a lost or prodigal son, but even that story, touching as it is, is met with silence too.
I’m sure this is because Luke as not a first hand witness to the telling but I think the silences are somehow supportive of the audience Jesus was addressing – the murmuring pharisees and scribes – and the publicans and sinner.
Perhaps the legalists were being critical of Jesus because they assumed that his sitting with these sinners was a way of Him saying he endorsed their lifestyles as their criticism was that he “receiveth”(accepts) sinners. But Jesus parables better explain his reasons.
In addition to saying that he receives sinners they also observe that he ate with them – which was also forbidden among the ruling class Jews. (verse 3)
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, (and we know that parable means a side by side teaching, or something that illustrates something else in its delivery – let’s read verses 4-7 and then I will detail it on the white board)
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Let’s go to the board:
Player
Item
Event
Response
Result
Others
Parable
Man
Gender
100 sheep
Animate
Living things often lose themselves
Inattention,
Rebellion,
Enticement,
Theft
Loses 1
(how are sheep lost? Why go after them? Great dangers!
Leaves the 99 in the wilderness and goes after that which is lost.
(they are safe and can be left)
Finds it, puts on shoulders, rejoices!
(shoulder comment)
Calls friends and neighbors
Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost
(A shepherd would do this)
Likewise ,joy shall be in heaven over once sinner that repents more than 99 just persons who need no repentance.
(see notes on the just)
We all understand this teaching, right?
We do not typically rejoice over a healthy family but seem to do more of it when one of our loved ones is deathly ill.
This was the principle of the lost sheep – and the meaning behind why Jesus sat and ate with sinners.
It would almost be like asking a medical doctor why he spent time with the sick?
The fact remains, when a lost child is found, or an addicted child gets sober, or anything goes from a desperate condition to one of safety – people rejoice.
Jesus is describing the response in heaven, by the way – take notice of that – because in heaven there is not the same kind of rejoicing over the saved or the just as there is over those who have been redeemed – sort of like we don’t rejoice in the same way over our healthy children as we do over one that beats cancer.
I used to be troubled by this line over the 99 just persons that need no repentance.
The reminder that “heavenly beings are represented as rejoicing over those who repent on earth” helps us see that Jesus is not describing 99 perfect people, but 99 sheep of a flock (that to me have been saved) who are not in need of repentance.
This rejoicing shows how desirable a thing, and therefore perhaps how difficult and rare a thing like the “repentance of a sinner,” really is.
Therefore, the rejoicing. This says SOOO much to the idea of freewill and the false notion of Calvinist determinism. It also says volumes on the eternal importance of people turning from self and turning to, God.
After saying this, Luke includes, between the end of verse seven and the beginning of verse eight . . . SILENCE.
(BEAT . . . verse 8. And so Jesus continues and says)
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
So let’s go to the board and add this teaching from the Lord:
Player
Item
Event
Response
Result
Others
Parable
Man
Gender
100 sheep
Animate
Living thing
Loses 1
(how are sheep lost? Why go after them? Great dangers!
(Loses 1% of the flock)
Leaves the 99 in the wilderness and goes after that which is lost.
(they are safe – I have no need to eat with them)
Finds it, puts on shoulders, rejoices!
(talk about the shoulder putting here)
Calls friends and neighbors
Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost
(he does this on earth)
Likewise joy shall be in heaven over once sinner that repents more than 99 just persons who need no repentance.
(see notes on the just)
Woman
(Gender)
10 Silver coins
Loses 1
(How do we lose an inanimate object?
Neglect
Indifference
Accident
That is a ten percent loss!
Lights a candle.
Sweeps the house
Searches
Diligently
Until she finds it
she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
The Greek suggests that this piece of silver represents a relatively insignificant amount of money even in that day and the point seems to be that even for a small amount of money a woman would search diligently to locate it.
This woman could easily be my wife who when she is responsible for losing something she will not give up until she has found it.
Why the urgency in the story? It is believed that due to tarnish, the silver piece would quickly blend in with the flooring of the house thereby making it much more difficult to locate; so it might be with the sinner, who can quickly tarnish and disappear into the dark backdrop of a wanting world if they are not quickly sought after.
Again, we find silence in Luke’s account.
(beat)
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
Ahhhhh. One sheep of a hundred. One coin of ten, and now, a certain man had two sons.
BOOM!
The heart of the matter – our children – the creations and the children of God.
You wanna know why I sit with and eat with sinners? Let me give you one that is right on point.
And a certain man had two sons!
Cain and Abel
Ishmael and Isaac
Esau and Jacob
Two sons – the setting for great tales of joy and woe. And this certain man had two of them.
“You want to know why I sit and eat with sinners – a certain man had two sons.”
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
Jesus was there among the Jews, His own people. This tale was especially to them/then as the younger son in the parable represents the lost sheep of the House of Israel (the publicans and the sinners) and the older son in the parable represents the Pharisees and the scribes who are condemning the them.
And the younger says, “give me the portion or the part of your goods or property that belongs or that “falleth to me.”
The part that is properly my share. There is no impropriety in supposing that he was of age; and, as he chose to leave his father’s house, it was proper that his father should, if he chose, give him the part of the estate which would be his.
Among the ancient Romans and Syrophoenicians, it was customary, when a son came to the years of maturity, if he chose to demand to get his part of the inheritance that the father was to give it to him.
This claim was by law and it was entirely possible that this was the custom too among the Jews in that day.
What was also customary was the fact that the eldest son would get double the portion as the others, and so being the youngest, in this parable, he probably would have departed without land possession but only cash and goods.
(verse 13)
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
So the younger prodigal gathered up his inheritance – whatever it was – and took a journey into a far country – meaning one far from his father’s house.
And what did he do there? “Wasted his substance with riotous living.”
Which best means, “Living so excessively that he was left without saving anything.”
Of course, the picture is of a brother who fell into sinful living, unwise living, living that perhaps a publican or a sinner would embrace. (Verse 14)
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
The Master teacher includes things that the people then would understand and this includes, “famines” as they were common in Eastern nations due to bad weather (including lack of rain), pestilence or plagues like black mold – which mean crop failures, which meant:
FAMINE.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
By “joining himself to a citizen of that country he established a beneficial relationship with someone who could give him the right to labor.
Of course, this is the tale of Jews and so to go and join oneself to a foreign country in this parable is to abandon the citizenship with the house of Israel and to engage with another people.
Entered the service of that citizen. Hired himself out to him. It would seem that he engaged to do any kind of work, even of the lowest kind.
And having joined himself to this other country (the pagan world, the world of sin or relations with the Great Unwashed (as the Jews would have seen him) he was then assigned labor in that country and by that association – the citizen of that country sent him into his fields to “feed the swine.”
There is perhaps no greater description of what would be abhorrent to a Jew than to a) join the citizenry of another country, and 2) be sent out into the fields to feed swine because it was forbidden for the Jews to not only eat swine but to also keep them.
Of course, Jesus was depicting the lowest form of degradation to illustrate the sin levels that can be had in the lives of the lost.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
He would gladly have filled his own belly with the pods (not husks – this was not American corn because, “No man gave unto him.”
Some have understood this as meaning “no one gave him anything — any bread or provisions,” to eat but the best explanation of this line seems to be that his connection to that country provided for him but the food was so horrible that he would have been happier to eat the pods off a locust tree (which is what the swine were fed).
The reason this is a good explanation of this is not only due to the Greek but because it really describes a situation of the younger son being totally lost and destitute.
Verse 17 is so very important to our understanding of the way God works in our lives and cannot be overlooked. Ready?
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
That first line, And when he came to himself is a really expressive phrase which is often applied to one who has been deranged but who recovers and as we say, comes to his senses.
Here, it describes the foolishness of the younger brother as his being actually deranged or insane.
And so we could say that of every person locked in sin – it is NOT sane, it is INSANE – especially in light of the things forfeited and lost along the way – especially in the eternal sense.
I’m sure if you have been around long enough you have either heard of or personally know of someone who is tracking along life at a nice even clip and then suddenly – boom – they do something so outrageous it’s almost impossible to believe.
The multi-millionaire family man who runs off with the maid, the housewife who gets addicted to meth and is walking the streets a year later, the gambler who squanders away his company of 30 years.
All that stuff.
Jesus came in his day and sat and ate with these people – they were lost – and to befriend them he had a chance of finding them like a shepherd finds a lost sheep, a housewife a lost coin, or a father a lost prodigal son.
But herein lies the difference between the sheep and the coin and the son – the first two had to be found, but the last had to come to himself.
He had to come to his own senses.
I have had the opportunity to sit down in a few interventions over the years – a couple with drug or alcohol abusers, and some sexual addiction stuff, but the most vivid memory I have was when a friend of mine had run off with a high school sweetheart leaving his wife, religion, and four kids in the dust.
This guy is a really intelligent man, and the intervention was aimed at helping him “come to himself,” because us human beings can easily get lost but unlike a shepherd, we must come to our senses in order to turn and repent and cause the angels of heaven to rejoice.
This can happen when people are brought back to where they were, what they left behind, what has been lost, and the long term results of their present short term choices.
Five men sat around my friend after we surprised him at his house one night. Four of them agreed to play hardball with him and threaten to never speak with him again if he continued his course.
The Spirit would not let me join in that approach. But what I was led to do was bring to his memory of what he had, what he was losing and to help him imagine his life twenty years from now, when as an old man, he wakes from his delusion, and finds himself alone.
All with the hope that he would, “come to himself.”
This line destroys, once again, the insipid notion that a sovereign God forces his children into complicity but firmly states that all of us, as human beings, will face moments where we too will choose to come to our senses.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Simply put, he looked back on his former life and the condition of the hired servants who were in the employment of his father.
Their condition was superior to his and He was the SON of that Father! So in his mind, he came to his senses, but that was not enough. Look at the next verse (18)
As he says:
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
The phrase to arise means more than just I will stand but better means among the Hebrews to enter into something or to engage in some sort of business immediately.
What business? Here it was the business of repenting, changing ones mind, turning from the present actions and moving on to better ones. Here we have a fantastic working definition for repentance (especially on what it looked like among the Jews). Did you catch it?
In verses 18-19 Jesus has the prodigal say (to himself, while he is still in the mud with the swine)
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
This was all done in his head first – which is the FIRST place things must change in the face of true repentance – a CHANGE of mind.
Religion wants the actions to change first – to turn from sin, as they describe it. But the best definition of repentance is to change ones MIND – because then the hands will follow.
Can someone repent if they don’t change their actions? Well, what is the definition of repent and/or repentance?
To change one’s mind, right?
So, the answer is most certainly yes.
When I came to know the Lord I changed my mind about lust. I knew that expressions of lust were contrary to the will and ways of the Living God.
But there were times when the lust in my flesh overtook me. Did this mean I hadn’t changed my mind about it? Not in the least. All it meant was I was weak in my flesh and had to grow in my spirit as a means to overcome it.
If the heart/mind of a person hasn’t changed, repentance has not taken place. And if the acts of the hands have not changed, the repentance has not fully taken hold.
There is a difference. Thank God for Grace. So, the prodigal rehearses what he would even say to his father, in his mind, and the tenor of his sentiments are humble, contrite, and fully expressive of a heart that has done wrong and needs forgiveness. And then at verse 20 we see his repentance “take a firm hold” on his life, moving from His mind to His actions:
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
God is a God of liberty and freedom who longs for all of His children to “come to themselves,” (verse 17) rise, and to return to Him.
We see in the next verse that when we even begin to make way in His direction, He runs to greet us.
We also note the beautiful way Jesus describes this reunion – that when his Son was “a great way off his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
In that culture then and perhaps today it was a great disgrace for a grown man to run in public; it was a sign of foolishness. For the father to run to his sign was a sign of tremendous love and joy the father had at the son’s return to him. It was the father who ran, who had compassion, who fell on the neck of the son and who kissed him.
And here we see that the son expressed the very same contrition, humility and broken heart toward heaven and his father that he felt when feeding swine.
The father, of course, is an illustration of YHWH, who too, upon our choosing to come to our senses, runs to us when we are a far way off, compassionately, kissing us and drawing us in.
We note that the son delivers the contrite speech to his father, as he rehearsed it in the fields with the swine:
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
And we come to one of the most important buts in the New Testament. Are you ready for this?
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
This “but” shows that the father is not out to punish or get revenge on his once wayward son. This “But” shows that instead of such things and in the face of his son’s confession, the Father sought to welcome the boy back into the home fully; to provide for his immediate needs and treat him as an honored son, which is illustrated by his commanding his servants to bring forth:
The best robe, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.
The son was probably in the rags of a reprobate – but his father did not focus on that – instead on the heart condition that must have brought the son home.
But the father does not stop with redressing his son in clothes of wealth and importance, but adds:
23And bring forth the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Lets go to the board to flesh this last teaching out up to this point:
Player
Item
Event
Response
Result
Others
Parable
Man
Gender
100 sheep
Animate
Living thing
Loses 1
(how are sheep lost? Why go after them? Great dangers!
(Loses 1% of the flock)
Leaves the 99 in the wilderness and goes after that which is lost.
(they are safe – I have no need to eat with them)
Finds it, puts on shoulders, rejoices!
(talk about the shoulder putting here)
Calls friends and neighbors
Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost
(he does this on earth)
Likewise joy shall be in heaven over once sinner that repents more than 99 just persons who need no repentance.
(see notes on the just)
Woman
(Gender)
10 Silver coins
Loses 1
(How do we lose an inanimate object?
Neglect
Indifference
Accident
That is a ten percent loss!
Lights a candle.
Sweeps the house
Searches
Diligently
Until she finds it
she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Father
Two Sons
Loses 1
Lets him go
Runs to him when he was a great way off, has compassion on him, kisses him
Servants to dress him with a robe, a ring, shoes, killing the fatted calf, and making merry
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
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