The Parables of Jesus - Part 10 [Notes]

Jesus was a master storyteller, and He constantly used short stories or parables to communicate spiritual truths to the crowds that gathered to hear Him. When Jesus' disciples asked why He spoke in parables so often, His answer was profound. He said that the same stories that served to open the eyes of the spiritually hungry would have the effect of blinding the eyes of those who refused to believe. By telling parables, the secrets of the kingdom would be revealed to Jesus' disciples, but they would be hidden from His opponents.

Join us this week as we dive into some of Jesus's most memorable stories through our new summer series, "The Parables of Jesus."

Today's Takeaway // The heart of God is to seek and save the lost.

All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Him.
– Luke 15:1 (CSB)

And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
– Luke 15:2 (CSB)

So He told them this parable:  “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.
– Luke 15:3-7

“By leaving the ninety-nine sheep, the shepherd was not saying they were unimportant to him. They were safe but the lost sheep was in danger. The fact that the shepherd would go after one sheep is proof that each animal was dear to him. Jesus was not suggesting that the scribes and Pharisees were not in need of salvation, for they certainly were. We must not make every part of the parable mean something, otherwise we will turn it into an allegory and distort the message.”
– Warren W. Wiersbe

“Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’  I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
– Luke 15:8-10 (CSB) 

“When a Jewish girl married, she began to wear a headband of ten silver coins to signify that she was now a wife. It was the Jewish version of our modern wedding ring, and it would be considered a calamity for her to lose one of those coins. Palestinian houses were dark, so she had to light a lamp and search until she found the lost coin; and we can imagine her joy at finding it.”

We must not press parabolic images too far, but it is worth noting that the coin would have on it the image of the ruler (Luke 20:19–25). The lost sinner bears the image of God, even though that image has been marred by sin. When a lost sinner is “found,” God begins to restore that divine image through the power of the Spirit; and one day, the believer will be like Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10; 1 John 3:1–2).
– Warren W. Wiersbe

“The point would have been clear to Jesus’ listeners: the sinners with whom He was associating were extremely valuable to God.”
– John A. Martin

He also said, "A man had two sons."
– Luke 15:11 (CSB)

The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living.
– Luke 15:12-13 (CSB)

“The sinners were considered people who were far away from God, squandering their lives in riotous living. In contrast with the younger son, the older son continued to remain with the father and did not engage in such practices.”
– John A. Martin

After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything.
– Luke 15:14-16 (CSB)

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.”’
– Luke 15:17-19 (CSB) 

So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
– Luke 15:20-24 (CSB)

In the East, old men do not run; yet the father ran to meet his son. Why? One obvious reason was his love for him and his desire to show that love. But there is something else involved. This wayward son had brought disgrace to his family and village and, according to Deuteronomy 21:18–21, he should have been stoned to death. If the neighbors had started to stone him, they would have hit the father who was embracing him! What a picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross!
– Warren W. Wiersbe

“Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. ‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ “‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
– Luke 15: 25-32 (CSB)

 The heart of God is to seek and save the lost.

The longer you are in the church the more you can resemble the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son.
– Harvie Conn

The church has nothing to do but to save souls, therefore, spend and be spent in this work.
– John Wesley 

He Lives // 1,000 Names // The Truth // Living Hope

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