I. INTRODUCTION
A. When tax-gatherers and sinners went to Jesus to hear Him teach, the Pharisees and scribes grumbled against the Lord. This prompted Jesus to tell the three parables written in Luke 15.
B. Let us consider these three parables of lost things and notice three common points in each of them:
1. The lost thing versus the things that were kept safe;
2. The desire to find that which was lost;
3. The joy of finding the lost thing.
II. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP – LUKE 15:3-7
A. Jesus began the parable of the lost sheep by appealing to the common sense notion that any shepherd would leave his flock to go after one sheep that was lost.
1. Although the shepherd had ninety-nine sheep that were safe, his desire to find the one lost sheep motivated him to leave the rest to go after the one.
2. The application is that the Lord’s priority for coming into the world was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He is the Savior, and those who are lost have the greatest need of the Savior.
B. Jesus compared the joy of the shepherd who finds a lost sheep with the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
1. The shepherd called his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him because of the lost one that was found and not because of the ninety-nine who were still safe.
2. Likewise, there is greater joy in heaven for one soul who turns back to God than for many souls who need no repentance.
III. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN – LUKE 15:8-10
A. In the parable of the lost coin, Jesus again appealed to the common sense understanding that any woman would search for a single coin that she lost.
1. Although the woman had nine other coins in her possession, her desire to find the one lost coin caused her to diligently search the house until she found it.
2. Again, the lesson applies to the Lord’s work as a Savior. Like the woman who searched for the one lost coin, Jesus searches for every single sinner who is lost.
B. Jesus compared the joy of the woman who found the coin with the joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
1. Like the shepherd in the previous parable, the woman called her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she had found that which was lost.
2. Likewise, the occupants of heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents.
IV. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON – LUKE 15:11-32
A. The parable of the lost son is somewhat different from the other two parables.
1. The parable of the lost son gives more attention to the thing which was lost. In this parable, the lost thing is not a thing, but rather it is a person who was lost by his own foolish choices.
2. In the previous parables, there was a diligent search for that which was lost. In the parable of the lost son, there is no search, but rather there is patient waiting by the father for the voluntary return of his son.
B. In the parable, the father’s younger son made foolish decisions and suffered because of them (vv. 11-16).
1. After receiving his share of his father’s estate, the younger son went into a distant country and “squandered his estate with loose living.”
a. It seems that the son wanted to get as far away from the father as he could. Apparently, he wanted to “see how the other side lives” or “sow his wild oats.”
b. Verse 30 specifies that the son devoured the father’s wealth with harlots. It is difficult to imagine a more sinful use of money.
2. When a famine occurred in that country, the younger son was reduced to feeding swine.
a. Notice that he “attached himself to one of the citizens of that country.” He had unattached himself from his loving father in order to become attached to this careless foreigner. We can compare this to a person who leaves the security of the heavenly Father in favor of Satan.
b. While he fed the swine, he was hungry to the point of even desiring the pods that the swine were eating. To the Jews whom Jesus taught, this represented the very lowest condition.
C. The consequences of the younger son’s behavior led him back to his father (vv. 17-20a).
1. The lost son’s suffering brought him to his senses.
a. The foolishness of his situation finally dawned on him. He was starving as the hired man of a foreigner while his own father’s hired men were well satisfied. Why should he not at least have been fed in his father’s service?
b. The application for us is that hardship has a way of opening our eyes to that which is truly valuable and important. If we are at first blinded by the attractions of Satan, then later sin’s consequences will turn our eyes back to God.
2. Notice the lost son’s confession and repentance when he returned to his father (v. 21).
a. He acknowledged his sin and humbled himself before his father. He knew that he was unworthy and in no position to make any demands (compare this to his demand in v. 12).
b. All of us should sympathize with his position, for when we realize that our sin is an offense against God, our hearts and spirits should be broken and contrite (Ps. 51:17).
D. The lost son’s father rejoiced over the return of his younger son (vv. 20b-24).
1. Notice the father’s first reaction to his lost son.
a. The father saw his son while he was still a long way off. This indicates that the father was watching and hoping for the son’s return.
b. The father felt compassion for the son rather than anger or resentment.
c. The father showed his acceptance of his ragged, foolish, and wasteful son by running to embrace and kiss him.
d. These things indicate to us how God regards sinners who return to Him. He watches for them with eagerness and compassion, and He is willing to accept them when they return.
2. When the son declared himself to be unworthy of the father, the father declared a celebration in honor of his son who was lost and had been found.
a. It is evident that the lost son had not expected such a reception. He was merely hoping to become as one of his father’s hired men (v. 19).
b. However, the father immediately exalted his younger son by clothing him in the best garments and killing the fattened calf in his honor.
c. This represents the joy of God over one who returns to him, and it illustrates the truth of James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
E. The father explained his joy to the older son (vv. 25-32).
1. When the older son learned of the father’s reception of the younger son, he became angry and refused to join the celebration.
a. The reason for the older son’s anger was because he perceived that his father was giving better treatment to the younger, deviant son than he ever gave to the older, faithful son.
b. The older son represented the Pharisees, scribes, and other Jews who criticized Jesus for receiving sinners. They were likewise angry that the Messiah would focus upon sinners rather than them.
2. Just like the shepherd who rejoiced when he found the lost sheep and the woman who rejoiced when she found the lost coin, the father explained how he rejoiced when he found his lost son.
a. The father gave the proper perspective, which was that his love for the older son was evident in that the older son had never been deprived of anything. However, the return of the younger son was an event worth celebrating.
b. The Lord’s point for the Jews was that His love for them was not diminished by His joy over sinners who repented. Regardless of how many righteous souls there were, the lost souls were worth pursuing, and their salvation was worth rejoicing.
V. CONCLUSION
A. By these three parables, the Lord demonstrated to the Pharisees and scribes why He went to the tax-gatherers and sinners and how they should rejoice with Him.
B. These lessons stand to this day. Do we go with Jesus to the sinners of our time? If we want to go to heaven, shouldn’t we rejoice with heaven when one sinner who repents?