Luke 15:3

‘And he spoke to them this parable, saying,'

Jesus, as He often did, answered them parabolically in front of the great crowd. The singular noun ‘this parable' may indicate the opening parable, or it may signify ‘spoke parabolically'. ‘Them' includes all who are in the crowd. He was being publicly criticised, He now gave a public reply.

In His parable (‘this parable') He demonstrated that He was merely behaving like the shepherds of Israel should have behaved (compare Isaiah 40:11; Isaiah 49:22; Psalms 23:1; Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:11; Micah 5:2). He was watching over God's sheep and seeking out those who had strayed. And as the parables advance He wants them to recognise that Heaven itself was involved, and that it was more concerned with moral purity than with ritual cleanness and was very open to sinners who repented, far more in some ways than to the self-righteous who were self-satisfied and did not recognise their need to repent.