Luke 15:1-32

Luke’s Good News

Luke

Hilda Bright

Chapter 15

*Parables of God’s love 15:1-32

1 Introduction 15:1-2

Jesus told three *parables as an answer to the *Pharisees. They did not approve of him because he ate meals with ‘*tax-collectors and *sinners’. People who are lost can be those who have never been Christians. Or they can be Christians who have wandered away from God.

v1 One day all the *tax-collectors and other bad people came to listen to Jesus. v2 The *Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain to one another. ‘This man greets *sinners and even eats meals with them’.

Verse 2 The *Pharisees believed that it was wrong to meet with people like *tax-collectors and ‘*sinners’. ‘*Sinners’ refers to bad people. Many people did not keep all the *Pharisees *religious rules. The *Pharisees called these people ‘*sinners’ too. A person might eat a meal with them. This would show that the person approved of their behaviour. The *Pharisees did not understand God’s love.

2 The *parable of the lost sheep 15:3-7

v3 Jesus told them this *parable. v4 ‘Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Think about what he does. He leaves the 99 sheep in the field. He goes to search for the sheep that he has lost. He searches until he finds it. v5 When he finds it, he is really happy. He lifts the sheep up on to his shoulders and v6 carries it home. Then calls his friends and neighbours together. He wants them to be happy too. He says, “I have found my sheep”. v7 In the same way, there is joy in heaven when one *sinner turns to God. Yes there will be more joy than there would be for 99 good people who do not need to turn to God’.

Verse 4 It was very easy for a sheep to wander away from the rest and not realise it. God is like the good *shepherd. Many people have gone away from God’s laws. They did not mean to. So, God searches for them. Every person is valuable to God. The *shepherd searches until he finds his ‘lost’ sheep. In a similar way, God will search until he finds the ‘lost’ *sinner.

Verse 7 When Jesus said ‘good’ people, he probably meant the *Pharisees. They considered that they did not need to turn to God. But they were ‘good’ only in their own opinion of themselves.

3 The *parable of the lost coin 15:8-10

v8 ‘Or suppose that a woman has 10 coins. She loses one of them. Think about what he does. She lights a lamp and sweeps her house. She looks with great care in every corner until she finds it. v9 When she finds it, she calls all her friends and neighbours together. She says to them, “I lost a coin. I am so happy that I have found it. Come and be happy with me!” v10 I tell you that it is the same in heaven. The *angels of God are very happy when one *sinner turns to God’.

Verse 8 The silver coin may have been the woman’s savings. One coin was the amount of a day’s wage. There is another reason for its value. The 10 silver coins on a silver chain were the evidence that she was a married woman. She would wear them round her head, and nobody could take them from her. They were as precious as a wedding ring is today. In those days, the houses had tiny windows. This kept out the sun and heat. It was dark inside, so she would need to light a lamp. Then she could see where her coin had fallen.

Verse 10 This *parable, like the first one, shows that God’s love is great. He searches for the ‘lost’ *sinner with as much care as the woman looked for her lost coin. Both *parables speak of God’s joy when a *sinner turns to him.

4 The *parable of the lost son 15:11-32

The younger brother 15:11-24

v11 ‘There was once a man who had two sons. v12 The younger son said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the property”. So, the father divided his property between his two sons. v13 Not long after that, the younger son sold his share of the property and left home with the money. He went away to a distant country. He lived there in a foolish way and wasted all his money. v14 After he spent all his money, there was a famine (lack of food) in that country. Soon he had nothing to eat. v15 So he went and hired himself to one of the citizens of that country. The man sent him to look after his pigs. v16 The son would have been glad to eat the pigs’ food. But nobody gave him anything.

v17 At last he realised that he had been very foolish. He said, “My father’s workers have more food than they can eat! But I am starving and might die. v18 I will return to my father. I will say to him, ‘Father, I have *sinned against God and *sinned against you. v19 I do not deserve that you should call me your son any more. Consider me as one of your workers’ ”. v20 So he set out for his father’s house. But while he was still a long way from home, his father saw him. He pitied him. He ran to meet him. He hugged and kissed him. v21 The son said, “Father, I have *sinned against God and *sinned against you. I am not fit for anyone to call me your son any more”. v22 But the father called to his servants, “Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Put a ring on his finger and put shoes on his feet. v23 Get the best young animal and kill it. Let us show how happy we are. Let us have a great dinner. v24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive. I had lost him, but now I have found him”. And so the party began’.

Verse 11 The law allowed the oldest son to receive two thirds of his father’s property (Deuteronomy 21:17). This was because, after his father’s death, he would have many things to buy. He would be the head of the family. The second son would therefore receive only a third of the property.

Verse 12 The younger son wanted to enjoy himself. He did not want to wait until his father died.

Verse 13 The younger son hurried to be free. He went as far away as possible. He did not want anyone to reduce his freedom. He bought whatever he wanted. He had fun and paid for entertainment. He had a ‘good’ time but he wasted all his money.

Verse 14 The lack of food in the country would make his situation worse. Food would be more expensive. People would not be as willing or able to share their food.

Verse 15 *Jews considered pigs to be ‘*unclean’ animals (Leviticus 11:17). But the son accepted a job to look after pigs. He must have been desperate.

Verse 17 The son recognised that *sin against his father was also *sin against God.

Verse 20 The father must have been watching for his son to return. He saw his son from a long way off. It was unusual for an older person to run as the father did. People would think that it was not right for him to run.

Verse 21 The son was going to ask to be like one of his father’s workers. The father prevented him as he gave his son a great welcome home.

Verse 22 The best clothes showed his honourable position. The ring was evidence of his authority. Slaves had bare feet. Therefore, the son had shoes. This showed that he was free and was not a slave.

Verse 23 The animal was one that the father made fat for a special occasion.

Verse 24 The father felt as if a dead son had come back to life. He was ‘lost’ to his father when he went away. He was ‘found’ when he decided to return.

The older brother 15:25-32

v25 ‘In the meantime, the older son was out in the field. As he returned to the house, he heard music. People were dancing. v26 He called one of the servants and asked him, “What is going on?” v27 The servant told him, “Your brother has come back home. Your father has killed the best animal, because he has his son back home safe and well”. v28 But the older brother was angry. He refused to go into the house. So, his father came out and kept asking him to go in. v29 But he answered his father, “Look, you know that I have worked like a slave for you all these years. I never once failed to obey your orders. What have you given me? You did not even give me a young goat so that I could have a party with my friends! v30 But this son of yours has wasted all your money on women, and you kill the best animal for him!” v31 “My son”, the father answered, “you are always with me. Everything that I have belongs to you too. v32 It was right to have a party and be happy. Your brother was dead, but now he is alive. I had lost him, and now I have found him” ’.

Verses 28-29 The older brother was like the *Pharisees. His work was strict duty. He did not serve his father because he loved him. The *Pharisees obeyed the law, but they did not love God. The son did not understand how his father felt. The *Pharisees did not believe that God would welcome *sinners.

Verse 30 He would not say ‘my brother’ but he said ‘this son of yours’. He was trying to blame the father when he said that. He accused his brother. He said that he had spent all his father’s money. But the younger brother had spent only his own share. The older brother could not know what his brother had spent his money on. He imagined that his brother had done terrible things. He may have been right, but he did not speak with love. The older brother was angry and jealous.

Verse 31 The father emphasised that he loved both his sons. The older one should have enjoyed being at home with the father. He still had his share of the property.

Verse 32 The father corrects the words ‘this son of yours’ when he says ‘this brother of yours’.

The *parable does not say whether the son listened to his father. It does not say whether he joined the party. The story of the older brother was a warning against the proud *Pharisees. The father gave a generous welcome to his ‘lost’ son. In the same way, God welcomes *sinners whom he forgives. The *Pharisees heard the *parable. In the story, the father means God. The Pharisees had to decide whether to have the same attitude as the father or to be like the older brother.

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words)

parable ~ a story with a moral meaning.
parable ~ a story with a moral meaning.
Pharisees ~ group of Jews who were very strict about the law of Moses.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.'tax-collector ~ man who received taxes for the government.
tax ~ money that people must pay to the government.'sin/sinner ~ when people do things against God or other people.'sin/sinner ~ when people do things against God or other people.
religious ~ leaders belonging to a religion.
shepherd ~ one who cares for sheep.
angel ~ God’s servant and messenger in heaven.
messenger ~ person who gives a message.'sin/sinner ~ when people do things against God or other people.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
unclean ~ (1) not pure in a religious meaning. (2) dirty.
religious ~ leaders belonging to a religion.

Luke: The Man Christ Jesus

Jesus on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem

Luke 9:51-19

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 15

Three stories about things that people had lost – Luke 15:1-32

A *shepherd lost a sheep – Luke 15:1-7

v1 The men who collected taxes and the *sinners all came to listen to Jesus. v2 But the *Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained. They said, ‘This man is a friend of *sinners. He even eats with them.’

v3 Then Jesus told them this story. v4 ‘Suppose that one of you has 100 sheep. And he loses one of them. He will leave the other 99 sheep in the desert. He will go after the one that he lost. He will search until he finds it. v5 When he finds it, he will be happy. He will put that sheep on his shoulders. v6 When he gets home, he will call together his friends and neighbours. He says to them, “Be happy with me. I have found my sheep that I lost.” v7 I tell you that it is like that in heaven. There is much joy when one *sinner *repents. There is more joy than for the 99 good people who do not need to *repent.’

Verses 1-2 The men who collected taxes were unpopular because of their work. They helped the *Romans whom the people hated. And often they collected more money than they should from the people. In this way, many of them became wealthy.

Every person on earth has *sinned. Therefore, all of us are *sinners. But here it means those whom the people considered to be *sinners, for example *prostitutes.

The men who collected taxes and the *sinners came to listen to Jesus. And Jesus was happy to talk with them. He even ate with them. This disgusted the *Pharisees and teachers of the law. They refused to be friendly with such people. They would not even teach the law to these *sinners. It was much worse to eat with them. That would be to accept them and to be friends with them. But Jesus came on behalf of *sinners to save them from the judgement for their *sins. Therefore, he had to teach them how to enter the *kingdom of God.

Verses 3-7 Jesus replied to the *Pharisees and teachers of the law. He told them this story about a good *shepherd.

It was normal in that country for a *shepherd to look after about 100 sheep. Each evening the *shepherd counted the sheep to make sure that they were all there. If one sheep was missing, a good *shepherd would do as in the story.

The word for ‘desert’ here really means a country place where people did not live. It would not be an unsuitable place for the sheep to remain. And Jesus did not say that nobody guarded the 99 sheep. Probably the owner of the sheep would ask another *shepherd to look after his sheep. Then, he could give all his attention to look for the one sheep that he had lost. When he found it, he would be very happy.

Jesus is the good *shepherd. He came to earth to find and to save those who had gone away from God. The *Pharisees and teachers of the law thought that they were not *sinners. But the men who collected taxes and the *sinners knew it. They knew that they were *sinners.

The *shepherd had found the sheep that he had lost. Because of that, he had a party. So, there is joy in heaven whenever a *sinner *repents.

A woman lost a coin – Luke 15:8-10

v8 ‘Suppose that a woman has 10 silver coins but she loses one. She will light a lamp, and she will sweep the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it. v9 And when she has found it, she will call her friends and neighbours together. She will say to them, “Be happy with me. I have found the coin that I had lost.” v10 So, I tell you that it is the same among God’s *angels. There is much joy among them because one *sinner has *repented.’