Luke records three parables with a focus on something or someone who is lost, a sheep lost to a shepherd, a coin lost to its owner, a son lost to his father. Matthew also includes the parable of the lost sheep.[1] He introduces it in a slightly difference context following on from Jesus’ teaching on how to respond to “little ones” and before his teaching on how to forgive and restore. This suggests that Matthew sees the sheep as representing those little ones but also the offending brother who needs to be brought back into the fold Whilst John doesn’t retell the parable, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is central to his account,
22.1 Read Luke 15:1-7
Jesus is continuing to attract a crowd but the Pharisees are suspicious of those drawn to Jesus because they include tax collectors and those labelled as sinner (v1-2). Jesus responds by telling them a parable. In fact, he invites them into the story “If this happened to you …. Wouldn’t you….” Part of the challenge of course is whether or not they would do what Jesus suggests. The scenario he offers is of a shepherd with 100 sheep, one is missing.[2] He suggests that you would go out and diligently search until you found the sheep, then bring it home. The suggestion is that this is exactly what his hearers would do. This tends to be disputed with the presumption being that the logical thing is for the shepherd to settle in, happy that he has his 99 sheep. It’s often portrayed in one song as “reckless love”, the 99 left for the sake of one. It is possible though that the shepherd, accountable for all of the sheep would seek to diligently search out the missing one (v3-5). Jesus observes that just as the shepherd would celebrate with his neighbours on his return, so, when someone who is spiritually lost is rescued, there is greater rejoicing for the unrighteous one now saved than the many people who didn’t need rescuing (v6-7).
Read Luke 15:8-10
Jesus offers a second scenario, this time it is a woman who has 10 coins or drachmas. Each would be worth a day’s wage.[3] She loses one and so, like the shepherd she keeps searching until she finds it (v8). This causes great rejoicing for her and her friends. (v9) Again, Jesus compares this to the extent of joy and rejoicing in Heaven when a sinner is found and saved (v10).
Read Luke 15:11-32
In a third, and much longer, parable, Jesus describes a father who has two sons, the younger demands his share of the inheritance early (v11-12). The father agrees to this and the son leaves home and in fact moves country. In a distant land, he squanders his inheritance and then when all has run out, famine hits. For a time, he seeks to earn a living as a pig famer but still is not able to provide for himself and longs to eat the pigs’ food (v13-16). Eventually he comes to his senses and decides to return home. He is willing to enter into servitude as one of his dad’s hired hands realising that they are better off than him (v17-19).
His father, however has different plans. He has been watching for his son’s return and when he sees him at a distance runs to meet him. The son begins his rehearsed speech but the father cuts him short. He welcomes him back as his son, reclothes him and throws a banquet to celebrate. He announces that the Son was dead but is now alive (v20-24). The elder brother is jealous and refuses to come into the feast because he has served loyally but never had a party thrown for him. The parable ends with the father reminding him that the estate is his inheritance but that they are celebrating his brother’s return from the dead (v25-32).
Lost and found
As is often the case with parables, the tendency has been to focus in on each parable and pour over the detail. This has led to much speculation as noted above about whether the shepherd was reckless in leaving the others behind. There have ben attempts to allegorise the parables and identify ech with different persons of the Trinity, The Son as the shepherd who comes to seek, the woman with her searching lamp likened to the Spirit and the Father, well I guess that’s obvious!
However, I would argue that we would do better to step back and see all three together before focusing in on the punchline(s). This is true for Matthew’s single use of the Lost Sheep where we saw above how it is used in the context of little ones and forgiveness. There are therefore two simple points. First we see something of Jesus’ concern, there is an accountability for all that the Father has given to him. In John’s Gospel, we are reminded that he will not lose any given to him. This meas that Heaven rejoices when lost sinners are saved.
Secondly, the third parable offers the ultimate punchline. Here’ the parables are told in response to the Pharisees grumbling at the time Jesus gives to tax collectors and sinners. The end of the third parable offers a full response to this. They are acting like the older brother, failing to take joy in Christ’s concern that the lost people of Israel should be saved.
[1] Matthew 18:12-14
[2] Bock suggests that the shepherd is “of modest means” with flocks being up to 200 and large flocks having 300 sheep. I’m not sure we are meant to be attempting to calculate flock sizes and make implications. Rather, we have a round number. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53, 1300.
[3] Some have made much of a tradition where bridal dowries were kept together on a headdress and suggested that this is in mind, so that the lost coin broke completeness. However, Bock argues that this was a later tradition so may be a red herring. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53, 1303.
Faithroots 