Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Luke then records three parables. Chapter 15 is the heart of the Gospel of Luke. Luke introduces a series of parables that illustrates Jesus' habit of eating with sinners. Jesus chooses to give selective attention to this group of people in the society of his day. They contribute to one of the major themes of Luke, namely, the love and mercy of God toward sinful humanity, as well as the call to repentance. A theme of the message of Jesus is the nature of God, who rejoices when one who has strayed finds the way home. The good news is the stray being brought home (v. 5), the lost being found (v. 9), the acceptance of the child into the house of the father (v. 11-32), and the father running to meet the lost child and kissing him (v. 20), putting on him the best garment, ring, and shows that are a mark of the free person (v. 22), and celebrating the one who has returned (v. 25). The metaphors and parables are pictures of forgiveness and the restoration of communion with God. the God whom Jesus preaches is the Father of those who are small and lost, a God whose purpose it is to have dealings with sinners and who rejoices with soteriological joy when a sinner finds the way home.[1] From now to the end of the travel account Luke reveals a special concern for the outcasts. Therefore, Jesus is popular with the crowds but also attracts complaints from the Pharisees and scholars. For Luke, Jesus goes in quest of things that are lost, which illustrates God's concern for sinners.
Chapter 15 of the gospel of Luke contains the setting of three parallel parables that are three parts of one parable (15:3). The emphasis of the parables is on restoring relationships between God and others. By gaining a greater understanding of the setting of Jesus’ comments about a lost sheep and a lost coin which we find in the first two scenes of the parable, we can better comprehend the significance of the actions of various groups and individuals (“sinners,” Pharisees and scribes, and Jesus) in this gospel. Luke 15:1-10 highlights the motifs of sacrificial pursuit, restoration, and rejoicing, and how they accentuate theological and sociological themes of Jesus’ ministry as told in Luke’s gospel.
Part of the power these stories generate depends on the three different degrees of narrative style Luke employs. On the first level, there is the narrative of the author to the reader. The second level of narration recalls that Jesus is also speaking to a specific gathered audience of scribes and Pharisees, tax collectors and sinners. Finally, on the third level of narration, there is the interior dialogue of the characters that inhabit the parables themselves.
These three parables continue the emphasis of the parable of the great dinner (14:15-24) of the openness of the invitation of Jesus. This is evident in the dynamic of Jesus extending hospitality to sinners, the choice of a shepherd and a housewife as heroes of their respective parables, and the refrain of rejoicing and joy at a party that plays throughout both parables. In this context, the openness of the invitation to gather at a meal is typical of the hospitality Jesus extended.
Jesus will justify his conduct by the conduct of God, doing so as a representative of God.[2] The religious authorities correctly assess that sinners put accompaniment and community at risk. Their religious solution is to reject and exclude for protection from sinners. Jesus’ righteous solution is to restore and include for the transformation of sinners. Jesus regarded the loving and saving address of God to us as the purpose of his sending. He believed that by his own sending the Father was addressing the lost. These three parables defend the message and work of Jesus to the lost. The parables portray God as the one who seeks what is lost and who in so doing displays the self-attesting love of the Father. They show the search that reveals the divine love that takes place through the work and message of Jesus. The search by God for the lost became an event in the life of Jesus.[3] God shows a parental quality in being ready to extend forgiveness to those who turn to God.[4] In this chapter, we find the source of the message of Jesus in the love of God for the lost individual. Such love of God for the lost seeks to draw us into the dynamic of the love of God and give us a share in it. We do not find this emphasis on the individual in pre-Christian antiquity. All of us in our individuality are now infinitely precious beings because we are the objects of the eternal love of God. The root of modern human rights is here.[5]Further, this chapter shows that the proclamation of Jesus weaves negation and criticism of the law into it. Jesus depose Torah from its position as mediator of the will of God for the people of God. The word and deed of Jesus occupy that position. Humanity finds relation to God in relation to Jesus. In this case, publicans and sinners are with Jeus, and Jesus extends them his fellowship with them through table fellowship.[6]
Luke 15:1-10 contain an introduction to three parables and then presents two of the three parables, all of which prepares the reader for the parable of the prodigal son beginning in verse 11.
Verses 1-3 Introduction
Verses 1-3 is an introduction provided by Luke for the parables of the lost in this chapter.[7]
Luke notes that tax collectors and sinners were listening to Jesus. Pharisees grumble against his posture of welcoming sinners by eating with them. This chapter will deal with how and why Jesus included such persons in his table fellowship. Thus, one can never overestimate the importance of gospel narratives that place Jesus at a table because whenever Jesus is around food, the story shows him serving up lessons about the reign of God. To enact such hospitality is to initiate a kind of generosity that his critics considered as time wasted on the unrighteous or, even worse, crosses the line into unacceptable religious behavior with sinners. Jesus enacts a gracious hospitality that is prodigal. However, his prodigality signals that religious rituals and rules are a waste of time if they do not edify and encourage relationships of care among people. By addressing this group, Jesus revealed the nature of the participation in salvation that his message of the nearness of the rule of God effected in those who received it. The participation is from God, and it means the rescuing of the lost. Those who accept the message are no longer outcasts. They share in the salvation of the rule of God. The presence of salvation relates to the removal of the barrier that separates from God. The turning of Jesus to tax gatherers and sinners makes it clear that sinners are included in the saved community.[8] When he accepted invitations from others, he made known his readiness to grant fellowship with him to those who issued the invitation. Some contemporaries thought this to be especially scandalous in some cases because by his participation the table fellowship that he granted or accepted became a sign of the presence of the rule of God that he proclaimed and a sign of the acceptance of the other participants into the future community of salvation.[9]
Luke is preparing us for the parable of the prodigal son. The rule of God has a certain kind of prodigality, illustrated in the way Jesus extended hospitality to sinners. Pharisees and scribes were grumbling about how Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them, disclosing the attitude of Jesus to those who were religious and social outcasts, the tax collectors, and sinners. Such a designation of these persons by the opponents of Jesus was reserved for those engaged in despised trades. Further, the family of God appears in table fellowship, which is an anticipation of the meal of salvation at the consummation, which helps us understand why the opponents of Jesus raise the issue of to whom Jesus extends table fellowship. We get a hint of their dismay as they reject the message of Jesus.[10] The religious leaders with whom Jesus is dealing were right in that sin always threatens community. Their solution was to lock certain people out of their community. Yet, Jesus was going out to find the lost and bring them in. These parables explain the inclusion of tax collectors and sinners in the table fellowship of Jesus. Luke sets tax collectors and sinners in opposition with the Pharisees and the scribes. The tax collectors and sinners coming to listen, while the Pharisees and scribes come grumbling. These two verses bring together two important themes that have been building throughout the gospel. First, the conclusion of the parables of chapter 14 ends with “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” (14:35). The parables in Chapter 15 at least imply the continued emphasis on hearing what Jesus is saying (and by implication, acting upon it). As one who “welcomes sinners and eats with them,” Jesus is also one who teaches those “sinners,” and they “listen” to him, thus showing their role as disciples or followers of Jesus (cf. 14:25-35). Second, the accusation of the Pharisees and the scribes, of Jesus both welcoming and eating with sinners, echoes a previous accusation in Luke (5:30-32) where the same group asks Jesus’ disciples about these actions. There Jesus proclaims, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance” (5:31-32). This conversation occurs immediately after Jesus has called Levi, the tax collector, to be his disciple (5:27-29) and Levi hosts a banquet in Jesus’ honor. While the physical setting is not the same in chapter 15 in that Jesus is not pictured at a meal with either tax collectors and sinners (5:29-39) or with Pharisees and scribes (7:36-50), the theme of hospitality and welcoming pervades chapters 14-16 (e.g., 14:21-23 and 16:19-31).
Thus, one can never overestimate the importance of gospel narratives that place Jesus at a table because whenever Jesus is around food, the story shows him serving up lessons about the reign of God. introduce two signature teaching methods that Jesus employs to illustrate what God’s reign is like — indiscriminately sharing food and using an occasion of controversy as the starting point for telling parables. The controversy emerges from the Pharisees and scribes’ concern that Jesus openly welcomes sinners to eat together with him. This flies in the face of practices that regulate the purity of table fellowship. To enact such hospitality is to initiate a kind of generosity that his critics considered as time wasted on the unrighteous or, even worse, crosses the line into unacceptable religious behavior with sinners. Jesus enacts a gracious hospitality that is prodigal. However, his prodigality signals that religious rituals and rules are a waste of time if they do not edify and encourage relationships of care among people. By addressing this group, Jesus revealed the nature of the participation in salvation that his message of the nearness of the rule of God effected in those who received it. The participation is from God, and it means the rescuing of the lost. Those who accept the message are no longer outcasts. They share in the salvation of the rule of God. The presence of salvation relates to the removal of the barrier that separates from God. The turning of Jesus to tax gatherers and sinners makes it clear that sinners are included in the saved community.[11] The criticism of the behavior of Jesus at meals arose from his conduct and that of his disciples. When he accepted invitations from others, he made known his readiness to grant fellowship with those who issued the invitation. Some contemporaries thought this to be especially scandalous in some cases because by his participation the table fellowship that he granted or accepted became a sign of the presence of the rule of God that he proclaimed and a sign of the acceptance of the other participants into the future community of salvation.[12]
As Luke sets the scene for this parable, Jesus may purposely test the boiling point of the increasingly disturbed scribes and Pharisees who were keeping a close eye on Jesus' growing popularity. Just as the Pharisees criticized the behavior of Jesus, this father "welcomes sinners and eats with them." Immediately preceding this, Luke relates two other parables of "lostness."
In 15:4-7, the parable of the "lost sheep," and in 15:8-10, the parable of the "lost coin" introduce themes also found in verses 11-32. By telling these parables in 15:1-10 Jesus re-emphasizes that the accusation that he eats with sinners is no accusation at all; in fact, this true statement is at the heart of the fulfillment of the calling of Jesus in his ministry. As Luke narrates it, Jesus’ purpose in this setting is to show the Pharisees and scribes that they, too, should listen to the overarching message speaks of the joy one feels when finds and welcomes back one lost sheep, one lost coin or one lost son into its fold, purse, or family. All three of these parables serve as Jesus' response to the nasty grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes concerning the behavior of Jesus toward tax collectors and sinners. Jesus' attitudes and actions toward this group are the problem. He not only welcomes them to his band of followers; he also welcomes them to his table. The straight-laced righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes found Jesus' behavior quite suspicious, even scandalous. They could never condone social contact with such "sinners." In the face of this stern self-righteousness, the prodigal son parable offers pointed commentary through the unhesitating, exuberant joy exhibited by the father and the wrong-headed, hardhearted attitude of the elder brother.
Verses 4-7 Parable of the lost sheep (Mt)
Verses 4-7 (Mat 18:12-14[13]) contain the parable concerning seeking the lost and a concluding saying. It depicts vividly the concern a person feels about a loss that an outsider might consider a trifle, and the delight when the lost is found. One of the features of the coming of the rule of God was its unprecedented concern for the lost.[14] The setting provided by Luke, the conflict with the Pharisees, is close to the occasion Jesus faced in this parable.[15] Yet, was it meant as comfort and invitation, or is it pure polemic?[16] In GnR 86 (55b), a cattle drover, one of whose twelve beasts has run away, leaves the eleven behind and goes after the one that is lost. The emphasis is on active and vigilant care. The parable involves a shepherd and his sheep, common themes in Old Testament literature. On the one hand, identifying God with a shepherd and using the shepherd's role as a symbol of divine care was a well-established Old Testament tradition. Furthermore, sheepherding had been a familiar and respectable livelihood for generations of Israelites. Many of the greatest Old Testament figures - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David - started out as simple shepherds.
In verses 4-6, the parable emphasizes the evangelical hope of the community Jesus is forming. Jesus is showing an understanding of a certain prodigality operating in the way one tenders grace according to the protocol of the reign of God. In this case, the choice of a shepherd as hero is a sign of that prodigality. The parable is in the form of a question, in which Jesus invites his audience, including Pharisees and scribes, to put themselves in the place of the shepherd, asking: Is there any one of you who owns a hundred sheep indicating the medium-sized flock and wholeness of the shepherd,[17]and one of them gets lost, which he would notice when he counted them when putting them into the fold for the evening, making no judgment as to why the sheep is lost, and inviting us to identify ourselves with the shepherd, as Jesus emphasizes who wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness go after the one that got lost until he finds it? Here is the kind of hyperbole one has come to expect from Jesus. Jesus exaggerates the behavior of the shepherd: he leaves 99 sheep behind who could become victims of the predator, while he goes off in search of a single stray. A shepherd would not leave the flock to itself. if he must look for a lost animal he leaves the others in the charge of the shepherds who share the fold with him or drives them into a cave.[18] And when he finds it, he lifts it upon his shoulders, indicating it was a weak sheep, his effort arising from the fact that it belonged to him and without his help it would not make it back to the flock, for if the shepherd does not shoulder the burden of the lost sheep, there will be no joy of restoration, so he is happy. Jesus vindicates the good news against its critics. The shepherd who abandons 99 sheep on the mountains or in the wilderness and goes in search of one stray takes chances an ordinary shepherd would not take. Such an exaggeration, designed to get attention and stimulate insight, was typical of the parables of Jesus. It describes the extraordinary joy the shepherd has over one who was living separate from his or her people and now experiences restoration. It depicted an action, not just an attitude. It gives account of how God comes at a specific moment, seeking after the outsider, the one whom others have written off. Here is the defense Jesus offers of his ministry that embraced tax collectors and sinners.[19] Once he gets home, he invites his friends and his neighbors over, and says to them, `Celebrate with me, because I have found my lost sheep.' It symbolizes God's mercy and gracious invitation through the ministry of Jesus. Jesus chooses a finder who is not acceptable, even offensive, as a candidate for an admired antagonist. Shepherds simply are not hero material according to the religious and social norms of Jesus’ day. Jesus heightens the stakes in choosing such a hero who represents God. To imply that the shepherd signify divine grace is an extravagant expectation to place on the comportment of a respectable God. How could God be such a spendthrift with sovereignty? Yet, the God who works like a “dirty shepherd” is the one Jesus extols in teaching about the restorative power of the reign of God. What will such gracious solidarity cost the religious authorities — what will it cost us?
Verse 7 (unique to Luke) shifts attention from the one seeking to the one lost and anticipating the conclusion of the parable of the prodigal son. Behind this saying is Isa 65:19, where God will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad for the people of God, and Zeph 3:17-18, where God will rejoice over the people with gladness, will renew them in love, and exult over them with loud singing as on the day of festival. It emphasizes that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, God rejoicing like the shepherd who rediscovers a stray animal, expressing the soteriological joy of God, for it is the divine good pleasure that the lost should be redeemed, because they belong to God, their wanderings have caused God pain, and God rejoices over their return home, this redemptive joy expressing in forgiving,[20] than over ninety-nine righteous persons (this is not irony, but rather, points to the danger in which the pious were in before God)[21]who need no repentance. With the soteriological joy of God, Jesus justifies his love for sinners against the criticisms of opponents. Because the Father is filled with such boundless joy at the bringing back of the lost, the fetching of sinners home is the saving office of Jesus. The rejoicing shepherd contrasts vividly with the despising of sinners by the Pharisees.[22] The repentance of the pious has become urgent.[23] The focus is on the recovered one to make yet another point. Repentance is not a work, an action taken by those who are "lost." God is ready to forgive those who turn to God.[24]Salvation means conversion. Jesus began with his preaching of the nearness of the rule of God, the reception of which meant conversion and participation in salvation.[25] When the pursuer has found what was lost, rejoicing and joy take place. Restoration and rejoicing are important throughout Luke. Those who find exhibit hospitality by inviting their friends to rejoice with them. The joy contrasts with the scribes and Pharisees, who in verses 1-2 have grumbled that Jesus seeks the lost. What was lost (the sinners) God has now found by passionate pursuit, seeking restoration and wholeness. Repentance only becomes possible because of God already finding. Thus, it is truly a divine gift. The gift of repentance makes it possible for the one whom God finds to express joy, not just among the friends and neighbors of shepherds and homemakers, but in "the presence of the angels of God."
Further evidence of the prodigality of the rule of God is rejoicing and joy over finding what had been lost. Here is the second act in the parable that features a gracious act of seeking, finding, and restoring the lost. Such spontaneous and effusive joy is a sign of the rule of God. The shepherd wants to rejoice with companions. Jesus emphasizes accompaniment and community in relationships of care among people. Such joy may seem excessive in proportion of just one out of 100. Will the Pharisees and scribes, will we, join the joy? The religious authorities correctly assess that sinners put such accompaniment and community at risk. Their religious solution is to reject and exclude for protection from sinners. Jesus’ righteous solution is to restore and include for the transformation of sinners. The point is God's joy at finding a sinner. By speaking directly to his audience of scribes and Pharisees, Jesus implicitly asks his audience to validate this shepherd's astonishing determination. Instead of judging the shepherd foolish for leaving the 99, Jesus brings his listeners alongside the man's lonely, long, all-out search for his one lost sheep. Jesus is not speaking with shepherds at this moment. He is speaking to those scribes and Pharisees who are overly concerned with issues of status and superiority. For them, identifying with the concerns of a common shepherd may have seemed a consideration beneath them. Jesus asks these educated, socially elite men to listen to the perspective of an ordinary shepherd. When the shepherd returns triumphantly with the animal, the scribes and Pharisees are now to listen as they would if they were the shepherd's own friends and neighbors. The shepherd calls upon all these to rejoice with him - exuberantly and extravagantly - over the recovery of this lost sheep. Jesus calls upon the scribes and Pharisees to rejoice with him over the return of the lost of Israel, the "tax collectors and sinners," who return to the fold because Jesus' words have brought them home. The prodigal beneficence of Jesus’ hospitality toward those considered beyond the pale, the lengths to which God will go to restore lost ones, the rejoicing and joy over lost ones being restored — all of this points to the importance that the gospel lesson places on edifying and encouraging relationships of care among people.
In considering the theme of the love of God theologically, Jesus obviously regarded the loving and saving address of God to us, and particularly to the needy and the lost among us, as the purpose of his sending. The Father addressed the lost in the “sending” of Jesus. This parable is a special example. Jesus defends addressing his message and work to the lost. God is the one who seeks what is lost. In doing so, we see the self-attesting love of the Father. The focus is on the search, which in this case occurs through the work and message of Jesus. The parable justifies the conduct and message of Jesus. It illustrates a general attitude on the part of God. It identifies the mission and work of Jesus as the event of the merciful love of God. We need to evaluate the self-understanding that Jesus had of his mission as part of the prophetic notion of the electing love of God for the people of God. In this case, the lost sheep that the shepherd goes seeking is a member of the flock. The sheep is lost because it belongs to a totality. It needs the shepherd for the same reason.[26] For Jesus, the message of the imminence of the rule of God opens participation in the eschatological salvation to individuals. Jesus sees a demonstration of the love of God that seeks the lost. The point is the joy of God at the saving of the lost. The forgiving love that has reached its goal finds expression in this joy.[27]
Verses 8-10 Parable of the lost coin (L)
Verses 8-10 is a parable and a saying concerning the lost coin. It depicts vividly the concern a person feels about a loss that an outsider might consider a trifle, and the delight when the lost is found. One of the features of the coming of the rule of God was its unprecedented concern for the lost.[28] Was it originally meant as comfort and invitation or is it pure polemic?[29] It emphasizes boundless mercy of God to those who sin. The repetition of the theme from the previous parable is intentional for the sake of emphasis on the determined searching, finding, and ecstatic rejoicing of the unexpected response of God to lostness.
Verses 8-9 contain the parable. Luke now portrays a poor woman who has lost a drachma.[30] “Or what woman having ten silver coins, a number signifying wholeness, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ The story portrays an exaggerated effort to recover a coin of little value and reflects his unconventional estimate of worth. Jesus makes no judgment about the reason for the lostness of the coin. The coin, of course, is not sinful or bad. Jesus chooses a finder who was less than acceptable, even offensive as a candidate for admiration. A poor woman was not hero material according to the religious and social norms of the culture in which Jesus lived. A woman was in a position of servitude. The stakes for outrage over such a role model heighten even more by the consideration that the hero of the parable represents God. To imply a woman signifies divine grace is an extravagant expectation to place on the comportment of a respectable God. The image of the woman personally challenges Jesus' listeners to identify with an individual whose status is well beneath their own. On the first level of narrative (between the author and the reader), this identification of a woman in the divine role of "searcher" is also a challenge for traditional male-oriented understandings of God and Christ. We need to pay attention to the fixed and determined behavior of the woman. To recover one coin, she sacrifices the order of her whole house - tearing it apart in a tireless search for the missing. Some who have felt the need to explain this woman's ardor suggest some reasons for her single-minded behavior.
When the pursuer has found what was lost, rejoicing and joy take place. Restoration and rejoicing are important throughout Luke. The woman's tremendous joy upon finding it causes her, like the shepherd, to call together her "friends and neighbors" to rejoice with her. It is not hard to imagine that such rejoicing may actually end up costing the woman/hostess more than the coin itself is worth.
The prodigal beneficence of the hospitality of Jesus toward those considered beyond the pale is a theme here. It reveals the lengths to which God will go to restore lost ones, as well as the rejoicing over God restoring lost ones. The parable encourages relationships of care among people. We need to highlight the commitment of woman. She conducts a meticulously thorough search for the coin.
In a theological discussion of the love of God, we must point out that Jesus regarded the loving and saving address of God us as the purpose of his sending. The Father addressed the lost through his own sending. In this parable, Jesus is defending the addressing of his message and work to the lost. It portrays God as the one who seeks what is lost, displaying the self-attesting love of the Father. The search that reveals the divine love takes place through the work and message of Jesus. Thus, the parable does not just present a general attitude on the part of God. It identifies the mission and work of Jesus as the event of the merciful love of God.[31]
In verse 10, Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, God rejoicing like the woman who rediscovers her lost coin, expressing the soteriological joy of God, for it is the divine good pleasure that the lost should be redeemed, this redemptive joy expressed in forgiving,[32] over one sinner who repents.” Behind this saying is Isa 65:19, where God will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad for the people of God, and Zeph 3:17-18, where God will rejoice over the people with gladness, will renew them in love, and exult over them with loud singing as on the day of festival. Salvation means conversion. [33] The coin neither goes astray nor repents, so the coin does not exactly fit Luke's theme of repentance.[34] The coin's true value comes only from its "found-ness." Those who find exhibit hospitality by inviting their friends to rejoice with them. The joy contrasts with the scribes and Pharisees, who in verses 1-2 have grumbled that Jesus seeks the lost. What was lost (the sinners) God has now found by passionate pursuit, seeking restoration and wholeness.
This openness of Jesus is further underscored as Jesus tells the parables of the Found Sheep and Found Coin (vv. 4-10). Here, Jesus chooses finders who, especially in the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes, would be deemed less than acceptable — indeed, offensive — candidates for admired antagonists. Shepherds and women simply are not hero material according to the religious and social norms of the day, particularly to the extent that these two figures function in positions of servitude. The stakes for outrage over such role models are heightened by the consideration that the heroes of these parables are intended to represent God. To imply, as these parables do, that the shepherd and the woman signify divine grace is an extravagant expectation to place on the comportment of a respectable God. How could God be such a spendthrift with sovereignty? Yet, it is exactly this God who works like a “dirty shepherd” or a “common housewife” that Jesus extols in teaching about the restorative power of the reign of God. What will such gracious solidarity cost the religious authorities — what will it cost us?
The parables of the Found Sheep and Found Coin feature two gracious acts of seeking, finding, and restoring the lost. Both are punctuated by a refrain of human rejoicing and heavenly joy. This refrain is spontaneous and effusive. The shepherd’s act of shouldering the sheep is simultaneously an act of rejoicing (v. 5). The woman’s gathering call for others to rejoice with her is contemporaneous with her finding the coin (v. 9). Each character conveys a sense of immediacy in wanting to rejoice with companions (vv. 6, 9). All of this rejoicing may seem excessive in proportion to the return of just one out of 10, and especially only one out of 100. Yet, heaven and God’s angels joyfully endorse such ample rejoicing when it comes to any lost sinner who repents (vv. 7, 10). Will we join the refrain or grumble along with the religious authorities?
The beneficence of Jesus’ hospitality toward those considered beyond the pale, the lengths to which God will go to restore lost ones, the rejoicing and joy over lost ones being restored — all of this points to the importance that the gospel places on edifying and encouraging relationships of care among people. Other features of the text reinforce this message in at least two respects. First, imagery highlights the commitment of the shepherd and the woman. Kenneth E. Bailey discerns “joy in the burden of restoration” wherein the shepherd “must carry on his shoulder the burden of the lost sheep, a detail specifically mentioned. Without the shouldering of this burden there is no restoration. This task the shepherd accepts with joy.”[35] The action in verse 8 depicts a woman conducting a meticulously thorough search for the coin. Second, a significant aspect of the text is the presence of Greek words beginning with sun. Like its English cognate “syn/sym,” sun means “same,” “together,” “united,” or “with.” Jesus “eats with” (sunesqiei) sinners (v. 2). The shepherd and woman each “call[s] together” (sunkalei) friends and neighbors to tell them, “Rejoice with (suncarhte) me” over finding what was lost (vv. 6, 9). All of this reiterates the passage’s emphasis on accompaniment and community in relationships of care among people.
Mercy is a voluntary sorrow that joins itself to the suffering of another (Gregory of Nyssa). The two stories of Jesus suggest the surprising pleasure the woman and the shepherd in finding what they lost. Which could lead us to ask, what is it that gives God pleasure?
• When the lost are found;
• when the broken are healed;
• when the alienated are reconciled;
• when the sick are made well;
• when those who are dead are made alive;
• when the oppressed are lifted up;
• when the prisoner is released;
• when the humble have been exalted.
One person has said that evangelism is nothing more than one beggar telling another beggar where to get food. It is sitting at the banquet Jesus has provided for all the guests who respond to the invitation. You come up to the table; you taste of the food God has provided. You partake of the drink. Your hunger and thirst are satisfied. Then you remember someone else who is hungry and thirsty. You look up at the head of the table. Jesus is there. Moreover, you say to him, "What a minute, Jesus, there is someone else who is hungry. Let me go and invite them."
As we reflect upon Luke 15:1-10, I hope we find ourselves challenged by whether we are truly participating in the mission of God in this world, whether as congregations or as individuals.
In certain parts of the world, such as in America, every generation of church leaders have concern for the decline of participation in the mission of the church. Such concerns might make us sympathetic to the chaplain who accompanied a volunteer militia led by Benjamin Franklin back in 1756. To defend the Pennsylvania colony against attacks from Native Americans, Franklin led his recruits in the building of a fort in the Blue Mountain region. Once established inside the wall, the chaplain — “a zealous Presbyterian,” as Franklin called him in his autobiography — complained that few of the men were showing up for his worship services. Franklin, ever the practical man, solved that problem by putting the chaplain in charge of the daily ration of rum. Franklin told the preacher, “It is, perhaps, below the dignity of your profession to act as steward of the rum, but if you were only to distribute it out after prayers, you would have them all about you.” The chaplain accepted that duty, and Franklin reports that thereafter, “never were prayers more generally and more punctually attended.”
Of course, congregations are not going to do just anything to get people through the doors, I hope. However, congregations must think creatively in every generation to participate in the passionate pursuit by God of lost people.
My oldest son Michael was quite young, just learning to play baseball. I was tossing him the ball repeatedly, and he kept missing. At one point, I told him to keep his eye on the ball. I tossed it, and he missed again. “Come on, Michael; keep your eye on the ball.” He picked up the ball and put it right on his eye. He took me a little too literally.
As congregations and individuals, we need to keep our eye upon the ball. In this case, that means individually and collectively joining God in the passionate pursuit of lost people.
This passage of Scripture is part of that great travel narrative in Luke, as Jesus is moving from Galilee to Jerusalem. Along the way, we receive some quite serious instruction on what a disciple of Jesus looks like. Many students of the gospel of Luke consider Chapter 15 the heart of this gospel. If so, we may need special attention today.
As we think of our family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors, we do not need to look for some dramatic way in which they are seeking for God. We can be the channel through which God gets hold of them. Yes, they, and we, are among the plain, common people of the world. God must love each of them, for God made so many of them (Abraham Lincoln).
Luke is onto something here. If this chapter is the heart of his gospel, it should also be the heart of this church. Our vision is to be a loving presence for Christ, and we will fulfill this by involvement in the community. We say that we want to connect people to Jesus by reaching out into the world. Luke is reminding us of why we do this. So many people have lost their way. We want to go out, not in judgment of others for not being part of a church, but to extend an invitation to enjoy the love of God with us. They are of infinite value to God, and so, they are of value to us.
We are in the rescuing business. Rescue work is not glamorous. If you have ever witnessed to a family member or friend for decades, you know that it can be plain, demanding work. There are no regular working hours. You will need always to be ready to share your faith. You have an incident commander, the Holy Spirit, who will prompt you and guide you. You may not be present when someone comes to Christ. You may be simply an important link in the chain that brings a person to Christ.
A little boy separated from his mother in the vast crowd at a theme park. Lost, he asked a security person, "Have you seen a lady go by without me?"[36] We know God is with every human being, for the Incarnation means “God with us.” Yet so many people live their lives without any awareness that God is with them. Does that matter to us anymore? Have we been in the church for so long that we have forgotten what it is like to live without God? Is it difficult for you to imagine life without the support you receive from people in the church? That is real life for many people. It is tough. It is lonely.
The religious leaders with whom Jesus is dealing were right in that sin always threatens community. Their solution was to lock certain people out of their community. Yet, Jesus was going out to find the lost and bring them in. We can dress up quite well on Sunday morning. We can sing with enthusiasm on Sunday. Yet, we are here because of forgiveness and grace. How many people do not come into church because they do not think they are good enough? How many of us realize that we are not “good enough.” We are here because of grace.
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[6] Gutbrod, TDNT, IV, 1060.
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[22] Jeremias, TDNT, VI, 492.
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[35] (Poet and Peasant, Eerdmans, 1976, 153-154).
[36] (Robert W. Stackel, "God Never Stops Seeking," Church Management, Se 1992).
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