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 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.
Luke 15:1-3 is an introduction provided by Luke. 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. 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.” This introduction shows that the parables to come explain the attitude of Jesus to those who were religious and social outcasts, the tax collectors, and sinners. They explain the inclusion of this group in the table fellowship of Jesus. 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.[1] 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 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.[2]
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). 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.
3 So he told them this parable. In fact, of course, Luke will record three parables that illustrate the mission of Jesus. In fact, many scholars call this Chapter 15 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. 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 parable 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.
Among her many observations in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard observes that God “churns out the intricate texture of least works that is the world with a spendthrift genius and an extravagance of care.” Divine genius becomes even more spendthrift, divine care even more extravagant, as God steadfastly seeks to restore relationships whenever their covenantal texture unravels.
Spendthrift, extravagant ... prodigal.
Luke 15:4-7 is a parable concerning lost sheep.
Luke 15:4-6 contain the parable.[3] The parable of the found sheep is leading up to the parable of the Prodigal Son. 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.4 Is there any one of you, recognizing that in setting up the parables, Jesus adroitly faces the religious authorities with the possibility of reassessing their solution by placing them explicitly in the role of the shepherd and implicitly in the role of the woman. “Which one of you ...” is how Jesus presents the situation to the religious authorities as he opens the Found Sheep with a conjectural question. Before we chuckle too heartily over another example of Jesus posing an ethical challenge to his critics, remember that the second person plural of Jesus’ question includes us. What is our solution to sinners in our midst? Thus, would any of you who owns a hundred sheep, the parable of the lost sheep recalling an image that is both quite familiar and a bit too "common" for Jesus' audience. 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. There is, of course, great significance to the number 100. It is a complete and whole number. One hundred (or multiples thereof) is traditionally the most desired number of sheep for a shepherd to have. With 100 sheep, a shepherd is well-to-do and secure. Some scholars have suggested that since 100 was such a significant "cutoff" number, it was more psychologically imperative for a shepherd who had exactly 100 to find his lost one than it would be for another shepherd, who had 75 sheep, to lose five. Jesus then presents a troubling situation: and one of them gets lost. Note that Jesus makes no judgment about the reason for the "lost-ness" of the sheep or the coin - are called neither sinful nor bad. Inviting us as listeners to identify with the shepherd, Jesus emphasizes, who wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness. Jesus reveals nothing more about the situation surrounding the "lost sheep" than its disappearance. Jesus also reveals nothing more about the shepherd's decision to "leave the ninety-nine" to seek it out. Concerned interpreters have often volunteered that surely this shepherd must have somehow secured care and safety for those 99 while he went out searching. The parable of Jesus says nothing of this. What drives the shepherd out into the wilderness is a determination, almost an obsession, to find and reclaim his lost sheep. 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 exaggerations are typical of the way Jesus taught. Further, Jesus asks us if this shepherd will 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. 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? 5 And when he finds it, he lifts it upon his shoulders, happy. The shepherd must carry on his shoulder the burden of the lost sheep. Without the shouldering of this burden, there will be no joy of restoration.[4] 6 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.' 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.[5] 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.[6]
Luke 15: 7 has the material unique to Luke as the source.[7] It reflects the growing interest of the early Christian movement in repentance and conversion. It expresses the evangelical hope of the early Christian movement. 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The verse shifts the focus from the one seeking to the one lost. It looks ahead to the theme of the Prodigal Son. 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.[8] 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.[9] 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."
Luke 15:8-10 is a parable concerning the lost coin.
Luke 15:8-9 contain the parable. The source is material unique to Luke.[10] In context, going from a moderately rich shepherd, Luke now portrays a poor woman who has lost a drachma. The two paired parables suggest God's boundless mercy to those who sin. In the context provided by Luke, the parable of the "lost coin" exactly parallels that of the "lost sheep." The repetition is intentional, not redundant, for it heightens the listeners' recognition of determined searching, finding and ecstatic rejoicing as God's unexpected response to lostness. 8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, 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.
The parable features a gracious act of seeking, finding, and restoring the lost. It contains a refrain of human rejoicing and heavenly joy. The refrain is spontaneous and effusive. The gathering call of the woman for others to rejoice with her is contemporaneous with her finding the coin. She conveys a sense of immediacy in wanting to rejoice with companions. This rejoicing may seem excessive in proportion to the return of just one out of ten. Yet, heaven and the angels joyfully endorse such simple rejoicing when it comes to any lost sinner who repents. Will we join the refrain or grumble along with the religious leaders.
Of course, the coin itself has received attention. First, the number 10, like the number 100, is a perfect, a complete, number. It represents a totality, a wholeness, and as such, the divine presence. To recover this unity, the woman must recover her 10th coin. Second, scholars have understood the coin itself as part of a bridal necklace. There was a Middle Eastern tradition of a woman stringing 10 coins on a necklace as part of her dowry. She would wear this necklace throughout her marriage, where its continued wholeness symbolized a fulfilled and complete home life. As before, however, Jesus' story has no concern with the role of the coin - and perhaps not even with its value. 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.[11]
10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Salvation means conversion. [12] The coin neither goes astray nor repents, so the coin does not exactly fit Luke's theme of repentance.[13] The coin's true value comes only from its "found-ness." The same is true for us. Repentance is not a work, an action taken by those who are "lost." Those who find exhibit hospitality by inviting their friends to rejoice with them. The joy is in contrast to 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 God finds what was lost. 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."
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?"[14] 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.
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."
[1] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, Volume II, 331-32.
[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 285.
[3] The source is Q and the Gospel of Thomas in verses 4-6.
[4] Kenneth E. Bailey (Poet and Peasant, Eerdmans, 1976, 153-154).
[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume I, 422-3.
[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume II, 331.
[7] The Jesus Seminar thinks the concluding message about repentance is a literary addition by Luke. The verse shifts the focus from the one seeking to the one lost.
[8] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume I, 259.
[9] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume II, 331.
[10] The Jesus Seminar thinks verses 8-9 reflect the style of Jesus and especially his unconventional estimate of worth. They also think verse 10 is the addition of Luke, who stresses that God is ready to forgive those who turn to God.
[11] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume I, 422-3.
[12] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume II, 331.
[13] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume I, 259.
[14] (Robert W. Stackel, "God Never Stops Seeking," Church Management, Se 1992).
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