Numerous tax collectors and others with a bad reputation approached Jesus to listen to him. Observing this, certain Pharisees and scribes grumbled, referring to him disparagingly as one who welcomed sinners and ate with them. Thereby these faultfinders implied that Jesus enjoyed associating with persons of ill repute. In response, he related three parables, revealing his noble objective and exposing the error of the Pharisees and scribes. (Luke 15:1-3)
Who among them with 100 sheep would not leave the 99 in the wilderness, or a pasture away from human habitation, and search for the one lost sheep until he found it? Those to whom this question was directed would have known that several shepherds commonly pastured their respective flocks in a particular area, and that the one who searched for a lost sheep would have made arrangements for his flock to be watched. For the man to have completely abandoned his flock while searching for a lost sheep would have meant exposing the whole flock to danger. A caring shepherd, however, would do everything possible to find his lost sheep. (Luke 15:4; see the Notes section about Jesus’ use of the same parable on an earlier occasion.)
Upon finding it, he would put it on his shoulders and be filled with joy. Jesus’ reference to the man’s putting the lost sheep on his shoulders would have been understood as an act of tender care for a helpless lamb. (Luke 15:5)
After returning home, the shepherd would tell his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him for having found his lost sheep. Applying the lesson of the parable, Jesus said that there would be “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons in no need of repentance.” (Luke 15:6, 7) The Pharisees and scribes would have regarded themselves as righteous, believing that, unlike the tax collectors and others who were known as sinners, they had no reason to repent. They, however, also needed to make changes. Their grumbling about the attention Jesus gave to tax collectors and sinners revealed that they lacked love and compassion. In “heaven,” though, where God and his angels are, there would be rejoicing over just one repentant sinner.
A woman with ten drachma coins lost one of them. Would she not light a lamp and sweep her house, carefully searching for the coin until she found it? (Luke 15:8)
This kind of effort would have been understandable, as a drachma equaled the daily wage of a common laborer. Moreover, if Jesus intended to represent the coin as part of a set, it would have been understood as serving for ornamentation.
Most homes in the first century were small, and the windows allowed very limited light to enter. Therefore, even during the day, a lighted oil lamp would facilitate the search. A coin could easily blend in with the clay floor, and it would usually be necessary to sweep the entire house to locate it.
Upon finding the coin, the woman would inform her friends and neighbors, inviting them to rejoice with her. Likewise, there would come to be great joy among the angels of God “over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)
Having come from the realm above, Jesus could authoritatively speak about the angels. Their rejoicing is truly remarkable. Unlike the Pharisees and scribes, they are indeed righteous and holy or pure in all respects. Yet, they do not look down upon humans or make unfavorable comparisons with their own record of unwavering faithfulness to God. They do not begrudge repentant men and women the great honor of coming to be part of the realm where the Most High is Sovereign and to have an intimate relationship with him and his Son. The angels have real love for humans who are constituted children of God and brothers of Christ through their faith in him. Their magnanimous spirit contrasts sharply with that of the murmuring Pharisees and scribes.
Finally, Jesus related a parable about two sons. The younger one asked his father for his share of the inheritance. His father then divided the property between the two sons. Shortly thereafter the younger son took everything he had and traveled to a distant country, where he began leading a debauched life and eventually exhausted all his resources. When a severe famine occurred, he was forced to become a hired laborer for a citizen of that land, who sent him into his fields to tend the pigs. The younger son craved to be “filled with” the pods (or, according to other manuscripts, he “filled his belly” with the pods) on which the pigs were feeding, and no one would give him anything. (Luke 15:11-16)
In his desperate state, the son came to his senses. He began to think about his father and how his hired men were better off than he was. They had plenty of bread to eat, whereas he wasted away on account of the famine. He, therefore, decided to return to his father and acknowledge his guilt, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer deserving of being called your son. Let me be like one of your hirelings.” He then made the long journey to his father’s home. (Luke 15:17-20)
While still some distance from his father’s house, his father recognized him and felt pity for him. He ran toward his son, embraced him, and kissed him. As he had previously resolved, the son acknowledged having sinned against heaven and his father, asking only to be treated like a hireling because of his unworthiness to be called his son. (Luke 15:20, 21)
The father welcomed him with compassion, love, and joy. He quickly directed his slaves to bring out the best robe and clothe his son with it, and to put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. They were to slaughter a calf and prepare a meal so that all could enjoy themselves. The father expressed his reason for rejoicing, “This son of mine was dead but has come to life again; he was lost but has been found.” A joyous celebration followed. (Luke 15:22-24)
When the older son returned from having worked in the field, he heard music and the rhythmic movement of dancing feet coming from the house. He summoned a nearby servant to come to him and asked about the reason for the celebration. “Your brother has come,” said the slave, “and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf, for he got him back well.” (Luke 15:25-27)
This angered the older brother, and he chose not to enter the house. His father then came outside, pleading with him to share in the joy of the occasion. The older son protested, telling his father that he had slaved for him many years and had not disobeyed him. “Yet,” the son continued, “you never gave me even a young goat to enjoy with my friends. When, however, this son of yours who consumed your means with harlots came back, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.” (Luke 15:28-30)
Reasoning with his son, the father responded, “Child, you always are with me, and all I own is yours, but we must enjoy ourselves and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead but has come to life, and he was lost but was found.” (Luke 15:31, 32)
Tax collectors and others among the Jews who were leading a sinful life found themselves in a situation much like that of the younger son. By charging more than the required rate, many tax collectors enriched themselves. Among them were men who had become very wealthy. From a spiritual standpoint, however, they were impoverished. Through their dishonesty, they had distanced themselves from God, as if living in a faraway land. As agents of Rome, they did work comparable to caring for pigs, animals that were unclean according to the Mosaic law. Fellow Jews generally despised tax collectors.
When John the Baptist and later Jesus appeared on the scene, many who had led a sinful life came to their senses. They came to see the depth of their spiritual poverty and longed for a better relationship with the heavenly Father. Their acknowledgment of sin reflected an understanding of how undeserving they had become of God’s love and mercy. In his compassionate treatment of those who did repent, Jesus reflected his Father’s welcoming love and joy. They were honored as with the best attire and spiritually enriched as with an abundant banquet, for they had put themselves in a position to enter the realm where God is Sovereign and his Son is king by his appointment.
The Pharisees and scribes acted like the older son. They refused to recognize repentant tax collectors and sinners as their brothers. In the parable, Jesus indicated this rejection by having the older son say, “This son of yours” (not “my brother”). Then to show that the relationship should have continued to exist, Jesus had the father say, “This brother of yours.” The manner in which Jesus portrayed the thoughts of the older son revealed a lack of appreciation for what he had. He spoke of having slaved for his father and never transgressed his commands, suggestive of action performed merely out of a sense of duty and without joy. Nothing in the words gave evidence of valuing all that he had while being with his father. He deeply resented that his brother had been welcomed with open arms and did not want to share in the joy of seeing him as one who had changed for the better.
The parable also indicates that repentance has its start in the inner self. Once the younger son is depicted as recognizing his guilt and his unworthiness on account of his bad conduct, he ceased to be the young man who had left his father’s home. With no proud assumptions, he then made the long journey home. Therefore, in keeping with the spirit of Jesus’ parable, such repentant ones should be welcomed with compassion, love, and joy.
Jesus did not say anything about how the older son finally responded. The door remained open for him to share in the joyous celebration. Likewise, the Pharisees and scribes could have changed and put themselves in line to enter the kingdom of God and share in all the associated blessings.
Notes:
In his teaching, Jesus at times used the same parables. The application of a particular parable could, however, be different.
In Matthew 18:10-14, Jesus warned his disciples about the seriousness of harming insignificant believers. He related the parable about the one lost sheep to illustrate the preciousness of such “little ones,” for his Father did not want any one of these to be lost.