Luke 15

Recently I had the pleasure of listening to Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God. In the last several years, I have found it more difficult to sit and read a book and I am very thankful for Audible and a good set of ear buds. Keller takes a deep dive into this familiar story that is both eye opening and thought provoking. I wanted to take some time and share the thoughts this wonderful book brought to me, and hopefully it will be helpful to others.

THE AUDIENCE

As Luke 15 opens, we are told that Jesus is speaking to a group of tax collectors and sinners, who are joined by some Pharisees in listening. We learn that the Pharisees are offended that Jesus spends time with these lowlifes, and especially that he eats with them as that symbolizes his acceptance of them in the first century culture. Without any more introduction, the evangelist, Luke tells us that Jesus begins telling them certain parables.

One of my favorite things that I have learned through Bible study is that it is not only important that you read the individuals stories or parables, but that you also look at how the various stories are combined. Many times when you take the time to back out and look at the organization of the stories together, you will see an even greater lesson to be learned. I have to wonder as these parables were told whether the listeners pictured themselves as the object of any of the stories.

THE LOST SHEEP

The first parable speaks about a man who has a hundred sheep. Now I am not sure if 100 sheep is a lot, but it does not sound like someone who is extremely wealthy to me. One of the sheep gets lost and the man leaves the 99 and goes to seek out the lost sheep. When he finds it, he returns and calls his friends and neighbors and they have a celebration for the finding of the lost sheep. Jesus shares that there is also such celebration in heaven when a sinner repents.

Many times in our culture we think of repentance in terms of stopping bad actions. This thought process is just plain wrong. Repentance does not mean stop, but rather means to turn around. In our 21st century mindset we often think that being a Christian simply means that we need to stop doing bad things. However, in reality we are to turn and pursue something different. As Jesus goes on I think what he is intimating becomes more clear.

THE LOST COIN

The next parable talks about a woman who has ten silver coins. She loses one of the coins and searches her house frantically, using everything at her disposal to help her, until she finds the coin. Again, he says that this woman calls her friends and neighbors and has a party to rejoice over finding the coin. He then goes on to say that there is joy in the presence of God’s messengers over one sinner who repents.

As I read the second parable, I begin to wonder whether any of the listeners, sinners or Pharisees, might have seen themselves in the sheep or in the coin. Did any of them think that one day they would be ushered into the presence of God and rejoicing would break out because they had shown up. I think at this point the listeners might have been perplexed as to where Jesus was going with these stories, but they may also have felt some arrogance as they pictured the celebration because they were ushered into heaven amidst great celebration.

THE TWO LOST SONS

While we often call the next parable the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the Bible that I am using calls it the Parable of the Lost Son, Keller says in his book that he thinks we may be missing the point of the story as we understand the teaching of Jesus in the larger context. Even Jesus begins by saying in verse 11, “A man had two sons.” So let’s take this one apart with that understanding from the beginning.

The story goes like this. The younger son comes to his father and tells him that he wants his inheritance right now while the father lives. To completely understand what this son is saying, you should know that he might as well say, “Dad, I am finished with you and really kind of wish you were dead. Why don’t you go ahead and give me all of my share of your wealth because I am going to go and live my life as I want.” There is no further discussion and the father simply gives the young man what he has asked.

The son travels far away, lives a life of wild pleasure, and spends everything that he has. When a famine struck the land, he found himself penniless and hungry and was put to work taking care of pigs. Please do not forget that pigs were unclean to the Jews so this was about as low a position as anyone in that time could imagine. The son eventually comes to his senses and decides that he is going to go back to his father, hat in hand, and ask if he can become one of his servants. He knows he does not deserve to be his son, but maybe his dad will feel bad for him and give him a job.

When the father sees this younger son making his way back home, he does something that the father of the house would never do in that culture, he runs to greet him. The father wraps the young son in his arms, and interrupts the son’s well-rehearsed speech to command that the father’s own robe and ring were to be placed on the son and that the fattened calf would be slaughtered for the massive party that was to be enjoyed by all.

The older son then shows up in the story for the first time. He hears the party going on and asks one of the servants what is going on. When the servant tells him, he is angry that his father would do such things as have been done on this day. The father sees the older son outside of the party and comes out to bring him in. The older son reminds the father of how much he has done for him and points out that he has never been disobedient. He reminds the father that there has never been so much as a goat given to him for a party with his friends, and the father simply tells the older son that he is already aware that everything the father has belongs to him. However, the father will not relent from celebrating the homecoming of the younger brother. The story ends.

Keller points out several things in his book that there is no room to include in this writing. These include such things as the fact that even though all that the father has will someday belong to the older son, if the younger son is allowed to come home, the older son will lose a bit from feeding and housing his brother, and the older son has already lost the fattened calf. However, the most important thing that Keller points out is the abrupt ending of the story with the older son not entering into the father’s feast of celebration.

The Pharisees that were listening to these stories were surely expecting a different ending than the one they just heard. There is no question to the audience for these three stories that the younger son represented the tax collectors and sinners while the older son was the picture of the Pharisees. There was a party thrown for the finding of the sheep, a party for the newly found coin, a party for the wayward son, but the older son was left outside. As you meditate on this, you can almost feel the tension as it sets in.

For you see, there is not a celebration in heaven because of what I could ever do to get there. No matter how good I may sometimes think that I am, God finds me and rescues me and brings me home because in truth I am not really worth saving. He saves me because he loves me exactly where I am at the time. He loves me and there is nothing I can do to earn that love or to make him love me any more than he does. It is when I become arrogant about my supposed obedience and belief that God owes something to me that I am in danger of being left outside of the party. True repentance means to turn around and look to the Father. He is right there running to me ready to embrace me and all I have to do is to recognize that I must turn to him in humility and the need for forgiveness.

Oh what a party it will be. The Father has brought another one home. We may be lost because we have lived a life just seeking pleasure, or we may be lost because we have lived a life trying to earn salvation. Either way, we are lost. Turn to the Father who is running your way and let him dress you in his robe and put his ring on your finger. Go into the party, not because you earned it, but because the Father called.