Let’s Celebrate | Luke 15  

God is picturized in this chapter as well as in Luke as a seeking Father, a Father who comes, seeks out, and searches the lost. Once he finds what was lost, he calls others to join his celebration. There is joy, rejoicing and celebration over one sinner who repents.

Today, we are going to look at God’s nature as the seeking Father in the three parables: The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.

BACKGROUND & CONTEXT

• In Luke 24, Jesus was at the house of the ruler of the Pharisees.
• Jesus addressed the issue of honour, going to a place and trying to seat at the lower seat so that you can be honoured or elevated to a higher standing.
• Then Jesus told the host, a Pharisee to invite the poor, crippled, the lame, and the blind for lunch or dinner so that he can be blessed.
• Jesus then told the parable of the banquet where the master invited guests but at the guests began to make excuses and the master finally invites the poor, crippled, the blind and the lame.
• Jesus then spoke about the cost of discipleship.

In the discussion with the Pharisees and then the lawyers, he mentioned that it is important to consider inviting the crippled the lame the blind and the poor to their dinner table. Then in the parable of the banquet, he emphasized that. Then knowing that they were very uncomfortable about that he goes on to lay out the cost of discipleship, the course that may involve social relations with people and attitude towards material possessions

Here, in Luke 15 we see Jesus doing something else beginning with meal time. At this point his critics are going to question him on why he should dine with the people he doesn’t they don’t think he should dine with.

Then we have the 3 famous parables in Luke 15. These three parables are all put in a very organized manner, in well-written literature, to make a very important case that Jesus wants to make to his critics.

• The Parable Of The Lost Sheep; Luke 15:1-7
• The Parable Of The Lost Coin; Luke 15:8-10
• The Parable Of The Lost Sons; Luke 15:11-32

Punch Line Of The Parable:

Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

What is the framework of this parable? Some observations:

1. The Cause

All the three parables deal with loss, recovery and celebration.

2. The Arrangements.

We will observe the pattern and a climatic effect how Jesus will use this pattern of hundred, ten, and two. He starts with a higher number, he goes with ten and then he goes with two, and then he creates his punchline, a big punch line from there.

3. Grumbling.

You will see the Pharisees grumbling/muttering in chapter 15:1-2, and then by the time we reach 15:29-30, we will see the elder brother of a lost brother grumbling.

4. Joy & Celebration.

The other thing you may want to observe in this discourse is how joy and celebration go on to almost diffuse the grumbling of the Pharisees.

Central to all these questions for grumbling is: Why Jesus should feast with sinners and tax collectors?

5. Characters of the Parable

Luke shows us these parables not only for the central message but also using the characters in the parables to convey a strong message to us. He will use shepherds, he will use a woman, and he will use a son that people like the Pharisees and scribes will not like or could have prominence in a presence of a rabbi like Jesus.

Luke 15:1-2 ¹Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

This Provokes Jesus To Say This 3-Series Parables:

Luke 15:2-6

³Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

In this parable of the lost sheep, please notice that Jesus uses a shepherd in the parable.

A shepherd is supposed to be despised.

A shepherd is not respected in society.

Jesus will elevate the status of a shepherd in this parable to show that in the kingdom of God, the occupations that are not well received or well honoured in society will still take some prominence or be received in the kingdom. So Shepherd becomes a key figure here.

Let’s go on with what happens with the Shepherd. The Shepherd loses one sheep and says to himself, “I need to go and look for that sheep that was lost.” What Jesus is doing here is: He’s using a shepherd and despised occupation as an example for the Pharisees and scribes to learn what is important in the kingdom of God. He said the Shepherd lost one sheep and he leaves the 99 to go and look for the one that was missing.

Now let me clarify a few things here: There are those who are of the view that perhaps the Shepherd left the 99 carryings less about what happens to them. No that is not what is going on here. In the ancient Middle East in culture shepherds go in groups. The father may go with his sons and they would take care of the flock. The fact that the main shepherd himself would go and look for the one that is missing is the central issue here. It’s not living the 99 in disregard of their faith. No, the 99 will be taken care of by other shepherds, perhaps children of the shepherd. But the fact that the shepherd set aside time and thought that one sheep that is lost deserves his attention, his effort to go and look for, is the issue Jesus is arriving at here

When a shepherd found the sheep we are told he takes that sheep and put it on his shoulder. What a triumphant scene that a shepherd counts this sheep so important and so precious that he finds the sheep and he takes the Sheep and puts sheep on his shoulder.

“A lost sheep, we are told usually lies down and gives up and will not find its way back.”

When a sheep gets lost, the sheep lies down and wait to be found. This animal is still so important to the Shepherd, that a shepherd would do this, and when a shepherd finds it the shepherd is not upset, the Shepherd finds a cause for celebration.

So the question: Why do you spend time and dine with sinners and tax collectors?

Oh in effect Jesus is saying: Like that lost sheep when the sheep was found why should we not call friends and relatives to celebrate that this sheep which was lost it’s now found? Why should we not celebrate that the sinners and the tax collectors have been found and it is worth dining with them?

Remember in the previous chapter he gave them the parable of the banquet. They should understand that the kingdom of God is a place where the ordinaries can find their place. The Pharisees and the tax collectors should consider the spirit of the shepherd when he found that lost sheep. There is a cause to rejoice. But what would the Pharisees and the scribes do? Why are they not happy to rejoice with them?

Jesus goes on to tell another parable. In this parable, he turns to another figure, a woman as the main character in the parable. If you recall in Luke’s narrative Luke uses a Samaritan to press home a point in chapter 10 on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Here we see Jesus get into the Pharisees again by first using a shepherd and then now a woman.

Luke 15:8-10

⁸“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

He uses the woman, presumably a woman who has lost some of her money, who persistently searches to find and calls other people around to celebrate. But notice the punchline here how Jesus puts it:

Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Why do you dine with sinners and tax collectors? Jesus is suggesting that perhaps the people they are looking at are sinners who may have already repented. May have already been people in the kingdom of God. They may have embraced the kingdom of God for what the kingdom brings but they still project the old images onto them. So there is a cause to rejoice before the angels. Why are you dining? We are celebrating because the lost is found.

• Jesus using a woman as a central figure should be an issue.
• Touching on possession and looking for possession is very interesting.
• Show something that is significant to the woman’s place in the household.
• Searching required real effort and a sense of the value in that which is lost.
• Jesus said, “There is every cause for us to rejoice and celebrate.” That is why you see him with tax collectors and sinners.

Then Jesus will go on to tell the parable that is very, very popular.

• Understand that you will not see the tone and the tenor being a disappointed father who thinks he has a son who is wasteful.
• There is a real and genuine son that a father loves that was lost.
• The father is genuinely going to celebrate because the son will be found.
• He is a lost son.

The prodigal son is not a good title for this parable. Some have called this parable: The waiting father. This captures the image of the father living in constant expectation of the return of his son. Some have called the parable of the compassionate father and his two sons, two lost sons. The seeking Father That also captures the image of the father as I will show you in this discussion and the character and the portrait of the two sons in this parable.

Luke 15:11-32

¹¹Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Some Key Observations:

• This is the longest of Jesus’ parables in the NT.
• This parable has two stages: One converts the incident with the younger son and the second part covers that of the older son.
• We have a parable of a violation of the cultural obligation to take care of parents. Deuteronomy 21:18-21. As the ancient Jewish customs go, children have obligation to care for their parents at old age, children were the retirement plan of their parents. It is integral that children honour their parents by taking good care of them and giving them a fitting and decent burial. It is so dishonourable and shameful for a child to try to leave the parents with the intent of no return regardless of what happens to them.

The Pharisees should deplore/disapprove of this conduct as they heard Jesus tell the story. This younger son had violated a major cultural principle.

The general attitude of this boy may be harsh. I see why people want to do that that is Jesus’s main point. Nobody should like the conduct of this guy but he would not like you to refer to him as a wasteful son because that’s not a point of the parable.

Notice something here that as a Jewish boy, he came to so much need and so hungry that he hired himself to a Gentile who happens to have pigs and would desire to be fed off the food that is given to the pigs. He could not have gone much lower.

First, The Son Asked For His Share Of The Estate.

What share did he have? He only has some portion of the inheritance when the parents should die. He had not earned those estates but you see demanding an inheritance while parents are alive in itself is dishonouring the parents. He went for it again anyway but notice what the father will do. That father will be like, “No problem, you asked for that I’ll give you.”

Second, The Possibility That This Jewish Boy Will Go And Hire Himself To A Gentile.

He took off as we are told he took off his belongings all lived belongings and left implying that he had no intention of coming back. You see like most young people today when they rebel against their parents, they think the grass is greener on the other side and they are going to go for it anyway and in rebellious spirit, they go up and do whatever they want to do. But you see the conditions here are so bad, so bad.

Let me walk you through how this guy left home picking up a few issues from the parable:

The Younger Son Leaves Home.

1. He Left Home With the Intention Of No Return, V13

You see he left home with the intent of no return verse 13 he packed all his belongings and took off. He left nothing behind.

2. He Squandered His Wealth In Wild Living & Prostitutes, V15, 30
3. Working For A Gentile And Desiring Food For Swine.

As a Jewish boy, you do not touch pigs, they will be defiled (Lev. 11:7-8; Isa. 65:4; Isa. 66:17). Out of need he is going to the pigs. Imagine a Pharisee and ascribe listening to this condition about a son. Clearly, the verdict is there. He was sinning against God for this dishonouring of his father. The commandments are clear: The sin against his father and against God is unambiguous with his behaviour. If you are a Pharisee or scribe listening to Jesus tell this parable you said, “Yes I always thought this is what the tax collectors and the sinners are. They have gone too far.”

So the question still remains: “Why should Jesus dine with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus wants the scribes and the Pharisees to know that the son turn around and came back home. The son returned, and the lost son will come back home.

The Return of the Son:

• He Reconsidered The Father’s Resources; 15:17
• He Desired To Go Back; 15:18.

The journey home was prompted by this desire to go back. The desire for him to come to his senses could be interpreted and understood in terms of radical repentance.

Radical Repentance:

• He Accepted Responsibility: Sinned Against God And His Father; 15:18.
• Confession Of Change In Attitude: Prideful son to ‘make me one of your hired servants’ – 15:19

The repentant son has come to his senses.

This son acknowledged his arrogant behaviour.

He’s adopting a humble posture.

This son is going to return.

He realized that time with his father being a better place

• Radical Repentance: He returned to the father – change for good – 15:20a

Image Of A Father

• A father who is willing to give the children what they ask for and allow them to face the consequences.
• A father who has that big heart and struggles while his son was out there, looking for him to return.
• The father was expecting him and saw his son minus his possession.
• Father runs to meet the son. A father who will gladly welcome when his son’s returns.
• The father had compassion, embraced, and kissed him – 15:20. Deepest love and affection for the son.
• Father Celebrates.

Son

• Lost his status and honor.
• Reduced to shame because of the choices he had made.

Father’s Mode Of Celebration:

• Clothed Him With Garment – Reinstatement of his honor, gave dignity.
• Gave Him A Ring – A symbol of authority.
• Put Shoes On His Feet – sign of freeman, not a slave

The father was pleased to see his lost son come back and celebrate with him and others.

Who represents the father in this parable? God

Who represents the tax collectors and sinners? The older brother.

What is the older brother’s problem? He would not accept his younger brother back.

Older Brother/Pharisees

He Did Not Rebel But Remained Loyal To His Father. Every part of the property was his because the brother’s share was gone.

His Refusal To Go To The Banquet Brought Shame And Dishonour To The Father.

He Could Not Get Himself To Call His Younger Brother, Brother. He said, “This son of yours.” He could not say ‘my brother.’

Suspense – Would the elder brother join the party?

Will the elder brother join the party? Will the Pharisees and scribes join Jesus?

The father is willing and eager to celebrate the return of the lost son. The elder son is not eager, he is quite upset. We are seeing the attitude of the scribes and the Pharisees and our God is willing to have the lost people back in the fold play out in this parable.

If the elder brother accepted the invitation and come and join, he will actually gain a brother who was lost and now returned. But would he? In the parable that is silent. Luke leaves us in suspense as to whether the older brother will heed the invitation to come or not, as if to say let the Pharisees and scribes figure it out. Are they going to join the feast with the tax collectors and sinners or will they still be insisting on their righteousness?

Life Application Points:

1. Our God Is The Seeking Father

Seeking Shephard, Seeking Woman, and Seeking Father. God is compassionate. God searches until he finds it. When he finds he rejoices over it.

2. God Weeps Over The Lost, Searches The Lost; Rejoices Over The Found

3. Repentance Is To Turn Around And Go The Other Way

4. Forget What You Did In The Past, Come To The Father

CONCLUSION

I don’t know how far you have gone yourself.

I don’t know how rebellious you think you have been in relation to your relationship with God. You may think, “There is no reason why God should accept you back you have done too much.” You much you may hear people who tell you, “You do not deserve to belong to the kingdom of God because the very things you have done are the very things the laws of God forbid anyone who is a true follower of Jesus for doing.”

If you are the one who is lost and if you think that people are judging you and there is no way back. I am here to tell you that, “It does not matter how far you have gone. Even to point of a Jewish boy feeding pigs, the father is ready to embrace. He is calling you to come back.”

The parable of the lost son reveals the father’s heart and the inclusive nature of the kingdom of God. Those who carry the badge of sinners can now find a place with Jesus. Those who carry the badge of tasks collectors can now find their place with Jesus and so can you.

May I give a personal invitation to you? If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour I like to remind you that he’s eager to have you back. While you are still a long way off God is looking after you and looking forward to the day you will set foot to come back home, a place of salvation, a place of rest, a place of release, a place where God reigns, where God accepts, where God embrace, and where Jesus himself celebrates the fact that you who may call yourself unworthy find prominence in the house of God. May God bless as this message become a part of our lives where we embrace the love of God, embrace the richness and the vastness of the people. He wants you and me in his house to dine with him, to celebrate with him. Would you say yes?

Are you like the Pharisees today, the older son? Are you not able to join the Father’s party? Are you dealing with bitterness, and betrayal? The Father loves you as well. Join the Party, let’s celebrate.

May God bless you. May God grant you grace. May God break the spirit of rejection in us and let us understand how much love and how much care God has for us.

God is graciously stretching out his arms waiting for us to come for the embrace. May you come and be embraced in the loving arms of God.