[Biblemat] S) THE "LOST" PARABLES (LUKE 15)

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use to the glory of God.

THE "LOST" PARABLES (LUKE 15)

     One of the many objections publicly voiced by Jesus' ene-
mies was related to His association with sinners.  Of course,
they had little to say regarding why Jesus was with them (Lk.
19:10).  On one occasion, hearing the scribes and Pharisees
murmuring about Jesus' company, He spoke three parables.

     1. THE LOST SHEEP: -- Jesus tells the story of a shep-
herd who realizes that one sheep is missing.  Despite the ex-
tra energy and time that it requires, he leaves the ninety-nine
behind and goes in search for the one lost sheep.  When he
finds it, he is not angry and ready to butcher it.  He "lays it on
his shoulders," and brings it back to the fold, heralding it as
an occasion for rejoicing.

     The hearts and faces of the scribes and Pharisees must
have burned red-hot as Jesus concluded this parable by say-
ing, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heav-
en over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just
persons who need no repentance."  No one there had any 
problem understanding the point of this parable.  But, Jesus
was not finished.

     2. THE LOST COIN: -- Jesus continues, calling the audien-
ce's attention to the fact that any woman who has ten drach-
mas and loses one, will "turn the house upside down" in order to find it.  
David Padfield states "The coin in the parable
was the Greek drachma which was nearly equal to the Roman
denarius, worth about seventeen cents and equal to one day's wage.  If the 
coin was part of the household treasury,
its loss would be a large financial hardship.  More likely, the
coin was part of a necklace or headdress worn by a Jewish
woman as  part of her dowry.  The item was the sign of a 
married woman and equivalent to our modern wedding ring.
Losing one of the pieces of this ornament would, therefore,
cause dismay and worry because the sentimental value would
be as great as the monetary value".  If that be the case, men,
what would your wife do if the diamond was missing from her
wedding ring?  Just what this woman did, both searching
everywhere to find it and calling all her friends when it was
found.  But, Jesus doesn't end the parable here.  Again, He
makes the application that His audience needed to hear:
"Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner who repents" (vs. 10).  The
scribes and Pharisees must have been quite "hot under the
collar" to be rebuked in the presence of "sinners."  But, Jesus was not 
finished.

     3. THE LOST SON: -- Jesus teaches what is often called
the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  I believe that this parable is
more aptly titled the Parable of the Lost Son (or Sons).

     A  wealthy man's youngest son makes quite a crude reque-
st -- to receive his inheritance before the death of his father.
The father cannot force his son to follow the way of wisdom
and so he divides the inheritance among his two sons.  A few
days later, the younger son goes into a far country ready to
sow his wild oats.  Maybe only a parent can truly sympathize
with the father -- having a son away form home with lots of
money and having no contact with him.  What distress!

     As we look at the younger son, we wonder "What are you
thinking?"  The wealth that took his father years and years
to build quickly dissipates in prodigal living.  That money was
not only the product of years of hard work, it also should have been a source 
of great happiness and security for years
to come, but the younger son has thrown it all away for the
passing pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:25).

     But, easy comes, easy go.  The son is blind-sided by a
famine that consumes the land.  Then, things go from bad to
worse.  You can hear the collective groan from Jesus' audien-
ce when they hear that he is feeding swine -- a job that no
self-respecting Jew would ever consider doing.  Now, where
are the friends who must have showered the younger son
with compliments and "sweet nothings" while they feasted
together?  Their "love" is shown to be nothing.  The thrill is
gone.

     At this point, either it does not occur to the son to return
home or something is keeping him from it.  Maybe pride pre-
vents hs return -- after all, what son, having left home as he
did, wants to go crawling back to Dad admitting failure?  Maybe it was 
emparrassment and shame that he had fallen
so far, so fast.  Maybe he hoped that his luck would soon turn around and 
that he could again return to the party life.
For a few days, something kept him there feeding swine.  But
neithr pride, shame, nor hope fill a belly, and his was soon
empty, so finally "he came to himself" (vss. 17-19).  Please
notice that he didn't "come to himself" while surrounded by 
the friends and pleasures which he had sought.  His conscie-
nce did not overcome him during a wild party so that he was
forced to stop the party, clear the room, take the remaining
money, and return home.  If a good, honest heart had convin-
ced him to come to himself, we might easily respect his chan-
ge of heart.  But, it wasn't initially his conscience that brought him to 
himself -- circumstances did.  He was going
to starve to death!  He had nothing and had no other choice.
It was then, during those most desparate of circumstances,
that "he came to himself."

     Being pricked in both his soul and stomach, he decides to
return home, confess his sins against heaven and man, and 
work as a servant.  Some, hearing his reasoning in vs. 17 ("How many of my 
father's hired servants have bread enough
and to spare, and I perish with hunger") might say, "Hmm --
the first thing out of his mouth is about food, not repentance
...I wonder why he's really returning home?!  The words sound good but..."  
Others might say, "How dare he even ask
to be allowed to return home.  I'd never take him back into my
house!"

     In vs. 20, the father sees his son "when he was still a great
way off" and runs to him in compassion, likely not knowing
anything about where his son has been, what he has been
doing, or why he is here.  (The son no doubt, showed the signs of wear and 
tare from his episode in the hog pen and
not eating enough, JWS).  The father is neither angry nor indi-
fferent in his words or actions toward his prodigal son.  In vss. 22-24, 
despite having heard only a few words of repent-
ance, the father does not demand begging, groveling, or a great outward 
demonstration of sorrow from his son, but he
quickly calls for all the symbols of home and family to be
brought to him.  His father receives him back, not as a serv-
ant, but as the son whom he loved despite the younger son's
betrayal.

     If the parable could end here, we might add "and they all
lived happily ever after."  But it doesn't end that way, for the
scene now shifts to the older son.

     In vss. 25-28, the older son is where he has been all along--
working in the field.  Hearing that his brother has returned and that there 
is a celebration, he is angry, has no desire to
see his brother, and thus keeps his distance.  Word comes to
the father that now his older son is distancing himself from
the family.  The joy of the return of one son is now tempered
by the other son's distance.  Will the father now explode in
anger?  No, vs. 28 says that he comes to the older son "plead-
ing" with him to come see his brother and engage in the cere-
mony.

     The older son responds to his father's pleading by accus-
ing his father of being unfair.  "Why all the fuss over him who
has devoured your livlihood with harlots?"  (How did the older
son know that for a fact?  I doubt that he did).  I find it ironic
that the sin of the younger son was primarily against heaven
and his father?  Yet who is having trouble letting go of the
past?

     The father reasons with his son, acknowledging his years
of faithful service and reminding him that the family wealth
all belongs to him now, but he affirms that it is right that they
rejoice that the younger son is back.  Thus, it is wrong if they
do not rejoice and welcome him back!

     I realize that this is "just" a parable, but allow me to wond-
er a little -- did the younger brother learn of this conversat-
ion?  I wonder if he felt the cold shoulder of his own brother.
The younger son already had and continued to face the con-
sequences resulting from his decision to leave home.  He now
has to work the rest of his life to provide for himself, having
no inheritance upon which to rely.  The prosperity of the fami-
ly business itself would be a reminder to the younger son of
what he had wasted.  The way of this transgressor is hard 
without the older brother rubbing salt in this self-inflicted
wound (Prov. 13:15).  Yet, the irony is that as this parable
ends--who is the lost son?

     The ears of the scribes and Pharisees are again burning.
They get the point!  Do we?  Where am I among these para-
bles?

     Am I by faith among the ninety-nine ?  Am I the one?  Am I
one who has the duty of watching for others (Heb. 13:17; Gal.
6:1; Jas. 5:19,20)?

     Am I the younger son early in the parable, biding time until
I can do things "my way"?  Beware of the famine.  Remember
now your Creator (Eccl. 11:9-12:1).  Am I the younger son, during the middle 
of the parable, having "come to myself" but
not yet having faced my Father?  Remember that He will for-
give (1 Jno. 1:9; Acts 22:16)?  Am I the younger son in the latter part of 
the parable?  Having finally returned to the Fath-
er, will I go back to His work like the Corinthians, who by dili-
gence and zeal "proved themselves to be clear in this matter"
(2 Cor. 7:9-11)?  There is not time to waste.  Our Father needs us back in 
the field where we should have been all along (Jno. 4:35).

     Am I the older son?  Faithful in many things but lacking my
Father's compassion?  "Examine yourselves as to whether
you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Do you not know your-
selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?  Unless indeed you are disqualified" (2 
Cor. 13:5).

     The Lamb of God was crucified so that there could be re-
joicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.  If there is joy
in heaven among God's angels, then let we, who are a little
lower that the angels, rejoice in the same.  --- David Halbrook
in Truth Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 7, July 2007.   </HTML>
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