“‘We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Luke 15:32
The third story Jesus tells is the best, for it’s the culmination of the prior two parables. Just as people love finding their lost things, God loves finding His lost sons and daughters. And this tells the story of mankind—why we all were lost and how we’ve been found.
The younger of two sons sins against his father not only by deserting him, but by demanding an inheritance that should only be given at his father’s death. The results are tragic: the son is separated from his father, squanders the wealth he received, is enslaved to idols of his own making, and suffers to the point of death. Finally, he comes to the end of himself and resolves to beg for his father’s forgiveness.
When the father sees him far off, he feels compassion, adorns him in his best clothes, kills the fattened calf, and throws a feast. But all this while, the self-righteous older brother throws a fit. Here, Jesus twists the knife into the religious leaders. The question isn’t why Jesus is eating with sinners, but why these leaders aren’t eating with Him. Are you?
The younger of two sons sins against his father not only by deserting him, but by demanding an inheritance that should only be given at his father’s death. The results are tragic: the son is separated from his father, squanders the wealth he received, is enslaved to idols of his own making, and suffers to the point of death. Finally, he comes to the end of himself and resolves to beg for his father’s forgiveness.
When the father sees him far off, he feels compassion, adorns him in his best clothes, kills the fattened calf, and throws a feast. But all this while, the self-righteous older brother throws a fit. Here, Jesus twists the knife into the religious leaders. The question isn’t why Jesus is eating with sinners, but why these leaders aren’t eating with Him. Are you?
Scripture Focus
Luke 15:11-32
Insight
Lest we grumble at God’s mercy toward sinners, let’s remember that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 43-44
- Psalm 22
- Mark 2