Monday 13th March
Read Luke 15:1-10
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’
3 Then 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? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” 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 people who do not need to repent.
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? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’” (NIVUK)
Luke 15 is one of the great passages in scripture describing God’s joy in saving sinners, containing one of the most famous parables Jesus told, the parable of the lost son (v11-32). These parables were prompted by the muttering of the ‘righteous’ that Jesus attracts and welcomes sinners. It is preceded by two shorter parables that, on the surface, tell much the same story: the lost sheep and the lost coin. Assuming Luke did not group these parables together simply to have Jesus make the same point three times, it is worth stepping back slightly and taking in all three together before jumping into each of them individually.
All three concern something that was lost but is then found and the overwhelming joy that follows its return. Jesus then makes clear to his listeners that this joy reflects the immense value to God in heaven of every sinner who repents (v7, 10, 24, 32). In doing so Jesus likens sinners to straying sheep, lifeless coins and foolish sons. If, sheep, coin and son represent sinners in these stories, who is seeking to find and save them? The first describes one who cares for sheep, the second a woman with a light and the third a rejected father. It takes little imagination to recognise in the first parable, Jesus, the great shepherd, seeking his lost sheep. Nor is it difficult to recognise God the Father waiting and longing for the return of his lost son. Which makes one wonder if the woman with the lamp reflects the work of the Spirit of God?
Luke describes the work of God’s Spirit in seeking those who are lost through the mission of the people of God, indwelt by His Spirit, starting from Jerusalem and going to the ends of the earth (Acts). God’s people are described in scripture as both a bride and a light in the world. Jesus may be capturing that in his story of a woman with a lamp searching for something precious, particularly as most commentators believe the coin comes from the bridal head-dress of a young maiden. So, in the second parable perhaps we see the work of God’s Spirit, working through God’s people, seeking and saving those who are lost? The great Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, thought so – seeing in these three parables the entire compass of the love of God in saving lost sinners, Father, Son and Spirit.
As we consider this stunning triumvirate of parables, do we, like the woman with the lamp, share in the profound joy in heaven at the return of that which was lost? Or do we merely mutter and grumble?
