Today’s readings: Luke 14-16, Psalm 119:97-120
Luke 15:1-2, 7
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
7[Jesus says,] I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
I recall a conversation between a dedicated Christian woman and a former missionary, seminary professor, and then-current District President. It went something like this. She would ask, “What do you think about…?” His answer: “Well, you have to put that into a different context if we’re going to benefit from asking this question….” It was a very edifying conversation for her, as well as for me as I listened.
Context, you see, is everything.
So while many of us know the Lost and Found parables of Luke 15, we might want to look carefully at the context if we are fully to benefit from their teaching. We certainly can draw various conclusions from them about the value of those things that were lost or the effort taken to find them. We can even find meaning in the progression from 1 out of 100, to 1 out of 10, to 1 out of 2.
But let’s look at the context and occasion for Jesus’ teaching these parables. The Pharisees and scribes were grumbling about the company Jesus was keeping. He was hanging out with sinners and even eating with them. This was scandalous to them. Jesus was sullying himself by these associations to begin with, but dining with the likes of these people was beyond the pale.
So when Jesus tells these three parables, he is making a point about God’s values and the manner in which he deals with sinners. I suppose a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders would not be that unusual. And a woman holding her found coin for all to see would make sense. But the image of a father running to meet his once-lost son is beyond imagination. The rest of the story Jesus tells—the party, the fattened calf, the robe and ring—just adds to the scandal.
So when Jesus says that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, he is seeking to reorient the minds and hearts of these Pharisees and scribes. That reorientation would require deep humility and a new way of looking at the tax collectors and sinners all around them.
But Jesus is offering them something more than a correction. He is giving them a different view of the heart of God. And if they will look honestly into their own hearts, they may discover that they too are among the lost whom God is seeking. Self-righteousness can leave us standing outside the celebration, convinced that others need a grace we ourselves do not.
That’s the context of these parables. Jesus isn’t merely telling us how valuable lost people are. He is showing us what God is like. He searches for the lost. He rejoices when they are found. And in the final parable, the father goes out to meet both of his lost sons—the one who wandered far from home and the one who was lost while standing in his own backyard.
And that’s very good news. Because whichever kind of lost we may be, the Father is still coming out to bring us home.
PS: For those who are interested, Pastor Michael Zeigler, Lutheran Hour speaker recorded a modern-day version of the Prodigal Son parable. It is totally worth watching.
Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.
Click the image below to watch the Bible Project video for the second half of Luke’s gospel. Or click this link: https://bibleproject.com/videos/luke-10-24/
Please Note: The Bible Project video suggests that the institution of the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic meal. Jesus, however, never uses the word symbol. And throughout the ages Christians have celebrated this meal as a life-giving meal of salvation, receiving as Jesus says, his body and blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.
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