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Food for Thought: Let's Celebrate

Feb 25 , 2007

Dr. Mark Ruppert

Luke 15:1-10

If you could take a moment and list some of the greatest chapters in the Bible which ones would you select?  I would imagine a number of people would list Psalm 23, the Shepard’s Psalm.  Another might be the third chapter of John, verse 16- “For God so loved the world….” Romans 8 might be on a number of people’s list.  What about the 15th chapter of Luke?  Luke 15 contains 3 parables about things that were lost but, lo and behold, are found.  The first parable is about a shepherd who has 100 sheep, one gets lost and the shepherd goes out and rescues it.  The second parable is about a woman who has 10 silver coins, looses one of them and upon searching for it finds it.  And the third parable is about a man who has two sons, the younger decides he wants to sow his wild oats, asks his father for his inheritance which was like telling his dad- drop dead, the father gives him what he asks for, the son leaves the family with his inheritance and goes to another land and squanders it all.  He squanders all of his money and eventually comes to his senses, or as Luke 15:17 says, “But when he came to himself…” he goes back home and is welcomed by, well, let’s just say most of the family. The theme that runs through all three parables is this: that which is lost is found and there is great what?  What happens in all three cases?  There is great  REJOICING. 

This morning we are going to look at the first two parables and then, during the other 4 Sundays of Lent, make our way through this 15th chapter of Luke and focus on the Parable of the lost son.  So let’s get started with the first 10 verses of our chapter.

First of all, who comes calling in verse 1?  We begin with verses 1-2 telling us that tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear Jesus.  And the Pharisees and the scribes were there and they start to grumble saying, “This fellow [Jesus] welcomes and eats with them [the tax collectors and sinners].” 

I have visited the Sea of Galilee when I was in the Holy Land several years ago.  I am told that at times, violent storms have been known to gather on that sea.  Luke 15 has the beginnings of a thunderstorm.  Why do I say this?  Well, because the religious establishment is feeling threatened by this Jesus. 

When Jesus told these stories He is headed on a mission.  Where is He going?  He is on His way to Jerusalem where the storm will break loose and wreak its howling fury on His tired body.  There will be a storm that will break forth that the world had or has never seen.  Please turn with me to Luke 9:51 and you’ll see what I mean.  But even before you turn to Luke 9:51 turn to Luke 9:28 and following.  What do we read about here?  I preached on this passage just last Sunday.  What is this passage about?  It is the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mt. Hermon and so what we are going to read in Luke 9:51 is following this spectacular event.  Look with me to Luke 9:51.  It says, "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  And if you read further you will read a portion of teaching materials that has been called “the Travel Document”.  Luke 15 is well into the middle of this Travel Document material.  So our three parables in our chapter must be understood in light of the fact that Jesus has set His face towards Jerusalem where He is going to, as Luke 9:51 says, “be taken up” or be killed. 

So back to our passage.  The three parables of the “lost” are building to a tense climax.  The religious righteous of the community, the Pharisees and the scribes, brought a complaint that Jesus is eating with the wrong people- the irreligious.  So we have the religious- the Pharisees and the scribes, and we have the irreligious- the tax collectors and sinners, and we have Jesus.  In our 10 verses of Luke 15 we only have sinners and Christ appearing but in the parable of the lost son, the symbol of the righteous is the person of the older son. 

But the tax collectors and sinners: these were not the most popular people in town. 

A person bought from the rulers, in this case the Romans, the right to collect taxes in their area.  And what the tax collector would do was set his own rates and so he would collect whatever he could.  A contract that he would sign with the authorities would guarantee a certain amount that he would have to turn in.  These tax collects were often Gentiles.  In Palestine these tax collectors would then hire local people to do their dirty work of collecting the money.

When you read the gospels you find that the title of tax collector is usually hooked up with other unpopular people, especially the Pharisees loved to do this.  And so they would list tax collectors with sinners and with adulterers and, understandably, sinners.  Another word for sinners is unclean. 

So what is the issue?  Christ welcomes sinners.  Another word for welcomes is “receives.”  The Greek word here means “to welcome into fellowship.”  In other words, Jesus accepted the other guy as a brother.  And more than that Jesus ate with them. 

This was the crowning blow.  You see, in the Middle East for a person to eat with another is really a sacramental act that signifies total acceptance.  And if one of the people happens to be a religious teacher or leader, the villager believes the guest imparts a semi physical “blessing” just by his presence. 

So Jesus tells a parable- it’s really three stories with a singular. These parables are really a unit.  First, vs. 4-7 and The Lost Sheep.  Jesus says to them, “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”  Now let me just say, Jesus, talking to the Pharisees as if they were shepherds was well, infuriating.   Think of it this way in our western world.  If you talk to the president as you would a congressional page, you would insult him.  If you talk to a king they way you would a street sweeper, you would anger him.  If you talked to a Pharisee the way you might a shepherd, you would infuriate him.  Chalk one up to Jesus. 

He doesn’t show any preferential treatment to the Pharisees and their rank, and in the Middle East rank is everything. 

Any shepherds in the crowd today?  Well, in Jesus day shepherds were considered unclean by virtue of being associated with the sheep.  The Pharisees called the shepherds, “people of the land” and they would avoid these unclean men.  A Pharisee, if he owned 100 sheep would go out and hire himself a shepherd and he would rather loose all 100 than go out in the wilderness after them.   

Jesus says, “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them.”  Let me stop right here.  Jesus has broken the accepted pattern of speech by asking this question.  You see, in the Middle East a man never blames himself for anything.  He wouldn’t say, “I missed the bus,” but rather “the bus left me.”  He wouldn’t say, “I dropped the glass” but rather the glass fell.”  So what Jesus does is put the responsibility on the shepherd by saying, “If he lost one of them.”

The 99 are left out there in the wilderness and there, more than likely would be undershepherds watching them.  But the question is this: Is it smart to leave the 99 and go after the one?   Here are the issues.  If the shepherd goes after the one it gives a sense of security to the other 99.  If he forgets the one that is lost, and, for the sake of the larger group stays with them, then the 99 might becomes insecure and say, “If I get lost he will not come after me either.  I am not really valued.”  So the shepherd is paying a high price to go out and find the one and so he offers a security to the others.  Now if you know anything about the Middle East it could take days climbing up and down hills and rugged terrain in search of the one sheep.  Think about this- if we loose some of our money, we will try and do almost anything in our power to find it.  Lost people are usually not as valued in our eyes. (The Cross and the Prodigal, Bailey, p. 22)  So the shepherd finds the one and now the hard work begins.  He has to get the sheep back with the other 99.  And so he puts the sheep on his shoulders.  Interesting, in the early church Jesus was called the “Good Shepherd.  ”When the lost sheep is found the responsibility of restoration has only begun.  When the shepherd arrives home with the lost sheep we read in verse 6 that he gathers his friends and neighbors- the community, and there is great rejoicing. 

To bring this parable to a close, the Pharisees, the religious leaders should have been the “shepherds of the people of Israel.”  Friends, the church stands with the Pharisees for the standard was set high for those religious people and the standard is set for us.  And we are under the same judgment when it comes to the lost. 

To summarize- the shepherd in the parable does four things:

1) He takes responsibility for the loss.  2) He goes out and tries to find the lost without counting the cost.  3) He celebrates in the burden of restoration.  And 4) he rejoices with the community at the successful finding of the lost.

So what does Jesus say to bring this parable to a close?  Verse7- “…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.” 

Parable #2- The lost coin.  Jesus continues to talk about money.  In the Middle East peasant women would either 1) carry her worldly possessions of gold or silver fastened to a chain that would be worn around her neck or 2) she would carry any cash for daily expenses in a scrap of tightly knotted rag.  But in our woman’s case the knot worked its way loose and a coin fell out in her home.  Her home floor was mud and so it fell into the dust and got lost.  She is ashamed and full of remorse that she didn’t make a tighter knot.  Now remember the coin has been lost in her home.   Why do I emphasize this?  Because the lost sinner was in the House of Israel.  He was not in some far away country for he could be found.  He was there within their house.  He was one of them.  If they only search attentively they can find him.  She searches diligently and guess what?  She finds the coin.  So what does she do?  She throws a party and like the shepherd she invites her friends and neighbors.

The point Jesus is making in this parable- the finding of a lost tax collector should make everyone stand up and rejoice.

So what is the moral to both these parables and what do they say to us?  Well maybe we have been lost at some time in our lives and we were found, or rather Jesus came to us and we welcomed Him into our lives.  Maybe we have drifted away from God and the Church and we made our way back and we have been the better for it.  Or maybe we became careless and we got in with the wrong crowd or we found ourselves in the wrong places, or we made some poor choices.  Maybe we became complacent or neglectful or indifferent and we became lost.  But thanks be to God we were found.  We came to our senses and came around to Jesus and recommitted our lives to Him.  Do you realize that all of us could be one step, one choice, one move away from being lost.  Stay fixed, stay attached to Jesus.  We will not be sorry.  Stay found, stay found in His loving arms.  For He is the Good Shepherd who desperately wants an on-going relationship with us.  Stay found.  Amen.

Key Points

Introduction: If you could list some of the greatest chapters in the Bible, which ones would you select?

Luke 15

The theme that runs through all 3 parables is that which is lost is found and there is great what?  ___________

The first two parables

        Parable one: the Lost Sheep

                Who comes calling?                                     vs. 1-2

                 What is the issue?  Christ welcomes ________

                    Vs. 4-7 and the Lost Sheep

                    In the Middle East a man never blames himself

                Is it smart to leave the 99 and go after the one?

The shepherd does 4 things: 1) He takes responsibility for the loss, 2) He goes out and tries to find the lost, 3)    He celebrates in the burden of restoration, and 4) He rejoices with the community at the successful finding of the lost

       Parable two: the Lost Coin

                        The lost sinner was in the ______ of ________   

         The point Jesus is making is the finding of the lost tax collector should make everyone stand up and rejoice

Conclusion: Stay fixed, stay attached to Jesus.  Stay found. 

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)