In each of my Luke-Acts assignments there is a devotional part at the end, where you are given a couple of passages from Scripture to read, describe, and learn from. Here is one such devotional study (it won't necessarily read like a blog entry, but at this stage it's the best I can do):
Luke 15:1-10
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
Luke 15:1-10
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, 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.
"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
In this passage we find Jesus teaching two sets of people - tax collectors and sinners, and Pharisees and scribes. The former group were gathered around Jesus, eager to hear what He had to say. The latter group were indignant at this, grumbling amongst themselves because “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (15:2). In response to these murmurings Jesus told three parables, two of which are found in the passage in question.
The first has to do with a man losing one of his hundred sheep, and going out to look for it. Jesus’ rhetorical question implies that this would be common practice in the day (15:4). When the man finds the sheep he brings it home and rejoices with his friends. The message on Jesus’ lips is that so it is in heaven when a lost sinner repents. The second parable has the same point, except this time the story is based on a woman who is searching for a missing coin. She sweeps the whole house until she finds it, and when she does there is much rejoicing.
The parables of Jesus are generally said to have one main message, but in this instance I think there are several points of contact and therefore several messages to take from these parables, especially given the context (Jesus was teaching both sinners and Pharisees it seems). For me, the message which comes through has to do with the person of Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes complained about “this man” who treated sinners so favourably. Jesus’ parables can be seen as a defence of His character and an insight into His heart; and consequently, an insight into the heart of God.
In both of these parables, the compassion and love which Jesus has for sinners shines through. Jesus doesn’t tell of a man waiting for his sheep to find its own way home. Nor does the lost coin just present itself to the woman. The one who lost his precious object diligently searches “until he finds it” (15:4, 8). No stone is left unturned; no blade of grass goes unsearched. A lamp is lit and shines into all the dark corners until the lost item is found.
So it is with Jesus. He “receives sinners and eats with them” because they are the ones He came to save. As He said earlier, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk. 5:31). But rather than making them come to Him, He reaches out to them; He searches for them until He finds them. His sinlessness and holiness do not force Him to remain aloof, distant from those He is so unlike. He can act towards the lost with holy love, shining His light in the dark places in order that those who were lost in darkness can be found.
Later on in Luke, Jesus gives one of several mission statements. He says that “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (19:10)*. It’s important that I don’t overlook this seeking aspect to Jesus’ salvation. I was not saved because I came to God, said the right things, and therefore He had no choice but to declare me “justified”. God’s salvation is not contained in a box, and he who finds the box wins the prize. God is a seeking God, and His heart is for sinners like me. His salvation spreads out across the world, proclaimed to men and women through the Gospel of grace. Our God is not a passive God, but an active one; a God who seeks out the lost. Jesus said that “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). As such, there are few passages in Scripture which give us as clear an insight to the heart of God than this series of parables in Luke 15. For me, they completely disrupt any false ideas I have of God, and any false ideas I have of myself. When I contemplate the holiness of God and my own sinfulness, I am left astounded by the heart of Jesus on display here, which is the heart of God Himself. A part of me dares not think it true, and yet a part of me knows that if this is not God’s heart then there is no hope for people like me, who require nothing less and nothing more than divine grace in order to be saved. Being a recipient of this grace, I am to carry it forth to the world around me, because this is the message the world needs to hear.
* There is another mission statement which is intrinsically linked with the above, and which I didn't mention. That statement is "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45). God's activity in seeking out sinners is complimented and completed in God's activity in saving sinners, namely through the cross of Christ.
In this passage we find Jesus teaching two sets of people - tax collectors and sinners, and Pharisees and scribes. The former group were gathered around Jesus, eager to hear what He had to say. The latter group were indignant at this, grumbling amongst themselves because “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (15:2). In response to these murmurings Jesus told three parables, two of which are found in the passage in question.
The first has to do with a man losing one of his hundred sheep, and going out to look for it. Jesus’ rhetorical question implies that this would be common practice in the day (15:4). When the man finds the sheep he brings it home and rejoices with his friends. The message on Jesus’ lips is that so it is in heaven when a lost sinner repents. The second parable has the same point, except this time the story is based on a woman who is searching for a missing coin. She sweeps the whole house until she finds it, and when she does there is much rejoicing.
The parables of Jesus are generally said to have one main message, but in this instance I think there are several points of contact and therefore several messages to take from these parables, especially given the context (Jesus was teaching both sinners and Pharisees it seems). For me, the message which comes through has to do with the person of Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes complained about “this man” who treated sinners so favourably. Jesus’ parables can be seen as a defence of His character and an insight into His heart; and consequently, an insight into the heart of God.
In both of these parables, the compassion and love which Jesus has for sinners shines through. Jesus doesn’t tell of a man waiting for his sheep to find its own way home. Nor does the lost coin just present itself to the woman. The one who lost his precious object diligently searches “until he finds it” (15:4, 8). No stone is left unturned; no blade of grass goes unsearched. A lamp is lit and shines into all the dark corners until the lost item is found.
So it is with Jesus. He “receives sinners and eats with them” because they are the ones He came to save. As He said earlier, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk. 5:31). But rather than making them come to Him, He reaches out to them; He searches for them until He finds them. His sinlessness and holiness do not force Him to remain aloof, distant from those He is so unlike. He can act towards the lost with holy love, shining His light in the dark places in order that those who were lost in darkness can be found.
Later on in Luke, Jesus gives one of several mission statements. He says that “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (19:10)*. It’s important that I don’t overlook this seeking aspect to Jesus’ salvation. I was not saved because I came to God, said the right things, and therefore He had no choice but to declare me “justified”. God’s salvation is not contained in a box, and he who finds the box wins the prize. God is a seeking God, and His heart is for sinners like me. His salvation spreads out across the world, proclaimed to men and women through the Gospel of grace. Our God is not a passive God, but an active one; a God who seeks out the lost. Jesus said that “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). As such, there are few passages in Scripture which give us as clear an insight to the heart of God than this series of parables in Luke 15. For me, they completely disrupt any false ideas I have of God, and any false ideas I have of myself. When I contemplate the holiness of God and my own sinfulness, I am left astounded by the heart of Jesus on display here, which is the heart of God Himself. A part of me dares not think it true, and yet a part of me knows that if this is not God’s heart then there is no hope for people like me, who require nothing less and nothing more than divine grace in order to be saved. Being a recipient of this grace, I am to carry it forth to the world around me, because this is the message the world needs to hear.
* There is another mission statement which is intrinsically linked with the above, and which I didn't mention. That statement is "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45). God's activity in seeking out sinners is complimented and completed in God's activity in saving sinners, namely through the cross of Christ.
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