This is one of my favorite chapters in the gospels. The three short, powerful stories that Jesus tells in this passage captures God’s heart for lost people more memorably than a thousand sermons ever could.
What is the context for these stories? One day, as Jesus was teaching, he found himself surrounded by a large crowd of irreligious, sinful people. Undesirables. Unconvinced. Spiritually confused. Morally bankrupt.
Off to the side was a huddle of religious types, who were shaking their heads and talking in muffled tones. “Who cares about people like that? They are nothing like us. They are far away from God.” Notice their indictment of Jesus: “he welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
The religious folks, as is so often the case, completely miss the heart of God for lost people. And so Jesus tells these three wonderful stories in response to their grumbling. The stories are familiar to us (maybe too familiar!): a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.
This is the only time recorded in the gospels where Jesus tells three parables on the same subject in succession. It is as if he wanted to make sure that no one could miss the point he was making. What was his point? We see three common threads that run through each story:
- Something of great value was missing (3, 8, 13).
- What was missing was important enough to warrant an all-out search (4, 8, 20).
- When what was lost was found, it resulted in great rejoicing (6, 9, 22).
God has suffered a significant loss. That loss is people. The shepherd, the widow, and the father are all metaphors for God. The lost sheep, coin, and son were the sinners, the seekers, the lost – people who are far from God.
Each of them has great worth in God’s eyes. And he wants them found. And he rejoices over each and every life that is recovered. This is where we come in. God has invited and called us to join him as he pursues those who currently far from him. How will we relate to the people in our lives that do not know Christ? Will we ignore them like the Pharisees? Or pursue a relationship with them like Jesus?
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