The Word Made Fresh
1All the tax collectors and sinners were coming to listen to Jesus, 2which made the scribes and Pharisees grumble. They said, “He welcomes sinners, and even dines with them.”
3So, he told them this parable: 4“If one of you had a hundred sheep, and discovered that one was missing, wouldn’t you leave the other ninety-nine in the countryside and search for the one that was lost until you find it? 5And when you find it, you rejoice and lift it on your shoulders. 6When you return you call your friends and neighbors together and tell them, ‘Celebrate with me! I found my sheep that was lost!’ 7In the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to repent.
8“And if a woman has ten silver coins and loses one, won’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and carefully search until she finds it? 9Then, when she finds it, she’ll call her friends and neighbors together and say, ‘Celebrate with me – I found the coin that was lost!’ 10In the same way, there is rejoicing in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.
11Then he said, “A man had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the estate.’ So, he divided his property between the two of them. 13A few days later the younger son packed everything he had and went to settle in a distant country. But he wasted his wealth on a foolish lifestyle. 14When he had spent all of it, a terrible famine swept through that country, and he found himself in distress. 15So, he hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who put him in charge of feeding his pigs. 16No one gave him anything, and he would have been happy to eat the slop the pigs were eating. 17Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have enough food to spare, but here I am starving to death! 18I’ll go back to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I’m not worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired hands.”‘ 20So, he left that place to return to his father. But his father saw him approaching from a long way off and was filled with compassion for him. He ran and threw his arms around his son and kissed him. 21The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not worthy to be called your son any longer.’ 22But his father summoned his servants and ordered them, ‘Hurry and bring out the very best robe to put on him, and a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. 23And slaughter the fattened calf – let’s have a banquet and celebrate, 24because this son of mine was dead and now is alive again! He was lost, but now is found!’ And they all began to celebrate.
25“The older son was in the fields, and when he came home he heard music and dancing. 26He called one of the servants and asked what was happening. 27The servant said, ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has come home safe and sound.’ 28Then the older brother was angry. He refused to go in and join the party. His father came out and pleaded with him, 29but he told his father, ‘Look, I have worked like a slave for you all these years. I have never disobeyed you, but you have never given me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours returns, the one who has wasted your wealth on prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
31“Then the father said ‘Son, you have always been with me, and everything that is left of mine belongs to you. 32But we must celebrate and rejoice because we thought your brother might be dead, but he has returned alive! He was lost, but has been found!’”
Commentary
1-7: Tax collectors and sinners are now coming to Jesus rather than him going to them, as he has on other occasions. The now ever-present Pharisees find fault with that, too, so he tells them three stories to justify his actions. On an earlier occasion he had simply responded that those who are well don’t need a physician. This response is basically the same reasoning; Jesus is here for the people who need him the most. The first story is usually referred to as the parable of the lost sheep. It begins with a question: “If one of you had a hundred sheep, and discovered that one was missing, wouldn’t you leave the other ninety-nine in the countryside and search for the one that was lost until you find it?” I imagine their answer would have been, “Not me! I wouldn’t think of leaving 99% of my investment unprotected (they are in the wilderness, after all) just to recover 1%!” I am certain that would be the reaction of the Pharisees. One’s finances could survive the loss of one sheep among a hundred, but to put the hundred at risk to recover the one? Unthinkable! And the very idea of carrying the one sheep home — the other ninety-nine still out in the wilderness, mind you — and calling your friends and neighbors to celebrate is ridiculous! You’d be advertising your folly to the whole town! They probably pooh-poohed the idea of heaven rejoicing more over one sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people, too. I wonder if they made the connection — if they, the Pharisees, are like the ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance, they must also therefore be like the ninety-nine sheep left in the wilderness. We need to recognize the spiritual economy of the kingdom of God: we who are within the flock are not more loved or more valuable than those who are outside.
8-10: The lost coin is the next example. As is common with Luke, the subject this time is a woman. The 100 sheep are replaced with 10 coins (drachmas, a day’s wage). Once again, one of them is lost. In both cases there is a celebration in the house. The lesson is the same: Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. In this parable the thing to notice is that all the coins are equal in value.
11-24: 100 sheep, 10 coins, 2 sons. One of each gets lost. When they are found there is a celebration in the house. In each, the house is a metaphor for the kingdom of God. The shepherd in the first and the woman in the second clearly represent Jesus. The father in this one is God. We call this one the parable of the prodigal son. “Prodigal” is an old word that means “extravagant.” The youngest son was extravagant in the way he wasted his inheritance. But the word also applies to the father, doesn’t it, in his reception of the boy when he comes back home? Notice, too, that the son doesn’t get lost; he just leaves home. The father doesn’t search for him, but does let him go his own way — a great argument for John Wesley’s insistence on free will. And it occurs to me that “Welcome home!” is what God wants to say to every one of us.
25-32: If the younger son represents the tax collectors and sinners, the older son clearly represents the Pharisees. All their pettiness and arrogance is revealed by his complaint in verse 29; “You have never given me even a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends.” The younger son was inside partying with the servants. The older son wanted nothing to do with them; he was above socializing with the servants. Such is precisely the pettiness and arrogance of the Pharisees. They enjoyed parties and feasts as much as anyone. They even invited Jesus on occasion. But the last time Jesus dined at the home of a Pharisee he chided his host for only inviting his friends and rich neighbors to the feast (14:12). The snobbishness of the Pharisees is mirrored in the parable by the snobbishness of the older son. But look at the ending! The father goes out to find the older son! “Everything that is left of mine belongs to you,” he says, and in those words God is speaking to the Pharisees. We see clearly now their fundamental flaw. It wasn’t that they were bad people, but they thought of themselves as better than others, and more deserving than anyone else, especially tax collectors and sinners. They wanted an exclusive place. Jesus is trying to teach them that God has a soft spot for the poor, the oppressed, the misguided, the unfortunate, the lost, and most especially the repentant sinner.
Takeaway
Christianity is an extravagant religion. Not extravagant in money, perhaps, but certainly extravagant in mercy. Our task is not to judge others; our task is to hold the door open for them to join us.