Reading:
Luke
15
Among
the crowds that surrounded Jesus, were some of the rulers
of the Jews, the Scribes and Pharisees. These people often
came to hear Jesus just to find fault and to try to catch
Him out in what He said. They thought of themselves as
being very good people and looked upon others as being
bad, wicked people or sinners as they called them. Many
of the people who came to Jesus were like you and me;
we have all done something wrong, which is why we need
to come to Jesus; and there were others like the tax collectors,
who the people all knew were cheats and so these people
were know as "sinners". Only Jesus lived a perfect life,
without sin; everyone else has done many wrong things,
and whether they are terrible things or small things (like
a lie) it makes no difference - we are all sinners
and need to seek for forgiveness.
The
Scribes and Pharisees thought that if Jesus were truly
a great man He would know what sort of people these were
and have nothing to do with them. The Pharisees themselves
kept right away from such "doubtful characters". But Jesus
knew what they were thinking, so He told a few parables
mainly to teach the Scribes and Pharisees that they were
wrong in criticising Him for His friendship towards the
poorer people and sinners, and that God cares for all
these people.
In
this chapter of Luke, the three parables are all about
something which is lost, and which somebody wishes to
find. A shepherd has lost a sheep, a woman has lost her
money, and a father has lost his son. The sheep would
not have got lost if it had kept with the flock (a lesson
for all of us perhaps) but nevertheless the shepherd was
very glad when he found it; so also was the woman when
she found her money; perhaps you can remember a verse
which says "… the angels rejoice over one sinner that
repenteth". The third parable - the Prodigal Son
- assures us that God cares for each of his children.
Jesus
tells of a rich farmer who had two sons. (If Jesus had
told the story these days the father may have been a business
man who owned a large group of stores or a group of hotels
throughout the country). The youngest son was not very
happy at home and he thought that he would enjoy himself
more if he left home and went to explore another country.
So he went to his father and asked for his share of the
estate which would be his when his father died, and a
few days later, having turned his share into cash, left
home for a distant country. There he quickly found friends
to help him spend his money and he had an exciting time,
but very soon he had wasted all his money. He was now
penniless, and his so-called "friends" had vanished with
the last of his money. He was in a sorry state, but worse
happened - the harvest failed and there was a famine in
the land. He managed to find work on a farm caring for
pigs, but he became so hungry that he would gladly have
eaten the husks which he was feeding to the pigs.
This
utter hopelessness brought him to his senses. He remembered
that his father's servants had plenty to eat and to spare.
He decided to return home, ask his father's forgiveness
and offer to be one of his servants. The story had a happy
ending - the father must have been watching and longing
for the return of his youngest son' even when he was a
long way off he ran to meet him - yes, he ran.
Together they returned home, the best robe was brought,
a ring placed on his finger and shoes for his feet. (Servants
in those days did not wear anything on their feet). His
father would not hear of him being a servant. A feast
of celebration was prepared and the father was so happy
- "This my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost
and is found".
But
one shadow crosses the happy scene: the older son responded
badly. He was angry that so much fuss had been made of
his wayward brother - perhaps we can understand a little
how he felt; but his father quite rightly told him "You
are always with me, and all I have is yours; how
could we not celebrate this happy day, your brother was
dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found".
The
Pharisees and Scribes, who thought they were so good because
they kept to all the details of the law of Moses, (but
showed little mercy in the way they dealt with the ordinary
men and women who were round them) must have felt very
guilty as they listened to the parables Jesus told; they
knew that Jesus was referring to them when he spoke of
the older son's reaction.
For
those people who had been listening to the story carefully,
Jesus had made it all clear. God is like the father in
the story: if someone seeks God in prayer and says "Father,
I have sinned, please forgive me", and the person is truly
sorry, then God is happy to have that person back in His
family. He forgives the wrong that person has done and
there is joy in heaven.