#1403 Luke 15 Part 1 Lost and Found Department

 

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 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.’ 7 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.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “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? 9 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.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15: 1-10 ESV

Luke 15: 1-6 The Lost

Alan Carr - Luke 15 has been called God's Lost and Found Department. In these 32 verses, Jesus uses no less than 4 illustrations dealing with the lost and with God's desire to see them saved and restored to fellowship with Himself. Verses 3-7 record the Illustration of the Lost Sheep. Verses 8-10 record the Illustration of the Lost Silver. Lk 15:11-24 gives us the Illustration of the Lost Son. And, Verses 25-32 relate the Illustration of the Lost Sibling. The backdrop for these “heavenly stories with earthly meanings” is found in Luke 15:1-2. Jesus, knowing the hard hearts of these religious people, told them the parables that make up the verses of this chapter. In this parable, Jesus uses four illustrations to teach them the value of every lost soul. He even uses this parable to teach them that they themselves might not be as secure as they thought they were. (Luke 15:1-7 The Lost Sheep) - Precept Austin

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Him - A tax collector was one of their fellow Jews who bought the rights to collect taxes for Rome in a certain region. One of Jesus' disciples, Matthew, who is the author of the gospel bearing his name, was also a tax collector when Jesus called him. Don't read this as not sinners and sinners, for a tax collector was not only synonymous with a sinner, but one could read this as greater, traitorous sinners and sinners. They were despised by their fellow Jews, and when you read about them you start to understand why people hated them; it wasn't without reason. Tax collectors acted like mob bosses, collecting for the bigger boss, Rome, and Rome having an expectation of what they should receive from each area. The tax collector had to bring in at least that in order to not go to jail or to the cross, but that's not profitable, so in order to make money he has to tax the people above that. They used cronies, friends of intimidating stature and or temper, to shake people down for money. To their fellow Jews they were the worst sort of bullies, degenerate and greedy men. 

R Kent Hughes on tax collectors - For centuries before and after Christ, tax collectors were universally hated. Cicero insulted an opponent by saying that he must have imagined himself a tax-gatherer, "since you most thievishly ransacked every man's house, the warehouses and the ships, entangled men engaged in business with the most unjust decrees, terrified the merchants as they landed, and delayed their embarkation" (In Vatin. 5). St. Chrysostom preached, "The tax-gatherer is the personification of licensed violence, of legal sin, of specious greed" (Hom. 2.4)....They were loathed in every way. Synagogues would not accept their alms. Their testimony was not received in Jewish courts. They were held to be worse than the heathen. (See Luke: That You May Know the Truth) - Precept Austin

…31Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Luke 5: 31-32

This man receives sinners and eats with them - When we say dumb stuff like this, it implies that we think we aren't sinners, or not to the magnitude of these at least. The Pharisees took Scriptures like  Proverbs 4: 14-15 and applied it to justify looking down on these people. They called them unclean, as though the Pharisees weren't. We are not to walk in the ways of evil doers, meaning do not participate in evil with or without them, but we are to bring them light, and the same compassion that a shepherd has for his lost sheep. In fact, the people we are to separate from are defined as those who claim to know the Lord, who have declared that they belong to God, and yet teach false doctrine and or live immoral lives. They are living by another gospel, teaching another Christ, and with these I confront them with the truth so they can see where repentance lies, but I make clear the distinctions between what Scripture teaches versus what they teach. I make sure that my children and others know that I don't have any part with them in this. You are also not to marry an unbeliever because then you are unequally yoked, but you should want everyone to be able to have a job to support themselves and their family, to have food and clothing, and to come to repentance through Jesus Christ. He taught us to love even our enemies, but not under any sort of delusions, He still uses the word enemy.

…13Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life. 14Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. 15Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.… Proverbs 4: 13-15

…7Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth. 9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.…

…10I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 12What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?… 1 Corinthians 5: 7-12

Go after the one that is lost - Here He does the opposite of the Pharisees, they start out with the premise of no value, these are worthless sinners, not worth the time or energy to even warn them of their state. Jesus refers to them as part of the 100, part of the flock, a thing of value that has wandered astray. I am a human being, and so I share with all other human beings a common ancestry. We all come from the same line, the same original parents, even science confirms this, there are no races, just different ethnicities, but one race, the human race. The Bible was way ahead of the game on this, things like racism are beyond ridiculous, we are all different shades of brown, levels of melanin, and some people want to make a big deal about this, but if you go by melanin then the most different of us are albinos because they are born without melanin. Now God teaches in His word that we are all made in His image, so when I look at you I should see something of great value regardless of how much melanin you have or don't have. It should be real easy for me to empathize with your plight, to relate to you, because we are both human, and we are therefore brothers and sisters. I should want for you what I want for myself, and if I am seeking forgiveness from God then I should be quick to pray for you and also quick to forgive. Jesus is treating them with value, something valued that is not written off, but so valuable as to necessitate a rescue mission. The Pharisees want no part in the rescue of gentiles, of those that differ with them politically, of those whose sins they have deemed worse than their own. They are bigots. 

…25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.… Genesis 1: 25-27

…19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” 20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living. Genesis 3: 19-20

28But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went. 30Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.…

…31Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Matthew 21: 28-32

Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep - When a lost person is found, this is the lesson, God rejoices over this. It is the greatest calling to the church, not titles or positions, but the same call goes out regardless, whether you are a preacher, a tech services supervisor, a nurse, a homemaker, whatever your vocational calling, above that you are on a search team, looking for Christ's lost sheep by declaring the gospel and living a life that reflects Christ in you. 

…3For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 5Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you.… 3 John 3-5

There will be more joy in heaven - Even angels are engaged in the redemption story. 

…11trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. 13Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.… 1 Peter 1: 11-13

MacArthur - Having drawn the scribes and Pharisees into the story, the Lord delivered a devastating application to them....The contrast between the scribes and Pharisees, who were indifferent to the plight of the lost, and God, who seeks them and rejoices when they are found, is striking.

Notice how this parable presents the picture of "more joy" in contrast to continual grumbling of the Pharisees. The shepherd rejoices, the neighbors rejoice, and heaven rejoices. This emphasis on joy continues in the second section of the parable describing the lost coin and the third describing the lost son. In fact joy/rejoicing/rejoicing is a key word in this parable occurring 6 times - Lk 15:5 = rejoicing; Lk 15:6 = rejoice; Lk 15:7 = joy”; Lk 15:9 = rejoice”; Lk 15:10 = joy; Lk 15:32 = rejoice.

Cole adds that "Heaven is already filled with joy, but when a sinner gets saved, they throw a party, just as the father of the prodigal son did! As he tells his older son, “We had (verb = dei = it is necessary, needful) to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found” (Lu 15:32)." (God’s Lost and Found) - Precept Austin

Having ten silver coins - He goes for something they like and so can easily relate to, money. Again, this shows value, He values the lost sheep, now a coin. The woman loses one, but she doesn't go, "that's okay, no biggy, I have nine more," no, she gets a lamp, lights it, and sweeps the house clean until she finds it. If you had ten kids and lost one would you not look for the one who was lost? If one of your children, friends, parents, is doin well, is right with God, but another is not, do you right that one off? Do you say, "oh well, at least one of my children is saved, a few of my friends and acquaintances know the Lord and obey Him as Lord." God, don't let me be so indifferent, let it cause my soul to ache, my praises to rise like incense, until you hear and change their hearts, and then let heaven and earth rejoice. 

…3One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter.… Acts 10: 3-5

…13Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”? 14Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1: 13-14

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5: 11-14

Over one sinner who repents - Those that don't teach repentance ignore this. God is perfect and need not change, repentance says you need to change, and grace gives the desire to do so and the power. Often we prefer men good with us rather than them being good with God.

…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.… 1 John 1: 8-10

…17So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?” 18When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” 19Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.… Acts 11: 17-19

…9And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.… 2 Corinthians 7: 9-11

…14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will. 15For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.… Philemon 1: 14-16