Week 30 "Coming Home"

We are back to our series Jesus for Everyone from the Gospel of Luke, however we do not have a video for this week.

Text: This week we’re covering Luke 15:1-32 dealing with Jesus’ three famous lost and found parables. This is a very familiar section of the Bible, yet sometimes it is the most familiar parts that have the most to teach us…if we take time to listen.

Other passages to read: We encourage you to read "horizontally" in these passages that are parallel or provide background information to our text from Luke:

·         Pharisee’s attitude towards Jesus eating with “sinners”: Luke 5:30; 7:34; 19:7; Matthew 9:11; Mark 2:16-17;

·         The Lost Sheep: The Good Shepherd parable is considered by many to be best understood as a retelling of Psalm 23. Ezekiel 34:6, 11-12; Isaiah 40:11; Micah 5:1-5; Matthew 18:12-14; John 10:1-21

·         The Lost Coin: Unique but actions similar to preparations for feast of unleavened bread.

·         The Lost Son(s): Unique but with many similarities with the narrative in Genesis 27:1-36:8.

 

Points to ponder: In your study this week, you might want to think about one of these questions:

·         To whom are these parables spoken? How does that shade our interpretation?

·         If we read these parables from a Trinitarian perspective, where do we find the Trinity and what can we learn about God—as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

·         How right is it to leave the 99 sheep to go and find the one lost sheep? Is there an ethical challenge in this parable?

·         Remember, as we study the Bible, the question we should ask is always what does the Bible say? What did the author intend it to say to the original audience in its original context? This is what it means. The question is not, “What does it mean to you?” So, what is the clear, simple, challenging message of each of these parables?

·         What does “prodigal” mean and what are two ways it could be used in the parable of the Lost Sons?

[Look for last week's answers at the end of this post!]

Questions to ask ourselves: The following questions are intended to help us move towards greater application of what we learn about Jesus…

• Do we look down on others who we consider to be worse sinners than us?
• Do we rejoice when we hear of a sinner repenting or do we respond somewhat cynically, saving our most enthusiastic expressions of joy for sports?
• How long do we look for what is lost before we give up?
• Out of the five characters in the parable of the lost sons, to which do we most resemble?
• What are three areas in which, or three people to whom, I need to respond more like a Citizen of heaven this week?

Pastor Randy’s Sermon Notes: "Coming Home"

“Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable.” (Luke 15:1-3)

When we lose something…if it doesn’t matter we won’t look for it, but if value or sentiment is attached to it we will look. The essence of these three parables is that something was lost, it was sought after, found, restored and celebrated in community.

1.       Home is where we know the constant embrace of God in our lives. (Read v. 11-16)

• Sin is the lie that there is a better life apart from God.
• Every day I have two options:
• To live at home in fellowship with the Father
• To strike out on my own…away from God, in the “freedom” of self-direction, but the party always comes to an end.

2.       There is always a way back home–Repentance (Read v. 17-21)

• Coming to your senses may happen in the pig pen.
• Repentance is going home to the Father.
• He thought he would be less than a son…but the Father ran to him in love.

3.    When you come home again—God welcomes you (Read v. 22-24)

• The gospel cannot erase the consequences of sin, but it can erase the guilt, shame and condemnation.
•  “Our Father in heaven is looking … He won’t demand from them a love that is not from the heart, but when they come home they are welcomed.”
• If you have lost all, come home and start living for eternity (live for heaven).
• For parents: 

1) God is a perfect father and has lost children – no condemnation.

2) Be the kind of parent that they can come home to – no hopelessness.

4.  Don’t miss the house party (Luke 15:25-31)

• Don’t ever resent with those who come back home, rejoice and be glad…share in God’s joy!
• We tend to determine someone’s value to God according to his or her value to us.
• This story redefines our mission – to get people back home to the Father’s love!

Conclusion: Titus 3:3-8

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

Commentary & Quotes

“Besides their subject-matter, these three Parables have some other points in common. Two things are here of chief interest. They all proceed on the view that the work of the Father and of Christ, as regards 'the Kingdom,' is the same; that Christ was doing the work of the Father, and that they who know Christ know the Father also. That work was the restoration of the lost; Christ had come to do it, and it was the longing of the Father to welcome the lost home again. Further, and this is only second in importance, the lost was still God's property; and he who had wandered farthest was a child of the Father, and considered as such.” (Edersheim, Life & times of Jesus the Messiah)         

v. 1 Jewish teaching concerning repentance was quite other than, nay, contrary to, that of Christ. Theirs was not a Gospel to the lost: they had nothing to say to sinners… He not only received them when they sought Him, but He sought them, so as to bring them to Him; not, indeed, that they might remain 'sinners,' but that, by seeking and finding them, they might be restored to the Kingdom, and there might be joy in heaven over them.” (Edersheim, LTJM) 

v.3 Shepherds while held in high esteem in allegory, were looked down on in practice. Their profession was considered unclean. As Bailey notes, “Moses was accepted as a shepherd…Kings were referred to by Ezekiel as shepherds and God himself was thought of as a shepherd (Ps. 23). Thus the figure of the shepherd was a noble symbol. By contrast, flesh-and-blood shepherds who in the first century wandered around after sheep were clearly…unclean…Thus this beginning can be understood as an indirect and yet very powerful attack on the Pharisaic attitude toward proscribed professions. (Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant, 147)

v. 5 “Because sheep are gregarious creatures, a sheep lost from its flock becomes quickly agitated and disoriented and must be carried back to the other sheep; for lengthy journeys this is most easily accomplished by placing the sheep on one’s shoulders.” (Green, NICNT, 573)

v. 6 The repeated invitation in these three interconnected parables is to share as a community in the joy of the triune God at the lost being found.

v.8 These stories of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin are paired as is typical in Luke with the male shepherd in the first and the woman in the second.

A hilarious example of over spiritualization based on this parable of the Lost Coin is found in Grasping God’s Word ,by Duvall & Hays, p. 184-186.

v. 11 In the Parable of 'the Lost Son,' the main interest centers in his restoration. It is not now to the innate tendency of his nature, nor yet to the work and dust in the house that the loss is attributable, but to the personal, free choice of the individual. He does not stray; he does not fall aside - he willfully departs, and under aggravated circumstances.” (Edersheim, LTJM)

v. 16 What perhaps gives additional meaning to this description is the Jewish saying: 'When Israel is reduced to the carob-tree, they become repentant (Edersheim, LTJM)

v. 22 The father's love had anticipated his confession, and rendered its self-spoken sentence of condemnation impossible. 'Perfect love casts out fear,' and the hard thoughts concerning himself and his deserts on the part of the returning sinner were banished by the love of the father. (LTJM)

v. 28 “[The older son] is bitter, envious and angry. He hates his brother’s sin but he also hates his father’s loving forgiveness. Keeping in mind the confession of his brother, listen to his bitter words in verse 29. Literally he says, “I have been slaving many years for you.” Do you see the irony Jesus intended the mixed crowd to see? The prodigal (or “sinner”) returns in repentance and says essentially, “I will be you slave.” The older son (the Pharisee) retorts in bitterness, “I have been a slave all along!” (Michael Card, Luke: Gospel of Amazement, 185)

v. 30 “this son of yours”=he won’t even call him “brother”

“Fundamentally, like all the parables, the three stories in this chapter ask: “Do you really know God?” Or rather, “Are you comfortable with the God who acts with the foolishness of love displayed by the characters in these parables?” (Brendan Byrne, The Hospitality of God, 132)

“This story reveals above all the sheer self-centeredness of the grumbler. The older brother shows, in his bad temper, that he has no more real respect for his father than his brother had had. He lectures him in front of his guests, and refuses his plea to come in. Once more the father is generous, this time to his self-righteous  older son…Jesus wants to reason with the Pharisees and the lawyers, to point out that though God’s generosity is indeed reaching out to people they didn’t expect, this doesn’t mean there isn’t any left for them. If they insist on staying out of the party…that is up to them; but it won’t be because God doesn’t love them as well.” (N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, 191.)”

 

Previously on Ponderables

·         Once the man with dropsy is healed he was sent away. Have you ever wondered why he was at the dinner in his condition and why was he sent away? Look closely at the text for clues. There are two explanations. First, there is little indication in the text that the man was actually at the dinner. Jesus may have encountered him on the way to the house. Second, if it was at the meal, his dismissal would certainly have allowed him to go tell his family the great news of his healing and saved him the embarrassment of Jesus pointed teaching directly following.

·         To whom is each of the parables spoken? Who else would have been listening? Does this observation affect how we interpret them or add a level of meaning to this passage? Yes, the original audience should impact our interpretation. #1 to the lawyers and Pharisees (v. 4-5); #2 to those invited to the dinner (v.7-11); #3 to the host (v. 12-14); #4 to the man who spoke up in v. 15 (v. 15-24).

·         What is it about these three excuses that just don’t make sense? None of them would have been acceptable nor are they honest. No one would have purchased land without knowing everything about it. No one would have purchase teams of oxen without having plowed with them already. And no one would speak of his wife in this way which would have been culturally vulgar.

·         What makes the master mad in this parable? And what does he do when he is mad? The excuses were a thinly veiled attempt to sabotage the feast and insult the master. Also, this is culturally the second invitation. These men are those who have already RSVP-ed and now that the food is ready they refuse to come to the table. How long had Israel waited for a Messiah? They said they would come to the eschatological banquet he was preparing…but now that he was here and they were to come they refused. He will not waste his grace! His anger only prompts the extending of loving grace to those who would have been considered the lowest and least of society. This is “Jesus for Everyone” in action.

·         What word is used more than any other in this passage? What does this tell us about God’s heart? “Invited” is used eleven times. God’s heart is that his house might be filled.

The following graphic is composed of the words of Luke 14:1-24 with the size of the word determined by how many times it is used.