Luke: The Lost

Introduction

Lost:

As a child in Woolco - away from the place or person of safety

Wallet after being married - object of personal value

Perhaps this is similar to how we feel our lostness in the world

Seeking for something that would make us feel safe and secure, trying to find what is truly valuable in this world

I. The Problem vs 1-2

The continued clash....

the greek word used here for grumbled is actually much stronger.

It complaining out loud for all to hear - Israelites in the wilderness

A. Clash of status

Tax collectors

Sinners

the morally bankrupt

might also be those who don’t follow the Torah exactly like the Pharisees

Notice the Pharisees lump them together as sinners -the outsiders

Jesus point so far has been often that they are more inside than you

Clash of values

Pharisees believed in salvation through separation and segregation

Key aspects of this belief included:

Holiness through Separation: The word "Pharisee" is derived from a root meaning "to separate." They believed that to be righteous, one had to avoid contamination by keeping a safe distance from anyone who did not live up to their legal standards.

Contamination Fear: They held that associating with "sinners" would make them impure, thus destroying their standing before God.

Conflict with Jesus: This ideology was in direct contrast to Jesus, who intentionally ate with and ministered to tax collectors and sinners. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus for this, it was because they viewed his actions as violating the necessary separation required for holiness.

"White Washed Tombs": Jesus criticized this approach, labeling it hypocritical. He indicated that while they acted outwardly righteous and separated, they neglected "weightier" matters of the law like mercy and justice.

Jesus eats with...

to eat with was more than to just have a meal with someone, it was an act of acceptance and “friendship”

Again fits with Jesus’ challenge to the pharisee and guests who were in the meal with Jesus where he healed the man with dropsy

Clash with God

Jesus - rejection as God

Jesus in living out God’s heart

Luke is doing two things I think:

Emphasizing the ultimate and comprehensive failure of Israel to remain faithful to God and His covenant

Showing the open door of Jesus and the gospel

Jesus is not excusing either party thus the parables

II. How Much More… vs 3-10

This is the point of the first two parables.

Jesus/God isn’t necessarily to be equated with the shepherd or the woman

Though an arguement could be made for the first when Jesus says,

John 10:11–16 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

However that doesn’t equate with Jesus’ conclusion in vs 7 & 10

Rather what Jesus is saying is....

If this shepherd and woman would seek so diligently and celebrate so exuberantly when the lost is found...

How much more will there be joy in heaven(before the angels of God) over a sinner who repents

Now vs 7 is not implying that God does not have joy over those who are righteous but rather he is emphasizing the joy in heaven over those who have strayed and been lost returning

Now as we’ll see, a deeper contrast and clarification to this statement is in the 3rd parable

And so while this statement does hold broader implications for the Pharisee/Scribe who would have seen themselves as the 99 of Israel, Jesus is simply showing the heavenly joy over a repentant sinner

Also this is in contrast to their response to the tax collector/sinner

Alfred Edersheim in his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah quotes a Jewish saying that encapsulates the view of this group that says,

“There is joy before God when those who provoke Him perish from the world.”

And so parable #3

III. Grace Missed, Grace Received vs 11-32

A. Youngest

i. Life apart from the Father

he was to live in his fathers household with the Father

usually 2 or 3 generations lived in a household

It was a means of honor for this to be true as well as a means of life for all, including slaves, in that household

They were to all participate in this

ii. Used privilege of sonship for selfish gain

This was a means of dishonoring the father and family (lose face)

- Though not the oldest, was still meant for the family

He took it to live his own life, forfeiting his sonship - brought shame so disowning

iii. No longer, in the end, saw himself worthy of sonship

And in the end he was not wrong culturally speaking

But instead of wallowing in shame, he humbly came back to the father

B. Oldest

i. Life through appeasing the Father vs 29

ii. Saw himself as slave to the Father instead of Son vs 29

doing what he was told

iii. Believed he deserved more because of his obedience

It’s interesting that early on in the story it says the Father divided his property between them

He already had received his inheritance

iv. Striving to get but it already was his vs vs 31

v. Continues to hold his brother as disowned

vs 30 - this son of yours

There should be no way back

And those there are to find themselves as Israelites in these two sons

which one are you?

What were they missing? The Father

C. Father

Turns both position to relationship

youngest instantly restored to sonship

may not have acted like son but it was always available for him

he humbly came back to the Father in an act of repentance.

Was restored to relationship with the Father

The fattened calf was taken from what would one day be the Oldests

This was more than the son deserved

oldest always had the Father and sonship and the inheritance but it had tainted his view of the Father, himself and the younger son

In grace, the Father comes to both Sons looking to retore them both but we don’t know how the oldest ultimately responds because Jesus is leaving it open for the Pharisees.

While Jesus’ concern here is for Israel, its clear in Luke that he wants us to see that this is true for all humankind

All humanity was created to be in relationship with God but most of us have gone our own way

Romans 1-5 makes this clear, whether we are a sinner, are good or religious we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God - in other words we’re all lost

But by the Grace of God through Jesus we can return

Lets not be stubborn and hard-hearted nor self-righteous but in humility let’s return to the Father

Grace leaves it open to you and me no matter which one we might be

The Gospel according to Luke How Great the Father’s Love for Us (15:11–32)

The father’s invitation of the unworthy to his banquet table is a foreshadowing of the invitation of the unworthy to the table of the Eucharist.

Communion

Prayer - Rob and Judyo