Luke 15:1-24

Luke 15:1-24

Lost and Found

I. God greatly rejoices over each lost sinner who is found; so we must know that means that He values us (Vv. 1-10)

a. The Pharisees and Scribes were criticizing Jesus for communing with tax collectors and sinners, who they considered irreparably damaged and an unclean contaminant. These were the people Jesus was ministering to and dining with, and it was them to whom He compared to a lost sheep and a lost coin, to call out the Pharisees and Scribes in their hypocrisy. He asks them to consider these situations, where they might seek out something they lost because it was of value to them. God’s Word never refers to those who don’t belong to Christ as “unsaved”, they’re always referred to as “lost”. Since Adam and Eve were “lost” in the garden in their sinful rebellion against God, humanity has been hopelessly lost and separated from fellowship with Him; just as a lost sheep can’t find its way back to the flock, and a lost coin can’t find its owner, One in a hundred sheep, or one in ten coins, might not even be worth the efforts of these self-righteous religious leaders, but Jesus values each individual lost person. Even in our sin, failure, and rebellion, we’re valuable to God, yet we so often assign a value to ourselves and others based on the merits of our own perceived strengths, talents, and abilities; none of those attributes help us understand our purpose or provide lasting fulfillment. God values us because He’s able to see the person He created us to be. Like Adam and Eve, He values us according to His image in us, and seeks after us in our sin, so we know we’re lost from Him and preciously valuable to Him. He seeks us out, proves our value to Him, and proves His love for us, in order that we have the opportunity to admit our sinful lostness and need, repent, and turn to Him. God and all of heaven rejoices over one repentant sinner, more than ninety-nine righteous persons. By this, Jesus means that there’s more rejoicing in heaven over just one of these genuinely repentant sinners, than any number of unrepentant, self-righteous, hypocrites who the world thinks is “good”! (Vv. 1-10; Gen. 3:7-10; Isa. 53:6-7; Matt. 5:46; 7:7-11; 9:9-11; 11:19; 13:45-46; 18:15-17; 21:28-32; 23:1-7, 23-28; Luke 19:1-10; John 3:16; 6:44, 65; 10:9-11, 17-18, 27-29; Rom. 3:10-12, 23; 4:4-5; 5:6-10; 8:32; 2 Cor. 4:3-6; 5:21; Eph. 2:1-12)

II. God greatly rejoices over each lost sinner who is found; so we must rejoice that He graciously restores to eternal life, those who repent and turn to Him (Vv. 11-24)

a. Now Jesus tells a story about a man with two sons. The youngest grew weary of living under his father’s roof, felt he knew a better way, demanded and obtained his portion of his inheritance, and left for a distant land. There, outside of the boundaries, constraints, and care of his father, he lived wild and “free”, squandering his inheritance, only to find himself in a famine. Poor, hungry, and abandoned by all those who had lived wildly with him, he had to take a job on Gentile pig farm, where even the pig feed looked appetizing in his hunger. It was at this point, when the young son realized his sin and desired to return to his father, but he had sinned greatly. His only hope was to return to his father, admit his rebellious sin, and humbly throw himself on his father’s mercy, if only he could be accepted back as a servant. But his father, who looked for him continually, saw him from a distance, cast off his own dignity and ran to meet and greet his wayward son who confessed his sin against God and his father, and humbly accepted the consequences. The father rejoiced, called a servant to place a robe on his son, a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet, fully restoring his sonship, and calling for all to celebrate. (Vv. 11-24; Phil. 2:5-8)

b. Even while we hide behind our fig leaves, and try to cover up our sin, hopelessly lost and separated from God, He loves us and seeks our return. Jesus uses the young son’s story to highlight the mechanism of restoration through repentance. We’ve all wondered off, convinced we know how best to obtain a full a life, pursuing it stubbornly in the face of the inevitable reality that we’re powerless to obtain lasting purpose, or restore ourselves to the One gives it. Sadly many never truly humble themselves, admit their sinful rebellion, and turn to their Savior who joyfully paid for their return, and joyfully restores them. The parable of the prodigal son reveals that, like the young son, we must “come to our senses”, be moved to turn to the One who continually proves His love for us, gives the only hope of a better way through Him, and must follow through by continually and humbly submitting to Him, and trusting Him to exalt us in His will at the proper time. (Gen. 3:7-13; Ps. 51:4; Prov. 13:15; Isa. 59:1-2; 61:10; Jer. 31:3; John 8:34-36; Act 11:18; Rom. 2:1-4; 6:23; 8:16-18, 33-34; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Jas. 1:14-15; 1 John 1:8-9; 2:2, 28-29; 3:1-2; 1 Pet. 5:6-11)