GOD’S LOST & FOUND DEPARTMENT
Luke 15:1-32
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: CAUGHT IN THE ACT
1. There are times when we start to look down on someone else, and we find that we ourselves are guilty of the same things.
2. A third-grade teacher had three boys named William in her class. Because she called them all William, they never knew which one she was talking to.
3. One day during a lesson on efficiency, she thundered, “William, put that gum you're chewing in the trash can at once!”
4. All three of them started to rise, paused, then walked to the front of the class to dispose of their gum.
5. The teacher beamed. “I caught 3 with one rebuke! Now that's efficiency.” Lloyd Smith, readersdigest
B. TEXT
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. 8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
C. THESIS
1. Almost every school & business has a “lost-and-found” depository, a “place where lost items are kept to await reclaiming by their owners.”
2. Luke 15 could aptly be called the Lost & Found chapter of the Gospels, for it contains only parables of lost things being found.
3. Let’s look at the similarities & contrast of these 3 stories – the Lost Sheep, Coin and Son.
4. The title of this message is “God’s Lost & Found Dept.”
I. THE SITUATION: JUDGING BY PHARISEES
A. JESUS EATING WITH SINNERS
1. The Pharisees & Teachers of the Law were scandalized that “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (2). They believed that since Jesus was a Prophet, He should avoid the sinful rabble.
2. REASON? THERE WAS AN UNSPOKEN CASTE SYSTEM
a. LAW KEEPERS – FAVORED BY GOD
b. AVERAGE BELIEVERS – TOLERATED BY GOD
c. SINNERS – DESPISED BY GOD.
3. The Jewish culture was a shame/honor-driven society. Virtually everything done in Jewish culture brought either shame or honor.
4. The primary motivation for what and how things were done was based on seeking honor for oneself and avoiding shame. The Pharisees sought honor, the sinners sought sin/dishonor.
5. There may be a bit of sarcasm in the reference to the Pharisees “who do not need to repent” (7; Rom. 3:23).
B. JESUS’ REVERSAL OF FAVOR WITH GOD
1. In these parables, Jesus turned His listeners’ understanding of things upside-down.
2. The Pharisees saw themselves as being the beloved of God and the “sinners” as rejects. Jesus makes it clear God isn’t seeking after the Pharisees (“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” Lk. 5:31.).
3. Instead, Jesus portrayed God as having a tender, personal concern for sinners (“and when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders,” v. 5), and leaving all others to seek after them.
4. He portrays God rejoicing when individuals who are lost (in sin) are found (repent). Jesus reversed the thinking!
5. In the parable of the Pharisee & Tax Collector praying in the Temple, Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Lk. 18:14.
6. HUMOR on SPOTLESSNESS. Paulette Lewis and her husband were remodeling. He was on a stepladder, putting
finishing touches on the final coat of paint. He noticed how her clothes were speckled with paint, and smugly commented, "I can't believe I did all this without getting a single drop of paint on me" he said, as he stepped off the ladder-and into a full paint tray!
II. SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES
A. SIX SIMILARITIES OF THE PARABLES
1. An object or person IS LOST. This represents our miserable condition apart from God.
2. ALL ARE OWNED (even the son would have been considered so until leaving the home).
3. All REMAIN VALUABLE to the owner despite being lost.
4. The owner having others (coins, sheep, another son) never turned away His focus from recovering that which was lost.
5. The focus is on the love of the owner for the lost object.
6. Rejoicing over repentance.
7. WHO’S WHO & WHAT’S WHAT. In all 3 parables, the Searcher = God and the Item/person searched for represents lost sinners.
B. DIFFERENCES
1. SHAME/ HONOR CONNECTION
a. To lose a sheep as a shepherd would be a very shameful thing.
b. But for a bride to lose a piece of bridal jewelry (dowry?) in her own house would be even more shameful.
c. Worst of all in Jewish culture would be the loss of a son. A son going off into such debauchery was unthinkable to godly society.
d. The shame factor also connects to the number of what’s lost: 1 out of 100 sheep (1%, not too bad), then 1 of 10 coins (10%, worse), then 1 of 2 sons (50%, worse still).
2. APPEAL TO DIVERSE AUDIENCE
a. Poor men and young boys would have related best to the shepherd and the lost sheep.
b. Women would have related best to the lost bridal coin.
c. The last parable dealt with everyone present by dealing with the relationship of a father and son.
III. DIFFERENCE OF THE FAITHFUL SON
A. TEXT (continuing from the return of the prodigal son)
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
B. DIRECT ADDRESS TO THE PHARISEES, TEACHERS
1. We find, that not only did the younger son leave his father’s house, but here the older son refuses to go into the Father’s house.
2. The older son betrayed 3 bad attitudes:
a. “All these years I've been slaving for you”(Vs. 29). He used the Greek word DOULOS – “bond slave.” The older son implied that serving his father had been a burden to him and not an enjoyable experience. Slavery to duty/ works.
b. “You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate” (Vs. 29). There was no joy in his service. The Father said he COULD HAVE had celebration, but didn’t.
c. “I never disobeyed your orders” (29). He had never physically left, but he obviously had unforgiveness & bitterness. He harshly judged the younger brother. He had no love for his brother. All of these were serious “heart-offenses,” as deadly as wasting property & wild living.
3. Jesus, in the character of the Father of the story, gentle reminds the Pharisees that God does favor the obedient – “He’s always with them and all He has is theirs.” (31).
4. But Jesus also reminds them about how God feels about His lost children;
a. That God is seeking them;
b. That their return is cause for rejoicing;
c. That the Pharisees should come and join the party!
5. The younger brother experienced GRACE. The older brother, while depending on works, desperately needed to experience the same grace to cover his hidden issues of the heart.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Inside the Walls
1. It is said that during the Second World War some soldiers serving in France wanted to bury a friend and fellow soldier who had been killed.
2. Being in a foreign country they wanted to ensure their fallen comrade had a proper burial. They found a well-kept cemetery with a low stone wall around it, a picturesque little Catholic church and a peaceful outlook. This was just the place to bury their friend.
3. But when they approached the priest he answered that unless their friend was a baptized Catholic he could not be buried in the cemetery. He wasn’t.
4. Sensing the soldiers disappointment the priest showed them a spot outside the walls where they could bury their friend. Reluctantly they did so.
5. The next day the soldiers returned to pay their final respects to their fallen friend but could not find the grave. “Surely we can’t be mistaken. It was right here!” they said.
6. Confused, they approached the priest who took them to a spot inside the cemetery walls.
7. “Last night I couldn’t sleep” said the priest. “I was touched by your love for your friend and thought it petty that your friend had to be buried outside the cemetery walls. 8. So I got up and during the night, broke the wall apart and moved it out to include his grave.”
Source: Unknown
B. THE CALL
1. Have you felt like God won’t accept you for some reason? Remember, it’s you God is seeking after and rejoices when you come back to relationship with Him.
2. Does anyone here feel like, though a believer, God hasn’t blessed you like He has others? God wants to heal you of your hurts tonight.
3. Salvation call & prayer.
[Some have tried to posit a progression in the value of what was lost, least to greatest value: a sheep, then a silver coin, then a son. But this idea is contradicted by the fact that a sheep (source: Babylonian Talmud) cost 4-5 selahs. The coin is a drachma, worth a day’s wages. A selah was worth 4 drachmas. So the sheep was worth 16-20 drachmas, far more than the one drachma lost.]
[some information was gleaned from gotquestions.org & millersvillebiblechurch.org on these parables]
