Three Parables, One Message
(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)
NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are designed to challenge, encourage and, most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Please visit our YouTube Channel (Barry Johnson Ministries; New Light Faith Ministries, Inc.) to watch or listen to these lessons as well as other available sermons. Be blessed.
Introduction
Hello everyone and welcome to the May Bible Study. The title of this month’s Bible Study is “Three Parables, One Message.” Today, we are going to examine the three parables found in Luke 15, including the one commonly referred to as the parable of the “Prodigal Son,” which has been the topic of countless sermons. But, before we get started, let’s open with a word of prayer. Please take your Bibles and turn to Luke 15. We know that many of you are familiar with this chapter because of the parable about the prodigal son. As we work our way through the chapter, we believe you will see some things that will bless you, encourage you, and inspire you to revisit the chapter during your own personal study time. As I said earlier, most of the time when Luke 15 is taught, the focus is on the prodigal son, which is found in verses 11 through 32. When you look at the whole chapter, Jesus talks about two other parables first, but the parable of the prodigal son gets the most attention. Ladies and gentlemen, we must look at all three parables together to get the impact of the point Jesus is making, and that is what we're going to do in this study.
But before we get into the text, I was thinking about the relationship Jesus had with the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus was the person they hated because He was making waves in the “religious waters” that they had worked so hard to keep calm and steady. They had everything set up the way they liked it. The people looked to them for leadership. The people looked to them for religious thoughts and behavior. The people gave the scribes and Pharisees their tithes and offerings, and they enjoyed having this “power” over the people. The Pharisees and scribes were like some Church pastors today who enjoy the worship and praise from their congregations versus giving their Father in heaven “their” worship and praise.” Jesus had a problem with this and so should we! Jesus taught the people about a God who was loving and merciful, something that the scribes and Pharisees should have recognized from their reading of the Old Testament prophecies and the Law. I almost look at the Pharisees and scribes as if they were the mafia of that day and time. The moment Jesus makes His proclamation in Luke 4:18-19, the antenna of the religious leaders went up. Let’s read verses 15 through 21.
(15) And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. (16) So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. (17) And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: (18) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; (19) To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ (20) Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (21) And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:15-21)
Jesus chose this passage on purpose. He said the Lord had sent Him to heal those whose hearts had been broken, to free those in captivity, give sight to the blind and to set the oppressed free. Then He said, “….to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” I want you to hear how the Amplified Bible renders this phrase: “the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.” By reading this passage, Jesus was saying to the religious leaders and everyone who heard Him, now that I am here, your relationship with Yahweh is about to change. When the Pharisees and scribes heard this, they knew that Jesus had picked a fight with them. They knew that He would take over the hearts and minds of the people because of what He preached and what He taught about God would be different than what they preached and taught. It’s at this point that they began to look for ways to sabotage Jesus, to discredit Him, and to minimize His teaching.
In Luke chapter 15, we are going to see Jesus, once again, teaching the religious leaders and the people about the Kingdom of God and, most important, He is going to show them the heart of the God who rules that kingdom. Let’s begin with verse one. “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.” Publicans were wealthy tax collectors, and the Jews hated them because many were crooked and dishonest. Strike one. Jesus was in wallowing in filth in the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes. Not only were there tax collectors in the audience, but sinners, men and women who were considered wicked and going to hell. Strike two. The religious leaders couldn’t care less about the publicans or the sinners, and that’s the key to understanding this chapter. Verse two, “And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” The Amplified Bible says, “….they kept murmuring and indignantly complaining against Jesus.” So even before Jesus began his teaching, the religious leaders were already on attack. These first two verses set the context for the whole chapter. In these parables, Jesus is going to show the religious leaders see who they are compared to who they think they are. One of the most important things about this chapter is that three parables are different, but they are not three separate parables. There are three parables that have one message, and it is the same message. Now verses three, four and five.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Verses 3 through 5: “(3) So He spoke this parable to them, saying: (4) "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? (5) And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” (Luke 15:3-5)
Now, picture the Pharisees and scribes nodding their heads in agreement with Jesus. They had seen this happen before. We're talking about a wayward sheep. So, the sheep has run away, and the man finds it and has it his on his shoulders. The reason he has the sheep on his shoulder, and this is not pretty, is because he has broken his leg. He wants the sheep to be dependent on him. And notice the verse says the man put the sheep on his shoulder, not anyone else’s shoulder. It’s not the shoulder of someone who worked with him. The wayward sheep would be on the man’s shoulder until its leg healed. And once the leg healed, the sheep would follow the man everywhere he went because the man had taken care of him, fed him, had given him water, had cleaned him up, etc. The sheep knew that the man would take care of him, and he would never run away again. Now let’s look at verses six and seven.
Verses 6 and 7: “(6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' (7) I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:6-7) This man had 100 sheep and lost one, or one percent of his sheep, and that one percent meant something to the man, so much so that Jesus says the man finds the lost sheep, breaks his leg and brings him back on his shoulders. Now, can't you see the Pharisees and scribes nodding in agreement that what the man had done was the right thing to do if he wanted to keep the sheep from running away again? Now, let’s read verses six and seven again. “(6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' Now listen to what Jesus says in verse seven. (7) I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Jesus tells them that when you find that one lost sheep, that is nothing compared to the rejoicing in heaven when one of these sinners [and can’t you see Jesus pointing to them and staring down the religious leaders?] who repents. What was the point that Jesus was making with this parable? There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. Just one. Okay, that's the first parable.
The Parable of the Ten Pieces of Silver
Let’s read verses eight, nine and ten. “(8) Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (9) And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' 10) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10) A woman, a wife has lost one of her ten silver coins. She has lost 10% of the value that the coins represent. Now, there are two ways we can look at what we just read. We can look at it in terms of the monetary value of the coins, or we can look at it in terms of the value of the coins from the vantage point of the customs of the day. When a woman was betrothed to be married, she would work to save money so she could buy ten silver coins. The ten silver coins were what she would bring to the marriage, and that would be the only property that she owned. The silver coins were typically used in one or two ways. A hole was drilled into the coins and then clipped to a piece of material and used as a necklace or headdress.
Because of its fragile nature, the silver coins could be lost if the woman moved too quickly or bumped into something. If she lost one of the coins, she knew that her marriage could be in jeopardy if she did not find it, and that’s why she searched diligently until she found it. Now, the whole time Jesus is telling this parable you can see the Pharisees and scribes nodding in agreement. But then he closes the second parable just like he closed the first. The woman, finding that one silver coin, no matter how precious and valuable it was to her, would not have the impact in heaven when one sinner who repents. One sinner. One sinner. What have we seen so far in these two parables? A man with 100 sheep finds the lost sheep, and there’s a party because he's found that one sheep. That's how important that one sheep was to him. In the second parable, we see the woman who lost one of her silver coins turn the house upside down until she found it, and when she found it, there was great rejoicing and another party. What was the point that Jesus was making with this parable? There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. Just one.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
Now let's look at the parable that has been commonly referred to as the parable of the prodigal son. We're going to see two sons. We have gone from one hundred sheep with 1% lost in the first parable to ten silver coins with 10% lost (1 coin) in the second parable and now we’re going to see two sons in the third parable with one (50%) being lost. 1 sheep (1%). 1 silver coin (10%). One son (50%). With each parable the value of what was lost increases.
Verses 11 and 12: “(11) Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. (12) And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.” (Luke 15:11-12)
The thing about the son’s request is that according to the Law, a son can only inherit his father's possessions when his father dies. So, what the younger son was saying is this: “Listen old man, you are living too long, and I want my share of the inheritance now. I don't want to wait until you die because the way things are going, you're going be here a while and I'm ready to go.” The father agrees to give him his portion of goods, which would be property that could be transported like cattle, sheep, gold, silver, etc. So, the father is not talking about physical property (land). Now, in Jewish culture, the elder son receives two thirds of the transportable property and the physical property (land) and the younger son receives the remaining one third of each. With this in mind, let’s pick up with verse 13.
“And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.” I want us to think about what we are reading. He is Jewish and we know from Israel’s history the Promised Land meant everything. So, when you were not in the land of promise that meant you had sinned against God, and you were being punished. For example, Syria was a far country, and Israel was in bondage. Babylon was a far country, and Israel was in bondage. Persia was a far country, and Israel was in bondage. When the children of Israel were in a far country, they were there because they had messed up. Here you have the father's son who is leaving the land of promise (his father’s home) and going to a far country on purpose! He is leaving everything he knows: protection, prosperity, everything his father has, he's leaving it behind to go to a land that doesn't care about the God he serves. When he gets there the Bible says he “wasted his possessions with prodigal living.” He wasted his substance in living a sinful lifestyle in a far country.
Verses 14 and 15: “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. (15) Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.” The word “joined” means “to cleave.” The prodigal son attached himself to someone so that he wouldn’t die of starvation. Remember, he had substance when he arrived in the far country but now he was broke. When you hear the rest of what he experienced his “joining” with another citizen was a form of slavery as he had nothing to offer but his service.
Verse 16: “And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.” No man gave him food other than what the swine ate. We did a little research on this and here’s what we learned. Swine were of some value when they were fattened for the market, but the swine herder himself, to the owner, had no value. In other words, when compared to the swine, the son had no value. The husk in question was the long bean snap pod of the carob tree commonly used for fattening swine in Syria and Egypt. They contained a proportion of sugar, and the very poorest of the people occasionally used them as food. This is what the younger son's life when he worked for this man.
Verses 17 and 18: “But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (18) I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you…” The son repents. Now, can you see the expressions on the faces of the religious leaders? They know what’s coming. Now, when we read this parable, we often think of ourselves as the prodigal son. But we want you to think about this. The person that they're referring to as the prodigal son was a wicked sinner, but this is not the point of the story. Who is Jesus talking to? He is talking to the Pharisees and the scribes. The prodigal son is not them either. The prodigals are the sinners; the ones Jesus spends time with that the Pharisees and the scribes say aren't worthy. Let’s pick it up with the last part of verse 18 and then read verse 19: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. “Make me like one of your hired servants.”
The son saw himself as no longer being the father’s son. He saw himself no better than a servant. The important thing we want you to understand is this: when you are a son, when you are a daughter that is a position that never changes unless you turn your back on Jesus. So even though the son did not see himself as a son, the father still saw him as a son. Verse 20: “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” When I read this verse, I see the father doing five things. First, the father saw him. Second, the father had compassion for him. Third, the father ran toward him. Fourth, the father fell on his neck. And, the fifth thing I see is the father kissing his son. Now, I'm not a person who spends a lot of time on numerology in scripture, but the number five is the number for grace, and that is exactly what we see in the father right here. The son had turned his back on his father and had taken everything he wanted, but his father extended him grace and took him back. Ladies and gentlemen, that's our Father. No matter what we do or what we have done, our Father is always ready to forgive us when we repent. Always.
Verses 21 and 22: “And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' (22) But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.” This is a very important verse. A servant did not wear sandals. By giving him sandals, the father is saying you are my son. I'm going to put the proper clothes on you, I'm going to give you the ring that signifies you are my son, and I'm going to give you sandals for your feet so that everyone will know you are a free man and not a servant.
Verses 23 and 24: “And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (24) for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.” The word “kill” means “to sacrifice.” The father was so happy that his son was home that he prepared a sacrificial feast in honor of his son’s return. Now, the point of this parable is what we are about to read – the response of the elder son.
Verses 25 through 28: “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' (28) But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.” We now know that the elder son represents the Pharisees and scribes. The word pleaded is the same word used when describing the Holy Spirit and the role He plays in our lives. The father did everything he possibly could to get the elder son to join the feast. He hugged him. He pleaded with him. But the elder son was not having it.
Verse 29: “So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.” Remember in verses one and two the Pharisees and scribes were upset with Jesus for spending time with the publicans and sinners – the wrong people? Notice in this verse that the elder son essentially says “I always did what you told me to do. I carried out the garbage. I fed the sheep. I never did what your other son did, and you never even gave me a kid goat. You never prepared a sacrifice for me, threw a party for me, and I did everything you wanted me to do.” The scribes and Pharisees kept the law, and they thought that keeping the law was what separated them from the publicans and sinners. When I think about in verse 29, the phrase “that I might make merry with my friends” jumps out at me. The elder son didn’t say make merry with his father. Knowing that the Pharisees and scribes believed that He was spending time with the wrong type of people, Jesus, in verse 30, begins to show the Pharisees and scribes the kind of people that they were.
Verse 30: “But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.” The Pharisees and scribes were the elder son. In the parable, Jesus says they were judging the father for loving his son. They were judging the father for loving his brother. We see that the Pharisees and scribes, if they could care less about anyone other than themselves, they would have, and Jesus is pointing this out for them. The younger brother is everything that is wrong with sinners. Greedy. Impatient. Selfish. Doesn’t honor his father. But he repents and has a heart change. Jesus says of the religious leaders, your heart is ruined, so you are not allowing your heart to be changed.
Conclusion and Closing Prayer (Rodney)
Verses 31 and 32: “And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. (32) It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
The younger son had received his portion, one-third of the inheritance. Everything that remained belonged to the elder brother. Everything. But he was just like his younger brother; he did not love his father, and we can see this in the interaction he had with him concerning the party for his younger brother. This was the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus is showing them that they were no different than the sinners and the tax collectors. But unlike the younger brother, they didn’t see the need for the Father’s grace. They didn’t see the need for the Father’s grace because the Father owed them. But it was the father’s grace on display in verse 20 when the younger brother returned home. Ladies and gentlemen, our Father's heart is to throw a party in heaven for the person who does not belong to Him but repents and decides that he or she wants to belong to Him. There's going to be a party in heaven! For us as sons and daughters, we have to decide whether we want to be part of the party. We have seen three parables, but there is only one message: heaven rejoices when one sinner repents! The eldest son did not rejoice at his brother coming home a sinner and repenting. The same was true for the Pharisees and scribes. They did not care if a sinner repented. In their minds they were already righteous because they had kept the law.
Ladies and gentlemen, God gave 100% of His Son, His only Son and still people struggle to rejoice when others find Him and that's because they have established a standard by which sinners can come to God or what a true saved person looks like. We are going to have men and women come into our churches who don't look like us. We're going to have a drug dealer, a drunk, an adulterer, or a prostitute come to our churches. How we treat them will determine whether we are a Pharisee or a scribe. We may have people who come in who don't smell good. How we treat them will determine whether we are a Pharisee or a scribe. We may have people who come in and look at us to see what type of church you are. You know how people are sometimes, when they come in, they look over the congregation to size it up. They’re trying to determine who's going to be personable, who's going to be welcoming, and who's not. If you're not welcoming, you will be acting like a Pharisee or a scribe.
Ladies and gentlemen, our point is this: our heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. Now, we can only speak for ourselves, it is our plan to have heaven rejoicing a lot! I hope you want heaven to rejoice a lot too! Amen!
Let’s pray.
