(Read Luke 15:1-4, 8,11)

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.

 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] 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.”

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… (The other brother stayed at home! He saw himself as the righteous one)

In response to the grumblings of the religious leaders over these unrepentant sinners the Lord told three parables.  Luke says he told them “this” parable as if there was only one and yet all three are related.  Each one deals with repentance in some way. 

Jeshua tells these three stories: a story about a sheep lost in the wilderness, a story about a coin lost at home, and story about two brothers, a younger brother who was separated from his father in a foreign land and an older brother who was separated from his father even being at home.  These three stories actually function as one parable intended to make a poignant point to the religious leaders.

Lost is Lost! The sheep and the younger brother went astray in the wilderness (far from home) the coin and the older brother were lost even though they were in the home!

By failing to rejoice with Yeshua over the return of wayward sinners, the religious leaders failed to understand that salvation is a gift of grace, thereby proving they were no less lost than the coin and the older brother. 

I like to think that perhaps Nicodemus (the Pharisee who came to see the Master at night….
John 3) was among those Pharisees hearing and listening to His words.  Jeshua was teaching them that rules and regulations do not bring salvation.  True repentance is a matter of the heart and not an outward show of one’s good deeds or doing a “religion”.

Just attending worship services, repeating religious phrases, doing all the “right things” is not repentance.  Seeing themselves as sinners and in need of repentance is what Jeshua is telling these righteous minded men. Jeshua also wants us to acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of daily grace.  Our Father wants us to come to him in humility and seeking forgiveness.

You and I might just be that lost coin, the lost sheep or the son who left home, or we might see ourselves more like the other brother who felt he deserved the Father’s praise because he did everything the “right way.” 

As you read these parables of teaching, make them applicable for you.  See yourself in what Jeshua is telling His disciples. 

May we seek him with humility in our hearts and repentance in our souls. 

                                Grace is our gift from the One who loves us.