Luke 15 sets a scene of Jesus in a teaching setting with Religious authorities and other skeptics in the back ground. These Jesus detractors were muttering to themselves because Jesus was spending so much time with “sinners” even going so far as to share meals with them.
Jesus started telling stories about different things, but with a running theme. He told of a Shepard with 100 sheep in his care. If he took them out to feed and comes back with 99, what does he do? The sheep are his responsibility, so he leaves the 99 in a safe place and goes in search of his single lost sheep. When he finds it he carries it home on his shoulder and told all his buddies to come over for a big celebration.
Now Jesus tells a story about a woman who owns only 10 coins, one of which is lost. She turned on all the lights in the house, pulled out the broom and cleaned until in it turned up when she finally finds it, she to will have a party to celebrate.
I feel Jesus was reeling all those folks in, as he knew they world agree a celebration would be in order because in their eyes a sheep or a coin had real value to them. They could see a celebration would be cool.
It seems a man had two sons, Jesus says, the younger grew restless on the ole homestead and wanted to see the world, He asked if he could get his share of the inheritance in advance, and the father gave him his share.
The younger son hit the road and went to a distant country, where he spent all his money on a wild life. After his money was gone, a famine hit he had to take a job feeding pigs. This was like the bottom of hole for a Jewish person was to have nothing to do with pigs. To make matters worse the pigs was eating better than he was.
He gets an idea, the servants on his fathers place was doing better than he was. He was going home but not as a son. He was going to ask his father for forgiveness and to make him a hired hand.
The bible says the father looked up and saw the son” while he was still a long way off” It sounds to me he was keeping an eye out for him. Filled with compassion, the father ran to meet his son. When he got there, he threw his arms around him and kissed him. The Son didn’t get chance to tell his father of his plan to work for him, as the father sent for a robe, ring and sandals, outfitting his son with all the entitlements of a valued member of the family. A party was planned to celebrate the return of the son.
Most story tellers might would have ended this story here with a “and they all lived happily ever after” But Jesus wasn’t finished.
The noise of the party eventually reached the older brother, who asks wants going on. When the servants told him, he was mad. After all he was out working in the field while back at the house there was music, dancing and a party going on. He turned his back and refused to join the festivities.
The Father came out to reason with his older son, but big brother had a big chip on his shoulder. He said, not unreasonable, that because he had stayed home and obeyed the father, he was being taken for granted. In contrast, “When this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” Now that was a interesting insight into his mindset, who had said anything about prostitutes?
Gently the father tried to reason with his older son, assuring him that “you are always with me and everything I have is yours.” But he also pointed out that the older son was missing the point. “We had to celebrate and be glad , because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found.”
Jesus knew that many of his listeners – for sure the Pharisees and experts in the law – would relate to the feelings of the older brother. It’s not to hard to see the justification for celebrating when lost property is found, such a sheep or a coin: Such occasions are always good reasons to throw a big party, But when people are involved, for some reason we have an inner desire to see them “get what they’ve got coming .” God represented by the Father in Jesus’ story, often has a different out look on people. He celebrates the recovery of any “lost” person. When we are the prodigals, we tend to grasp for his mercy and hold no tight. When we see others receive God’s mercy and forgiveness, however, we may not be so quick to understand.
God Bless and We Love You
Punkin Child of God
