Three Parables of Luke 15

[Nicodemus1968]

The Lost Sheep
[I]Luke 15:4
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? /I]

The Lost Coin
Luke 15:8
Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-12/20
And 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 falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

In each of the three parables there was something lost. The Shepard lost a sheep and left the 99 and went to search for the sheep. The women lost a coin and sought diligently for that individual coin. Yet, when we come to the father of the son that took his journey into a far country with his inheritance, we read the father never left to look for him. In all three cases when that "lost" sheep, coin or son was found they rejoiced and made merry with family and friends. Yet, the prodigal son had to come back to his fathers house all on his own, Why?

[Amanah]

I'm going to take a wild guess and then let the AFF theologians hash it out.

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, yes.

But sometimes a prodigal who knows the truth can't be told anything. All you can do is pray for them and be there when their world falls apart to help them pick up the pieces.

[Nicodemus1968]

Originally Posted by Amanah

I'm going to take a wild guess and then let the AFF theologians hash it out.

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, yes.

But sometimes a prodigal who knows the truth can't be told anything. All you can do is pray for them and be there when their world falls apart to help them pick up the pieces.

I believe that.

Yet, let me add this.

Do you see how a backslider could spend their inheritance when they leave the presence of God? And only when the inheritance was spent, and he had nothing, he finally came to himself.

[Amanah]

Originally Posted by Nicodemus1968

I believe that.

Yet, let me add this.

Do you see how a backslider could spend their inheritance when they leave the presence of God? And only when the inheritance was spent, and he had nothing, he finally came to himself.

Yes. I'm going to apply this to young people raised in church. Though it's only one application. When you see the so called fun the world is having and in the process of pursuing pleasure, you lose your innocence, find yourself cast down, broke, and addicted, and you remember the sweet beauty of the precious presence of God, the door is always open precious ones, please come home.

[TJJJ]

3 different types of lost I believe. Lost sheep, the father finds, dealing with the ministry of the spirit , the ministry of Christ and what it established ie the five fold ministry.

The second the woman, the church, looks inward and finds the lost coin.

The third, neither the father nor the woman searches but the prodigal searches and finds himself.

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Nicodemus1968

The Lost Sheep
[I]Luke 15:4
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? /I]

The Lost Coin
Luke 15:8
Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-12/20
And 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 falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

In each of the three parables there was something lost. The Shepard lost a sheep and left the 99 and went to search for the sheep. The women lost a coin and sought diligently for that individual coin. Yet, when we come to the father of the son that took his journey into a far country with his inheritance, we read the father never left to look for him. In all three cases when that "lost" sheep, coin or son was found they rejoiced and made merry with family and friends. Yet, the prodigal son had to come back to his fathers house all on his own, Why?

Because it was the son who lost himself. The Father never lost him.

Luke 15:17 (ESV),

17 “But when he came to himself..."

His lost senses returned to him, and he went back home.

[shag]

A sheep has a small brain, a coin has no brain, but some of these hard headed kids have even less that that, so they wouldn’t come back with dad even if he went after them, until they learned-the hard way?

[Scott Pitta]

The coin did not know it was lost.

The sheep knew it was lost, but did not know what to do about it.

The son knew he was lost and knew what to do about it.

[Nicodemus1968]

Originally Posted by Scott Pitta

The coin did not know it was lost.

The sheep knew it was lost, but did not know what to do about it.

The son knew he was lost and knew what to do about it.

Why in the parable of the prodigal son, does he go after his inheritance? He then spends it all on harlots, and riotous living. Meaning, every harlot he laid with or things he did and places he went, some of the inheritance was left, and would never be returned to him.

Does a backslider begin spending their inheritance (Spiritually) as they leave the fathers house?

[coksiw]

Those are beautiful parables.

Reason for those parables:

Luk 15:1-3 NKJV - 1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

Parables outcomes:

1)

Luk 15:5, 7 NKJV - 5 "And when he has found [it], he lays [it] on his shoulders, rejoicing. ... 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.

2)

Luk 15:9-10 NKJV - 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."

3)

Luk 15:23, 27-28 NKJV - 23 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill [it], and let us eat and be merry; ... 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.

The purpose of the parables was simply to help understand the value of the souls to heaven, to the point they rejoice when they repent. The tax collectors and the sinners that came to him had a repented heart.
The point was to show the Pharisees that their behavior was not reasonable, or right, and they did not know the heart of God.

We can find minor points or read more into the parables that its purpose, and they may even be more hidden points, but the point Jesus is trying to make is explained in the text itself, except for the Prodigal son, but the previous parables and who they were addressed to can give you the hint.

The sheep and the coin do not have understanding of them being lost, and they do represent the sinners, but that's not the characterization of the sinners intended in the parable. In fact, the sinners in Israel knew what they were doing, they had plenty of synagogues preaching Moses, and a whole culture built around that. The idea is the rejoicing of the one that finds the valuable thing and brings it back to where it belongs, which is God and his friends (angels) rejoicing because of souls coming back. The point is again the Pharisees and scribes not understanding God's heart.

The Prodigal son parable was also addressed to the Pharisees, and it is more realistic. The new character is the jealous son. It was intended to reveal the wrong attitude of the Pharisees towards repented sinners.