Bible Study Companion–Luke 15

Luke 15

• Luke 15:1-2 The religious leaders were amazed and distressed that Jesus associated with sinners. Truthfully, these religious men did not understand Jesus nor did they understand God. How often do we read in the Old Testament that God called sinners to repent? Isn’t this exactly what Jesus was doing? But of course, we don’t act this way today, do we? Christian’s today don’t turn up their noses and shun those living in sin. We understand that the church is a hospital for the sick, not a country club for important individuals.
• Luke 15:3-10 To illustrate this point, Jesus tells two parables; the story of the Lost Sheep and the story of the Lost Coin. And Jesus doesn’t let the people guessing what He means. He is blunt and to the point. God finds great joy over one sinner who repents. A church would be wise to keep this in mind. The greatest labor any church might do in the name of Jesus is to help a sinner find life in Jesus Christ. If a church wants to know what God desires from them it would be that they labor to bring the lost to salvation in Jesus name, not build monuments and shrines and cathedrals in Jesus name.
• Luke 15:11-32 The Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates the point even further. There is the father who is always watching and waiting for the prodigal to return. There is the younger son who felt he could find personal significance and a meaningful life in a world separated from the father, and the older son who passed judgment upon the younger son because of his sinful way of life. This is the way it is when a sinful person comes to God through Christ. They receive abundant grace and unmerited mercy. The Father longs for the prodigal to come home. And if those in fellowship with the Father truly understood the Father’s heart, they too would be watching, waiting, and working for the lost to return home. Jesus left no doubt that the religious leaders in Jerusalem were to be compared to the older brother in the story. Rather than rejoice that a sinner has been saved, they draw a boundary with legalistic lines between those deserving the Fathers love and those deserving the Father’s wrath. Yet Christ has just demonstrated clearly the heart of God. A church would be wise to keep this parable in mind before it gets too high and mighty about who is saved and who is a sinner.