Luke Chapter 15.

Luke Chapter 15.

Some see in this chapter, an allusion to the Trinity.

           

The Occasion.   Jesus was criticised for welcoming sinners and tax-gatherers and eating with them.  He vindicates his conduct, for it was the will of God that such be saved.  Nothing more rejoices the heart of God than to welcome the lost back again.  The purpose of all three parables is to show the joy of recovery.  Jesus was justified in his compassion for the lost, because the love of God here finds its greatest joy.

           

These parables indicate why the Lord came into the world and why he must die.  He was on his way to Jerusalem to suffer and to be put to death.  It was the will of God that he should do so.  In the parables, (teaching and events that immediately precede the Cross), we discover the purpose of his death and, incidentally, Luke's doctrine of atonement is disclosed.

           

The lost sheep.  15:1-7.  God seeks men, to recover them.  There is great joy in Heaven when one sinner is found.  Men who were formerly lost, are found when they are brought to repentance.

           

The lost coin.  15:8-10.  The coin could not again become a thing of value until it had been found.  God puts great value on the individual - and the sinner, if he repents.  Heaven rejoices in the recovery of a thing of great value.  There is more joy in the recovery of one lost, than in the secure possessions of many others.  It brings joy to God, when sinners repent.

           

The prodigal son.  15:11-24.   Shows the:

              *   Selfishness of his decision.  verses 11-13.

              *   Degradation of sin.                  "      14-16.

              *   Return to his father.                "      17-19.

              *   Reinstatement as a son.         "      20-24.

           

The elder brother.  15:25-32.  He is outwardly near and obedient, but in heart and sympathy he is alienated from his father.  He had not been able to share his father's sorrow, nor could he now share in his father's joy.  The younger boy had been a prodigal in a far country, but the elder was a prodigal from his father, though always at home.  There can be a truant heart without truant feet.  Thus an alienated heart can make a far country of the father's fields, or even the floor of the home.  The elder son was outwardly near, but he shared in none of the father's feelings.  He was a picture of the Pharisees and the religious leaders of Jerusalem.