Ep. 254. Luke 15 | Lost Sheep, Coin, and Son
EPISODE 254
LOST SHEEP, COIN, AND SON: LUKE 15
I have always loved this text, and if we are honest with ourselves, we would all admit that the "lost sheep" and the "prodigal son" are two of the most famous "characters" in the Bible. Because of that, we often think we already know everything there is to know about them. Growing up, I often heard of the "lost sheep" as any individual who had not yet come to salvation. Pastors and teachers would talk about the "lost sheep" in our schools and communities. We were trained to know and understand that Jesus cares for those lost sheep and that since we were already part of the ninety-nine, we should be concerned about the lost sheep as well. The lost sheep parable was always shaped for me as 99 believers and one unsaved person. However, the context of Luke 15, the audience Jesus is addressing, and the cultural climate of the so-called "righteous" individuals in the gospels never once crossed my mind.
The "prodigal son," on the other hand, was always pitched to me as a story of two believers; one had remained faithful to God, and one had run far away from God. In youth we would always be encouraged to pray for those "prodigals" who had once been faithful to the Lord but were now far away "squandering" their lives in the world. I will never forget the time I first heard it taught another way. I was invited to a Thursday morning Bible Study with several pastors. I was in my late twenties or maybe just thirty. It was too early for me, so I sat there listening for the majority of the time. But at some point, the conversation turned to the parable of the prodigal. I don't remember everything the pastor said in passing, but the thing that stuck out to me was that the "older brother" was analogous to the Pharisees. I remember disagreeing internally. It would be another seven or eight years before my life would be drastically altered, and I would start paying attention to the whole of the context. Luke 15, in light of the rest of the gospels and not my 1980's and 1990's church culture, made so much more sense. Seeing the narrative of the Jews through the Old Testament and learning a bit about the history of the people, not to mention the repetitive language of Jesus throughout the Gospels, made me change my mind forever.
This wasn't the first time I held on to something for nearly a decade before my mind was changed on the topic and I know it won't be the last. My goal is to come to understand the Bible a little more with each passing year and thereby enjoy God more fully. Sometimes I'm just more slow in coming to that understanding than I should be.
If you still think the 99 are saved, and the older brother is the Christian toeing the line, I would just ask you what it is in the text that makes you believe that. I absolutely believe the lost sheep and the prodigal are both coming to the truth of Jesus, but I think the 99 and the older brother represent the Pharisees as those who are "healthy and righteous." It is not that they are actually healthy or righteous, but that they think they are. As Jesus said, he didn't come for them but for the sick and the sinners.
Before you fire off an email telling me how wrong I am, maybe just sit with it for the next seven years as you dive more deeply into the Scripture. Meanwhile, I'll be here trying to sort out the next 100 questions I am still working on. Maybe we can meet back here in 2030 or so and trade some lessons on the things God continues to shape in us.
ADDITIONAL READINGS: Philippians 3:6; Matthew 5:20; Luke 5:27-32; Matthew 21:31-32
