The Parables of Jesus
Lesson 4
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Background
o
The first parables we studied were written by
Matthew, a Jewish Tax collector who became a disciple of Jesus. Today’s parables are written by Luke, a Greek
gentile who was a medical doctor, historian, and close companion to the apostle
Paul.
o
Jesus was making his journey to Jerusalem to be
crucified. Jesus told these parables
together to a group of Pharisees who were questioning him as to why he was
welcoming sinners and eating with them.
There was also a small group of tax collectors and sinners nearby.
·
Parables
of Salvation
o
All 3 parables are similar in their message.
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Lost Sheep (Luke 15: 1 – 7)
·
The sheep represent followers and seekers of
Jesus (John 10: 11, 14, Isaiah 53:6, Psalm
23: 1 - 3)
·
It would seem foolish to many that a shepherd
would desert his flock for one lost sheep.
However, the shepherd knows the flock will be safe if it remained in the
sheepfold. Each sheep was of value to
him, so it was important to return the one lost sheep back into the herd.
§
The Lost Coin (Luke 15: 8 -10)
·
Palestinian woman received 10 silver coins as a
wedding gift. Besides a monetary value,
they also held a sentimental value as well.
·
The coins were possibly a Greek drachma or a
Roman denarius, both were worth about an average days wages.
§
The Prodigal Son (Lost Son) (Luke 15: 11 – 32)
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The father in the parable represents God, the
youngest son represents the sinners, and the oldest son represents the
Pharisees.
·
In Jewish law, the oldest son would receive 2/3
of the inheritance, whereas the youngest son would receive 1/3 of the
inheritance, which would be received upon the death of the father. The youngest son negotiated his inheritance,
where the father would have negotiated the inheritance with his sons. The youngest son was showing his arrogance
and this would have been an insult during biblical times, implying the son
wished his father was dead. Also, with
the youngest son accepting his inheritance, he was expected to take care of his
family.
·
In Jewish tradition it was considered a humility
for a man over 40 to run. The father
also had to raise his robe while running which was considered humility as well.
·
Pigs were unclean animals to the Jewish
people. They were not to be touched or
eaten. The youngest son degraded
himself by accepting his job as a pig farmer.
·
The youngest son wanted to live free and as he
pleased. He had to hit bottom before he
realized he was wrong, he then realized his father could help him. He originally did not go back home to repent,
but to eat, as he was getting hungry.
The son repented after seeing his father’s love and humility.
·
The father watched and waited for his son and
rejoiced when he returned. The father
forgave the youngest son out of love (the father placed his robe around his son
and his ring), where the older son became bitter about the injustice he felt
was being done. (Pharisees questioning
why sinners were being welcomed by Jesus into heaven. The Pharisees were righteous and followed the
law, but added their own burdens to the law).
o
Important to forgive others when we have wronged
them.
o
In all 3 parables something was lost, we have a
sinful nature which separates us from God.
(Romans 3: 23 – 24). Also, the object which was lost remained
valuable in the mind of the owner. In
the first 2 parables, the owner searched until he found the item. The owner could have easily taken the
attitude that this was only one item, I have many more, why should I look for
the lost item. The parables end with the
owner rejoicing when he had found the lost item. (Ephesians 3: 16 – 18)
o
We need
to remember that God is complete with or without us. God has chosen us.
o
Jesus came to offer salvation to sinners to show
God’s love for us. Jesus does not worry
about the accusations that can be made against us, but he continues going to
those who need him. (Luke 19:10)
§
Jesus offers us salvation and restoration by his
work on the cross and our belief of his work.
§
The Holy Spirit works within us to open our
hearts and minds.
§
God is at work – he seeks us and finds us. (Isaiah 55:7)
o
God’s love is so great that he seeks each
individual and God with the angels rejoice when we become a believer. Can you imagine the excitement that must take
place in heaven?
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Additional readings
o
Jeremiah 31:10, Ezekiel 34:11–16, Deuteronomy
21:17, Leviticus 11:7-8, Leviticus 26:40, Psalm 51:4, Ephesians 2:1-5, Proverbs
29:3
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Questions to ponder/Life Lessons.
o
All 3 parables answer the Pharisees question as
to why Jesus welcomed the sinners and ate with them.
o
How does God’s value people compare to how we
feel about others?
o
Can you see how anxious God is for us and the
efforts he will make to regain us through the above parables?
o
Even though we may feel worthless at times of our
life in our own eyes, we are seen as valuable to God. He is seen as grieving, seeking, finding, and
rejoicing for us.
o
Do we live our life as God is dead or not
interested in us?
o
How often do we think our hardships will not
last long and we do not turn to God for help during these times?
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Awaken to your true condition.
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Honest confession of your sin.
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Return back to God.
o
When we feel responsible for our repentance (as
the Pharisees, there was pressure to be good), do we focus on being good and
forget the importance of our relationship with God.
§
Relationship – We all have a relationship with
God when we accept Jesus as our savior and believe in his death and
resurrection. We become children of God,
this relationship does not change.
§
Fellowship – We fellowship with God during our
life and walk with him. Our fellowship
can distance us from God because of our choices and lifestyle, or we can fellowship
close to God as we place our hope, faith, and trust in him (We seek him with all of our heart).
