Surprised by the Parables

Growing in Grace through the Stories of Jesus

Michelle Lee Barnewall, Michelle Lee-Barnewall

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781683592990
• eBook ISBN: 9781683593003
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

THE JOY OF GRACE

THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP AND THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN (LUKE 15:1–10)

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

INTRODUCTION

A couple of months ago, my stepdaughter thought her dog had gotten out from her house. Frantic, she called my husband, who jumped into action, ready to rush over to help her look for the pup. Moments later, though, she called to say that all was well. She had forgotten that she had left him in a different bedroom while she was out. Overwhelmed at the thought that she might have lost her beloved pet, she broke down in tears.

A few days after that, my husband came home to find that the gate to the back yard was open. In a bit of a panic, realizing he had earlier let our golden retriever out of the house, he raced to the gate. To his relief he discovered the dog there, smiling happily at him (as golden retrievers tend to do) from just inside the open gate.

Both dogs were safe, but my stepdaughter’s joy at finding what she thought had been lost was far greater than my husband’s relief that the dog was not lost in the first place. Our joy at being reunited with something that had been separated from us also tells us how much that something means to us.

The parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin teach us about God’s joy over finding the lost. In other words, they tell us what we mean to him. No matter what we have done, God’s joy when we come back to him is overwhelming. In these parables, we see the Father’s love and devotion. We also learn about the difficulty of the human heart in receiving such amazing grace.

THE PARABLES

In each parable, something valuable is lost, and a search is started. In the first parable, a shepherd has one hundred sheep and loses one. He leaves the ninety-nine in search of the missing animal. When he finds it, he rejoices and places it on his shoulders. He is so overjoyed that when he arrives home, he invites his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. Jesus says that in a similar fashion, there is great joy in heaven over the sinner who repents, even more so than the ninety-nine who were not “lost” (Luke 15:6–7).

Jesus then tells another parable with a similar message. A woman who has ten silver coins and loses one will search her whole house diligently to find the missing coin. When she does find it, she will likewise call her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her, an action that is compared with the angels’ rejoicing in heaven over the one sinner who repents.

Through the parables, we learn that God seeks after and rejoices after finding the lost. There is nothing on earth that can compare with God’s joy over finding us when we have strayed from him.

THE AUDIENCE

In this passage Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who are called scribes in some translations. These religious leaders complain because Jesus is spending time with tax collectors and “sinners.” They think Jesus should reject these people, but Jesus teaches that he came to save those society rejects. He memorably illustrates this by telling two parables, using as main characters those who were looked down on by the larger society: that is, a shepherd and a woman. We will say more about shepherds and women later, but first let’s take a closer look at the Pharisees.

The Pharisees appear quite often in the Gospels as Jesus’ opponents. They were a Jewish religious party of laypeople thought to be experts in the law. Their concern was to define correct behavior according to the law.1 Among all of the religious groups in Israel, they were probably the most popular and so were enormously influential among the general population.2 The scribes were not as influential, and yet were similar to the Pharisees as professional interpreters and teachers of the law.3

Our general picture of the Pharisees and other Jewish religious leaders in the ancient Near East is often that they were hypocrites. Jesus calls them this six times in Matthew 23 alone! True, the Pharisees are rightly accused of breaking the very law they tell others to keep. However, this should not cause us to overlook the significance of their focus on the law. It is important to consider why the religious leaders placed so much emphasis on the law and why they might have been so legalistic.

To understand the Pharisees, we need to go back to the Old Testament, where God gave the law to Moses. The law became a critical foundation for God’s relationship to Israel, and he tells them, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod 19:5–6).

The law is God’s gift to Israel because it represents how the nation is favored and chosen by God. It also shows them God’s way of living, in contrast to the other nations, whom he has not chosen and so do not know the proper way to live. This is why the psalmist can say, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Ps 119:97), or “Great peace have those who love your law” (Ps 119:165). The law is a symbol of God’s blessing on the nation.

However, we see that along with the privilege of being God’s chosen people comes the obligation to obey the law. God tells Israel that he will bless them if they obey him and discipline them if they do not. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known” (Deut 11:26–28).

Unfortunately, Israel does not obey the law, falling into immorality and idolatry, and so God curses them by allowing them to be conquered by other countries, Assyria and Babylon. After God brings them out of exile, they understandably try to follow the law with a renewed and impassioned desire to avoid being cursed by God again!

One key period after the exile exemplifies their rejuvenated attitude toward the law. During what was called the Maccabean Period (167–63 BC), the Jewish people faced an especially intense challenge to their way of life. During this time, Israel was under what was known as the Seleucid Empire. The ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, put enormous pressure on the Jews to conform to Greek ways. He outlawed many practices that were important to the Jews, trying to get them to worship foreign gods and killing those who refused to eat unclean foods or who circumcised their children. Many Jews folded under such immense pressure, but others became even more determined to follow God’s laws.

An ancient Jewish document called 1 Maccabees gives an account of how many Jews rebelled against their foreign rulers. It describes their persecution and determination to maintain the law, even at the cost of their lives:

But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant, and they did die. (1 Maccabees 1:63)4

According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers’ necks. (1 Maccabees 1:60–61)

During this time, many of the Jews suffered terribly in order to stay loyal to the law God had given them. What a contrast to the way Israel disobeyed God before the exile!

The cultural background makes it easier to understand why the law was so important to Israel, and it also helps us understand how the law could have been so easily abused. Israel became overvigilant in their determination to keep the law and avoid another situation like the exile. They came up with more rules that went beyond those given to Moses. Instead of practicing justice and mercy (Mic 6:8), religious leaders came up with a legalistic interpretation that weighed the people down with duties and obligations. They made the law a burden for the people rather than something to teach and guide them.

RESPONDING TO THE PARABLE

To forget about grace is a dangerous thing, because we all need it. We know we have received God’s grace in the forgiveness of sins, but grace should be something that changes our daily lives. But it is hard to receive God’s grace and extend it to others, especially when we don’t recognize how much we need it. This was the Pharisees’ problem.

The Pharisees’ zeal to do the “right” thing seemed to make it hard for them to empathize with those who struggled, and they ended up doing the “wrong” thing. It is probably no coincidence that Jesus gives two parables here about people who were considered either outcasts or inferior by the Pharisees.

The use of the shepherd puts the Pharisees in a particular bind. The Pharisees would want to identity with the hero of the stories, since they were supposed to be the leaders of the people. That this was Jesus’ intent is also seen in the way he makes a direct connection with them, saying, “Suppose one of you …” (Luke 15:4).

In general, shepherds were examples of those who were poor, uneducated, and lowly, close to the bottom of society’s social ladder.5 The average Jew considered them dishonest and lawless.6 The Pharisees’ obsession with obedience to the law would have caused them to see shepherds as unclean. So they would be offended to be referenced as one.7 Certainly, no Pharisee would have been willing to work as a shepherd, and yet Jesus challenges them to imagine themselves as one!

The woman would also be a surprising hero of a parable. Jewish historian Josephus says bluntly that woman “is in all things inferior to the man” (Against Apion 2.201). Women also had fewer rights. For example, according to Jewish law, only men could divorce, although in Rome and Greece both men and women could terminate the marriage.8 Yet, Jesus chooses to make a woman the subject of this parable, using her to illustrate how diligently God searches for one who is lost and how much he rejoices when that person is found.

When Jesus compares the love of the Father to the actions of a shepherd and a woman, he challenges the Pharisees in their prejudicial and judgmental attitudes. If the Pharisees were willing to humble themselves to identify with these characters, they would learn much about the character of God.

While the Pharisees seemed to forget about grace, the need for grace would be a vivid memory for the “lost sheep.” When Jesus refers to the ninety-nine “who do not need to repent,” it’s hard not to wonder, Is it really possible that someone does not need to repent? After all, Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Jesus seems to be taking aim at the Pharisees in another way here, since they apparently do not think they have any need to repent! Instead, it is the lost sheep who knows it is in need of rescue that Jesus places on his shoulders, brings home, and rejoices over. God’s grace is available, but only to the heart that knows its need. Jesus not only confronts the Pharisees with their lack of grace, but also appears to indicate they have not recogniz...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• The Joy of Grace: The Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:1–10)
• Receiving Grace: The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32)
• Generous Grace: The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16)
• Transforming Grace: The Parable of the Two Debtors (Luke 7:36–50)
• Grace for My Neighbor: The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)
• Forgiving Grace: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21–35)
• Trusting in the God of Grace: The Parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5–13)
• Serving the God of Grace: The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30)
• Growing in Grace: The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1–23)
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Subject / Author Index
• Scripture Index
• Old Testament