Sermon and Worship Resources

Luke 15:1-7 · The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 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.

The God of Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon
by King Duncan

As most of you know, actor Paul Newman started a food company several years ago. Many products now bear the name, "Newman’s Own." With profits from this business, Newman helped build a camp for critically ill children. It’s called the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. The name was taken from his film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Newman was sitting at a table one day with a camper who asked him who he was. The actor reached for a carton of Newman’s Own lemonade and showed the boy his likeness on the container, "This is me," Newman said. Wide-eyed, the camper looked at the picture on the food carton and asked, "Are you lost or something?" (1) Good question. It’s a frightening thing to be lost.

A few years ago, Pat Croce, president of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, decided to get his helicopter pilot’s license. After hours of instruction by a veteran helicopter pilot, Pat felt ready to take his first solo flight. Everything went smoothly until Pat noticed some power lines below him. The thought of making a mistake and flying into those power lines sent him into a panic. He decided to turn the chopper around and head back to the landing strip.

He radioed the control tower to tell them he was just five miles from the landing strip. But as he got closer to his goal, Pat realized that he was off-course. He had paid attention to every part of his training except this one minor detail: he hadn’t listened carefully when the instructor told him the location of the airport. He was so intent on learning how to fly that he had ignored this small, but crucial, piece of information. Instead of heading to the landing strip, he was heading straight for a Kmart parking lot. He was lost, and terrified of running out of fuel. When the control tower checked in to ask why Pat hadn’t landed, he readily admitted his mistake. With their help, Pat made a safe landing. (2) If you have ever been lost, you know what a helpless feeling it is.

H.H. Staton in his book, A Guide to the Parables of Jesus, tells the story of having been on an ocean liner headed to the Middle East. Nine hundred miles out to sea a sail was sighted on the horizon. As the liner drew closer, the passengers saw that the boat--a small sloop flying a Turkish flag--had run up a distress signal. Through a faulty chronometer or immature navigation, the small vessel had become lost. For nearly an hour the liner circled the little boat, giving its crew the correct latitude and longitude. Naturally the passengers on the liner were greatly interested in the crisis. A boy of about 12 standing on the deck remarked aloud to himself, "It’s a big ocean to be lost in."

He was speaking of a physical ocean, of course, but there are many people who are lost in a spiritual sense, in an emotional sense--and what many of them discover, too, is that it’s "a big ocean to be lost in."

In Luke 15, Jesus speaks to the experience of being lost. He describes three situations in which precious possessions were lost--a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. We’re going to focus on the first of these, the lost sheep.

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not 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."

God is the God of lost sheep. That’s what Jesus is saying to us. God notices when one tiny lamb wanders from the flock. And God is willing to get His hands dirty bringing that lamb home. That’s who God is. That’s how much God cares. One little lamb goes astray, and God is willing to leave all the nice lambs who stayed at home and go through the briars and the brambles until God finds that one lost lamb. It’s a beautiful image that every Christian should cherish. Whether you’ve ever been lost or whether you have someone you love who is lost right now, it is great comfort that God cares about those who have gone astray.

The picture of God as a shepherd is an interesting one. It is at least as old as the twenty-third psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd . . ." Jesus makes use of the image several times. We’ve talked before about the image of shepherds in most societies. It is not a good one.

There is an old Spanish folktale about a doctor, a rancher, and a shepherd who get into an argument about who is the smartest. The doctor is an educated man, a little on the arrogant side. He claims to be the most knowledgeable. The rancher is wealthy and powerful. He believes that he is smarter. They look down on the shepherd because he is uneducated and, like many shepherds in his region, smells very strongly of sheep. The proprietor of the general store challenges the three men to complete a task. For months she has tried to get rid of a skunk that has camped out in her shed. Whichever man can get rid of the skunk will be judged the smartest of the three.

The doctor goes first. After just one minute in the shed, he comes running out. The rancher goes in next. He lasts seventy seconds before he, too, comes running out of the shed. Finally, the shepherd goes in. A minute later, the skunk comes running out of the shed, and the shepherd is crowned the smartest man of the three. (3)

In Palestine two thousand years ago, shepherds rarely bathed. In that dry and dusty land, water was a luxury. It was used primarily for drinking and for caring for your sheep, not bathing. The shepherd spent most of his time around sheep, not other people. To identify God with a shepherd was hardly a compliment. A comparable picture of God might be an image of God spending His hours in flop houses where drug addicts finish out their days poking their arms with unsanitary needles. It might be a picture of God who spends His hours in the garbage heaps of a South American city where children scavenge for food. It is a picture of God stretched out naked on a cross in the company of thieves. This is how much God loves us, the picture screams out. God is the God of lost sheep.

Let’s focus for a moment on the sheep. Sheep don’t have a very good image either, do they? As someone has said, "If you were starting your own sports team and needed a mascot you might consider choosing the lions, tigers, eagles, or bears, as they give us a sense of power and independence. I seriously doubt that anyone would consider their mascot to be a sheep. Sheep are not known for their agility, strength or independence." (4) That is why sheep require a shepherd. They have a tendency to do dumb things.

There was a rather bizarre story from the Associated Press two years ago about 1500 sheep that jumped off a cliff in Turkey. First, one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned.

The loss was devastating to the families who depended on the sheep as a significant source of income. The shepherds only had to relax for a few moments and the sheep plunged to their death. Dumb sheep. Do I need to say to you that people do many more dumb things than do sheep? No sheep has ever been charged with abusing its own lamb. No sheep has ever been charged with stealing from a neighbor or with murder. Sheep don’t knowingly abuse their own bodies or minds. They don’t hate other sheep who are of a different color or economic level or religion. Sheep only have one or two ways they can become lost. Humans have thousands, and we seem to be inventing new ones every day.

My guess is that all of us feel lost from time to time. Some of us have hurts that were inflicted on us early in our lives, and those hurts still cause us pain. They may even cause us to lash out at others or to act self-destructively. We may not even know why we are doing some of the dumb things we do. It is like we are driven. Sometimes we don’t seem able to help ourselves. That is why we need a shepherd. That is why we need a God of lost sheep. That is why we need a God who gets His hands dirty and comes to us where we are.

Daniel D. Meyer tells about a painting which depicts a lamb who has obviously strayed away from its flock and now struggles to find its way through a tangled thicket. "On the other side of the thicket lie greener pastures, and the rest of the flock is already there. But what is so striking about the picture is a detail one almost misses at first glance. Amidst the tangled brush to the left of the lamb, you can barely make out the figure of a man, his shepherd’s crook ready to reach out should the striving creature be unable to move any more. In his eyes are all the tension that Love always feels when a loved one is struggling. But for now he waits . . . As sometimes he waits for you and me." (5)

In one of his books, author Max Lucado tells about a chaplain years ago in the French army who used the Twenty-third Psalm to encourage soldiers before battle. He would urge them to repeat the opening clause of the psalm, ticking it off, one finger at a time. The little finger represented the word the; the ring finger represented the word Lord; the middle finger, is; the index finger, my; and the thumb, shepherd. Then he asked every soldier to write the words on the palm of his hand and to repeat the verse whenever he needed strength.

The chaplain placed special emphasis on the message of the index finger--MY. He reminded the soldiers that God is a personal shepherd with a personal mission--to get them home safely.

Did the chaplain’s words have an impact? In the life of one man they did. After a battle one of the young soldiers was found dead, his right hand clutching the index finger of the left hand. "The Lord is MY shepherd . . ." (6) Obviously, this simple reminder of the word "my" had given him courage and comfort at the very end. This is the message of the complete and unconditional love of God. Is there anyone whom you love completely and unconditionally? Then you know, don’t you?

Years ago, Caryll Houselander wrote some beautiful and disturbing words in the book, The Reed of God:

"If ever you have loved anyone very deeply, and then lost him through separation, estrangement, or even by death, you will know that there is an instinct to look for him in every crowd. The human heart is not reasonable; it will go on seeking for those whom it loves even when they are dead. It will miss a beat when someone passes by who bears them the least resemblance; a tilt of the hat, an uneven walk, a note in the voice." (7)

Some of you know what she is talking about. That’s what love does. It is forever seeking the one who is lost. That is why the Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-and-nine to find that one lost lamb that has wandered from the fold.

This, of course, is the message of the cross.

A minister once asked a shepherd what images came to mind when he thought about the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd. The shepherd replied, "Well, I’ll tell you, but it’s a bit graphic. Lambing time comes around every spring, and it’s the hardest time of year. We lose a lot of mother ewes and baby lambs during the birthing process. You would think that a mother lamb whose baby had died would look for a baby lamb to nourish. But that’s not what happens. The orphaned lambs will die if we don’t find substitute mothers for them. The good shepherd has only one choice: [to drain the blood] of the dead lamb and pour its blood over the orphaned lamb. When the grieving mother smells her baby’s blood on another lamb, she will accept the new baby lamb as her own flesh and blood. This is the baby lamb’s only chance for survival. That’s what I think of when I hear the words, ‘the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd.’" (8)

"The Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world . . ." (John 1:29). This is how much God loves us. His blood was shed . . . for us.

Are you feeling lost today? Life getting you down, friends letting you down, family leaving you out, co-workers shutting you out? There are a thousand ways we can feel lost when we come into this room each week. There is only one way to be found. Open yourself to the love of the Good Shepherd.

1. Quoted in Yale-New Haven Hospital Magazine, Reader’s Digest, October 1994, p. 142.

2. Pat Croce, with Bill Lyon. I Feel Great, and You Will Too! (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2000), pp. 110-113.

3. Teresa Pijoan de Van Etten, Spanish-American Folktales (Little Rock: August House Publishers, 1990), pp. 101-105.

4. Robert AuBuchon (http://www.rftpsermons.com/psalm23a.html.

5. http://ministries.cc-ob.org/sermons/1999/0599c.htm.

6. F. W Boreham, Life Verses: The Bible’s Impact on Famous Lives, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1994), p. 211. Cited in Max Lucado, Traveling Light (Nashville: W Publishing Group 2001).

7. Cited in John Andrew, Nothing Cheap (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 41.

8. Harlan Bemis. Cited by Barry Robinson, http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/a-or10-keeping.php.

Dynamic Preaching, Third Quarter Sermons 2007, by King Duncan

Overview and Insights · God Pursues Sinners (15:1–32)

Although the cost of following Jesus is high, God diligently and lovingly pursues sinners, as these three parables illustrate. In each case, something has been lost—a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons. These stories give us a clear picture of God’s heart. When the one sheep (representing a lost person) strays, the shepherd (representing God) searches until he finds it. When he finds it, he rejoices and asks others to join the celebration. Jesus concludes: “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (…

The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Luke 15:1-7 · The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Commentary · The Parable of the Lost Sheep

The setting for all of the “lost” parables in chapter 15 is the Pharisaic complaint that Jesus associates and eats with tax collectors and sinners (15:1–2). By eating with defiled people, Jesus himself would contract uncleanness. Thus these parables all emerge from a controversial setting and need to be interpreted as parables in which Jesus defends his ministry to the “lost.” Three different parables with the same basic theme are included here, the last one being the most detailed. Jesus’s association with sinners is justified because God is like a shepherd who searches diligently for any lost sheep (15:3–7). The retrieval of the lost sheep brings joy to God (“heaven” [15:7] is another way of referring to God; cf. Matt. 18:14). Verse 7 adds a point not contained in the parable (cf. 15:4–6)—namely, that God’s joy comes from the repentance of the lost. The statement about the “ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” may be an ironic poke at the Pharisees; Jesus is not saying that some do not need repentance, only that some do not know they need repentance (cf. the lost son in 15:11–32). Parables do not represent stories from real life. Hence, the reader is not supposed to worry about whether the ninety-nine other sheep were abandoned in the wilderness (15:4). Such a question reveals that we have forgotten Jesus is telling a parable!

The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Big Idea: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (19:10).

Understanding the Text

After the scene at a Pharisee’s table in 14:1–24 (cf. 7:36–50; 11:37–54), the focus turns to the much less conventional meals that Jesus enjoyed with social and religious outsiders. This theme was earlier raised by the meal in Levi’s house (5:27–39) and by the “sinful woman” who disrupted another more conventional meal (7:36–50), and it has been reflected in Jesus’s subversive ideas about who should be at the messianic banquet (13:28–29; 14:15–24). The issue for Jesus is not simply a matter of table etiquette, but rather of God’s plan of salvation, which will be gloriously summed up at the table of an arch-sinner in 19:10. So a trio of parables here challenges the reader to rethink who is ultimately acceptable to God. They not only justify Jesus’s unconventional practice but also, in the person of the unbending older brother, draw attention to the danger of opposing and, ultimately, missing out on God’s grace.

Historical and Cultural Background

Kenneth Bailey offers a wealth of cultural insights on these three parables,1some of which will be picked up in the following comments.

Interpretive Insights

15:1 tax collectors and sinners. On tax collectors, see “Historical and Cultural Background” on 5:27–39, and for the standard pairing of “tax collectors” with “sinners,” see 5:30; 7:34.

15:2 the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. See the sidebar “Scribes and Pharisees” at 5:12–26. These two groups (who for Luke effectively form a single body of religious purists) have been responsible for most of the expressed opposition to Jesus in the Gospel, even though we have noted a degree of (guarded?) openness to Jesus on the part of some Pharisees (7:36; 11:37; 13:31; 14:1). Here, as usual, they are concerned with following the rules of purity, for which they themselves were responsible, rather than with helping people. For the same group set over against tax collectors, see also 5:29–30; 7:29–30.

15:4 Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep. This would be quite a large flock, indicating a relatively prosperous owner. A hundred sheep would probably be too many for one man to look after, so the owner may have had an employee or a family member with whom he could leave the rest of the flock while he went in search of the lost one. But the owner cared enough to go himself rather than sending his assistant to search. In light of the way the scene was set in 15:1–2, it is probably right to see the shepherd’s action as representing the rescuing mission of Jesus himself, but the shepherd is also the owner, who corresponds to the father in the third parable as representing God. There is no need to press the distinction: in the mission of Jesus God himself is seeking the lost, and the shepherd’s joy over the rescue becomes the joy of “heaven.”

15:6 Rejoice with me. The overwhelming note is one of joy, first at finding the sheep (15:5) and then at the homecoming.

15:7 rejoicing in heaven. The parallel in 15:10 speaks of “rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God.” It is God’s joy that is primary, but the summoning of the friends and neighbors in the parable points to a sharing of that joy: the whole angelic community has shared God’s concern for the lost sinner and now rejoices at the happy outcome.

one sinner who repents. Repentance is at the heart of the message of John (3:3), of Jesus (5:32), and of the church (24:47). Jesus’s favorable attitude toward “sinners” (15:2) did not mean that they had no need to change. It is only when repentance takes place that the kingdom of God has triumphed.

ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Compare 5:32, where the term “righteous” was similarly ironical. No one is exempt from the need to repent (13:3, 5), but with some it is more obvious than with others.

15:8 Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins. Here a female scenario balances the story of the male shepherd (as in 13:18–21). The coins are drachmas, each of which would be roughly a day’s wage, so that the loss of one was a matter of real concern in a peasant household. The story is making essentially the same point as that of the shepherd, though since the loss of the coin need not be as public as that of the sheep, the extravagant public celebration is more striking in this case.

15:11 There was a man who had two sons. In the third “lost and found” parable the stakes are much higher: the shepherd lost one sheep out of a hundred, the woman one coin out of ten, but this man one son out of only two. The story is much more fully developed, and in particular the son who stayed at home features strongly alongside his delinquent brother; in the end it is the former who is the loser. Indeed, this might be ironically called “the parable of the two lost sons”: one was lost and found, the other kept and lost.

15:12 Father, give me my share of the estate. Culturally, this was a deeply insensitive demand to make while the father was still in good health: he cannot wait for his father to die! That the father complies is even more remarkable. The younger son’s share would be one third of the estate (Deut. 21:17).

15:13–16 he began to be in need. In order to travel, the son had to convert his property into cash. His subsequent wastefulness and humiliation are graphically described; note especially the ultimate degradation for a Jew: feeding pigs. Bailey fills out the picture especially with details about the carob “pods” that the pigs were given.2

15:17–19 he came to his senses. These verses portray the “repentance” that was the subject of the first two parables (15:7, 10), even though that term is not used here. His motive was primarily a self-centered need to survive, but his decision still represents a total reversal of his previous attitude and an acceptance of his father’s authority, which previously he had flouted. The inclusion of “against heaven” even suggests a genuine sense of wrongdoing.

15:19 make me like one of your hired servants. He cannot reclaim his privileges as a son, and he has no inheritance to go back to, but he still hopes for an independent and productive life as an employee (not one of the slaves [15:22]), which may eventually enable him to make some financial reparation to his father.

15:20 while he was still a long way off. This suggests that the father is on the lookout (Helmut Thielicke famously dubbed this parable “the waiting father”). Like the shepherd and the woman, he is searching. His undignified run down the road risks social humiliation, and his public embrace of the disgraced son declares to a potentially hostile village that the son is restored to the family. The son’s rehearsed speech is interrupted before he can make his proposition of employment; he is “this son of mine” (15:24) again. Grace has ruled out the need for earning his way back to favor.

15:23 Bring the fattened calf. To kill so large an animal indicates that this is not merely a family celebration: the whole village is invited, as in the other parables (15:6, 9). The son’s public rehabilitation is therefore complete.

15:25–30 Meanwhile, the older son. The older son’s alienation is shown by the fact that he stays away from the house and only inquires from a distance. He has no intention of joining in the celebration. By refusing to take his expected place at the feast, he publicly snubs his father, and by speaking of “this son of yours” he refuses to acknowledge that he belongs to the same family as his brother. He represents a self-centered negativity that submerges the good news under his own sense of personal grievance. His father’s “favoritism” leaves him full of self-pity: he has been nothing but a slave, and an unrewarded one at that.

15:31–32 “My son,” the father said. Rather than stand on his dignity, the father has left the house (15:28) for a second time (15:20), and remarkably he overlooks his son’s insolent rant. He appeals to his son’s sense of fairness (“everything I have is yours”—his part of the inheritance is still intact) and his family loyalty (“this brother of yours”). His repetition of the declaration of 15:24 focuses the reader’s attention on the key feature of the story, the recovery of the lost one rather than the “righteousness” of the ninety-nine, here represented by the older son. We are not told how the older son responded, but the signs are not encouraging. The listening Pharisees are left to reflect on which son represents them and which represents the sinners with whom Jesus ate.

Theological Insights

God loves sinners and calls them to repentance. His grace goes to extraordinary lengths to bring them back, and his joy is unbounded when the lost are found. So much is clear from all three parables.

The older brother adds a further dimension. God’s “faithful” people are called on to share his outgoing love and his willingness to accept the repentant. If they fail to do so, it is they, rather than those whom they look down on, who will miss out on the blessings of salvation.

The parable of the prodigal son has often been called “the gospel in a nutshell.” Yes and no. The shepherd’s search and the father’s run down the road speak eloquently of the hardship and humiliation that Jesus accepted in his mission to seek and save the lost, but the means of salvation through the cross are at best hinted at. The necessary correlative to repentance is atonement, and that must be sought elsewhere in Jesus’s message.

Teaching the Text

In teaching the three parables it is important to set them first of all in the context of Jesus’s ministry and its narrative progression in Luke. While all three parables describe God’s great love for the lost and his joy when they return to him, the third represents a natural climax by containing additional allegorical elements: the father representing God, the younger son representing the sinners and tax collectors to whom Jesus is ministering, and the older son representing the self-righteous religious leaders who are rejecting Jesus’s ministry to the lost. Only when this original context is understood can the parable be appropriately contextualized today.

In terms of application, it is helpful to point out in your teaching that each of us at times plays the role of each character: (1) wandering away from God or rejecting his authority, (2) joyfully seeking out and welcoming sinners, (3) arrogantly looking down on others as “too lost” to be reconciled to God.

There are other issues that could be taken up in a lesson or sermon:

1. Taking the three parables together, consider how far true repentance and restoration depends on (a) the sinner, (b) God, (c) the believing community.

2. Should Jesus’s practice of associating with sinners be taken as a model for our own discipleship and mission? If so, how should it be applied in practice in our own social setting?

3. Are the other ninety-nine sheep just a minor element in the story, or whom might they represent? Their characterization as “not needing to repent” is intriguing. Is God not interested in the respectably religious? How do they relate to the older son?

4. Encourage listeners to consider how far the term “the gospel in a nutshell” fits the parable of the two sons (see “Theological Insights” above).

5. Kenneth Bailey lists the following five words as summing up the message of the parable of the two sons: sin, repentance, grace, joy, sonship. Do these accurately represent the content of the parable? Is there anything missing? (E.g., might “compassion” [15:20] be added?). In your teaching or study group, spell out the implications of each word.

Illustrating the Text

God will go to extraordinary lengths to rescue the lost, and he welcomes them back with joy.

Story: “The Runaway,” by Philip Yancey. This is Yancey’s modern retelling of the parable of the prodigal son, featuring a young girl who runs away from home. It is available on the Christianity Today website, followed by some valuable comments on the nature of God’s grace.3

Song: “When God Ran,” by Benny Hester. This song powerfully recounts the parable and especially the shocking display of love in the father’s willingness to run to his son and offer him full and unconditional forgiveness. It is available online.

Quote: What’s So Amazing about Grace?, by Philip Yancey.

The story of the Prodigal Son . . . appears in a string of three stories by Jesus—the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son—all of which seem to make the same point. Each underscores the loser’s sense of loss, tells of the thrill of rediscovery, and ends with a scene of jubilation. Jesus says in effect, “Do you want to know what it feels like to be God? When one of those two-legged humans pays attention to me, it feels like I just reclaimed my most valuable possession, which I had given up for lost.” To God himself, it feels like the discovery of a lifetime.4

The restoration of the prodigal, while free and unconditional to him, came at a cost.

Christian Living: The Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller. In a remarkably fresh take on this familiar story, Keller writes,

While Act I of the parable showed us how free the father’s forgiveness is, Act 2 gives us insight into its costliness. The younger brother’s restoration was free to him but it came at enormous cost to the elder brother. The father could not just forgive the younger son, somebody had to pay! The father could not reinstate him except at the expense of the older brother. There was no other way.

As Keller points out, “Every penny that remained of the family estate belongs to the older brother” since the father had said to him, “My son, everything I have is yours.”5

God came not only to restore the prodigal son but also the angry and resentful elder brother.

Christian Living: The Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller. Keller continues his insightful treatment of this parable, “Jesus does not put a true older brother in the story, one who is willing to pay any cost to seek and save that which is lost. . . . The younger brother gets a Pharisee. . . . Either as elder brothers or as younger brothers we have rebelled against the Father.” Keller concludes that Jesus is “our true elder brother,” who “paid our debt, on the cross, in our place.”6

Teaching the Text by R.T. France, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Dictionary

Direct Matches

Heaven

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2 Cor. 12:2 4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

Although God is present everywhere, God is also present in a special way in “heaven.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father is sometimes described as speaking in “a voice from heaven” (Matt. 3:17). Similarly, Jesus instructs us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (6:9). Even the specific request in the Lord’s Prayer that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) reminds us that heaven is a place already under God’s full jurisdiction, where his will is presently being done completely and perfectly. Jesus also warns of the dangers of despising “one of these little ones,” because “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (18:10). Jesus “came down from heaven” (John 6:51) for his earthly ministry, and after his death and resurrection, he ascended back “into heaven,” from where he “will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Given this strong connection between heaven and God’s presence, there is a natural connection in Scripture between heaven and the ultimate hope of believers. Believers are promised a reward in heaven (“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” [Matt. 5:12]), and even now believers can “store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven” (6:20). Even in this present life, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and our hope at death is to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (1:23). Since Christ is currently in heaven, deceased believers are already present with Christ in heaven awaiting his return, when “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thess. 4:14).

Law

In general, Torah (Law) may be subdivided into three categories: judicial, ceremonial, and moral, though each of these may influence or overlap with the others. The OT associates the “giving of the Torah” with Moses’ first divine encounter at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19 23) following the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt, though some body of customary legislation existed before this time (Exod. 18). These instructions find expansion and elucidation in other pentateuchal texts, such as Leviticus and Deut. 12–24, indicating that God’s teachings were intended as the code of conduct and worship for Israel not only during its wilderness wanderings but also when it settled in the land of Canaan following the conquest.

More specifically, the word “law” often denotes the Ten Commandments (or “the Decalogue,” lit., the “ten words”) (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4) that were delivered to Moses (Exod. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:6–21). These commandments reflect a summary statement of the covenant and may be divided into two parts, consistent with the two tablets of stone on which they were first recorded: the first four address the individual’s relationship to God, and the last six focus on instructions concerning human relationships. Despite the apparent simplistic expression of the Decalogue, the complexity of these guidelines extends beyond individual acts and attitudes, encompassing any and all incentives, enticements, and pressures leading up to a thing forbidden. Not only should the individual refrain from doing the prohibited thing, but also he or she is obligated to practice its opposite good in order to be in compliance.

Pharisees

Five of the important parties in ancient Judaism were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots, and the Herodians. The first three seem to have first emerged in reaction to the rise of the Hasmonean priest-kings in the mid-second and first centuries BC, and the other two in response to the occupation of Palestine by the Romans and their establishment of the Herods as the rulers of Israel.

Pharisees. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Pharisees were one of the groups that opposed Jesus. It seems that the Pharisees most strongly opposed Jesus on issues related to their received tradition, which they considered to be as binding as the OT law. Two such legal issues were ceremonial washings before meals and working on the Sabbath. All three Synoptic Gospels narrate the Pharisees questioning Jesus concerning his and his disciples’ failure to follow the tradition of the elders by eating with “unclean”—that is, “unwashed”—hands (Matt. 15:1 2; Mark 7:1–5; Luke 11:39–41). Concerning breaking the Sabbath, the Pharisees confronted Jesus on various occasions, such as when Jesus healed on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:9–14; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–11) and when his disciples picked grain while walking through a field (Matt. 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5).

In response to accusations concerning breaking the traditions of the elders, Jesus affirmed the priority of mercy in the face of human need that supersedes laws concerning the Sabbath by saying that the Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), or that the Son of Man (Jesus) was Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). He also said that God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 12:7).

Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees concentrated on their neglecting mercy toward fellow humans for the sake of their tradition. This is especially clear in Matthew, where Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees includes indictments against them for concentrating on the fine points of the law but neglecting justice and mercy (12:7; 23:23).

In the Gospel of John, the Pharisees are again usually depicted as adversaries of Jesus and also in league with other Jewish authorities in plotting to arrest and kill Jesus (7:32; 11:47–57). One passage suggests that they were divided concerning Jesus (9:16). One Pharisee, Nicodemus, came to Jesus by night (John 3), defended Jesus before his peers (7:50), and brought spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial after his death (19:39).

The Pharisees were not always antagonistic toward Jesus. From time to time, they were on the same side of an issue, such as Jesus’ confrontation with the Sadducees over the resurrection (Luke 20:27–40). Nicodemus, mentioned above, was quite sympathetic toward Jesus. The apostle Paul identifies himself as a Pharisee in regard to keeping the law in Phil. 3:5; Acts 26:5, and in a confrontation with Jerusalem authorities in Acts 23:6. Also, some early Christians were said to be Pharisees (Acts 15:5).

Sadducees. The Sadducees were an elite group of Jews connected with the priesthood. “Sadducee” probably means “Son of Zadok,” a descendant of the high priest Zadok from the time of David. Some members of the Qumran community used the term “Son of Zadok” as a self-designation as well, suggesting some common ancestry, if not direct identification, of the Sadducees and some members of the Qumran community.

The Sadducees are mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, but not in John, although the “chief priests” who plotted against Jesus with the Pharisees (e.g., John 11:46) probably were Sadducees. All three Synoptic Gospels relate the narrative in which the Sadducees posed the hypothetical question concerning whose wife a woman would be in the resurrection if she outlived seven husbands. Jesus answered that they understood neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, and that God was the God of the living and not the dead (Matt. 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–40).

The book of Acts confirms that the Sadducees were closely connected to the priesthood 4:1; 5:17), and that they disputed with the Pharisees over the resurrection (23:6–8).

Essenes. Josephus delineates the beliefs of the Essenes as follows: (1) They ascribed every happening to God. (2) They believed in the immortality of the soul.

Zealots. Scholars tend to use “Zealots” as a general term to refer to three different groups mentioned by Josephus: brigands, Sicarii (Assassins), and Zealots. The three groups have different political ideologies and emerged at different times in the first century. They can all be described as revolutionaries.

Herodians. The Herodians are mentioned three times in the Gospels. They are reported to have plotted, along with the Pharisees, to kill Jesus after he healed a man with a withered hand (Mark 3:6). They are also described, along with the Pharisees, as trying to trap Jesus concerning the lawfulness of paying taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:16; Mark 12:13).

The Herodians were aristocrats who supported the Herodian dynasty and the Romans, whose support made that dynasty possible. There seems to be some overlap between the Herodians and the Sadducees; Mark 8:15 has Jesus warning his disciples concerning the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod (some ancient witnesses read “Herodians”), whereas the parallel in Matt. 16:6, 11 has Jesus warning his disciples concerning the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Their religious beliefs may have been similar to those of the Sadducees. Too little information about them exists to permit drawing strong conclusions. One can safely say, however, that the Herodians were pro-Roman aristocrats who joined forces with the anti-Roman Pharisees in opposing Jesus.

Repent

The act of repudiating sin and returning to God. Implicit in this is sorrow over the evil that one has committed and a complete turnabout in one’s spiritual direction: turning from idols—anything that wrests away the affection that we owe God—to God (1 Sam. 7:3; 2 Chron. 7:14; Isa. 55:6; 1 Thess. 1:9; James 4:8 10).

Wilderness

A broad designation for certain regions in Israel, typically rocky, although also plains, with little rainfall. These areas generally are uninhabited, and most often “wilderness” refers to specific regions surrounding inhabited Israel. A fair amount of Scripture’s focus with respect to the wilderness concerns Israel’s forty-year period of wandering in the wilderness after the exodus (see also Wilderness Wandering).

More specifically, the geographical locations designated “wilderness” fall into four basic categories: the Negev (south), Transjordan (east), Judean (eastern slope of Judean mountains), and Sinai (southwest).

The Negev makes up a fair amount of Israel’s southern kingdom, Judah. It is very rocky and also includes plateaus and wadis, which are dry riverbeds that can bloom after rains. Its most important city is Beersheba (see Gen. 21:14, 22 34), which often designates Israel’s southernmost border, as in the expression “from Dan to Beersheba” (e.g., 2 Sam. 17:11).

Transjordan pertains to the area east of the Jordan River, the area through which the Israelites had to pass before crossing the Jordan on their way from Mount Sinai to Canaan. (Israel was denied direct passage to Canaan by the Edomites and Amorites [see Num. 20:14–21; 21:21–26].) Even though this region lay outside the promised land of Canaan, it was settled by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh after they had fulfilled God’s command to fight alongside the other tribes in conquering Canaan (Num. 32:1–42; Josh. 13:8; 22:1–34).

The Judean Desert is located on the eastern slopes of the Judean mountains, toward the Dead Sea. David fled there for refuge from Saul (1 Sam. 21–23). It was also in this area that Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:1–13).

The Sinai Desert is a large peninsula, with the modern-day Gulf of Suez to the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. In the ancient Near Eastern world, both bodies of water often were referred to as the “Red Sea,” which is the larger sea to the south. In addition to the region traditionally believed to contain the location of Mount Sinai (its exact location is unknown), the Sinai Desert is further subdivided into other areas known to readers of the OT: Desert of Zin (northeast, contains Kadesh Barnea), Desert of Shur (northwest, near Egypt), Desert of Paran (central).

Wilderness is commonly mentioned in the Bible, and although it certainly can have neutral connotations (i.e., simply describing a location), the uninhabited places often entail both positive (e.g., as a place of solitude) and negative (e.g., as a place of wrath) connotations, both in their actual geological properties and as metaphors. The very rugged and uninhabited nature of the wilderness easily lent itself to being a place of death (e.g., Deut. 8:15; Ps. 107:4–5; Jer. 2:6). It was also a place associated with Israel’s rebellions and struggles with other nations. Upon leaving Egypt, Israel spent forty years wandering the wilderness before entering Canaan, encountering numerous military conflicts along the way. This forty-year period was occasioned by a mass rebellion (Num. 14), hence casting a necessarily dark cloud over that entire period, and no doubt firming up subsequent negative connotations of “wilderness.” Similarly, “wilderness” connotes notions of exile from Israel, as seen in the ritual of the scapegoat (lit., “goat of removal” [see Lev. 16]). On the Day of Atonement, one goat was sacrificed to atone for the people’s sin, and another was sent off, likewise to atone for sin. The scapegoat was released into the desert, where it would encounter certain death, either by succumbing to the climate or through wild animals.

On the other hand, it is precisely in this uninhabited land that God also showed his faithfulness to his people, despite their prolonged punishment. He miraculously supplied bread (manna) and meat (quail) (Exod. 16; Num. 11), as well as water (Exod. 15:22–27; 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13; 21:16–20). God’s care for Israel is amply summarized in Deut. 1:30–31: “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

The harsh realities of the wilderness also made it an ideal place to seek sanctuary and protection. David fled from Saul to the wilderness, the Desert of Ziph (1 Sam. 23:14; 26:2–3; cf. Ps. 55:7). Similarly, Jeremiah sought a retreat in the desert from sinful Israel (Jer. 9:2).

Related somewhat to this last point is Jesus’ own attitude toward the wilderness. It was there that he retreated when he could no longer move about publicly (John 11:54). John the Baptist came from the wilderness announcing Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 3:1–3; Mark 1:2–4; Luke 3:2–6; John 1:23; cf. Isa. 40:3–5). It was also in the desert that Jesus went to be tempted but also overcame that temptation.

Direct Matches

Heaven

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2 Cor. 12:2–4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

The Abode of God

One of the challenges in understanding “heaven” as the present dwelling place of God involves God’s omnipresence. In one sense, God is present everywhere. David asks in Ps. 139:7, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” He answers that regardless of whether he goes as high up as anyone can go (“up to the heavens”), as low down as anyone can go (“in the depths), as far east as anyone can go (“the wings of the dawn”), or as far west as anyone can go (“the far side of the sea”), God is still there (Ps. 139:8–9).

At times, “heaven” becomes virtually a synonym for God himself. In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the son confesses to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you” (v. 21). This son’s sin against “heaven” has nothing to do with environmental issues such as air pollution, and everything to do with his relationship with God. Note also Matthew’s expression “the kingdom of heaven” versus “the kingdom of God” used elsewhere.

The Final Dwelling Place for Believers

However, this picture of heaven is more complicated. It is true that heaven is sometimes used in Scripture to refer to the present abode of all departed believers who have left this present life and entered the intermediate state between death and the bodily resurrection (2 Cor. 5:4). It is this hope in a bodily resurrection that sets Christianity apart from other religions. Ultimately, the Christian hope is not that people will receive new physical bodies and float around some ethereal “heaven” like astronauts in outer space for all eternity. Instead, God has created human beings with physical bodies to inhabit a physical world, and our future hope is one of new resurrection bodies inhabiting new heavens and a new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13). Just as there will be a certain continuity between the bodies of believers in this present life and their new resurrection bodies (we will know one another), there will also be a certain continuity between this present earth and the new earth to come. Yet, at the same time, everything will also be changed and made new and perfect, as God has designed it to be (Rom. 8:18–21).

The clearest description of this new reality is found in Rev. 21–22, where John describes how he “saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (21:1). Here is “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (21:2), when “God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:3–4). Even better than all the descriptions of such things as streets of “gold, as pure as transparent glass” (21:21) is that God himself will come and dwell in the midst of his people. As Paul has phrased it, “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). The day will come when we will see God as he is, in all his glory (1 John 3:2).

Two other ideas complete our picture of life in these new heavens and new earth. Heaven will be a place of continued activity and service. Notice Jesus’ blessing in Matt. 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” The other principle is that there will be different degrees of reward. Although our ultimate reward is simply being with God himself, Paul also reminds us that if what believers do with their lives “survives, the builder will receive a reward,” and if what they do “is burned up, the builder will suffer loss” (1 Cor. 3:14–15 NRSV). Our choices make a difference for time and eternity (cf. Rev. 14:13). See also Heavens, New.

Heavens

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2 Cor. 12:2–4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

The Abode of God

The Final Dwelling Place for Believers

Parable

The word “parable” is used to speak of a particular literary form that communicates indirectly by means of comparative language, often for the purpose of challenging the listener to accept or reject a new way of thinking about a particular matter. Parables regularly incorporate concrete and accessible images from the daily life of the audience, and often they are terse and pointed, mentioning only the details relevant for an effective comparison. However, any attempt to define the term “parable” in a clear and concise way is complicated by the fact that both the Hebrew (mashal) and the Greek (parabolē) words regularly translated by the English word “parable” have much broader connotations. For instance, in the OT mashal can designate proverbs (Prov. 1:1), riddles (Ezek. 17:2), prophetic utterances (Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 20, 21, 23), and sayings (1 Sam. 10:12); similarly, in the NT parabolē denotes proverbs (Luke 4:23), riddles (Mark 3:23), analogies (Mark 7:17), and more. Therefore, no comprehensive definition of parables is agreed upon by biblical scholars, and very little said about parables in general will apply to every parable.

Parables in the Bible

Although not designated with the Hebrew word mashal, the story of the trees (Judg. 9:7–15) and the story of the ewe lamb (2 Sam. 12:1–4) may be considered to be parables. Like many parables, the story about the ewe lamb told by Nathan prompts its audience, in this case David, to condemn the actions of a character in the parable before being confronted with the fact that the character and his conduct are symbolic of David himself. The parable is the vehicle used to bring about self-condemnation of its audience.

Although Jesus is not the only speaker of parables in the ancient world, the Gospels narrate a tremendous number of parables within his teaching. The major parables of Jesus are listed in table 4. The diversity of form represented in this list is striking. Some of the parables consist of short, relatively simple comparisons that lack the development of any significant story line. This is true, for instance, of the parables of the mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, and the pearl. Each of these offers a simple simile to explain some feature of the kingdom of God, a frequent topic in Jesus’ parables, and may include an additional sentence of clarification.

Table 4. Major Parables of Jesus

Wise and foolish builders (Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49)

Sower and the soils (Matt. 13:3–8, 18–23; Mark 4:3–8, 14–20; Luke 8:5–8, 11–15)

Weeds (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43)

Mustard seed (Matt. 13:31–32; Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18–19)

Yeast (Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:20-21)

Hidden treasure (Matt. 13:44)

Pearl (Matt. 13:45-46)

Net (Matt. 13:47-50)

Lost sheep (Matt. 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7)

Unmerciful servant (Matt. 18:23-35)

Workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16)

Two sons (Matt. 21:28-32)

Wicked tenants (Matt. 21:33–44; Mark 12:1–11; Luke 20:9–18)

Wedding banquet (Matt. 22:2-14)

Faithful and wise servant (Matt. 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48)

Ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13)

Talents (Matt. 25:14–30; Luke 19:12–27)

Sheep and goats (Matt. 25:31-46)

Growing seeds (Mark 4:26-29)

Money lender (Luke 7:41-47)

Good Samritan (Luke 10:30-37)

Friend in need (Luke 11:5-8)

Rich fool (Luke 12:16-21)

Unfruitful fig tree (Luke 13:6-9)

Lowest seat (Luke 14:7-14)

Great banquet (Luke 14:16-24)

Cost of discipleship (Luke 14:28-33)

Lost coin (Luke 15:8-10)

Lost (prodigal) son (Luke 15:11-32)

Shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-8)

Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)

Persistent widow (Luke 18:2-8)

Pharisee and tax collector (Luke 18:10-14)

Parables such as the good Samaritan and the prodigal son, on the other hand, are significantly longer, contain developed plots, and present several central characters. Stories of this sort may use the characters as examples of behavior to be either emulated or avoided, as in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Such parables may remain open-ended in an attempt to force the listeners into a decision about what should happen (the unfruitful fig tree), or they may include a clear, concluding explanation that leaves no doubt as to how the audience should change their belief or behavior as a result of the parable’s teaching (the moneylender). The degree to which each of these parables directly addresses the intended audience and the intended topic can vary greatly. For instance, although the parable of the rich fool directly addresses the subject matter of material wealth, the anonymity of the rich man in the story does not openly condemn any particular member of Jesus’ audience. Alternatively, a parable may treat a subject that differs from the intended one and expect the listener to transfer the lesson to another topic. This is the case with the parable of the weeds, which speaks explicitly about farming. Nonetheless, when the disciples seek an explanation of this parable, Jesus indicates that it is to be understood as speaking about that feature of the kingdom of heaven whereby the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one intermingle in the world until the end of the age, when the sons of the evil one will be separated to face a fiery judgment (Matt. 13:36–43).

Other parables, such as that of the lost sheep, revolve around a central question posed to the listeners. By asking “who among you” would behave in the way described, the parable anticipates a negative response that asserts that no one would act in the manner detailed in the parable. The NIV frequently inserts the phrase “suppose one of you” in places where the introductory question “who among you” appears in Greek.

Purpose of Jesus’ Teaching in Parables

It is quite clear that Jesus regularly employed parables in his teaching, but his reason for doing so is less evident. Jesus’ own somewhat perplexing statement in Mark 4:10–12 indicates that his parables have the dual purpose of both revealing and concealing the secret of the kingdom, but one may wonder how it is that parables perform both functions simultaneously. If the goal of comparative language is to make clearer a concept or idea that is difficult, then certainly Jesus’ parables function in this way. Through the simple, accessible, and concrete word pictures that are his parables, Jesus discloses many characteristics and features of the kingdom of God, which is at best something of an enigma to his audience. By speaking to the crowds, albeit at times in an exaggerated fashion, about the things that they know, such as farming, banquets, baking, and other elements of everyday life, Jesus expands their understanding of what they do not know. However, the indirect quality of parables simultaneously blocks spontaneous understanding and therefore requires the audience to engage in additional reflection to ensure that they have truly grasped what is being taught. Likewise, the ability to address an issue by slyly sneaking up on it from behind results in parables that initially conceal their true purpose of convincing the listeners of a new way of thinking or behaving such that the conviction they are meant to induce comes with a surprise kick at the end.

Interpretation of Parables

Interpretation over the centuries. Throughout church history until the nineteenth century, parables were widely interpreted by means of the allegorical method. That is, all the surface details of parables were identified as symbols of some deeper spiritual truth. A classic example of allegorizing is Augustine’s interpretation of the parable of the good Samaritan, whereby he interpreted surface details of the text according to allegorical equations (see table 5). Allegorical interpretations of the same parable by other Christians, however, did not always result in the same interpretations of the symbols. For this reason, most scholars today reject the excessive allegorization of Augustine and others throughout church history. However, how many details in a parable, if any, are to be interpreted allegorically remains a central question in parable interpretation. For instance, in the parable of the mustard seed, are the mustard seed and the plant that it produces allegories for the unobtrusive beginnings yet manifest results of the kingdom? If so, what then of the man and the birds also mentioned in the parable? Are they symbols of a deeper spiritual truth such that the man is to be equated with God, or are they included only to augment the teaching of the parable such that the birds merely highlight the extreme size of the tree into which the seed has grown?

Table 5. Augustine’s Allegorical Interpretation of the Good Samaritan

Details in the Parable and its Allegorical Equivalent:

The man = Adam

Jerusalem = The heavenly city

Jericho = The moon (a symbol of mortality)

The robbers = The devil

Beating the man = Persuading him to sin

Priest and Levite = The Old Testament priesthood

Samaritan = Christ

Binding of wounds = Restraint of sin

Oil = Comfort of hope

Animal = Incarnation

Inn = Church

Innkeeper = Apostle Paul

The work of the German scholar Adolf Jülicher at the end of the nineteenth century has widely affected parable interpretation since that time. Jülicher asserted that parables are not allegories and therefore should not be interpreted allegorically at all. Instead, he argued that parables have only one main point, normally a general, religious statement. Interpreters since Jülicher continue to debate how much of a parable is significant and how many points of correspondence are intended. More-recent views have posited that Jülicher went too far in maintaining a strict distinction between parable and allegory, and many interpreters believe that allegorical elements are present in parables, with perhaps the main characters in a parable being the most likely candidates for allegorical interpretation. This renewed openness to allegorical features in parables is due in part to the recognition that the Gospels record Jesus’ own tendency to offer allegorical interpretations of his parables when his disciples inquire as to their meaning. This is most clearly seen in the parable of the sower and the soils, which includes details such as seed, birds, the sun, and thorns. Jesus reveals that the seed is to be interpreted as the message about the kingdom, the birds stand for the evil one, the sun is representative of persecution because of the gospel, and the thorns indicate worries and wealth (Matt. 13:18–23).

Guidelines for interpreting parables. It is generally best to recognize that not all parables are identical, and that one should consider several possible interpretive strategies before determining which approach best fits any given parable. Nonetheless, some broad guidelines for the interpretation of parables include the following:

1. The characters and plots within parables are literary creations and are not historical. The parable of the lost sheep is not a historical rec-ord of a certain shepherd whose sheep went missing. No actual invitation was issued for the great banquet in the parable. Rather, in a parable the listener is brought into a narrative world controlled by the storyteller and by implication has no need for details that the speaker fails to provide. Therefore, it does not matter whether the shepherd himself was at fault in the loss of the sheep, and the choice of food set before the banquet guests is inconsequential.

2. Parables often follow the principle of end stress. Interpreters should carefully consider how the parable ends when determining the meaning the parable is intended to convey. At times an explanatory conclusion to the parable is included and may be helpful in directing the reader toward the topic that is really being addressed. This is the case in the parable of the two sons, in which Jesus’ concluding explanation identifies tax collectors and prostitutes as those who are entering the kingdom ahead of those who have received John’s prophetic message but failed to accept it.

Recent studies on parables that reflect issues raised by two fields of study respectively known as form criticism and redaction criticism are likely to question the accuracy of such concluding statements as well as any introductory comments to parables that may also be presented in the Gospel text. Many scholars ask if and to what extent the Gospel writers made changes to the parables that they record. They wonder whether it is possible to discern the original context and circumstance in which Jesus relayed his parables, or whether the details of the original context had been forgotten by the time that the evangelists wrote. Could it be that any introductory and concluding comments included with some parables are not authentic to Jesus’ ministry but instead reflect issues that arose in the early church? In spite of the doubts of some, more-conservative scholars have presented arguments for the continued trustworthiness of the Gospel accounts about Jesus’ teaching including introductory or concluding statements associated with his parables.

3. Look for the use of OT symbols in Jesus’ parables. The parables of Jesus and the parables recorded in other rabbinical literature are replete with similar figures and images. Kings, banquets, weddings, farmers, debtors, and more appear with frequency; they perhaps developed into stock images to be used in stories in the ancient world. If such details appear in a parable, the interpreter should consider strongly whether some allegorical meaning is intended whereby a kingly figure represents God, a son represents the people of God, and a banquet indicates a time of coming judgment or reward.

4. Interpreters should exercise extreme caution regarding doctrinal teaching drawn from a parable, particularly if such doctrine cannot be confirmed by the theological teaching found in a nonparabolic portion of Scripture. For instance, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, is one to conclude that conversations can occur between the dead who reside in hell and those who reside in heaven? Likewise, should one learn that it is possible for the deceased human to be sent back to the living with a message from God? These doctrinal issues seem to be outside the range of teaching intended by the parable, and support for these ideas cannot be found in other biblical texts.

5. In recognition of the indirect nature of the communication in parables, some interpreters question whether a parable’s meaning can be reproduced in propositional language. In other words, can the meaning of a parable be expressed in nonparabolic language, or is some necessary component lost when one changes the form? Similarly, is it possible for people who have heard the story of the good Samaritan repeatedly to be struck by the confrontational force that was central to its initial reception? Not only are the images of Samaritans and Levites foreign to the modern listener, but also the familiarity with the story that has resulted from its retelling over time has domesticated the parable such that the details that were meant to shock and surprise are now anticipated and predictable. In this way, are parables like jokes that have been repeated too many times until one becomes inoculated against the punch line? Because of these concerns about the inability of today’s listeners to truly hear the parable as it was meant to be heard, some interpreters may wish to consider how it could be recast with images common to today’s audience and retold in such a way that the listeners experience the surprising twist that the initial audiences felt.

Sheep

A cultically clean, domesticated animal representing the wealth and livelihood of many in biblical times. Mentioned more than any other animal in the Bible, sheep were critical to ancient Israel’s rural economy, with both the animal itself and the wool it produced serving as one of the measurements of a person’s prosperity (1 Sam. 25:2; Ezek. 27:18). Sheep were useful throughout Israel’s history, especially during the patriarchal period (Gen. 46:32), providing milk to drink (Deut. 32:14), wool and hide for clothing (Job 31:20; Heb. 11:37) and tent coverings (Exod. 26:14), and meat to eat (Deut. 14:4). Usually, male lambs from eight days old (Lev. 22:27) and year-old sheep served as various sacrifice offerings to God: the Passover celebration (Exod. 12:5), burnt offerings (Lev. 1:10), sin offerings (Lev. 5:6), guilt offerings (Lev. 5:15), and fellowship offerings (Lev. 3:6), though the firstborn of the flock belonged to God (Exod. 13:12). Their fat tails were the prized portion of the sheep offered as burnt offerings (Lev. 3:9).

Naturally gentle and submissive (Jer. 11:19), sheep are predisposed to becoming easily lost or led astray (Isa. 53:6; Matt. 9:36). Because sheep are social animals that gather in clusters, a shepherd can easily lead a large flock. The animal’s defenselessness against those who would steal its coat or demand its life is pictured in Isa. 53:7. In order to protect sheep against predators, a shepherd provided a protective area, or fold, which might be a cave or an enclosure of rough stones. A unique relationship existed between shepherd and sheep: the shepherd knew each animal by name, and the sheep could recognize the shepherd’s voice (John 10:1–11). Sheep therefore serve as a fitting metaphor for God’s people (Ps. 100:3), suggesting that God’s people are naive and utterly dependent on their shepherd for divine guidance and protection (Matt. 12:11; Luke 15:4). Jesus promises that not a single one of his sheep can be snatched from his Father’s hand (John 10:29). Even though God’s sheep wander, “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” restores (1 Pet. 2:25).

In a charade, false prophets are described as donning “sheep’s clothing,” a symbol of innocence, and appearing to be members of God’s flock (Matt. 7:15). By contrast, the true disciples who are to go to the sheep—the lost people of Israel (9:36; 10:6)—are now sent out as sheep among wolves (10:16–19), but they are aptly protected.

Jesus is represented as the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6; cf. Isa. 53:7), provided by God for the sins of the world, the ultimate fulfillment of the yearly Passover lamb (Exod. 12; 1 Cor. 5:7). Jesus is the good shepherd of all sheep, and he most profoundly demonstrates his commitment and love for the sheep: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Tax Collector

In the Roman Empire, tax collectors (KJV: “publicans”) were employed to help collect taxes in the provinces. People bid for the job of tax collector, and they were compensated by collecting more than the required tax from the people. Tax collectors were despised by Jews as greedy because of the excessive profits they reaped. They also were counted as traitors because they worked for the Romans. In the NT, tax collectors often are associated with Gentiles and sinners (Matt. 5:46–47; 11:19; 21:32).

Jesus was criticized by the Jewish leaders for eating with “tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 9:11). Jesus welcomed and taught tax collectors (Luke 5:29; 15:1). Matthew, one of Jesus’ disciples, was a tax collector (Matt. 10:3). Zacchaeus was a “chief tax collector,” which probably indicates that he was contracted with the Romans to collect taxes over a specific area, and he supervised others who did the actual collecting (Luke 19:2).

Secondary Matches

The following suggestions occured because Luke 15:1-7 is mentioned in the definition.

Fellowship

The common experience/sharing of something with someone else. In the NT, the most common Greek word group to express this idea has the root koin- (“common”), with the cognate verb koinōneō, noun koinōnia, and adjective koinos. But the concept of fellowship extends well beyond this single word family and finds expression in a variety of different contexts.

Fellowship between the Members of the Trinity

The Gospel of John makes several claims about the fellowship that the members of the Trinity have experienced with each other from all eternity. Jesus claims, “I and the Father are one” (10:30) and “It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (14:10). Regarding the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, “He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine” (16:14–15). The Son has even shared in the Father’s glory from before the creation of the world (17:5). Within the unity of the Godhead, the individual members experience perfect fellowship as they share in the fullness of deity.

Fellowship between Jesus and Outcasts

During his earthly ministry, Jesus modeled God’s love for the marginalized by associating with them. Such fellowship often took the form of sharing meals with outcasts such as tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:15–17; Luke 5:29–32; 7:36–50; 19:1–10), a practice that provoked sharp criticism from the Pharisees (Luke 15:1–2). In Luke 15:3–32, Jesus tells three parables in response to such criticism. These parables indicate that his fellowship with sinners demonstrates God’s love for the lost and the joy that comes from restored fellowship with God. Such table fellowship served as a foretaste of the eschatological messianic banquet, when all of God’s people (Jew and Gentile alike) will eat together in the kingdom of God as the fellowship of the forgiven (Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:29–30; Rev. 19:6–9).

Fellowship between Believers and God

The close and intimate fellowship that the members of the Trinity experience with one another is something that Jesus prays for his people to experience themselves (John 17:20–26). He asks that believers “may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (17:21). Just as the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father, believers are described as being in both the Father and the Son. The stated purpose for such fellowship is twofold: that the world may know and believe that the Father has sent the Son, and that the Father loves believers even as he has loved the Son (17:21, 23). Central to this fellowship between God and believers is the sharing of the glory that the Father and the Son experience (17:22). Jesus expresses similar truths in John 15:1–11 when he speaks of himself as the true vine and his followers as the branches who must remain in him because “apart from me you can do nothing” (v. 5).

Although fellowship with God is something that Christ has purchased for his people through his death and resurrection, it can be broken by sin in the believer’s life: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6). When sin does break a believer’s fellowship with God, we are reassured, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1:9). This restoration of fellowship is based on the work of Jesus to plead our case before the Father (2:1).

Paul frequently speaks of the believer’s fellowship with Christ, even though he rarely uses the word “fellowship” to speak of this reality. It is God who calls the believer into fellowship with Christ (1 Cor. 1:9), but such fellowship involves both the “power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10). When believers celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they are participating in the body and blood of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16–17). Far more frequently, Paul expresses the concept of fellowship with Christ by his use of the phrase “with Christ.” Believers have been crucified, buried, raised, clothed, and seated in the heavenly realms with Christ (Rom. 6:4–9; 2 Cor. 13:4; Gal. 2:20–21; Eph. 2:5–6; Col. 2:12–13; 3:1–4). They also share in the inheritance that Christ has received from the Father (Rom. 8:16–17) and one day will reign with him (2 Tim. 2:12).

Fellowship between Believers and Others

The fellowship that believers have with one another is an extension of their fellowship with God. John wrote, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Just as walking in darkness falsifies a believer’s claim to fellowship with God, so also walking in the light is necessary for fellowship with other believers (1:6–7). Paul strikes a similar note when he says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Cor. 6:14–15). The point is not to avoid all contact with unbelievers (cf. 1 Cor. 5:9–10), but rather that the believer is so fundamentally identified with Christ that to identify with unbelievers should be avoided.

Because they are joined to Christ by faith, believers share a wide variety of experiences and blessings with each other. In the broadest sense, they share in the gospel and its blessings (1 Cor. 9:23; Phil. 1:5–7; Philem. 6; 2 Pet. 1:4), especially the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:13–14; Phil. 2:1). But the most common shared experience is suffering. When believers suffer because of their identification with Christ, they are said to share in Christ’s suffering (Phil. 3:10; 1 Pet. 4:13). In addition to this vertical element, there is a horizontal aspect. Because believers are united in one body (1 Cor. 12:12–13; Eph. 4:4–6), when one believer suffers, the entire body shares in that suffering (2 Cor. 1:7; Heb. 10:33; Rev. 1:9).

From the earliest days of the church, believers found very tangible ways to demonstrate that their fellowship was rooted in their common faith in Jesus. Immediately after Pentecost, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. . . . All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:42–44). This common experience led believers to voluntarily sell their possessions and share with any who had a need (2:45; 4:32). This meeting of very practical needs was motivated by a common experience of God’s abundant generosity in freely giving his Son (Rom. 8:32). The self-sacrificial sharing of resources became a staple of the early church (Rom. 12:13; Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim. 6:18) and provided an opportunity for Paul to demonstrate the unity of the church when he collected money from Gentile churches to alleviate the suffering of Jewish Christians in Judea (Rom. 15:26–27; 2 Cor. 8–9).

Conclusion

Biblical fellowship is not merely close association with other believers. The NT emphasizes what believers share in Christ rather than whom they share it with. True biblical fellowship between believers is an outworking of their fellowship with God through the gospel.

Hunger

Rarely is hunger mentioned in the Bible as the simple desire for the next regular meal (Mark 11:12; Acts 10:10; 1 Cor. 11:21, 34). Normally it is a hunger associated with physical weakness from the lack of food and often with long-term hardship such as famine (2 Kings 7:12; Ps. 107:5; Matt. 4:2; Mark 8:3; Luke 15:7; 2 Cor. 11:27). In the ancient world it took much harder work and a large portion of the workforce to produce enough food. And compared to the present, the whole enterprise was much more subject to fluctuating conditions of drought, blight, insects, and disease, in addition to the threat of warfare, whether from the raiding and destroying of crops (Judg. 6:3–4) or from siege (2 Kings 7:12). Hunger is not an inconvenient wait until the next full meal but rather a threat to health and life.

God cares for the hungry (Pss. 107:9; 146:7; Prov. 10:3; Isa. 49:10; Luke 1:53), and it is righteous to do likewise (Isa. 58:7, 10; Ezek. 18:7, 16; Matt. 25:35). Some provision was made for the hungry. While there was a small tax to provide food for certain disadvantaged parties (Levites, aliens, orphans, and widows [Deut. 14:27–29; 26:12–13]), other provision required that harvesters leave certain remains for others to glean (24:17–22). Hunger was not simply a matter of bad luck or victimhood, as it may result from laziness or lack of prudence (Prov. 19:15).

Inclusive

The incorporation or integration of multiple and diverse groups into one. God promised that all peoples would be blessed in Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; cf. Gal. 3:8). Israel, as the recipient of God’s blessing, was to be a light to the nations (Isa. 49:6), a kingdom of priests mediating God’s presence to the surrounding peoples (Exod. 19:6; Ps. 67:1–2). The prophets anticipated a glorious day when the nations would flow into God’s house and his word would go out from Jerusalem to the nations (Isa. 2:1–5). In Christ, Gentiles have been included in the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), and Paul longed for the fullness (ESV: “full inclusion”) of the Jewish people through faith (Rom. 11:12–17). Ultimately, people from every tribe, language, people, and nation will together worship Christ forever (Rev. 5:9).

Jesus embodied the inclusive nature of the kingdom of God in his practice of table fellowship with the socially marginalized or despised (Luke 15:2). His ministry included women, Samaritans, and Gentiles (Luke 8:2–3; John 4:40; 12:20). Christ commissioned his Jewish followers to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19), in fulfillment of OT expectation (Luke 24:47). In the church, differences in ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status continue, but believers are called to a profound unity amid diversity because of the work of Christ (Gal. 3:26–28) and the gift of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11).

Gender inclusiveness is an important consideration for modern Bible translations. It concerns the question of whether to use language that is not gender specific instead of masculine language when the context calls for it (e.g., “people” rather than “men,” and “brothers and sisters” rather than “brothers”). Some versions (e.g., TNIV, NRSV, NET, NLT, REB) prefer gender-inclusive language, while others (e.g., NASB, ESV, NKJV) do not.

Inclusiveness

Inclusivity

Jesus Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Introduction

Name. Early Christians combined the name “Jesus” with the title “Christ” (Acts 5:42; NIV: “Messiah”). The name “Jesus,” from the Hebrew Yehoshua or Yeshua, was a common male name in first-century Judaism. The title “Christ” is from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh (“anointed one, messiah”). Christians eventually were named after Jesus’ title (Acts 11:26). During the ministry of Jesus, Peter was the first disciple to recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Matt. 16:16; Mark 9:29; Luke 9:20).

Sources. From the viewpoint of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesus constitute the turning point in human history. From a historical perspective, ample early source materials would be expected. Indeed, both Christian and non-Christian first-century and early second-century literary sources are extant, but they are few in number. In part, this low incidence is due to society’s initial resistance to the Jesus followers’ movement. The ancient Roman historian Tacitus called Christianity “a superstition,” since its beliefs did not fit with the culture’s prevailing worldview and thus were considered antisocial. Early literary sources therefore are either in-group documents or allusions in non-Christian sources.

The NT Gospels are the principal sources for the life and ministry of Jesus. They consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke (the Synoptic Gospels), and John. Most scholars adhere to the so-called Four Source Hypothesis. In this theory, Mark was written first and was used as a source by Matthew and Luke, who also used the sayings source Q (from German Quelle, meaning “source”) as well as their own individual sources M (Matthew) and L (Luke). John used additional sources.

The early church tried to put together singular accounts, so-called Gospel harmonies, of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of the Ebionites represents one such attempt based on the Synoptic Gospels. Another harmony, the Diatessaron, based on all four Gospels, was produced around AD 170 by Tatian. Additional source materials concerning the life of Christ are provided in the NT in texts such as Acts, the Pauline Epistles, the General Epistles, and the Revelation of John. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law” (Gal. 4:4). The first narrative about Jesus by the Christian community was a passion narrative, the account of his death and resurrection. The first extant references to this tradition are found in Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1). The resurrection was recognized from the beginning as the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:13–14).

Among non-Christian sources, the earliest reference to Jesus is found in a letter written circa AD 112 by Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor of Bithynia-Pontus (Ep. 10.96). The Roman historian Tacitus mentions Christians and Jesus around AD 115 in his famous work about the history of Rome (Ann. 15.44). Another Roman historian, Suetonius, wrote around the same time concerning unrest among the Jews in Rome because of a certain “Chrestos” (Claud. 25.4). Some scholars conclude that “Chrestos” is a misspelling of “Christos,” a reference to Jesus.

The Jewish author Josephus (first century AD) mentions Jesus in a story about the Jewish high priest Ananus and James the brother of Jesus (Ant. 20.200). A controversial reference to Jesus appears in a different part of the same work, where Josephus affirms that Jesus is the Messiah and that he rose from the dead (Ant. 18.63–64). The majority of scholars consider this passage to be authentic but heavily edited by later Christian copyists. Another Jewish source, the Talmud, also mentions Jesus in several places, but these references are very late and of little historical value.

Noncanonical Gospels that mention Jesus include, for example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of James, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Egerton Gospel, and the Gospel of Judas. Although some of these may contain an occasional authentic saying or event, for the most part they are late and unreliable.

Jesus’ Life

Birth and childhood. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 11). Jesus was probably born between 6 and 4 BC, shortly before Herod’s death (Matt. 2:19). Both Matthew and Luke record the miracle of a virginal conception made possible by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). Luke mentions a census under the Syrian governor Quirinius that was responsible for Jesus’ birth taking place in Bethlehem (2:1–5). Both the census and the governorship at the time of the birth of Jesus have been questioned by scholars. Unfortunately, there is not enough extrabiblical evidence to either confirm or disprove these events, so their veracity must be determined on the basis of one’s view regarding the general reliability of the Gospel tradition.

On the eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised, in keeping with the Jewish law, at which time he officially was named “Jesus” (Luke 2:21). He spent his growing years in Nazareth, in the home of his parents, Joseph and Mary (2:40). Of the NT Gospels, the Gospel of Luke contains the only brief portrayal of Jesus’ growth in strength, wisdom, and favor with God and people (2:40, 52). Luke also contains the only account of Jesus as a young boy (2:41–49).

Jesus was born in a lower socioeconomic setting. His parents offered a temple sacrifice appropriate for those who could not afford to sacrifice a sheep (Luke 2:22–24; cf. Lev. 12:8). Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a carpenter or an artisan in wood, stone, or metal (Matt. 13:55). From a geographical perspective, Nazareth was not a prominent place for settling, since it lacked fertile ground. Jesus’ disciple Nathanael expressed an apparently common first-century sentiment concerning Nazareth: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).

Jesus was also born in a context of scandal. Questions of illegitimacy were surely raised, since his mother Mary was discovered to be pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. According to Matthew, only the intervention of an angel convinced Joseph not to break his betrothal (Matt. 1:18–24). Jesus’ birth took place in Bethlehem, far from his parents’ home in Nazareth. According to kinship hospitality customs, Joseph and Mary would have expected to stay with distant relatives in Bethlehem. It is likely that they were unwelcome because of Jesus’ status as an illegitimate child; thus Mary had to give birth elsewhere and place the infant Jesus in a feeding trough (Luke 2:7). A similar response was seen years later in Nazareth when Jesus was identified as “Mary’s son” (Mark 6:3) rather than through his paternal line, thereby shaming him as one who was born an illegitimate child. Jesus was likewise rejected at the end of his life as the crowds cried, “Crucify him!” (Matt. 27:22–23; Mark 15:13–14; Luke 23:21; John 19:6, 15). When Jesus was arrested, most of his followers fled (Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50–52), and a core disciple, Peter, vehemently denied knowing him (Matt. 26:69–74; Mark 14:66–71; Luke 22:55–60; John 18:15–17, 25–27). His own siblings did not believe in him (John 7:5) and were evidently ashamed of his fate, since from the cross Jesus placed the care of his mother into the hands of “the disciple whom he loved” (19:26–27) rather than the next brother in line, as was customary.

Baptism, temptation, and start of ministry. After Jesus was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist (Luke 3:21–22), God affirmed his pleasure with him by referring to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Jesus’ baptism did not launch him into fame and instant ministry success; instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted for forty days (Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Mark stresses that the temptations immediately followed the baptism. Matthew and Luke identify three specific temptations by the devil, though their order for the last two is reversed. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread, expect divine intervention after jumping off the temple portico, and receive all the world’s kingdoms for worshiping the devil. Jesus resisted all temptation, quoting Scripture in response.

Matthew and Mark record that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum in Galilee, after the arrest of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12–13; Mark 1:14). Luke says that Jesus started his ministry at about thirty years of age (3:23). This may be meant to indicate full maturity or perhaps correlate this age with the onset of the service of the Levites in the temple (cf. Num. 4:3). John narrates the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by focusing on the calling of the disciples and the sign performed at a wedding at Cana (1:35–2:11).

Jesus’ public ministry: chronology. Jesus’ ministry started in Galilee, probably around AD 27/28, and ended with his death around AD 30 in Jerusalem. The temple had been forty-six years in construction (generally interpreted as the temple itself and the wider temple complex) when Jesus drove out the money changers (John 2:20). According to Josephus, the rebuilding and expansion of the second temple had started in 20/19 BC, during the eighteenth year of Herod’s reign (Ant. 15.380). The ministry of John the Baptist had commenced in the fifteenth year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1–2), who had become a coregent in AD 11/12. From these dates of the start of the temple building and the correlation of the reign of Tiberius to John the Baptist’s ministry, the onset of Jesus’ ministry can probably be dated to AD 27/28.

The Gospel of John mentions three Passovers and another unnamed feast in John 5:1. The length of Jesus’ ministry thus extended over three or four Passovers, equaling about three or three and a half years. Passover, which took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, came on a Friday in AD 30 and 33. The year of Jesus’ death was therefore probably AD 30.

Jesus’ ministry years may be divided broadly into his Galilean and his Judean ministries. The Synoptic Gospels describe the ministry in Galilee from various angles but converge again as Jesus enters Judea.

Galilean ministry. The early stages of Jesus’ ministry centered in and around Galilee. Jesus presented the good news and proclaimed that the kingdom of God was near. Matthew focuses on the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 4:13–17). Luke records Jesus’ first teaching in his hometown, Nazareth, as paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–30); the text that Jesus quoted, Isa. 61:1–2, set the stage for his calling to serve and revealed a trajectory of rejection and suffering.

All Gospels record Jesus’ gathering of disciples early in his Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11; John 1:35–51). The formal call and commissioning of the Twelve who would become Jesus’ closest followers is recorded in different parts of the Gospels (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16). A key event in the early ministry is the Sermon on the Mount/Plain (Matt. 5:1–7:29; Luke 6:20–49). John focuses on Jesus’ signs and miracles, in particular in the early parts of his ministry, whereas the Synoptics focus on healings and exorcisms.

During Jesus’ Galilean ministry, onlookers struggled with his identity. However, evil spirits knew him to be of supreme authority (Mark 3:11). Jesus was criticized by outsiders and by his own family (3:21). The scribes from Jerusalem identified him as a partner of Beelzebul (3:22). Amid these situations of social conflict, Jesus told parables that couched his ministry in the context of a growing kingdom of God. This kingdom would miraculously spring from humble beginnings (4:1–32).

The Synoptics present Jesus’ early Galilean ministry as successful. No challenge or ministry need superseded Jesus’ authority or ability: he calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–39), exorcized many demons (Mark 5:1–13), raised the dead (Mark 5:35–42), fed five thousand (Mark 6:30–44), and walked on water (Mark 6:48–49).

In the later part of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus often withdrew and traveled to the north and the east. The Gospel narratives are not written with a focus on chronology. However, only brief returns to Galilee appear to have taken place prior to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. As people followed Jesus, faith was praised and fear resolved. Jerusalem’s religious leaders traveled to Galilee, where they leveled accusations and charged Jesus’ disciples with lacking ritual purity (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus shamed the Pharisees by pointing out their dishonorable treatment of parents (7:11–13). The Pharisees challenged his legitimacy by demanding a sign (8:11). Jesus refused them signs but agreed with Peter, who confessed, “You are the Messiah” (8:29). Jesus did provide the disciples a sign: his transfiguration (9:2–8).

Jesus withdrew from Galilee to Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophoenician woman requested healing for her daughter. Jesus replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Galileans had long resented the Syrian provincial leadership partiality that allotted governmental funds in ways that made the Jews receive mere “crumbs.” Consequently, when the woman replied, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” Jesus applauded her faith (Matt. 15:27–28). Healing a deaf-mute man in the Decapolis provided another example of Jesus’ ministry in Gentile territory (Mark 7:31–37). Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ took place during Jesus’ travel to Caesarea Philippi, a well-known Gentile territory. The city was the ancient center of worship of the Hellenistic god Pan.

Judean ministry. Luke records a geographic turning point in Jesus’ ministry as he resolutely set out for Jerusalem, a direction that eventually led to his death (Luke 9:51). Luke divides the journey to Jerusalem into three phases (9:51–13:21; 13:22–17:10; 17:11–19:27). The opening verses of phase one emphasize a prophetic element of the journey. Jesus viewed his ministry in Jerusalem as his mission, and the demands on discipleship intensified as Jesus approached Jerusalem (Matt. 20:17–19, 26–28; Mark 10:38–39, 43–45; Luke 14:25–35). Luke presents the second phase of the journey toward Jerusalem with a focus on conversations regarding salvation and judgment (Luke 13:22–30). In the third and final phase of the journey, the advent of the kingdom and the final judgment are the main themes (17:20–37; 19:11–27).

Social conflicts with religious leaders increased throughout Jesus’ ministry. These conflicts led to lively challenge-riposte interactions concerning the Pharisaic schools of Shammai and Hillel (Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). Likewise, socioeconomic feathers were ruffled as Jesus welcomed young children, who had little value in society (Matt. 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17).

Passion Week, death, and resurrection. Each of the Gospels records Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the crowds extending him a royal welcome (Matt. 21:4–9; Mark 11:7–10; Luke 19:35–38; John 12:12–15). Luke describes Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem as a time during which Jesus taught in the temple as Israel’s Messiah (19:45–21:38).

In Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple of profiteering (Mark 11:15–17). Mark describes the religious leaders as fearing Jesus because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching, and so they “began looking for a way to kill him” (11:18). Dismayed, each segment of Jerusalem’s temple leadership inquired about Jesus’ authority (11:27–33). Jesus replied with cunning questions (12:16, 35–36), stories (12:1–12), denunciation (12:38–44), and a prediction of Jerusalem’s own destruction (13:1–31). One of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, provided the temple leaders the opportunity for Jesus’ arrest (14:10–11).

At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new Passover, defining a new covenant grounded in his sufferings (Matt. 26:17–18, 26–29; Mark 14:16–25; Luke 22:14–20). He again warned the disciples of his betrayal and arrest (Matt. 26:21–25, 31; Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30), and later he prayed for the disciples (John 17:1–26) and prayed in agony and submissiveness in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–42). His arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection followed (Matt. 26:46–28:15; Mark 14:43–16:8; Luke 22:47–24:9; John 18:1–20:18). Jesus finally commissioned his disciples to continue his mission by making disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8) and ascended to heaven with the promise that he will one day return (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11).

The Identity of Jesus Christ

Various aspects of Jesus’ identity are stressed in the four NT Gospels, depending on their target audiences. In the Gospels the witnesses to Jesus’ ministry are portrayed as constantly questioning and examining his identity (Matt. 11:2–5; 12:24; 26:63; 27:11; Mark 3:22; 8:11; 11:28; 14:61; Luke 7:18–20; 11:15; 22:67, 70; 23:39; John 7:20, 25–27; 18:37). Only beings of the spiritual realm are certain of his divinity (Mark 1:34; 3:11; Luke 4:41). At Jesus’ baptism, God referred to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Likewise, when Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John, a voice affirmed, “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7). At the moment of his death, the questioning of Jesus’ identity culminated in a confession by a Roman centurion and other guards: “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54; cf. Mark 15:39).

Miracle worker. In the first-century setting, folk healers and miracle workers were part of the fabric of society. Jesus, however, performed signs and miracles in order to demonstrate the authority of the kingdom of God over various realms: disease, illness, the spiritual world, nature, and even future events. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ signs and miracles are used to show his authority and thus his identity.

No challenge superseded Jesus’ authority. Among his ample miracles and signs, he changed water into wine (John 2:7–9), calmed a storm in the sea (Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–39; Luke 8:22–25), exorcized demons (Matt. 9:32–34; Mark 5:1–13; Luke 9:42–43), healed the sick (Mark 1:40–44), raised the dead (Matt. 9:23–25; Mark 5:35–42; Luke 7:1–16; 8:49–54; John 11:17, 38–44), performed miraculous feedings (Matt. 14:17–21; 15:34–38; Mark 6:30–44; 8:5–9; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:8–13), and walked on water (Matt. 14:25–26; Mark 6:48–49; John 6:19).

The Pharisees requested miracles as evidence of his authority (Mark 8:11–12). Jesus refused, claiming that a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign (Matt. 12:38–39; 16:1–4). The only sign that he would give was the sign of Jonah—his death and resurrection three days later—a personal sacrifice, taking upon himself the judgment of the world (Matt. 12:39–41).

Rabbi/teacher. Jesus’ teaching style was similar to other first-century rabbis or Pharisees (Mark 9:5; 10:51; John 1:38; 3:2). What distinguished him was that he spoke with great personal authority (Matt. 5:22, 28, 32, 39, 44; Mark 1:22). Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus gathered disciples. He called these men to observe his lifestyle and to join him in his ministry of teaching, healing, and exorcism (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16).

Jesus used a variety of teaching methods. He frequently spoke in parables (Matt. 6:24; 13:24–52; 18:10–14, 23–35; 21:28–22:14; 24:32–36, 45–51; 25:14–30; Mark 4:1–34; 12:1–12; 13:28–34; Luke 8:4–18; 12:41–46; 13:18–21; 14:15–24; 15:1–16:15, 19–31; 18:1–14; 19:11–27; 20:9–19; 21:29–33), used figures of speech (John 10:9), hyperbole (Matt. 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25), argumentation (Matt. 26:11), object lessons (Matt. 24:32), frequent repetition (Matt. 13:44–47; Luke 13:18–21), practical examples, and personal guidance.

Major themes in Jesus’ teaching include the kingdom of God, the cost of discipleship, internal righteousness, the end of the age, his identity, his mission, and his approaching death. In his teachings, observance of Torah was given new context and meaning because God’s kingdom had “come near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus had come to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17).

Jesus’ teaching ministry often took place amid social conflict. These conflicts were couched in so-called challenge-riposte interactions in which the honor status of those involved was at stake. Jesus used these interactions as teachable moments. When questioned, Jesus gave replies that reveal omniscience or intimate knowledge of God’s will, especially in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ answers are both ethical and practical in nature. The Synoptics portray Jesus as challenged repeatedly with accusations of violating customs specified in the Jewish law. Jesus’ answers to such accusations often echoed the essence of 1 Sam. 15:22, “To obey is better than sacrifice,” phrased by Jesus as “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). An overall “better than” ethic was common in Jesus’ public teaching.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) contains a “better than” ethic in which internal obedience is better than mere outward obedience. For example, Jesus said that anger without cause is equal to murder (Matt. 5:21–22), that looking at a woman lustfully amounts to adultery (Matt. 5:28), and that instead of revenging wrongs one must reciprocate with love (Matt. 5:38–48). Jesus valued compassion above traditions and customs, even those contained within the OT law. He desired internal obedience above the letter of the law.

Jesus’ teachings found their authority in the reality of God’s imminent kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9), necessitating repentance (Matt. 3:2), belief (Mark 1:15), dependence (Matt. 18:3–5; Mark 10:15), and loyalty to a new community—the family of Jesus followers (Mark 3:34; 10:29–30). Jesus urged, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). Preaching with such urgency was common among prophetic teachers of the intertestamental period. Jesus, however, had his own grounds for urgency. He held that God deeply valued all humans (Matt. 10:31) and would bring judgment swiftly (Matt. 25:31–46).

Examples of a “greater good” ethic in the Synoptics include the occasions when Jesus ate with sinners (Mark 2:16–17). Jesus used an aphorism in response to accusations about his associations with sinners, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). He advocated harvesting and healing on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28; 3:1–6), and when he was accused of breaking the law, he pointed to an OT exception (1 Sam. 21:1–6) to declare compassion appropriate for the Sabbath. Jesus also applied the “greater good” ethic in the case of divorce, since women suffered the societal stigma of adultery and commonly became outcasts following divorce (Matt. 19:8–9; Mark 10:5–9).

Jesus’ kingdom teachings were simultaneously spiritual, ethical, and eschatological in application. The teachings were aimed at internal transformation (Matt. 5:3–9; 18:3; Mark 10:15) and spurring on love (Matt. 5:44; 7:21). The Spirit of the Lord had called Jesus to bless the hurting ones as they aspired to a godly character. Jesus taught, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48), and “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). The “blessed” ones in Jesus’ teachings are poor of spirit, peace driven, mournful, and hungry for righteousness, consumed with emulating godly character.

Some scholars believe that Jesus promoted an “interim ethic” for the kingdom, intended only for a short period prior to the end of time. However, he was explicit regarding the longevity of his teachings: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17).

Messiah. The concept of an anointed one, a messiah, who would restore the glories of David’s kingdom and bring political stability was common in Jewish expectation. Both before and after the Babylonian captivity, many Jews longed for one who would bring peace and protection. Israel’s prophets had spoken of a coming deliverer, one who would restore David’s kingdom and reign in justice and righteousness (2 Sam. 7:11–16; Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16; Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15–16; Ezek. 37:25; Dan. 2:44; Mic. 5:2; Zech. 9:9). Isaiah’s description of the servant (Isa. 53) whose suffering healed the nation provided a slightly different angle of expectation in terms of a deliverer.

Jesus’ authority and popularity as a miracle worker called up messianic images in first-century Jewish minds. On several occasions hearers called him “Son of David,” hoping for the Messiah (Matt. 12:23; 21:9). Simon Peter was the first follower who confessed Jesus as the Christ, the “Messiah” (Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29). In line with Isaiah’s model of the Suffering Servant, Jesus focused not on political ends but rather on spiritual regeneration through his own sacrificial death (Mark 10:45).

Eschatological prophet. Many scholars claim that Jesus is best understood as a Jewish apocalypticist, an eschatological prophet who expected God to intervene in history, destroy the wicked, and bring in the kingdom of God. Central in this understanding are Jesus’ prophecies concerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:1–2, 15–22; Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5–24; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). In addition, it is noted that Jesus had twelve disciples, representative of the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:2–28; Luke 22:23–30). Certain of Jesus’ parables, those with apocalyptic images of coming judgment, present Jesus as an eschatological prophet (Matt. 24:45–25:30; Luke 12:41–46; 19:11–27).

Suffering Son of God. Jesus’ first recorded teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth was paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–21). He attributed the reading, Isa. 61:1–2, to his personal calling to serve, and in doing so he revealed a trajectory of suffering. The Gospel of Mark likewise aptly portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Jesus’ own teachings incorporated his upcoming suffering (Mark 8:31; 9:12–13, 31; 10:33–34). He summarized his mission by declaring, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His earthly career ended with a trial in Jerusalem consisting of both Roman and Jewish components (Matt. 26:57–68; 27:1–31; Mark 14:53–65; 15:1–20; Luke 22:54–23:25; John 18:19–24; 18:28–19:16). He was insulted, scourged, mocked, and crucified.

Jesus’ suffering culminated in his humiliating death by crucifixion (Matt. 27:33–50; Mark 15:22–37; Luke 23:33–46; John 19:16–30). Crucifixion was a death of unimaginable horror, bringing shame and humiliation to the victim and his family. Anyone hanging on a tree was considered cursed (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). Thus, especially in a Jewish society, anyone associated with a crucified person bore the shame of following one who was executed as a lowly slave and left as a cursed corpse. The apostle Paul referred to this shame of the cross when he stated, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16).

Exalted Lord. Jesus had prophesied that he would rise again (Matt. 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46). The testimony of the Synoptics is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed occurred on the third day, Christ having died on Friday (Mark 15:42–45; Luke 23:52–54; John 19:30–33) and risen again on Sunday (Matt. 28:1–7; Mark 16:2–7; Luke 24:1–7; John 20:1–16). The resurrected Jesus was witnessed by the women (Matt. 28:8–9), the eleven disciples (Matt. 28:16–17; Luke 24:36–43), and travelers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:31–32). According to Paul, he appeared to as many as five hundred others (1 Cor. 15:6). He appeared in bodily form, spoke, showed his scars, and ate (Luke 24:39–43; John 20:27; Acts 1:4). After forty postresurrection days, Jesus ascended into the heavenly realm (Acts 1:9).

As much as Jesus’ death was the epitome of shame, his victory over death was his ultimate exaltation (Phil. 2:5–11). At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed that in the resurrection God fulfilled OT promises (Ps. 16:10) by raising his Son from the grave (Acts 2:30–31). Furthermore, Christ provided freedom from the law through his resurrection (Rom. 5:13–14), God’s approval of his life and work (Phil. 2:8–9), and God’s designation of him as Lord over all the earth, the living and the dead (Acts 17:30–31; Phil. 2:10; Heb. 1:3), and over all his enemies (Eph. 1:20–23).

Jesus’ exaltation commenced the beginning of forgiveness and justification (Luke 24:46–47; Acts 13:30–39; Rom. 4:25) and his intercession for the people of God (Rom. 8:34). His ascension signaled the coming of the Holy Spirit as comforter and teacher (John 14:26; Acts 2:33) and was accompanied by the promise of his return in glory (Luke 24:51), at which time he will render judgment (Matt. 19:28; 24:31; Rev. 20:11–15) and establish his eternal kingdom (1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 11:15; 22:5).

Jesus’ Purpose and Community

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, who preaches the good news of the kingdom, urging people to repent (4:17–23). Repentance and belief allow one to enter the kingdom. The call into the kingdom is a call into a new covenant, one made in Jesus’ blood (26:28).

In the prologue to the Gospel of Mark, the narrator reveals the identity of Jesus (1:1). Jesus is presented as the one who brings good tidings of salvation (cf. Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1). The centrality of the gospel, the good news (Mark 1:14–15), is evident.

Luke likewise presents the preaching of the good news as a main purpose of Jesus’ ministry (4:43). The content of this good news is the kingdom of God (4:43; 8:1; 16:16). When the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus if he was the one who was to come (7:20), Jesus answered, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (7:22). The kingdom of God, as presented in Luke, brings freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed (4:18). Jesus’ healings and exorcisms announce the coming kingdom of God already present in the ministry of Jesus (4:40–44; 6:18–20; 8:1–2; 9:2; 10:8–9).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus testifies to the good news by way of signs throughout his ministry. These signs point to Jesus’ glory, his identity, and the significance of his ministry. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who offers eternal and abundant life. This abundant life is lived out in community.

In the Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus represent the community of God (17:21). The disciples did not belong to the world, but they continued to live in the world (17:14–16). Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18).

Jesus’ ministry continued in the community of Jesus’ followers, God’s family—the church. Entrance into the community was obtained by adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and through the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–62; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9).

The Quests for the Historical Jesus

The quest for the historical Jesus, or seeking who Jesus was from a historical perspective, is a modern phenomenon deemed necessary by scholars who claim that the NT Gospels were written long after Jesus’ death and were heavily influenced by the post-Easter understanding of the church.

The beginning of this quest is often dated to 1770, when the lecture notes of Hermann Samuel Reimarus were published posthumously. Reimarus had launched an inquiry into the identity of Jesus that rejected as inauthentic all supernatural elements in the Gospels. He concluded that the disciples invented Jesus’ miracles, prophecies, ritualistic religion, and resurrection. Reimarus’s conclusions were not widely accepted, but they set off a flurry of rationalistic research into the historical Jesus that continued throughout the nineteenth century. This became known as the “first quest” for the historical Jesus.

In 1906 German theologian Albert Schweit-zer published The Quest of the Historical Jesus (German title: Von Reimarus zu Wrede: Eine Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung), a scathing indictment of the first quest. Schweitzer’s work showed that nineteenth-century researchers re-created Jesus in their own image, transforming the historical Jesus into a modern philanthropist preaching an inoffensive message of love and brotherhood. Schweitzer’s conclusions marked the beginning of the end for this first quest. Schweitzer himself concluded that the historical Jesus was an eschatological prophet whose purposes failed during his last days in Jerusalem.

With the demise of the first quest, some NT scholars, such as Rudolf Bultmann, rejected any claim to being able to discover the historical Jesus. This trend continued until 1953, when some of Bultmann’s former students launched what has come to be known as the “new quest” for the historical Jesus (1953–c. 1970). This quest created new interest in the historical Jesus but was still dominated by the view that the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels is largely a creation of the church in a post-Easter setting.

As the rebuilding years of the post–World War II era waned and scholars started to reap academic fruit from major archaeological finds such as the DSS, research on the historical Jesus moved on to what has been called the “third quest.” This quest seeks especially to research and understand Jesus in his social and cultural setting.

Matthew

The traditional author of the first Gospel and one of the twelve apostles (Matt. 10:3). Matthew worked for the government of Herod Antipas as an official for the tax department. This was a responsible position that would have required a good education, fluency in both Greek and Aramaic, and bookkeeping and accounting skills. He was based in Capernaum, a fishing village of Galilee, which lay on the busy Via Maris highway, thus guaranteeing a lucrative income from the tariffs collected on goods from passing travelers (Matt. 9:9). Tax collectors, although holding positions of responsibility, were by no means respected by their fellow Jews. In fact, the Pharisees named tax collectors along with sinners as a despised class (Matt. 9:11; 11:19; Mark 2:16; Luke 7:34; 15:1). Because Matthew was working for an essentially Roman-dominated administration, most Jews would have branded him a traitor to Israel’s national interests.

Only the first Gospel calls him “Matthew” (which means “gift of God”). Mark and Luke refer to him as “Levi” (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). He was called by Jesus to be a disciple as he was working in the tax booth. The words “follow me,” which Jesus spoke to him on that occasion, are the only recorded conversation between the two men. Following his call, he invited Jesus into his home and held a banquet in his honor. On that occasion he invited many of his own kind, an act that outraged the moral sensitivities of the Pharisees, who criticized Jesus for it (Mark 2:15–17). Matthew and those like him (e.g., Zacchaeus [Luke 19:1–10]) are a vivid demonstration of the priority of grace in salvation.

Nativity of Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Introduction

Jesus’ Life

The Identity of Jesus Christ

Jesus’ Purpose and Community

The Quests for the Historical Jesus

Prodigal Son

The parable of the prodigal (or “wasteful”) son is told by Jesus following the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, in which the owner figure loses something of value and rejoices upon finding it again (Luke 15). Similarly, the parable of the prodigal son is focused primarily upon the mercy and forgiveness of the father. In this parable, the younger of two sons requests his share of what the father will leave them as an inheritance. The father grants it, and the son, after relocating to a distant country, squanders it on the pleasures of this world. With his inheritance exhausted and the land suffering a severe famine, the son’s livelihood becomes dependent upon his new job, feeding pigs. In despair at being in this lowly position, the son decides to come home and face his father, who, in an amazing turn of events, is overjoyed at the return of his lost son. During the feast celebrating his return, however, the older brother becomes envious because he has been faithful yet has never received such an honor.

The parable is an allegory about Jesus’ ministry, with the father representing God himself, the younger brother representing the sinners and tax collectors to whom Jesus is ministering, and the older brother representing the religious leaders who are rejecting God’s offer of free grace to sinners who will repent and return to God. It is significant that the parable is open ended, with no response recorded from the older brother. The father states his love for both sons and affirms to the older one that “everything I have is yours.” It remains to be seen whether he will now choose to welcome the prodigal and join in the feast in the kingdom of God. God’s offer of salvation remains an open invitation.

Sky

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2 Cor. 12:2–4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

The Abode of God

The Final Dwelling Place for Believers

Toll

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1. The Joy Of God

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

Dr. Yoshiro Ishida is an international church leader in the Lutheran Church. He began his service to the church as a pastor in his church in Japan. He was spotted as a very promising young man and the church arranged for him to attend graduate school in the United States. He returned to Japan as a professor in the theological seminary.

After these years of service in Japan, Dr. Ishida was called to serve at the headquarters of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. He gave dedicated service to the global church in Geneva in a variety of positions. He was next called to head up a new "Institute of Global Mission" in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Ishida and his American-born wife, therefore, moved to Chicago. Just a year ago he was called again, now almost at retirement age, to come back to Japan and help start a new four-year women's college.

Dr. Ishida's service to the global Christian community is a wonderful testimony to his dedication. But where did he get that faith? Dr. Ishida was born into a Buddhist family. He was raised in a land that is only about one percent Christian. How did the Christian message find him and bring him to faith?

A couple of years ago Dr. Ishida answered this question as he addressed a mission gathering here in the United States. Dr. Ishida told the group that he was a teenager during the Second World War. He came from a Buddhist family and he was quite devout. He spent much time at the Buddhist Temple in his city. The temple was a quiet place for meditation and devotion. It was a safe place. He liked being around the temple, he said. There was a security there for him as he gave expression for his need to be right with God.

Then one day at the temple, just by chance, he got his hands on a copy of the Christian Bible. There were many Bibles available in Japan even if there were very few Christians. So young Mr. Ishida began to read the Bible. It was a whole new world for him. At first he couldn't understand much of it at all. It didn't make that much sense. He couldn't figure out the point.

One day that all changed. The "scales fell from his eyes" we might say as he was reading Luke 15. It was the joy of God that really spoke to him. "My heart was caught with the fact that the parables portrayed the joy of God," he said to the hushed assembly. He recited a portion of the parables: "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." "Note this joy of God," he continued. "I couldn't believe it. I always thought we need to get right with God. That's what I was trying to do at the Buddhist Temple. But the Bible talked about a God who needs to save us. And when God saves us, when God finds us, God is filled with joy!"

'What a strange God this is!' I thought to myself. God is overjoyed with finding just one person. I found this new. I had never heard of such a thing. It meant that God was concerned with me. With me! Just one person! And God is filled with joy at finding me. To this very day, that is to me what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about."

2. Vicarious Faith Won't Help

Illustration

John R. Steward

From time to time I have, as most pastors do, a conversation with someone about his or her relationship with God. Most often it is during pre-baptism or pre-marital counseling. Quite often it becomes rather apparent that while these people believe in God they feel very far from him. For many there is a certain amount of fear in their understanding of how God wants to relate to them. It then is my joy to share with them how the incarnate God came to die so that they might be forgiven and receive eternal life. At this point it is my prayer that they will hear this as good news. I try to help them see that they can move from religion to a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. For some it seems too good to be true. They remain locked in with a distant faith that doesn't change their reality.

One of my pastor friends, Ray Farness, said many years ago in a sermon, "Though vicarious suffering saved us, vicarious faith will not do us any good." Instead, Ray says, we must become like the little girl who came home from church and told her mother that the pastor had spoken about her in his sermon. She said that in fact the pastor had read her name from the Bible. The mother couldn't really believe what she was hearing, so she asked her daughter what verse the pastor had read. She said that it was that verse that says, "Jesus receives sinners and 'edith' with them." We should all hear him speak our names and believe that the gift of the cross is just for us.

Reprinted from By the Obedience of One (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House), p. 80.

3. Our Own Sin Is Hard To See

Illustration

Lee Griess

Let me tell you a true story. Back in 1893 there were a group of four sisters, the Cherry Sisters they called themselves, who made their stage debut in Cedar Rapids in a skit they wrote themselves. For three years, the Cherry Sisters performed to packed theaters throughout the Midwest. People came to see them to find out if they were as bad as they had heard. Their unbelievably atrocious acting enraged critics and provoked the audience to throw vegetables at the would-be actresses. Wisely, the sisters thought it best to travel with an iron screen which they would erect in front of the stage in self-defense.

Amazingly, in 1896 the girls were offered a thousand dollars a week to perform on Broadway -- not because they were so good, but because they were so unbelievably bad. Seven years later, after the Cherry Sisters had earned what in that day was a respectable fortune of $200,000, they retired from the stage for the peaceful life back on the farm. Oddly enough, these successful Broadway "stars" remained convinced to the end that they were truly the most talented actresses ever to grace the American stage. They never had a clue as to how bad they truly were!

The parable this morning does not tell us what the elder brother did when his father came out to speak to him. It doesn't reveal to us whether he realized that his envy and disdain had made him just as bad as his younger brother. Yes, the elder brother had never stooped to find himself in the pigpens of life. He would never have been caught dead carousing with prostitutes or wasting his resources in riotous living but in the end his refusal to rejoice at the return of his sinful brother was, to Jesus, just as offensive.

4. Hey Blockhead, I Love You!

Illustration

Staff

I remember reading a Peanuts cartoon strip in which Lucy comes up to her brother Charlie Brown and does something that is very unusual for her. She says - I love you. But Charlie Brown keeps responding by saying: no you don't. And each time Lucy answers a little louder: yes I do, I really love you. But Charlie Brown has been rejected so many times he keeps saying: it can't be true. So in the last square, Lucy has reached the limit of her patience and she screams out in a loud voice: Hey stupid, I love you.

I wonder if God has to do that with us sometimes. I mean, what does it take to get through. Does he have to yell out: Hey blockhead, I love you. Can't you see that God will literally turn this world upside down in his search for one human soul. Maybe you fell like God has been turning your world upside down a little bit lately. Well, that's love at work. And the supreme sign of that love is the gift of Christ Jesus.

5. God Is Personal

Illustration

Carl B. Rife

I majored in philosophy in college. One thing I discovered was that in an attempt to be intellectually respectable, God got turned into an impersonal being or force. God became an "it" in most philosophical systems. One thing that helped me more than anything else was to understand that God is personal and is not an "it." Such a view holds its weight intellectually because the highest thing we know on the human level is human personality. If that is the highest thing we know, then God can be no less than that, God cannot be an "it." God is at least like a person. Some have gotten around the problem by saying God is suprapersonal. However you put it, God is personal, God is one who feels and moves toward us in his love.

6. Who Moved?

Illustration

Carl B. Rife

Who is lost? It reminds me of a story of a husband and wife who had been married for 15 years and the wife is sitting buckled in on her side of the car and the husband is sitting buckled in on his side of the car. The wife says, "Dear, why don't we sit as close as we used to?" The husband turns and says to her, "Well, honey, who moved?" Why isn't God as close to us as he used to be? The question is, "who moved?" Who is lost?

7. Kierkegaard's Four Steps in the Religious Quest

Illustration

Carl B. Rife

There was a man by the name of Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher back in the 19th century. The interesting thing is that his writings did not make a real impact on thought and religion until the 20th century. In some of his writings he talks about several different steps that we as human beings take in the religious quest. The first level he talks about is the aesthetic level. Now you do not have to worry about the technical name. Just trust me that the first level is called the aesthetic level. What he talks about is that in this level people dabble in life, trying to enjoy its pleasures. The key word of this level is pleasure-seeking. The second level of life is the ethical level. That is when people begin to take life seriously and the issues of life seriously and give themselves to seeking the good. The first level pleasure, the second level the good. The first level casual dabbling, the second level earnest living. The third level, he says, is divided into two and he calls them Religion One and Religion Two. Religion One has to do with seeking the truth, where we yearn, where we reach out to find this something extra we know is somehow a part of life. That is Religion One and the emphasis there is on truth. So you go pleasure, good, truth.

But he said there is another level that we must discover. This level is revealed in the scriptures. This level is Religion Two where the whole thing is turned around and the grace of God seeks us. The word here is trust. What we can do at this level is to respond in trust to the God who has already moved toward us. To let go and to let God. My younger son is trying to learn how to swim and he cannot understand how you can float on water. The interesting thing about floating is that it is an act of faith. That water will hold you up if you let go and trust it to do so. If you don't, you are going to sink. In fact, sometimes the more you thrash around the quicker you will sink. It is much the same with the faith in God at this second level that Kierkegaard is talking about. Not to work so hard in seeking pleasure or the good or truth but to let go and let the God who is seeking you find you and embrace you in his love.

8. The Cost of Resentment

Illustration

Jesus is telling this parable to a group of people who are self-righteous "elder brothers," people who were angry with him for celebrating life with the down-and-out poor.

Remember the old Amos and Andy radio program? In one episode, Kingfish, instead of shaking hands to greet Andy, affectionately slapped him on the chest. But this infuriated Andy, and as the show went on, Andy became more and more resentful.

At the end of the program, Andy came in with a big smile on his face and said to Amos, "I'm ready for him now, Amos. Just let the Kingfish slap me on the chest, and see what he gets."

Amos asked, "Why Andy, what have you done?"

Andy answered, "In my vest pocket, I have two sticks of dynamite. Now, when Kingfish slaps me on the chest, It's gonna' blow his hand clean off!"

Andy was always a little lost. He played the dumb character, and he didn't realize he was blowing his heart up, damaging himself as well.

9. Someone with Skin On

Illustration

Staff

A little boy who cried out in the night. "Daddy, I'm scared!" Half awake Daddy said, "Don't be afraid, Daddy's right across the hall." There was a brief pause and the little boy called out, "I'm still scared." So Daddy pulled out the big guns, "You don't have to be afraid God is with you. God loves you." The pause was longer but the little boy called out again, "I don't care about God, Daddy; I want someone with skin on!"

God knew we needed that assurance of someone with skin on. So God wrapped all the glory of heaven into the flesh and blood of Jesus and stepped into this world as the Good Shepherd just to show us how much we are loved. The Good Shepherd isn't satisfied until all of the sheep are safely gathered into the flock. Not even a one percent margin of loss was acceptable. Jesus came to find the lost.

10. The Church Is No Place for Joy

Illustration

Erma Bombeck

In church the other Sunday I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother's handbag. He was just smiling. Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said, "Stop grinning! You're in a church!" With that, she gave him a belt on his hind side and as the tears rolled down his cheeks added, "that's better," and returned to her prayers. I wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God, the God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us.

11. Lost and Found

Illustration

Everyone has lost something at one time or another. There is even a website now at www.lostandfound.com that acts as a global ‘lost and found' box. Users can report items missing and users can report items found. It is a good example of how technology can help people connect in a useful way. This is a gateway site for all of the physical things that can be retrieved and returned to their rightful owners. According to their statistics, about twice as many objects have been reported lost as have been reported found in the U.S. So, the site's users are losing things at twice the rate they are finding them.

Haven't we all had the experience of losing things that we know deep down we will never recover? Depending on the situation, we can feel disappointed, heartbroken, hopeless, or simply discouraged by our own inability to keep up with things. Isn't it a wonderful relief to know that we will never fall into the ‘Lost Forever' category? Isn't it reassuring to know that God will never give up on us? Let us include a word of thanks in our prayers this week to acknowledge how grateful we are for that kind of gracious love.

12. When I Say I Am a Christian

Illustration

James W. Moore

In 1988, the poet Carol Wimmer, became concerned about the self-righteous, judgmental spirit she was seeing in some people because she felt strongly that being judgmental is a perversion of the Christian faith. So, she wrote a poem about this. It's called "When I say I am a Christian" and it reads like this:

"When I say, ‘I am a Christian,' I'm not shouting, ‘I've been saved!' I'm
whispering, ‘I get lost!' That's why I chose this way.

When I say ‘I am a Christian,' I don't speak with human pride. I'm
confessing that I stumble – needing God to be my guide.

When I say ‘I am a Christian,' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing
that I'm weak and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say ‘I am a Christian,' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting
that I've failed and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,' I don't think I know it all. I submit to
my confusion asking humbly to be taught.

When I say ‘I am a Christian,' I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws
are far too visible, but God believes I'm worth it.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,' I still feel the sting of pain. I have my
share of heartache which is why I seek His name.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,' I do not wish to judge. I have no
authority – I only know I'm loved."

13. Rejoicing for the Found

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

In Dr. R. Alan Culpepper's commentary on Luke, he ends the first two parables in Luke 15 with the following observation:

In both parables, rejoicing calls for celebration, and the note of celebration may be exaggerated to emphasize the point. Neither sheep nor coins can repent, but the parable aims not at calling the "sinners" to repentance but at calling the "righteous" to join the celebration. Whether one will join the celebration is all-important because it reveals whether one's relationships are based on merit or mercy. Those who find God's mercy offensive cannot celebrate with the angels when a sinner repents. Thus they exclude themselves from God's grace.

I think that this is a very important question for churches today. More than one congregational member has not rejoiced over the influx of new members in the congregation. The non-rejoicing criticism seems especially prevalent when the "found" are somehow different from the mainstream members.

14. Looking for Me!

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

The phone rings and a little boy answers in a whisper: "Hello?" The caller says: "Hi, is your Mommy there?

"Yes!"

"Can I talk to her?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"She's busy."

"What about your Daddy, can I talk to him?"

"No! He's busy."

"Well, is there anyone else there?"

"My little sister."

"Is there anyone else there? Another adult?"

"Uh, huh. The police."

"Can I talk to one of them?" "No, they're busy."

"Is there anyone else there?" "Yes, the firemen."

"Can I talk to one of them?" "No, they're busy, too."

Caller: "Good heavens, your whole family is busy, the police and fire departments are there and they're busy! What's everybody doing?"

The little boy giggled and whispered: "They're looking for me."

Luke 15 is about searching and finding. The stories illustrate the frantic nature of people who have lost something and are in search of it.

15. A Heart that Sings with Joy

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

"I saw them eating and I knew who they were." That saying, or some version of it, is well-known now. And it certainly describes the Pharisees whom we encounter in Luke 15:1-2. Jesus was welcoming the very folks whom the religious establishment had written off. Worse, he was at table with them, which was an intimate act of fellowship that implied a kind of personal bond and connection. So we're told the Pharisees muttered into their beards about this. Jesus overheard their comments and knew their hearts and so told them three stories that reveal the heart of God.

And that's really what is going on in Luke 15: we're not here first of all being given stories of the "go and do likewise" variety. The parable in verses 11-32 is not in Scripture first of all to encourage fathers to be forgiving of their naughty kids any more than the first two stories were an instruction to shepherds or a cautionary tale to take better care of your fiscal assets. No, all three reveal the heart of God — a heart that is broken clean in two by lostness but a heart that sings with a joy as wide as the cosmos when even the silliest sheep or the meanest of sons comes back and/or is found again.

16. Monkey-hold or Cat-hold Salvation

Illustration

W. Robert McClelland

Christian thinking about salvation has divided itself into two main streams which I like to think of as: "Monkey-hold" salvation or "Cat-hold" salvation. The difference in theological viewpoint is seen in how monkeys and cats protect their young. A mother monkey will sound the alarm when danger lurks. The baby monkeys come running to her and hold tightly to her fur as she runs to safety. A mother cat, on the other hand, picks her kittens up by the nape of the neck and carries them in her mouth out of harm's way. So, which is it? Monkey-hold salvation or Cat-hold salvation? Does God sound the alarm in Jesus leaving us to come running and hold on tightly, or does Christ take us by the nape of the neck and carry us to the throne of grace?

At least in Jesus' parables it appears to be a Cat-hold salvation. Jesus pictures God as a shepherd who seeks out a lost lamb and carries it home on his shoulders. Or a homemaker who searches every corner of the house for a lost coin until she finds it and rejoices with her friends. Our salvation rests in the care and keeping of a seeking Savior. The message is simple and clear: We do not have to worry about holding on to God's coat tails for God will not let go of ours.

17. The Church Squirt

Illustration

Charles Revis

The sea squirt is a strange creature. It seems to be a backward oriented creature. The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. When it finds its spot and takes root, it somehow figures it doesn't need a brain anymore. So it eats it.

The analogy between the sea squirt and some tenured professors has been pointed out on numerous occasions—but the church ought not laugh too loudly. It does the same thing. It finds a home and then settles in. When this happens, it enters what is known as a PVS—persistent vegetative state. That is, it eats its brain. The church grows inward, no longer following its God-given mission.

Someone has criticized the ingrown church with these words: Today, we in the church speak and act on little but that which relates to ourselves. We refuse to learn the language of the culture. We are reluctant to trust the Spirit already at work in the world. What is born out of this retreat is a kind of indoor spirit that does for the body of Christ what an ingrown toenail can do to the human body: It becomes diseased and infected and is a danger to the whole organism. An ingrown spirit can ground a body [local church] just as much as an ingrown toenail.

Jesus ran into this self-centered attitude among the religious people of his day. It caused him to confront them with a series of parables in Luke 15.

18. Four Views of the Gospels

Illustration

Jerry Goebel

In this single chapter there are four views of the same God: A coin lost through no choice of its own; a sheep that strays because it hasn't the sense to know better; a boy who chooses to get lost but learns the hard way what real love means; and a brother who rejects pure love and chooses hatred and self-righteousness when he could have known pure joy. Which story am I living out today?

Herein is what many theologians call; "the Gospel within the Gospel," and others have simply called; "the best short story ever written." Here is a concept that rocked the theological world and bears the true heart of God; a God who searches for the lost and is wounded when we stray. Here is a dramatic clash between the judgmental religious who believed that God longed to obliterate the sinner and God's only son who came to die for us while we yet sinners.

Which God do I offer to others? The glaring truth is that the God I introduce to others is the same one I will someday meet.

19. Is Your Church a Museum or Mission?

Illustration

Wallace H. Kirby

An inner city church, located in an area of the downtown where there were few residents, was forced to a decision. A large corporation was offering them a great deal of money for their site, on which the corporation wanted to put a parking lot. The money would enable the church to move to another part of the inner city where they would find many more people to serve. Even though this was exciting to some of the congregation, other members were resistant to the idea. They pointed out that the church was the guardian of a building whose history and architecture reached back into the early part of the nineteenth century. Denominational history had been made in that building, and some of the grand figures of the church had passed its portals.

Eventually the congregation decided to sell the site and make the move to a new building in a teeming inner-city neighborhood. The pastor who was with this congregation through all this upheaval said, "We had to decide whether we wanted to be in a museum or in mission." They couldn't have it both ways. It meant either staying on their site, glorying in their past history and serving a few people, or giving up their past and gearing themselves to a significant ministry among the city's people. They opted for mission status over museum status.

Something of this same struggle is indicated in this scripture passage. The Pharisees and scribes came down on the side of museum religion. They wanted attention given to those who were stable, pious and not a liability if invited to the country club. Theirs was a "let's have our synagogue programs be for us dependable, like-minded types," as some present-day church-growth advocates. Jesus disappointed them by insisting that the issue was one of mission: to reach out to those who needed great mercy, lessons in etiquette, social graces, and perhaps a bath. Paying attention to these "lost" persons would change the comfortable fellowship the scribes and Pharisees enjoyed at the synagogue, to say nothing of putting a dent into its budget.

20. Which Color Would You Be?

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

Ralph Milton tells of the teacher who, for reasons of her own, asked the kids one day, "If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which color would you be?"

Think about it. What color would you be? Red or Green? It is a tough question isn't it when you pose only two options.

One very wise child answered the teacher: "Striped"

It seems to me that in the frame of the story - everyone but Jesus is striped. It is the same in the world today. We are a curious combination of the lost and the found. We are striped. We are, in some sense, not completely complete. It is hard language, this language of lost and found, especially for folks in the middle, as most of us are most of the time. It seems too absolute.

Rarely are we completely lost. And rarely are we completely found. There is always a part of us that needs to be dragged and cajoled into the light, and there is always a part of us that is already there in the light. For some it is more and for some it is less, but always some part.

The wonderful thing is - that God wants us to enter fully into the light. The wonderful thing is that God wants to bless us all richly to keep us safe, to make us strong, to help us be like a Shepherd who really cares for his sheep, or like a poor widow who really values all her coins.

21. The Lost Dog

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

There was once an old man who had a little spotted dog. The dog was a mixture of spaniel, collie, terrier and dachshund. He was a street-bred mutt, but the old man loved him because he was all he had. They were constant companions, going everywhere and doing everything together. Every night the dog slept at the foot of the old man's bed.

Then one day the dog disappeared. He was playing in the yard one moment, and the next thing the old man knew he was gone. He searched everywhere for him, looked on every street, around every corner, and talked to every neighbor, but the dog was nowhere to be found. The old man searched all over the town, calling out the dog's name as he went, listening in vain for his familiar bark. The next day was the same and the one after that . . . for weeks the old man searched till finally his neighbors and friends convinced him that there was no use in looking anymore. Surely the dog is dead, they said: hit by a car, no doubt, and crawled off by himself to die.

Still the old man would not give up hope. Every night, before bed, he went out on the porch and called out the dog's name at the top of his voice. This went on for several months. The neighbors were certain that the old man had lost his mind. And then one night, as the old man was calling his name, the little spotted dog came home. The old man never knew where he had been or what caused him to stay away so long, but he never stopped calling his name.

22. God Said...

Illustration

Norm Linville

Is there a better picture of forgiveness in the whole Bible? It reminds me of a story about a woman who had upset her pastor because she claimed that she had conversations with God. She had attracted quite a following in the church and every day people gathered at her house, got on their knees, prayed, sang hymns and listened to her describe what God was saying to her.

The pastor thought all this was getting out of hand, so he went to visit her. "I know you say you are talking with God," he said, "but what you hear talking back at you is just your imagination. Just to prove it, I want you to ask God to name three of the sins that I confessed this morning. Then tell me what God said. If you can name those sins, I'll believe that you really are talking with God." The woman sat there for a long while, praying. Then she looked up and said, "I asked God to name your three sins, but God said, 'I forgot.'"

23. Nine Years Old!

Illustration

Carveth Mitchell

While visiting in the hospital I met a little nine-year-old girl who was a patient. I thought I recognized her name, so I asked her if she was the little girl by that name who went to our Sunday church school. She replied, "No, Sir. I don't go anywhere to Sunday church school."

I told her who I was and said, "While I'm here perhaps we could have a prayer."

She replied, "That would be fine, but I don't know any prayers." Nine years old!

I said, "What I meant was that I would offer a prayer for you."

She replied, "That would be fine. No one has ever prayed for me before." Nine years old!

Of course, I followed up on that little girl. In the house on one side of her home lived a family nominally members of a major Christian denomination. In the house on the other side lived a family nominally a member of another denomination, and two of our own families lived in the same block with that little girl. That little girl also lives in your city and perhaps in your block - no matter where you live - and the Jesus who told about the sheep and the coin asks us, "Do you care?"

24. Amazing Grace

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

John Newton, who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace back in 1779 certainly identified with the younger son, the son who wasted his inheritance. As a young man he left home and went to sea and there lived wildly and free. Like many people who abandon God, he was highly critical of the Christian faith, and spent much time tearing down the faith of the people he met as he went from place to place. It was only in later years that he realized that he had wasted his young life, and indeed not only wasted it - but in all that time he had been offensive to God and to all God-fearing people. And like the young prodigal, he repented and sought, in humility and submissiveness, to serve God for the rest of his days.

His resulting experience of God's forgiveness, of God's grace, is not only described well in the emotion packed words of the song he wrote, it is also to be found in his epitaph, an epitaph he himself wrote shortly before his death in 1807. He describes himself and his experience of God this way: "John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy."

25. Criticism Brings Out the Best

Illustration

Ralph F. Wilson

You can never escape criticism. Anyone who stands up and does something will be criticized. You'll be criticized fairly and unfairly. And if you retreat in weariness, then you'll be criticized for doing nothing. You can't escape criticism. But criticism has a way of bringing out the best or the worst in a person. When Jesus was criticized, he responded with the most wonderful trio of parables in the Bible the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. And in them we catch a remarkable insight into the seeking nature of God.

26. Three Characteristics of Success

Illustration

Brett Blair

The most successful companies aren't successful because of charismatic leadership or because they found some "great idea" that no one else came up with. Instead, these highly successful companies share three distinct characteristics:

First, the focus of each one had always been on a set of core values that never changed.
Second, each company always had a purpose that was higher than just making a profit.
Third, there was a relentless drive to change and improve everything in the company except their core values, which, for most, had been in place since the early years of the company's existence.

Jesus' church is grounded in the same principles. Our core values are summarized in these words, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you. In other words, put what God values, first in your life, and the success that really matters, will be added to your life, after that.

If that's our core value then what is our Goal? It is found in these three parables - save that which is lost.

27. God Loves Me

Illustration

Mark Trotter

There is a wonderful story about Maya Angelou. She was an active member of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco before her death. She wrote that when she first came to San Francisco as a young woman she became sophisticated. She said that was what you were supposed to do when you go to San Francisco, you become sophisticated. And for that reason she said she became agnostic. She thought the two went together. She said that it wasn't that she stopped believing in God, just that God no longer frequented the neighborhoods that she frequented.

She was taking voice lessons at the time. Her teacher gave her an exercise where she was to read out of some religious pamphlet. The reading ended with these words: "God loves me." She finished the reading, put the pamphlet down. The teacher said, "I want you to read that last sentence again." So she picked it up, read it again, this time somewhat sarcastically, then put it down again. The teacher said, "Read it again." She read it again. Then she described what happened. "After about the seventh repetition I began to sense there might be some truth in this statement. That there was a possibility that God really loves, me, Maya Angelou. I suddenly began to cry at the grandness of it all. I knew if God loved me, I could do wonderful things. I could do great things. I could learn anything. I could achieve anything. For what could stand against me with God, since one person, any person, with God form a majority now."

28. What the World Expects of the Church

Illustration

Brett Blair

On a cold, dreary December evening, several hundred people gathered at a large downtown church in Winston-Salem to celebrate the Christmas season. Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald, present that evening, had gone down a long hallway to help a small boy who was pushing against massive oak doors trying to get outside. The boy was about 2 years old and as he pushed he was crying as if his heart would break.

The Bishop picked him up, thinking he belonged to someone at one of the Christmas parties but as he opened the doors and looked outside he spotted an old-model car speeding away in the darkness. Gradually, it dawned on him that the child he held in his arms had been abandoned.

Phone calls were made, and soon the church was filled with people wanting to help in any way they could. Within moments, the local TV stations interrupted their usual programs to ask if anyone knew the identity of the little boy. The next morning, one of the city's newspapers put the child's picture on the front page. Under the picture there was an article describing the events of the evening before. The article began with this striking line: "Someone trusted the church last night, and the church came through!"

Bishop Fizgerald later reflected on this event and wrote these words: It will be a long, long time before I can forget that newspaper headline. So much of the world's future depends on the faithfulness of the "People of God" to the "Great Commission." There is a deep hunger across our land as countless people grope for answers to the deepest questions of the human spirit. The message of Christ speaks to these questions, bringing hope and light to people who now stumble in the dark and live in despair. Our world will be changed as the hearts of people are changed. Evangelism is no longer an option for the church. It is essential to the survival of our world.

The line in that Winston-Salem newspaper is a haunting reminder of what the world expects of the church. "Someone trusted the church last night, and the church came through!" May that always be true!

29. Create Him Not

Illustration

Brett Blair

The love of God is indescribable but a old Jewish legend does a pretty good job. It describes what happened when God created man. The legend says God took into counsel the Angels that stood about his throne. The Angel of Justice said; 'Create him not … for if you do he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man; he will be hard and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.' The Angel of Truth said, 'Create him not … for he will be false and deceitful to his brother and even to Thee.' The Angel of Holiness stood and said; 'Create him not … he will follow that which is impure in your sight, and dishonor you to your face.'

Then stepped forward the Angel of Mercy, God's most beloved, angel, and said; 'Create him, our Heavenly Father, for when he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness I will take him tenderly by the hand, and speak loving words to him, and then lead him back to you.'

30. It's a Big Ocean to be Lost In

Illustration

Brett Blair

H.H. Staton in his book, "A Guide To the Parables of Jesus" tells the story of having been on an ocean liner headed to the Middle East.

Nine hundred miles out to sea a sail was sighted on the horizon. As the liner drew closer, the passengers saw that the boat - a small sloop flying a Turkish flag - had run up a distress signal and other flags asking for its position at sea. Through a faulty chronometer or immature navigation the small vessel had become lost. For nearly an hour the liner circled the little boat, giving its crew correct latitude and longitude. Naturally there was a great deal of interest in all the proceeding among the passengers of the liner. A 12 year-old-boy remarked aloud to himself - "It's a big ocean to be lost in."

It is a big universe to be lost in too. And we do get lost - we get mixed up and turned around. We despair, we make mistakes, we do evil to each other. We deserve the wrath of God and that is what the Pharisees who criticized Jesus maintained. But Jesus understood God more. He knew God as a Shepherd in search of the one lost sheep. He knew God as a woman searching in the dark, in the crevasses, for that valuable coin. In the end it was Jesus' view of God which prevailed and not his critics.

31. Redemptive Joy! - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

In 2000 a homeless man by the name of William Wallace Brown, Jr. was buried in the graveyard of the prestigious St. John's Episcopal Church, across from the White House. This would not be unusual except that St. John's is called the "church of presidents." Since 1808, the time of the James Madison presidency, nearly every U.S. leader has worshiped there. So how is it, that this street bum was laid to rest in a prominent burial garden? It all began one Sunday morning when the homeless man spotted George H. W. Bush entering the church and asked the president to pray for him. Bush looked at him for a moment and said, "No, come inside with us and pray for yourself." And, so he did. He became a permanent part of the services and every week would place a crumpled dollar bill in the silver collection plate. He died not long after that. During the funeral for William Brown one of the speakers said that in the eyes of God "the homeless and the most important are one in the same"

I agree. And I would add that when any one of us are homeless and have lost our way, God leaves the most important of us behind and goes in search of the one. It is the way any parent would act. It is the way God acts. There is not one among us, down to the very least, who is not valued in the eyes of God. It is what I like to call Redemptive Joy! St. John's understood it the day William Brown walked down the isle shoulder to shoulder with the Commander and Chief. Jesus tried to explain it to his critics when he welcomed and ate with sinners. I want us to take look at it in our reading this morning.

There are three great themes that spring out from these two little parables. Three themes that describe precisely the meaning of the Gospel:

1. The Lost
2. The Found
3. And the Joy

32. Huddled Like Sheep

Illustration

King Duncan

Pastor Mike Milton of Savannah, GA tells about two photos that appeared together on the front page of a local newspaper, the Camden, Maine Herald. One photo was of the board of aldermen and the town manager huddled together at a meeting. The other photo was a flock of sheep. Unintentionally, the captions were reversed. Under the picture of the sheep, the caption identified them as the aldermen and town manager. Under the photo of the distinguished fathers of the community, the caption read like this: "The Sheep, naive and vulnerable, huddle for security against the uncertainties of the outside world."

Let's face it, friends, you and I are oftentimes like sheep. We nibble ourselves into situations that are too big for us to handle. We follow the other sheep, sometimes unwisely. There we are "The Sheep, naive and vulnerable, huddled for security against the uncertainties of the outside world." Does our Shepherd care? Yes, says Luke's gospel. He leaves the ninety and nine. Where? Out in the wilderness, to search for that one who has gone astray. What great good news.

33. Unconditional Love

Illustration

King Duncan

What is your view of God? The scowling judge waiting to convict you? The disapproving parent whose love you have to earn? Your view of God affects every decision and relationship in your life. Kathleen Chesto wrote to Catholic Digest to tell them about an incident that occurred in her family. Her five-year-old child approached her one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?"

Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." I know this sounds trite to some of you, but have you ever really come to appreciate the wonder of God's unconditional love? I dare say that there are some people in this room who don't really believe in unconditional love. You have never received it, and you have never given it. Some of you are still trying to earn your way to heaven. And you are expecting others to earn their way as well. Relax, my friend, and let God love you. Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable that God's love doesn't depend on our goodness; it depends on God's character. Here is this truth expressed in I John 4:10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

34. We Have All Been Lost

Illustration

King Duncan

A marine tells about a field exercise he was participating in at Camp Lejeune, N.C. His squad was on a night patrol making their way through some thick brush. Halfway through, they realized they’d lost their map. The patrol navigator informed the rest of the squad that their odds were 1 in 359 that they’d succeed in getting back to their base of operations.

“How did you come up with that figure?” someone asked, “one chance in 359?”

“Well,” he replied, “one of the degrees on the compass has to be right.”

Those marines were lost. One chance in 359 is not very good. Fortunately it was just a training exercise, but they were lost just the same. We’ve all been lost at one time or another. That’s part of the human condition.

35. But I Know Sheep

Illustration

King Duncan

A new school teacher in a farming community in Texas asked her class, "If there were 12 sheep in a field and one jumped over the fence, how many would be left?"

One little fellow spoke up and said "None."

The teacher said, "Do you know your arithmetic?"

"No, ma'am," said the boy, "but I know sheep."

Sheep are followers. And sometimes they are not too wise about whom they choose to follow.

36. Found!

Illustration

King Duncan

Norman Vincent Peale once told about addressing a Methodist conference in Atlanta, Georgia along with a fine preacher, Bishop Noah Moore, and Pierce Harris, a much-loved local pastor. In his message Peale said that he believed that Jesus Christ could come into a life and change it, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

After the service, when he and the other guest preachers were gathered in the minister's office, they were told that a man wanted to see them. A somewhat disreputable-looking man, they were warned "unshaven, unwashed, poorly dressed. When the man did come in, he was reeking of alcohol, but his mind was full of the message he had just heard. "Do you really believe that Jesus can help me?" he asked.

"Without a doubt," Peale replied. Then the man asked if they would pray with him.

So the four ordained ministers prayed with the man. When he went out, Bishop Moore said, a bit wistfully, "If that man changes, we'll all be surprised, won't we?" There it was, a flicker of doubt from a good man that change is possible for some people.

Six months later, Peale said he was sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Clearwater, Florida, when he saw a man coming toward him, leading two little girls by the hand. The man was immaculately dressed, and his daughters were exquisite children, attractive and well-behaved. At first Peale didn't know who he was, but as he came closer, he recognized the former derelict from Atlanta. There was a smile on his face, and he was humming "Amazing Grace" as he held out his hand in greeting. Peale said it was one of the most emotional and unforgettable encounters of his life.

37. Specializing in Misdemeanors

Illustration

King Duncan

While working as a court-appointed attorney, Emory Potter was assigned a client who had been accused of criminal trespass. Mr. Potter probed his client with some general questions of background. He asked if he had any previous arrests or convictions. The man ashamedly said, "Yes, sir. I've got quite a few." The thorough attorney then asked, "Any felonies?" The man indignantly replied, "No sir! I specialize in misdemeanors!" That sounds like many of us. We know in our minds that we are sinners, but we specialize in misdemeanors not in felonies "in small sins not in large ones. In our minds, ours are excusable sins. We are like the Pharisee who thanked God he wasn't like the tax collector. His sins fell within a range of acceptability.

38. Some Rules Need to be Broken

Illustration

Larry Powell

Let us fabricate a situation in order to refer to an actual circumstance. Suppose that your family doctor spent the better part of his time enjoying the company of his cohorts, all of them healthy, sharing a common interest, and preserving the clinic by keeping it in good repair, yet never associated with persons beset by maladies. The clinic has been the medical center for as long as anyone can remember, but is used primarily for research and as a place to house medical books. The doctors are far too involved with perusing the records, studying cures, and maintaining the dignity of medicine to bother themselves with the sick and infirm. To carry this hypothetical situation further, let us say that a new doctor appears in town, totally unrelated to the time-honored clinic, independent of the guild. He seeks out the diseased, actually associates with them, and proceeds to cure their ailments. Immediately, the professional guild begins to question his credentials and stirs up public opinion against him.

Now read Mark 2:15-17. Jesus has invited certain tax collectors and "sinners" to dinner in his own home. The scribes and Pharisees, no doubt chaffed because Jesus had not invited them instead, raised a question which is, in fact, unintelligible for men of their profession: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Why was he not at the holy of holies with them observing proper rituals and diet? Why did he not take his fellowship with the saints, the "clean" and righteous? Jesus not only explained the messianic format, he also reprimanded them for their insular hypocrisy: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

The Pharisees were monitors of the Law. It is true ... there must always be individuals around us to call our attention to the rules, but it is an additional gift of grace when such persons possess at least a minimum of common sense. Some years ago, I received a telephone call from a parishioner who desperately pleaded that I come immediately to her house and rush her to the emergency room of a local hospital. Knowing that she had been experiencing difficulty with her pregnancy, I did not ask questions, but quickly ran to the car and hurried to her house. She was waiting on the front porch as I drove into the driveway. As I helped her into the car, she kept saying, "Hurry, hurry!" In a matter of moments I drove up to the entrance of the emergency room, jumped from the car and started around to open the door to assist the young lady inside. Even before I could reach the other side of the car, a man in uniform came charging from behind the sliding glass doors shouting, "You can’t park here ... this area must be kept open for emergency!" I explained to him that this was an emergency. "I can’t help that," he said, "you’ll have to move the car before you can bring her in." I had to move the car, park it at a considerable distance from the emergency room entrance and almost carry the expectant mother into the hospital. As I mentioned, there must always be individuals to remind us of the rules, but it is an additional gift of grace if they have a minimum of common sense.

The Pharisees scolded Jesus for associating with sinners (Mark 2:16), chastized him for plucking grain for nourishment on the sabbath (23-28), and rebuked him for healing a man with a withered hand on the same day (3:1-6). Jesus was threatening their security, their positions, and assuming their authority. Not surprisingly, rather than reassessing their own witness, they dug in all the more, and "stirred up the people against him."

39. Would You Still Be His Disciple If You Lost Your All?

Illustration

Jerry Ruff

Jesus doesn't call us to be "convenient Christians", he calls us to be committed Christians who put Him first above everything else — even if that means dad, mom, siblings, kids, work, vacations, playtime, money, homes, friends. This is where the Living Bible translation fits in. Jesus is saying to us as His followers, "Sit down, count your blessings and then renounce them all for me." Would you still be His disciple if you lost your job? If you lost your savings? If you lost your health? If you lost your home? If you lost your wife and kids? Job said, "Though [God] slay me, yet will I trust Him." Horatio Spafford lost all his earthly possessions in the Great Chicago fire. A short time later his wife and children were sailing to England when the ship sank and his children were lost. Immediately he went to join his wife in England. As his ship got to the spot where his children drowned he wrote these words, "When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll — whatever my lot thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.'"

It is this kind of Christianity Jesus is looking for ... not a convenience thing, not a faith that we turn on when we want to or when we need it! Jesus is not looking for followers. He is looking for disciples. He is looking for people who will count the cost of being His disciple who will then say, "Yes!"

40. Looking in the Light

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

You've all probably heard the old story about the town drunk who was down on his hands and knees one night underneath the streetlight searching and searching for something. The preacher happened to be walking by and asked him, "Sam, what in the world are you doing out here on your hands and knees?"

Sam looked up and said, "Oh, Hi Preacher, I'm hunting for my keys. I lost my keys."

The preacher, being kind hearted, got down on his hands and knees to help and said, "Show me where you dropped them and I'll help you find them."

Sam pointed off about 50 or 60 feet in the distance and said, "Oh, I lost them way over there in the grass."

That really got to the preacher so he asked, "Well, if you lost them way over there in the grass, why are you looking for them over here on the sidewalk?"

And Sam said, "Because this is where the light is."

As old and as dumb as that joke is, there is a semblance of truth to it. People look for things where there is light. And I have a feeling that a lot of people come to church because somewhere they have lost something.

They're not sure what they've lost; maybe it's themselves or their faith or their belief in life. They're not sure what they've lost or even where they lost it. But, they are convinced that the Church is where the light is.

And we shouldn't be surprised, because this is what we've been telling the folks for years. This is the place of the light. This is the place of Christ, the light of the world. This is the place where people come to find answers. Jesus put it a little more direct in today's passage. He spoke about "welcoming our neighbors" and "giving a cup of cold water" to the thirsty.

41. He Will Never Let Go

Illustration

King Duncan

There is a beautiful and important scene in the movie Dr. Zhivago. The Comrade General is talking with Tanya. He asks her, How did you come to be lost?" She replies, "Well, I was just lost." He asks again, "No, how did you come to be lost?" Tanya doesn't want to say. She says simply, "I was just lost. My father and I were running through the city and it was on fire. The revolution had come and we were trying to escape and I was lost."

The Comrade General asked more emphatically, "How did you come to be lost?" She still didn't want to say. Finally though she did say. "We were running through the city and my father let go of my hand and I was lost." Then she added plaintively, "He let go."

The Comrade General said, "This is what I've been trying to tell you, Tanya. Komarov was not your real father. Zhivago is your real father and I can promise you, Tanya, that if this man had been there, your real father, he would never have let go of your hand."

That is the difference between a real father and a false father, is it not? A real father would never let go of his daughter's hand. That is also the difference between a real god and a false one.

42. Nibbled Lost

Illustration

David Beckett

The story is told of a farmer who had just rescued a lost sheep. When asked how the sheep got lost, the farmer replied, "They just nibble themselves lost. They go from one tuft of grass to another, until at last they've lost their way." That's what happens in life, isn't it? We nibble away at life with little purpose or direction, until it's gone and we have no idea where it went.

In a world that's increasingly more scattered and scared, our task as Christ's Church is to translate and transmit the voice of the Good Shepherd to all those who are lost, hurting, and alone. It's also about following Jesus' example and welcoming everyone into the fold. Even we sheep should be able to understand that.

43. The Tragedy of the Unprepared Life - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

There's a true story that comes form the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her.

She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.

Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.

There are events in life, which have the power to transform the way we look at the world. Jesus' parable about the ten virgins offers one of these types of events, for the parable is about the Second Coming of Christ. But Jesus doesn't come right out and say this. Rather, he let's the story describe it for him. The woman on the sinking Titanic understood, in the light of her current circumstances, that she must make preparations for living on a lifeboat. Diamonds would not suffice, only the precious resources of an orange were good enough. Likewise, in this world where Christ may return at any moment, the parable warns, we must be ready.

Weddings are one of these kinds of events. And every time I have a wedding, I admonish those in the wedding to be ready, to make a special effort to be ready on the day of the ceremony. I plead with them to arrive early and be dressed and ready to go. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

Jesus' parable about a wedding, is told not from the vantage point of the bride and groom, but of the ten young maidens who had been invited to the happy occasion, five of them were foolish, said Jesus, five of them were wise. What was the measure of their wisdom? In a word, their readiness to be a part of the event. All of the young women had oil in their lamps, but five had an additional supply.

This is, of course, foreign to our concepts of weddings today. Weddings in our society are announced for a specific time and place, and if things are late in getting started, those invited guests begin to fidget a bit. But in first century Palestine, a wedding could happen anytime within several days. The uncertainty was considered a part of the excitement of the wedding. The bridegroom hoped to catch some of the bridal party napping. But fairness required that some announcement be made, so just before the big event a messenger was sent through the streets shouting: Behold the bridegroom commeth." The alert ones in the wedding party would respond, and the others would be left behind.

In Jesus parable, the cry came at midnight. This was often the case; most bridegrooms chose to come late at night. The sleeping attendants were awakened. It was then that they realized that they did not have enough oil in their lamps to get through the night. Panicked, they attempted to borrow some from the other bridesmaids. But they responded, "If we give you our oil, there won't be enough for us. Hurry out to the dealers and buy some yourself." So the five foolish maidens hurried out, but by the time they returned the door had already been closed. They knocked on the door and pleaded to be a part of the festivities, but the groom said: "If you belonged at this event you would already have been present." Jesus concluded: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

What is this parable suggesting to us? I would like to make a few suggestions…

1. Some things cannot be borrowed.
2. Some things cannot be put off.
3. We can miss out on great opportunities.

44. The Ultimate Answer to Lostness

Illustration

King Duncan

An elderly gentleman was out walking with his young grandson. "How far are we from home?'' he asked the grandson. The boy answered, "Grandpa, I don’t know." The grandfather asked, "Well, where are you?" Again the boy answered, "I don't know." Then the grandfather said good-naturedly, “Sounds to me as if you are lost." The young boy looked up at his grandfather and said, "Nope, I can't be lost. I'm with you." Ultimately, that is the answer to our lostness, too. We can't be lost if He is with us.

45. Sinners Outside the Ark

Illustration

Glenn Pease

A mother calling to her son shouted, "Johnny, tell your sister to get in the house out of the rain." "I can't mom," came the reply. "And just why can't you?" demanded his mother. "Because we are playing Noah's Ark mom, and she's one of the sinners."

We like to make the distinction between the sinners on the outside of the ark and the saints on the inside, and it is a legitimate distinction. But in so doing, we tend to cover up the reality that the saints inside are still sinners. Sinners saved by grace, but nevertheless, sinners. Noah didn't take much time before he demonstrated that after the Ark had landed.

Failure to be aware of this reality led the Pharisees of Christ's day, and self-righteous saints all through history, to feel that the message of repentance does not apply to them. Repentance is only relevant to those sinners outside the ark. It is a message you can preach at the mission, but it has no place in the sanctuary of the saints. Billy Graham said, "I have been shocked to find that the theme proclaimed so emphatically by the prophets and apostles is scarcely mentioned by contemporary preachers."

46. Passing by the Children

Illustration

Thomas Peterson

A persistent judgment leveled against parents today is this: they gladly provide their children with every resource: Leaders, coaches, teachers, tutors, and youth workers. Certainly children should be happy and well-adjusted. They have everything money can buy. But they do not have the listening ear of Mom and Dad. "Too busy, later, not now, I'm working hard for your good." Recall the old saying:

For the want of a nail the shoe was lost;
for the want of a shoe the horse was lost;
for the want of a horse the rider was lost;
for the want of the rider the battle was lost.

It is still true. For want of a quiet, caring intimacy, a child's primary sense of self-worth is lost. And for want of security and self-worth, the child is lost. In most churches I've known, members find it quite easy to pass a youth by; they are more timid to engage a child than a stranger in conversation. Frequently, when youth are on committees, little sensitivity is expressed toward making them comfortable and enabling them to contribute.

47. For the Lack Of

Illustration

For the lack of a nail the shoe was lost;

For the lack of a shoe the horse was lost;

For the lack of the horse the rider was lost;

For the lack of the rider the message was lost;

For the lack of the message the battle was lost;

For the lack of the battle the kingdom was lost.

48. Paying Taxes

Illustration

King Duncan

SEE, this man eats with sinners and tax collectors." Tax collectors are never popular. Many want to adopt a flat tax and dismantle the Internal Revenue Service.

"I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States," said Arthur Godfrey. "The only thing is I could be just as proud for half the money."

"President Clinton said he looks forward to the day a citizen can call the IRS and get the right answer to a question," said Jay Leno. "I look forward to the day I can call the IRS and get a voice that says, Sorry, that number has been disconnected.'"

And there was that famous reply that boxer Joe Louis gave when a sportswriter asked, "Who hit you the hardest during your ring career?" His reply: "Uncle Sam."

People don't like tax collectors. Things haven't changed as much as you think. Archeologists uncovered a 3,000-year tablet in Iraq. It had on it this inscription: "You can have a Lord, you can have a King, but the man to fear is the tax collector."

49. Neighbors Who Never Met - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

What parable would make a man with three doctoral degrees (one in medicine, one in theology, one in philosophy) leave civilization with all of its culture and amenities and depart for the jungles of darkest Africa? What parable could induce a man, who was recognized as one of the best concert organists in all of Europe, go to a place where there were no organs to play. What parable would so intensely motivate a man that he would give up a teaching position in Vienna, Austria to go and deal with people who were so deprived that they were still living in the superstitions of the dark ages for all practical purposes. The man who I am talking about, of course, is Dr. Albert Schweitzer. And the single parable that so radically altered his life, according to him, was our text for this morning. It was the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The Rich Man and Lazarus were neighbors, you know. They saw each other every day. Oh, not socially you understand, but there was contact. Every day the Rich Man saw this beggar at his front gate. Who were these men?

We shall call the Rich Man Dives [pronounced ‘Dive-ees': it's Latin for "Rich Man" as he has been called for centuries] Dives would have felt very comfortable living in our present time. He was a progressive kind of a guy. He was self-indulgent and this is the age of self-indulgency. The contrasting life-styles of these two men is so obvious that you can't miss it. Dives was a connoisseur, a lover of the arts, one who knows and appreciates fine living, four star restaurants.

We are told in vs. 19 that he habitually dressed in purple. Purple was known as the color of royalty because it was the most expensive dye in the ancient world. Only the upper echelon and the high priest could afford it. We are also told that his undergarments were made of fine linen. Linen, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

The other man in the story is Lazarus. How can we describe Lazarus? Lararus is homeless. We are told in vs. 20 that he was a cripple. Lazarus barely made it from day to day, living off the leftovers thrown to him by Dives as he daily passed him. He is just a survivor, that's all you can say of him.

One day, said Jesus, both men died. Death after all is the great equalizer. Death does not care about your social standing, your color, or your standing in the community. Lazarus, said Jesus, was carried away by the angel of death unto heaven, where he occupied the seat of honor next to Abraham. About Dives, the rich man, all that Jesus says is that he was buried. Isn't that strange that that is all that he says? After all, Dives funeral must having been something that the community would remember for years to come. Apparently, however, that fact failed to impress Jesus. Oh, Jesus did add one additional fact about Dives' death that may be of interest to you. His soul was sent to hell.

This is an unnerving story. I can well see why this was the irritating grain of sand in Albert Schweitzer's oyster. Why is this story so bothersome? For a few moments this morning I would like to share exactly why. It is bothersome because….

First, it shows how God reverses the standards of the world.
Second, it is a terrible fate for a man who was not mean.
Third, the rich man begs to warn his living brothers.

50. Being Lost Is Terrible, Being Found Is Wonderful

Illustration

Arthur G. Ferry

James Moore remembers the time when he was seven years old and got lost at the Ringling Brothers Circus. It was a frightening experience for a seven-year-old boy in a crowd of over twenty thousand. Jim and his older brother, Bob, went to the concession stand to buy some cotton candy. People were pushing and pressing toward the counter. Since Bob was taller he was waited on first. After Bob got his cotton candy he stepped aside for his brother. Just then loud laughter came from the arena. Bob wanted to see what was going on. Certainly he didn't mean to leave his small brother alone. He simply got caught up in the excitement listening to the crowd laugh at the clowns.

Little Jim also got his cotton candy and then he looked around for his big brother. His brother was gone. In that moment of panic nothing looked familiar to this little fellow. He was lost. At that point he wondered if he would ever see his family again. "I started to run," he recalls, "trying to fight back the tears. Everyone was laughing loudly at the antics of the clowns, but they weren't funny to me at that moment." In this young boy's moment of panic and confusion he thought, "How can they laugh at a time like this? How can they laugh when I feel so lost?"

Just then Jim felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his father. "My father had come after me and had found me. He held me down, reassured me, then bought me a Coke, a hot dog, a Yo-Yo, a lizard, a little stuffed bear, and a candy apple. I learned a valuable lesson that day: Being lost is terrible...being found is wonderful!"

Jesus wanted his disciples to know that even though he would no longer be with them he would not let them get lost. He would be with them every step of the way. He is the Way. All they had to do was follow. Who would not respond to such a sacrifice? Who would not follow such an example?

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