This section contains three parables that return to the theme of the inclusion of the lowly and the outcast in the kingdom of God: (1) the Parable of the Lost Sheep (vv. 1–7); (2) the Parable of the Lost Coin (vv. 8–10); and (3) the Parable of the Lost Son (vv. 11–32). These parables more or less pick up where the Parable of the Great Banquet (14:15–24) left off. The Parable of the Great Banquet taught that the least expected people would be included in the kingdom, while the three parables of Luke 15 reveal God’s attitude toward the lost and, in the case of the Lost Son, the unworthy. Other than the Parable of the Lost Sheep, which is found in Matt. 18:12–14, the passage is unique to Luke.

15:1–2 Luke establishes the context for the following three parables by noting that tax collectors …