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The Fifth Sunday in Trinity
Jesus Teaches with Parables
July 5, 2009
Last week we discussed Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep—and we considered the
love of Christ as he used a series of parables to teach the Pharisees and the
scribes the truth of salvation—Jesus was gathered with sinners and tax
collectors—and He knew that the Pharisees and scribes were complaining—Jesus
presented a string of parables to show these learned men the way to true
heaven—the only way to heaven
The first of these parables was the parable of the lost sheep—and the parables
we will consider today followed
(Luke 15:8-10 NKJ) "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one
coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she
finds it? 9 "And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors
together, saying,`Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' 10
"Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner who repents."
The Greek word here translated as silver coin is DRACHMA—it is 1/8 of an ounce
of silver—equivalent to the Roman penny—not of great value to the world—but of
very great value to this woman—one point we may want to consider is the custom
of the day for a married woman to wear a necklace of 10 drachma coins to show
the world she was married—can you see how important one of these coins would be
if it were lost?—some of you may have experienced the loss of an important
symbol such as a wedding ring—and had a similar experience of seeking the lost
item
This symbol of marriage associated with the lost coin is consistent with the
lesson Jesus is teaching the Pharisees and scribes—and of course us—this woman
represents the Church—which is referred to in Scripture as the bride of
Christ—first we should realize that Christ is the bridegroom of the Church
(Matthew 9:15 NKJ) And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom
mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the
bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
The Church is the bride—the Christ is the Bridegroom
(Isaiah 61:10 NKJ) I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful
in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered
me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
(Isaiah 62:5 NKJ) For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry
you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice
over you.
(Revelation 21:9 NKJ) Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come,
I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
Here the Lamb is the Lamb of God—the Savior—Jesus, the Christ—and the bride is
the Church—us and all of the saints who went before us, and all those who will
come after us until Judgment Day
So this parable is explained as the Church seeking those lost in the dirt of the
world to be sought after by the Church using the light of the Word—the parable
involves those who were members of the Church and fell away into the world—and
the Church hunts for them—shining the light of the Word—until the lost are found
And just as the parable of the lost sheep ended with a reference to the
rejoicing in heaven over finding the lost—so it is that the lost in this parable
will bring joy and rejoicing when they are found—thus the first two parables
spoken to the Pharisees taught that sinners are brought to the kingdom—and that
the Church seeks the lost—and they are brought back to the kingdom
This next parable is more personal—it is called the parable of the prodigal
son—but it would be more accurately named the parable of the two lost sons—the
older stands in self-righteousness and work righteousness—similar to the
Pharisees and scribes Jesus is speaking with—see if you recognize the
resemblance
(Luke 15:11-16 NKJ) Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. 12 "And the
younger of them said to his father,`Father, give me the portion of goods that
falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 "And not many days after,
the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there
wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 "But when he had spent all,
there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 "Then
he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into
his fields to feed swine. 16 "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with
the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
We cannot understand the generosity of this loving father until we review the
Old Testament teaching of inheritance—then we will see that this father should
have had his son stoned instead of providing him the resources to seek worldly
lusts—the Old Testament teachings are as follows
(Deuteronomy 21:18-21 NKJ) "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will
not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they
have chastened him, will not heed them, 19 "then his father and his mother shall
take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his
city. 20 "And they shall say to the elders of his city,`This son of ours is
stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a
drunkard.' 21 "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with
stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear
and fear.
No son has the right to his father’s inheritance until the father is dead—but
this parable is a reference to God the Father—who gives us all that we have
while we are on this earth—even though we do not use it wisely—even though we
deserve death—he gives us more than we should ever deserve
The Apostles warn us that we shall not become fond of the sin of this world—Paul
tells us that we shall not conform to the ways of the world
(Romans 12:2 NKJ) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God.
James warns us
(James 4:4 NKJ) Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God.
John warns us
(1 John 2:15-17 NKJ) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the
world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is
not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the
lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
As the moth is attracted to a flame—and the flame kills it—so the sin of this
world attracts and kills
We note in the parable that the son attached himself to a citizen of that
foreign land—because the son was in that land but not of that land—just as we
are in this world but not of this world—our citizenship is in heaven
(Philippians 3:20-21 NKJ) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our
lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the
working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
The condition of the poor son—the lack of hope—the lost inheritance—realizing he
was a fool in the eyes of this world—all led the son to consider being the
lowest servant in his father’s house—and how well off he would be
All this considered—the son seeks to return to his father—this prodigal son
repented—and sought to return to his father if he would have him as a
servant—the son is a sinner confessing to his father—the son is relying
completely on the mercy of his father—the son deserves nothing—so it is with us
sinners and God our Father
(Luke 15:17-32 NKJ) "But when he came to himself, he said,`How many of my
father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger! 18 `I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I
have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 "and I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."' 20 "And he arose and
came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him
and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him….
21 "And the son said to him,`Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your
sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father said
to his servants,`Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on
his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 `And bring the fatted calf here and kill
it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 `for this my son was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. 25 "Now his older
son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music
and dancing. 26 "So he called one of the servants and asked what these things
meant. 27 "And he said to him,`Your brother has come, and because he has
received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' 28 "But he
was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with
him. 29 "So he answered and said to his father,`Lo, these many years I have been
serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you
never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 `But as
soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots,
you killed the fatted calf for him.' 31 "And he said to him,`Son, you are always
with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 `It was right that we should make
merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost
and is found.'"
The Father being full of love and grace forgives the long-lost son who
returns—the older brother represents the Pharisees and the scribes—and the many
church members today who are of this world—driven by the lusts power, social
standing, the pleasures of this world, of sin—and thinking that they sit amongst
those that are heaven-bound—therefore they must be Christians—they don’t need to
ask forgiveness of the Father—they consider themselves superior to God’s
people—plenty good enough to go to heaven
We are asked in God’s Word to seek repentance from the lost—the same message
that John the Baptist cried out at the River Jordan—“Repent and be baptized!”
(2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJ) Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God
were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to
God.
The father begs his son to come in and join the celebration of the return of his
brother from the lost—but the older son—like those Pharisees—remains blind to
the truth—self-righteous—and lost—showing arrogance and denial
The parable ends abruptly—as will life on this earth—the oldest son does not
answer—is he converted?—does he understand the message?—do we know anyone like
this man?—are we worthy ambassadors?—I leave these questions for your
consideration as you continue your journey through this thing called life—until
God the Father calls you home to His heavenly presence
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!