Sunday sermon: The Lost Sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son

Luke 15: The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son

Beginning in verse 1, these are the words of the living God. Now, the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.

So he told them this parable, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

And he said, there was a man who had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me this share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had took, and he took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger.

I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servant, Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.

For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And when they began to celebrate, now his older son was in the field. And as he came and he drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

And he called one of the servants and he asked, What do these things mean? And he said to him, Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.

But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him. But he answered his father, Look, these many years I have served you. I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.

But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive.

He was lost and he is found. You may be seated. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Our Father, as I come before your throne once again, I come just to say thank you for being so good, for being so gracious, for being so kind, for being so merciful, for being so loving, for being so steadfast, for being so sure, as we sung in that song truly, Lord, great is your faithfulness.

Lord, as we sit to preach and proclaim the Word of God this morning, I would ask as I have begged you this week, Lord, please give us unction. Dear Lord, give us clarity of thought. Give us liberty with our mouth, that we might speak forth your precious and your holy Word in a way that it would be understood, in a way, God, that it would be received, in a way, God, that it would be rightly applied to our hearts, to our minds, and to our lives in this day in which we live.

Show us Christ from the text, please, Lord, for it's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Keeping in mind today as we begin that though we have chapter and verse breaks in our Bible, the chapter and verse breaks aren't inspired, it doesn't mean that chapter 15 begins with a whole different train of thought than what we left off in chapter 15, that as a whole this is still a continuation of what Jesus has said and done in His journey to Jerusalem.

Now, with that being in mind, we just left off in chapter 15, right? He had gone to the Pharisees' house, He had communicated the parable of the wedding feast, the parable of the great banquet to the Pharisees and to those who were at the table with Him.

Jesus healed the individual, the man on the Sabbath day, right? He healed him. And so after this is winding down to the end of chapter 14, Christ reminds them that if salt loses its savor, it's no good, it's not fit for anything, meaning there's no recovering salt that has gone bad.

And then, so Christ has had His attention, had His gaze, had His voice aimed right toward the Pharisees and here in chapter 15, beginning in verse 1, we see this turning, from Christ turning to speaking to the Pharisees necessarily to speaking to the tax collectors and to the sinners who had come to hear His words.

Now, I want to quote Spurgeon right off the bat here concerning the gospel and communicating and continuing to communicate the idea that Jesus Christ is the banquet to which men are called. He is the one to whom we are to feast upon.

Spurgeon said this,. The Pharisees and the scribes formed the outside ring of Christ's ears, but the inner circle consisted of the guilty, the heavy laden, and the lowly. They pressed as near to Christ as they could that they might catch His every word, and besides, there was an attractiveness about His manner that drew them towards Him.

His mercy attracted their misery. They wanted Him and desired Him, and He desired them. They were thus well met. Spurgeon said this, and I want to communicate this, There will be an inner circle today when the gospel is preached, and it will not consist of the self-righteous.

They that are full will not press to the table on which the gospel feast is spread. The hungry will be found nearest to the heavenly provision. So my very first question to you today is this, Are you hungry?

Are you thirsty for the righteousness of God? For if you are born again by the Spirit of God, you have that hunger and that thirst that has been given to you by the Holy Spirit. And Jesus Himself said this, Blessed are they who hunger and who thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Come to the table today. So we read here in verse 1 and 2, The tax collectors and the sinners were all drawing near to hear Him, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.

So let's begin to lay out a few things. If you're taking notes and want a header for your notes, I've just entitled the header on my notes, The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Prodigal Son. But in parentheses, The main focus today is not on the lost sheep, the lost coin, or the prodigal son.

Our main focus, our main emphasis this morning is on the seeking Savior. For Jesus Christ is the seeking Savior. For Jesus Himself said, The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.

And in this text, in this chapter, we see lost sheep, lost coin, and the prodigal son. So let's define some terms here. Who is it, first and foremost, who is it that is lost? Who is it that is lost? In specific context, Jesus is referring to Israel.

He's addressing the children of Israel. He's addressing the Jews, the scribes, and the Pharisees of His day. That's the specific context. The general context, the broad context, points out the lostness of all mankind outside of the saving grace of God.

These two exist together, simultaneously here. So, in each of these parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son is a reference to Israel in specific. It's a reference to Israel in specific, and by way of general application, it applies to all of humanity.

So, it logically follows that the Lord gives the examples of seeking the wayward sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. I want to make sure and stress here, though, I would like for you to put stars beside this statement.

It is very important that we remember that the term lost, in this instance, as it's used in the text, does not mean that they are unredeemable. This term lost does not mean that they are unredeemable, for truly we see, as we read the text, the lost sheep was redeemed, the lost coin was redeemed, and the prodigal son was redeemed.

So, this term lost does not mean unredeemable here. The Greek word used for lost is defined in several different ways. It's the word apolimoi. It's that Greek word that's used for lost, is used in several different ways.

It's used 90 times in the New Testament alone. One usage of the word, one example of the usage of that word lost, it means to be, I'm sorry, one usage of the word lost means to be destroyed. It means to be destroyed.

You're all right, buddy. He was coming to the table, as we should come, right? One usage of the word lost does mean to, literally, does mean to be physically destroyed. For example, in Matthew chapter 10, in verse 28, Jesus said, do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. That term destroy is the word used for lost. It literally means to destroy. But in our text today, in context, the word lost simply means to be out of place.

For the sheep was out of place, the coin was out of place, and the prodigal son was out of place. And here, the term does not mean that the sheep, the coin, or the prodigal son were utterly destroyed, but simply that they were out of place.

But thank God that he is the redeemer of lost sheep. Jesus is the redeemer of lost coin. Jesus is the redeemer of the prodigal son. In Isaiah chapter 59, in verse 20, this is the word of the living God.

In Isaiah's prophecy concerning the Messiah to come, he said a redeemer will come to Zion. To those in Jacob who turn from their transgression declares the Lord. That is speaking about Jesus Christ. We are not able to go where Jesus is, but he came to where we are today.

So mankind, mankind is lost. We are lost in our sin. We are unable to recover ourselves from our fallen state. But I have good news to bring today. There is a seeking Savior. You're not able to find yourself.

You're not able to help yourself. You're not able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, spiritually speaking. It takes the work of the Holy Spirit of God regenerating your heart and making you a new creature.

But there is a seeking Savior. His name is Jesus Christ. He has shed his blood for our sins. For he died on the cross, was buried, and on the third day arose from the grave never to die again. There is a seeking Savior.

This is the prevailing thought through this entire chapter here that there is a seeking Savior. There were sinners. Verse 1 and 2, there were sinners, both men and women, who were gathering in to hear what Jesus would say.

Likewise, the scribes and the Pharisees were there also. Likely, it may well have been some time past after he left the Pharisees' house. This could have been right as he left the Pharisees' house. We don't know, but we do know what we have in the text.

The scribes and the Pharisees were there also, and they were ready to give the sacrifice of griping and complaining. It was their spiritual gift. Maybe you know someone that has that spiritual gift. Maybe you need to remind that someone that that is not a spiritual gift.

That is an unspiritual gift. The gifts of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, temperance, amongst which there, against such there is no law. So what were the Pharisees' complaint?

Why, simply this. This man eats with sinners. This man receives tax collectors and sinners. Listen to this. This is what John Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers preached. He preached and proclaimed this.

The tax gatherer is the personification of licensed violence, of legal sin, and of specious greed. They were loathed in every way the tax collectors were. They were loathed in every way. Synagogues would not accept their alms.

Synagogues would not accept their offerings. The Pharisees, if they knew money was coming from a tax collector, they would refuse it. This is how self-righteous the Pharisees were. This is their view of the tax collectors.

Their testimony was not even received in Jewish courts, and they were held to be worse than the heathen. Tax collectors and sinners. We see these terms used synonymously throughout the Scriptures themselves.

But Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Now these Pharisees were under the delusion that they themselves were better than these tax collectors and sinners.

And they assumed this solely based upon the fact, get this, they assumed this solely based upon the fact that they knew the law of God better than these tax collectors and sinners. Now, let me say this.

Please don't get this twisted. Don't get this confused. Don't get mixed up about this. Being ignorant of God's law doesn't make you innocent concerning sin and its consequence. Being ignorant of God's law doesn't make you innocent of sin and its consequence.

So let's look at what the Bible teaches us concerning that statement that I just made there. If you turn over to Romans chapter 2, beginning in verse 2, in writing to the Roman church makes this statement, We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things, and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of God because of His kindness and the forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

But because of your hard and your impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. For He will render to each one according to His works.

To those who by patience and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

For God shows no partiality. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. That's restating what I told you a moment ago. And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law.

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when according to my gospel, Paul states, God judges the secrets of the hearts of men by Christ Jesus.

So being ignorant of God's law doesn't make you innocent concerning sin and its consequence. The tax collectors and the sinners, as referred to, were not innocent before God. They had broken God's law even though they didn't have God's law as the people of Israel had.

Next, let's consider the fact that these scribes and Pharisees were learned in the law, were trained up in the law of God and they were, in fact, responsible for what they did know. So sinful men are responsible to God whether they know the law of God or not.

But my friend, when you are aware of the law of God... How can I put this in modern vernacular? It's a special kind of stupid when you know God's law and you go beyond God's law. We see it in the day and the time in which we live.

This very month has been named Pride Month. The scripture says God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble. A broken and a contrite spirit will God revive but the haughty He will cast. These Pharisees knew the law of God and the scripture says in the book of James to him that knows to do good and does it not, to him it is sin.

So man's responsibility for our sin is never negated. It's never done away with. And because of the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden the sentence of death is pronounced upon all. We sin because we are by nature sinners.

It's what we do. It's what we're good at. Amen? You can say amen to your own condemnation right there or you can sit quiet like you're holier than thou but we all know the truth. Sin is what we do, it's what we're good at but thanks be unto God.

Listen to what the scripture says that while we were yet sinners Christ died. That's good news. And it's interesting to note here that sinners long to hear Jesus' words. They long to hear Jesus' words while the Pharisees did not want to do nothing but grumble and complain.

Oh how are you coming to the table today? Are you coming with open ears? Are you coming with longing eyes? Having heard the word from God's table today. I like what John Gill said in his commentary on verse 1 and 2 concerning their idea, the Pharisees' idea of who Jesus was and the reality of who the sinner is.

John Gill said this by way of diminution and reproach this fellow, as it is sometimes supplied the word man as they referred to Jesus the word man may be very rightly inserted for the Pharisees took him to be a mere man though it is certain he was more than a man even the true and mighty God and therefore he was able to save those sinners that came to him and a great condescension and grace did he show in receiving them who were sinners not only by nature but by practice and not merely guilty of common infirmities but were notorious sinners they were covetous they were extortioners they were oppressors of the poor they were very debauched persons and such as these Christ is said to receive hence no man should be discouraged from coming to Christ on account of sin all that do come to him should come to him as sinners for he receives them as such.

Nor does he receive any for the any worthiness within them or within ourselves. Nothing in my hands I bring simply to thy cross I cling. And so in this first parable we see that the very least of Christ's sheep will be saved.

Jesus said in John's gospel. If you want to go ahead and be turning over to John John chapter 10 we're going to look there but I'm going to quote a verse from John 6. I'll give you the reference there.

In this first parable we see the very least of Christ's sheep being saved. In John's gospel Jesus said those that were given to him of the Father that he would lose none of them. And again in John chapter 6 verse 37 we read where Jesus said all that the Father gives to me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

And then in John chapter 10 beginning in verse 1 listen to the words of our seeking Savior. Truly, truly I say to you he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way that man is a thief and a robber.

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him. The gatekeeper opens the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. When he has brought out all his own he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.

A stranger they will not follow but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used with them but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So Jesus again said to them truly, truly I say to you I am the door of the sheep. That's the term that's used there. All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and that they might have it abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and he leaves the sheep and he flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me. And I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. For this reason the father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

No one takes it from me but I lay it down of my own accord and I have authority to take it up again. This charge have I received from my father. So concerning this parable of the lost sheep Jesus in John's gospel reminds the people that he is the good shepherd.

He cares for even that one as the old song says. One little lost lamb. And here I am. We go on in the next parable the parable of the ten coins that were lost right? In the next parable the woman has ten coins and loses one.

There's a hundred sheep. One is lost. There's ten coins and one is lost. And the scripture says let's read that scripture because it's very important what it says there. Back over to Luke 15. What woman having ten silver coins if she lose one coin does not light a camp.

Light a lamp. Sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it. And when she finds it she calls together her friends and neighbors and says rejoice with me. This woman had lost the coin. And what do we read here.

What did the woman do actually in the text. What do we see here. In the words of Christ the woman lit a lamp. She lit a lamp. Light is absolutely necessary and vital in the recovery and in the finding of that which is lost that which is in the dark.

Otherwise you walk around as the scripture puts it groping for the wall in darkness. But when the light is spread forth. I love how Matthew Henry put this. Matthew Henry said. This represents the various means and methods that God makes use of to bring lost souls to himself.

He has lighted the candle of the gospel. He has lighted the candle of the gospel not to show himself the way to us but to show us the way to him to discover to us to ourselves. For it is when the light of the gospel is proclaimed that we see the holiness and the glory and the majesty of God.

And it is when the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is spread abroad in our hearts that we see the true sinful wickedness of our own hearts and of our own minds. Oh he has swept the house as Jesus puts here the woman did.

He has swept the house by the conviction of the word. You want to know something that will set our hearts in order. It is the word of God. How we are to order our lives is laid out for us in the scriptures.

And Henry went on to say this. He diligently he seeks diligently his heart is upon it to bring lost souls to himself. Back over to John chapter 8. Very quickly. John chapter 8 concerning Jesus being the light.

For we see in the first parable the great shepherd. In the second parable we see that Jesus is the light. In John chapter 8 beginning in verse 12 again Jesus spoke to them saying ego e me I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. So the Pharisees said to him you are bearing witness about yourself and your testimony is not true. Jesus answered and said even if I do bear witness about myself my testimony is true for I know where I came from and where I'm going.

But you do not know where I come from or where I'm going. What a rebuke that was. It's almost as if Christ said you wouldn't know what heaven was if it came up and punched you in the nose. Verse 15 you judge according to the flesh.

I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge my judgment is true. For it is not I alone who judge but I and the Father who sent me. And Christ brings to bear the weight of the law. Here in your law it is written that the testimony of two people is true.

I am the one who bears witness about myself and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. They said to him therefore where is your Father. Jesus answered you know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father.

Also these words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple. But no one arrested him because his time had not yet come. So he said to them again I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin.

Where I am going you cannot come. So the Jew said will he kill himself. Since he says where I am going you cannot come. And he said to them you are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins. So they said to him who are you. And I am just amazed when you read through the text and you really consider what you are reading.

I mean he is telling. He just keeps telling the same thing over and over and over. And so what is it when the world constantly comes. Why is it such a challenge for us when the world constantly comes back with the same exact questions that they ask year after year day after day month after month.

And we feel as though we have to come up with something new to give to them. We have nothing new or different to tell them. It is the same truth. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of this world.

He goes on in John chapter 8 he goes on and he says this. They said verse 25 who are you. Jesus said to them just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge.

But he who sent me is true and I declare to the world what I have heard from him. They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them when you have lifted up the Son of Man then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father has taught me.

And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone. For I always do the things that are pleasing to him. And as he was saying these things hallelujah many believed in him. Jesus said if I be lifted up.

Oh my friends what do we do with lights. A light isn't going to do you any good on the ground. A light is to be lifted up. And Jesus the light of the world was lifted up between the heavens. We have that old song.

There's a light house on the hillside that overlooks life. See when I'm tossed it sends out a light that I might see. And the light that shines in darkness now will lead us safely lead us over. If it wasn't for the lighthouse my ship would be no more.

It seems that everyone about us says just tear that old lighthouse down the big ships just don't pass this way anymore. So there's no use in it standing around friend that's the that's the perception that's the view.

That's the idea that sadly even professing Christians have today that they don't need the church. But my friend as the church we are the light that is set on the hill that old song says. Then my mind goes back to that stormy night when just in time I saw the light.

Yes it was the light from that old lighthouse that stands upon the hill. And the writer put it this way. I thank God for the lighthouse to him. Jesus is the lighthouse seeing. He has shown a light around me that I might clearly see if it wasn't for the lighthouse tell me where would this ship be.

Oh I'm thankful for men of God that have stood throughout the years and proclaim thus saith the Lord. And they proclaim the gospel straight. They proclaim the gospel true. They proclaim hell hot and heaven sweet.

They proclaim God is holy and man is sinful. And my friend it is the light of the glorious gospel that the only way this world will be changed is by it and through him and him alone. And lastly back over in Luke.

Lastly we have the account of the prodigal son. Very to be quite honest I'm going to say very little about this. But as we consider the prodigal son as we come to this last parable here that Jesus is speaking to them there that we see that there is value in animals there is value in the sheep.

Right. There is value in the coins. But the worth of the human soul is invaluable. It is invaluable. And that word invaluable is defined like this to be valuable beyond estimation to be priceless as a matter of fact.

Jesus put it this way. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his own soul. So this last account of the son who left the father's house to do nothing but to go out into the world and to waste his life.

Well that's what he is doing. And today that's what men and women are doing outside of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are wasting destroyed. And the preaching of the cross of foolishness it is a waste of time it is silliness it is a myth.

There is no need in that. But the scripture says Paul states unequivocally that the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are being saved it is the power of God unto salvation.

So this man was going out this boy was wasting his life to throw and basically throwing away what his father had given to him. And my friend whether it be Israel and the Jewish people or whether it be the Gentile people humanity at large we must constantly be reminded that our life and our breath itself is a common grace and goodness of God.

And we ought not to throw it away. He found himself in the worst shape possible feeding with the pigs. The ESV used the term pods that the pigs ate. The KJV uses the term describes it probably more plainly.

The husks that the swine did eat. So the husks of the corn the pods in which the corn resided. Where if you ever shucked corn you know the challenge of getting the rest of the silk off of it. So you can throw it in a pot and boil it and get you a stick of butter and eat you about 12 cobs of corn.