By: Obed Pineda
The Shepherd who searches for his lost sheep and upon finding it, places it upon his shoulders to bring it back to the fold. The woman who lit a lamp to sweep and diligently search her entire house until she finally found her lost coin, and the father who waited and watched for his lost son to return home one day, and when he saw him arrive after some time away, he immediately ran to him to welcome him back to his proper place (cf. Luke 15). What this series of parables share with one another is that they confirm what the prophets of old all proclaimed about the Father: God does not want the death of any impenitent sinner (cf. Ezekiel 33:11). On the contrary, God zealously “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1st Timothy 2:4). The longsuffering described by His Son in this series of parables, too, reveals the profound love He has toward His beloved creation; it discovers that He is not ambiguous when it concerns man’s redemption. The occasion that opened the door for these pearls of wisdom to be shared by the Master was the murmuring that proceeded forth from the self-righteous lips of the Pharisees (cf. Luke 15:1-3). This misguided group of Jewish teachers allowed their anger and disdain for tax collectors and sinners blind them from the marvelous scene that was taking place before their very eyes. Holy Writ tells that “all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him” (Luke 15:2). Luke, through inspiration, makes it a point to establish the purpose for this frowned upon group of people’s approach; they wanted to hear the great Master teach. They were attracted by His doctrine and were emboldened to approach Him, confident that He was different from the other religious teachers of their time. Different, because He would not turn them away nor would He deny them the right to sit at His feet and learn from Him (cf. Luke 7:22-23). Indeed, Jesus of Nazareth exhibited His Father’s yearning for man’s soul to be saved from eternal damnation. He demonstrated that this compassionate longing was being extended from heaven to all, regardless of gender, social class, or level of moral corruption. The Savior was reproving the Pharisees’ callused heart toward their fellow man, by contrasting it with God’s tender mercy available to all; including them. This was the same lesson that the apostle Peter was taught as thrice he was cautioned, “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 10:15-16). God not only wants for all people to be saved, but He also wants for His own people to care for the lost as He does. Observe that the first thing that the inspired pericope manifests in all three parables is that the shepherd, the woman, and the father were all fully aware that something of great value for them, had been lost. In the parable of the lost sheep, Christ teaches us about the level of attention the Father pays to His flock (cf. Luke 15:3-7). Furthermore, the parable describes God’s unwillingness to settle for losing one sheep because He still had ninety-nine other sheep left. This displays God’s mighty determination of leaving no one behind. The parable of the lost coin exhibits the worth God places on the souls of men (cf. Luke 15:8-10). Although it is easy to conclude that the woman’s eagerness in finding her lost coin is because of the monetary value the coin possessed, history provides another possible reason for her diligent search. In ancient Palestine it was customary for a married woman to wear a head-dress made of ten silver coins, tied together with a silver chain. This meaningful head piece announced to their society that she was spoken for; it declared her to be a married woman, much like a wedding ring does so today. Nonetheless, it was a sign of shame and dishonor for a husband to remove a coin from his wife’s head-dress, for it voiced his displeasure with her. This action would undeniably grieve the wife as it was a form of publicizing that she was being putting away by her husband. For this reason, it is evident that for a married woman to discover that a coin is missing from this important garment, when her husband was not the one to remove it, was a cause for great concern. The Redeemer, here, unveils God’s great grief when a soul is lost, for it is written, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). The apostle Paul also advises, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 5:30). The diligence with which the woman searched for her lost coin exemplifies the powerful urge God has to reunite with His beloved, and the great pain He suffers from being separated from her (cf. Genesis 6:5-6, Matthew 23:37-39). The third, and final, parable of the lost son demonstrates God’s steadfast compassion, forbearance, and longsuffering for mankind. The parable sketches a magnificent portrait of the Almighty’s magnanimity and mercy. The prophet Isaiah captures perfectly God’s hope in His creation when he wrote Jehovah God’s lament, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts” (Isaiah 65:2, cf. Romans 10:21). Isaiah’s words are verified by the father’s actions mentioned in our Savior’s parable. Even though his younger son dishonored him by disrespectfully demanding for his share of the inheritance, the father graciously stepped out of his rebellious son’s way, gave him what he asked for, and allowed him to leave his home. Yet, one thing the father never did was close the door on the possibility of his young, foolish son returning. Here, Christ exudes the Father’s hope for humanity, anchored by His compassion and love for us all. One can infer from the parable that a great amount of time had passed before his son returned home, but regardless of how much time transpired, he waited for his lost son to be found. It is unquestionable that God’s yearning for our redemption is excellently portrayed in all three of these parables, combined as one. Moreover the Lord is exhorting His brethren to “be imitators of God as dear children” as it relates to rescuing lost souls from the pits of hell (Ephesians 5:1). It is truly extraordinary to learn from God Himself the power of His love as exhibited in these parables. Jesus was revealing to that civilization something that was unheard of among their own Jewish scholars. He revealed that God personally sought and searched for men because “God so loved the world” (John 3:16a).