Interest in one subject / Luke 15:1-10
interest in one thing
Bible Text: Luke 15:1-10
Publicans and sinners were different from the Pharisees and scribes. They did not come to Jesus to ask for a sign. I didn't mean to find grounds for accusing him. They came close to Jesus to hear the word. Not only were there tax collectors and sinners, but there were also Pharisees and scribes. They blamed Jesus for saying that a rabbi welcomed sinners and ate with them. This was the trigger, and the Lord gave the parable of chapter 15.
Three parables are recorded here. The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost drachma, and the parable of the lost son. Today we will learn from the first and second parables.
First, God values the individual.
In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd shepherd 100 sheep and, if even one does not appear, leaves the 99 safely and searches for the one lost sheep. If you can't find it nearby, you don't give up trying until you find it by expanding your range here and there. There are so many, not one shepherd thinks it is okay to lose one.
The parable of the drachma also vividly illustrates the passion of the seeker. The drachma was the Greek silver coin equivalent to the Roman denarius. The ten silver coins that this woman had were given to her by her husband at the time of marriage and were tied to her headband as a token of marriage. Losing any of these could crack your marriage. In today's terms, it's like a wedding ring. How bewildered this woman must have been to have lost such a thing, and how hard must she have tried to find it?
In this parable, the shepherd or woman represents God, and the sheep or coin represents people. Just as a shepherd cherishes even a sheep, and a married woman cherishes each silver coin, God values each and every one of us and cares deeply for each and every one of us.
Some people say that they are insignificant, just one innumerable grain of sand on the beach, but you are precious to God.
The truth that God cares for each individual makes us believe that God cares about the little things. It should not be neglected just because it is small.
Second, God cares about sinners.
God values each individual, and God's love and interest are not limited to the righteous. Including criminals.
The Pharisees and scribes kept away from tax collectors and sinners so that they would not be polluted. But instead of staying away from them, Jesus welcomed them and even ate with them. The words Jesus answered when they slandered for the same thing earlier are recorded in 5:31-32.
"Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
In this way, Jesus was interested in sinners, and he showed that interest in the action of seeking and receiving them in the flesh. And in the end, he even died for sinners.
This does not mean that He takes their sins lightly. He healed a 38-year-old man lying by the pool of Bethesda and told him, "Sin no more so that nothing worse happens" (John 5:14). do not transgress” (John 8:11).
In imitation of Jesus, we too must turn away from sinners and not be far from them. Even if you hate sin, you shouldn't hate people.
The truth that God cares about sinners with moral deficiencies leads to the belief that He cares for the disabled with physical defects and also for fools with intellectual deficiencies.
There was a rich man in a certain village, but he had no children. So, he went to a poor neighbor's house and said that if he adopted a son, he would graduate from college and inherit all his fortune. At these words, the poor family members remembered their seven sons and began to discuss whom to send. The eldest son can't be because he's the eldest, the second can't be because he's happy, the third can't be because he's smart and talented, the fourth can't be because he's weak, the fifth can't be like his grandfather, the sixth can't be like him It was concluded that friendship and filial piety could not be done, and that the seventh son could not be because he was the youngest. So they went to the rich man and begged him that he couldn't because he had no son to give him.
It is difficult to give one of these many children, but God's love for giving his only begotten Son is truly precious.
Third, God delights in recovering what has been lost.
The Bible declares this:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6)
This verse points out that everyone is like a lost sheep who has gone astray, is living his own way, and has left the shepherd. All people are sinners who have turned away from God.
But here is the good news. It is the fact that God is interested in each sinner and is still working hard to recover them.
“Jesus said to them, My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17).
The good news is that Jesus, who came in a human body, welcomes sinners and eats food with them.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
The shepherd who recovered the lost sheep was so happy that he could not just stay. The same was true of the woman who had recovered one drachma. They invited friends and neighbors to share the joy. This makes us realize how pleased God is for sinners to repent and return to Him.
When a sinner repents and returns to God, God is not the only one who is pleased. It is a joy for everyone. It is a joy to the angels in heaven who are serving God. It brings joy to the family. And, above all, it will bring joy to the sinner himself.
If Jesus enjoyed the joy of finding lost sinners by obeying God's will, then we will also be able to enjoy the joy He enjoys when we follow Christ's will to find lost sinners and turn them around.
"...as the Father has sent me, so am I sending you" (John 20:21).
The sheep was lost because of his own folly, but the coin was lost because of the woman's carelessness. It should be remembered that in our homes we may be careless and forsake the souls of parents, spouses or children. God will be pleased to bring us back these souls.
Among the things we lose through our indifference is time. Unplanned time is not spent, it is lost. God will surely be pleased to reclaim the time we lose.