The Setting: Tax Collectors and Sinners Gather
All the tax collectors and people known for their sinful lives were coming to Jesus to hear him teach. The Pharisees and religious teachers saw this happening and started complaining to each other. "Look at this man," they said. "He welcomes these sinners and even sits down to eat meals with them." When Jesus heard their grumbling, he responded by telling them a story.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
"Imagine you're a shepherd with a hundred sheep, and you discover that one of them has wandered off and gotten lost. What would you do? You would leave the ninety-nine sheep safely in the pasture and go searching for the one that's missing. You wouldn't give up—you'd keep looking until you found it. And when you finally do find that lost sheep, you would be so happy that you'd lift it up onto your shoulders and carry it home. Then you'd call all your friends and neighbors together and say to them, 'Come celebrate with me! I found my sheep that was lost!' This is exactly how it is in heaven. There is more celebration and joy over one person who turns away from their wrongdoing and comes back to God than there is over ninety-nine good people who never needed to turn back in the first place."
The Parable of the Lost Coin
"Picture a woman who has ten valuable silver coins, and she loses one of them. What does she do? She lights a lamp to see better, sweeps through every corner of her house, and searches with great care until she finds that lost coin. When she finally discovers it, she gathers all her friends and neighbors together and says to them, 'Celebrate with me! I found my coin that was lost!' "I'm telling you the truth—this is exactly how it is in heaven. There is tremendous joy among God's angels whenever just one person who has been living in sin turns away from that life and comes back to God."
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
Then Jesus told this story: "A man had two sons. The younger son came to his father and said, 'Father, I want my inheritance now—give me my share of everything that will belong to me.' So the father divided his wealth between his two sons. Just a few days later, the younger son gathered up everything he owned and left for a faraway country. There he wasted all his money on wild and reckless living. When every last coin was gone, a terrible famine struck that land, and he found himself desperately poor and hungry. He went looking for work and found a job with a local man, who sent him out to his fields to feed pigs. The young man was so hungry that he wished he could eat the bean pods he was feeding to the pigs, but no one offered him even that much food. Finally, he came to his senses. He said to himself, 'Even my father's hired workers have more food than they can eat, and here I am dying of hunger! I'll go back home to my father and tell him: Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I don't deserve to be called your son anymore. Please, just let me work as one of your hired hands.' So he started the long journey home. While he was still far down the road, his father spotted him coming. The father's heart overflowed with love and pity. He ran to meet his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. The son began his prepared speech: 'Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I don't deserve to be called your son anymore.' But his father immediately called to his servants, 'Hurry! Bring out the finest robe we have and put it on him. Put our family ring on his finger and good sandals on his feet. Then go kill the prize calf we've been fattening. We're going to have a feast and celebrate! This son of mine was as good as dead, but now he's alive again! He was completely lost, but now he's found!' And the celebration began. The older son had been working out in the fields. As he walked back toward the house that evening, he heard music and dancing. He called over one of the servants and asked, 'What's all this commotion about?' The servant told him, 'Your brother has come home! Your father killed the prize calf because your brother returned safely.' This made the older son furious, and he refused to go into the house. His father came outside and begged him to join the celebration. But the older son said to his father, 'Listen! All these years I've worked for you like a slave. I've never once disobeyed your orders. But did you ever give me even a small goat so I could throw a party with my friends? Not once! But this son of yours comes crawling back after wasting your money on prostitutes, and you kill the prize calf for him!' The father replied, 'My son, you are always here with me, and everything I own belongs to you. But we had to celebrate and be joyful today, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life. He was lost, and now he is found.'"