Wednesday
Wednesday
The Three Lost and Found Parables, Part 1—Gospel
“This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:24
Luke 15 must surely be among the best-known, best-loved chapters of the Bible, because it consists of the three lost-and-found parables—the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son. They have been variously interpreted, however, and I must leave my readers to judge whether my emphasis on two truths is legitimate or not. We are to reflect on the gospel today and on mission tomorrow.
The parable of the lost son gives us a vivid account of human lostness. Here is everybody’s autobiography. The son made a deliberate bid for independence. Demanding his inheritance was tantamount to wishing his father were dead. Then in the far country his self-will degenerated into self-indulgence. His lifestyle became extravagant and immoral. And when famine struck, he sank low enough to feed pigs (disgusting to Jews). No one lifted a finger to help him. He was bankrupt, hungry, and alone.
Meanwhile, his father’s love for him never faltered. He missed him and longed for his return. This is grace, namely unmerited and unsolicited love. Moreover, God’s love suffers for us. Some liberal critics argue that in the parable the father took no risk and felt no pain. Muslims too point at the parable and insist that the young man was saved without a Savior, for the parable teaches forgiveness without atonement. But Dr. Kenneth Bailey, an expert in Middle-Eastern culture, explains in The Cross and the Prodigal the significance of the parable. The whole village would have known that the son was in disgrace, deserving to be punished. But, instead of inflicting suffering on his son, the father bears it himself. A man of his age and position would always walk in slow, dignified steps and would never run anywhere. Yet here he is racing down the road, risking the ridicule of the whole village, and taking on himself the shame and humiliation due to his returning son. The father’s coming down and going out hint at the incarnation. The humiliating spectacle in the village street hints at the meaning of the cross.
For further reading: Luke 15:11–24