Luke 15:1-10
What prompted Jesus to tell these two parables?
• Was it because Jesus was associating with ‘sinners’ and He saw this as an opportunity to reach out to them?
• Or was it purely in response to the mutterings of the Pharisees?
What was His main message within these two parables?
• Rejoice when you find something that is lost?
What do these verses say to us in terms of our own faith life?
Luke 15:11-31
Why did Jesus continue with this third parable after the first two?
• Was it for the benefit of the Pharisees?
• Or was it for someone ‘closer to home’?
How exactly was the younger son lost?
And what about the attitude of the older son?
• Was it understandable and fair?
• Or was it harsh and unkind?
• Did he respond in love or was he envious or jealous of his brother?
Which of the two sons was really lost?
How we would have behaved in the position of both these sons?
Which son would we say we were most like?
And how does all of this relate to those mentioned in the opening two verses?
Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel is often described as one of, if not, the most joyous chapter in the whole of the Bible. These ‘Lost and Found’ parables in chapter fifteen say everything about the love of God. They highlight that when people are separated from God they are spiritually dead – yet still God’s loves and cares for them, and still He wants nothing more than to ‘find’ them and bring them to Him once again. The story of the Lost Son in particular tells of all the things that can separate us from God, greed, the desire for the worldly things in life, pride, stubbornness and envy, to name but a few. Yet even still, God’s love for us is such that He will willingly welcome us back with open arms, if we would but come before Him in repentance.