Jesus often used earthly stories, called "parables," to teach spiritual concepts in a "down to earth" manner. There are slightly over thirty of these teachings recorded in scripture (the exact number depending on how you count). Which can be divided into three basic categories:

1. Illustration of Kingdom Principles (such as the Parable of the Sower)

2. Evangelism (such as the Prodigal Son)

3. Prophecy and Judgment (such as the Ten Virgins)

No book or lesson series will ever mine every valuable resource and truth from these stories. This series of lessons will try to point out the chief applications of these stories as well as point out lesser known principles along the way.

We do not have to guess as to why Jesus chose to teach in parables as He told the disciples plainly of His reasons.

Jesus did not began to use parables in His ministry until some of the Jewish leaders began to accuse Him of working miracles by the power of Satan. It was only at people's resistance to His message that Jesus began to tell stories. It is a principle in God's Word that only those who are sincere and truly hungry will "get" God's Word. We must "study to show ourselves approved unto God" (2 Timothy 2:15). He will only reveal truth to those who desire to see it and our study and hunger "approves" us or allows us to be blessed with revelation.

Verse 13 gives the two basic reasons of how Jesus knew that the majority of people had not been truly hungry for truth:

1. Because some of the people had "seen" the miracles but refused to open their eyes to what it meant. Jesus did miracles and wonders that fulfilled every prophecy of the Messiah, but there were many who saw the miracles but refused to see Jesus as the Messiah.

2. Because some of the people had "heard" the message, but did not allow it to affect their life. There is a difference between hearing and listening. They were "hearers of the Word" but not "doers of the Word, deceiving their own selves" (James 1:22). Some people think as long as they come to church and hear sermons and teaching that they are alright, but it's what you do with the Word that you hear that counts the most!

The word "hath" means "to cling to as something that is precious." God deals out blessings and revelations of His Word according to how a persons treats the revelations that they already have. We will only learn more about God's Word if we "cling to" and "treat as precious" what we already know. If the Word of God that you do have knowledge of is not very important in your life, then God will not bother to reveal any more to you. Keep in mind, then as we study these parables, that our understanding of the depths of the revelations found within them is dependent upon our attitude toward them! We must accept them as truth, we must decide to obey whatever they teach, and we must cling to them as if they are precious!

In this lesson, we will focus on three parables that Jesus taught together in the 15th chapter of Luke. All three focus on God's love for people, particularly those that are lost. The first two verses of the chapter let us know that Jesus was teaching in response to people grumbling that He focused on sinners.

These stories then are in response to the Pharisee's complaints about Jesus reaching out to everyone, regardless of spiritual position or societal class.

In this parable, Jesus likens the love of God as to a shepherd who loses one sheep of a hundred and leaves the "ninety and nine" to go seek after the one. When he finds the sheep, he carries it upon his shoulders and comes back home rejoicing. Once home, the shepherd notifies his friends and neighbors of the sheep that has been found and calls for them to rejoice with him.

The principal meaning of this story is not hard to find because most Christians are familiar with the analogy of the Lord being our "shepherd" and humanity being His "sheep" (see Psalms 23; Matthew 9:36; John 10:11-14; 1 Peter 2:25 for some of the many references in scripture). The sheep then represent the church, the shepherd is God, and the lost sheep represents someone who has wandered away from the "fold" of God's salvation.

The main idea of this parable, then, is to emphasize how much God loves each individual! We often forget how much Jesus loves us. We rightfully teach that He came and died so that the entire world could be saved, but we forget that if you or I had been the only lost soul on the planet, that Jesus still would have paid that horrible price of Calvary! Some shepherds would have had the attitude "well, it's just one sheep, and we'll have more lambs and it doesn't matter and isn't worth the convenience to go after just one stupid, misguided sheep." But Jesus does not have such an attitude! His attitude is that He would have pushed through the pain and suffering and given His very life for just one soul!

One of the slyest tricks of the devil is to get people thinking that they are not important in the kingdom of God. As human beings, we tend to judge our self worth in comparison to other people. To our limited way of thinking, people who are "important" are people who are famous, rich, talented, or in some way extraordinary. But God does not view us that way. The sheep that was lost was characteristically different from the other sheep because not all sheep are the same, but it's differences was not a criteria for the shepherd going after it. The shepherd didn't say "well, that sheep is stronger and has better wool than some of the others, so I guess I'll try to find it." God doesn't say "so and so is more talented or mild mannered or whatever than somebody else, so they are worth more to me." To God, every person is important no matter what their role or personality or position. You are important to God and to His kingdom!

The Bible is replete with proof of how important one person is to God. He modified His plan to destroy every breathing thing on the earth when He realized that Noah cared about Him and loved Him! God sent angels that had to basically drag Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the request of one man, Abraham. His love and respect for one man, Moses, kept Him from killing a very wicked Israel in the wilderness. And if there had been only one man that would have trusted God and been saved because of Calvary, Jesus would have still come and died!

Don't let Satan get you discouraged by trying to make you feel worthless because of your shortcomings and failures. Notice that the sheep had wandered on it's own accord and obviously hurt itself because the shepherd "laid it upon his shoulders." Yet the shepherd rejoiced when he found it and carried it back to the flock. Refuse to have a pity party! God knows that you are human and as such will make mistakes and bad decisions, but He loves you and if you will allow yourself to be found, He will carry you if needed to get you back to where you must go! Did you ever stop and think how the shepherd was able to find a lone, crippled sheep out in the wilderness? Obviously the sheep was crying out and the shepherd located it by the sound of the bleating. It is a trick from Satan to make us feel helpless and failures and unimportant so that we stop calling to God for help! But learn the lesson of the parable: if we will continue to call upon Him in such times, He will find us and will help us get back to the fold. If we refuse to call out to Him, however, we will die in the wilderness!

The other part of this parable is God's response to the human that is found. The shepherd rejoices when he find the lost sheep, just as God rejoices over one sinner that is lost:

This leads us to the other principle found in this parable. The "ninety and nine just persons" must realize, understand, and not be disturbed by the shepherd's care of the one lost. To the Pharisee's minds, Jesus was simply wasting His time to those who did not truly believe God's Word enough to live by it day after day. Sometimes in a church, the pastor may have to spend hours with one particular person who is struggling with something or enduring a hard time. The "ninety and nine" must understand and guard against jealousy and pity. Sometimes God may give a message to a preacher for a particular service trying to reach one person that is there. We may sit there and think "I know this already, or why is he preaching that again." If you have ever felt like that, then realize you are at that time the ninety and nine and God is going after the one. Instead of getting upset or allowing your mind to ignore the message, get behind the preacher with a burden for the one that God is trying to reach! Chances are when you first heard the message of truth, there were some there who already were familiar with it, but you had an opportunity to receive the Word because the ninety and nine responded.

Another "side-street" lesson of this parable is that God directly cares for and fights for those who are His own. He left the ninety and nine in a safe place and went after the hundreth. But what about the one hundreth and first sheep? What about the one who never got in the fold and never submitted itself to the shepherd's ownership and care? It is obvious from this parable that people who refuse to surrender their lives to Jesus are left having to face life on their own!

The second parable that Jesus taught here was that of a woman who loses a coin, looks diligently for it, and then rejoices when she finds it. The word in the Greek for "silver" here is literally "drachma" which was a specific, low-value, Grecian coin. The "drachma" was equivalent to about 15 cents in today's monetary system so by human's standards, the ten coins were not worth but about $1.50 together. It however was valuable to the woman for one of two reasons: 1.) It was all that the woman had and she was poor. 2.) It represented a marriage custom of Israeli women at the time which we will discuss in a moment.

That the principal meaning of the parable is that the coin represents a lost person is obvious from verse 10. But unlike the story of the sheep, this parable is told not from God's point of view, but from an earthly point of view because this time the one who seeks is portrayed as a woman. Because God is without fail throughout scripture referred to in the male gender, the woman must represent the church of God who is always represented by a female (ie... the bride of Christ; made "herself" ready). The coin represents a "backslider" who had once been apart of the church but has been lost "in the house." The Grecian "drachma" carried an imprint or "seal" of the king upon it's face just as a backslider who walks away from God does so after being stamped or "sealed" with the image of the King of Kings through receiving His Spirit:

Notice how these verses perfectly parallel the coin in the parable! The coin bears the image of the king and therefore has value and can be "redeemed" to purchase substantial goods. However all of this is null and void while the coin is lost and out of the woman's hands! It has no value and cannot be redeemed until it is found! So it is with a lost person who has received the Spirit of God and yet falls away from the church in the "dust and dirt" of sin. They cannot be redeemed until they are back in the hands of the church and that they have been retrieved from being "lost."

This parable then points out clearly what a church must do to reach backsliders. The first thing that the woman must do is "light a candle" and begin to shine it into the darkest areas. This represents the light of truth and revelation of our testimonies and witnessing. We can never reach the lost until we light "our candle" and begin to take it with us, shining it into the darkest areas of our world. Everybody is willing to shine at church around the Master's table, but that is not where the lost are. The lost are away from the table, perhaps buried in the dirt; perhaps in a way-ward corner! It is our responsibility to take the light of God's Word and love to them. We must make the effort so that the light can reveal where they are if they are to be found!

The next thing the woman did was to begin to sweep and clean the house. My wife and I both suffer from being "clutter" people. Our house is clean but very cluttered and it only takes the dining table a few days to become a mass of confusion. The other day I had a slip of paper with very important information on it, so I set it on the kitchen table and it took me days to find it! Even now, I am still looking for a book that I had set on the kitchen table a few weeks ago and it still is lost somewhere. I can testify that it is hard to find things amid the clutter.

To win the lost, the church must be willing to "clean house" and get rid of the clutter. The dirt or sin in our lives must be swept out through repentance and obedience. We also must be willing to push aside the things that clutter our lives and inhibit us from reaching the lost. Everything must be brushed aside in priority and focus must be placed upon winning someone to Jesus Christ! That is the only way that we will find our "lost coin."

The woman also "searched diligently." She was not going to stop until the coin had been found. The church must be diligent in reaching the lost. If we have some walk away, we cannot stop. If at first our efforts do not bring results, then we must continue. We cannot allow ourselves to become frustrated or disillusioned at the task of looking for our lost coin but must seek and search with the light and a broom until we reach them! The question is not if there are people who are hungry or not, but whether or not the church will diligently search until they are found. Not everyone wants this truth, but there are many who do. We must not stop until every hungry soul has been given an opportunity to receive truth, and until every backslider has been unearthed and been given a second opportunity to come back to be "redeemed."

Jesus went on to say in the last verse of this parable:

Notice carefully the wording of this verse. It states that there is "joy in the presence of the angels of God." In the original Greek it carries with it the idea that it is God who has the initial joy and then the angels mirror His expression. In plain English, the angels party because they see God partying!

Notice also that this rejoicing is when a sinner "repenteth." Have you ever wondered why it did not say "is baptized" or "receiveth the Holy Ghost?" Because this parable is about backsliders who have already taken on the image of God upon their lives through baptism and receiving the Spirit. For a backslider to get things right with God, they must truly and sincerely repent. Not just only say "I'm sorry, Lord" but to turn from their lifestyle of sins and return to serving Jesus Christ as before the time of their falling away.

There is another way of looking at this parable. It is possible that Jesus used a woman with ten silver coins in this story in reference to a marriage custom of the Jewish people that is still followed today. Most commentators miss this analogy because it is not a practice sanctioned or taught by scripture but nevertheless was a common custom of the Jews during the life of Christ. When a Jewish woman was married, a small part of the dowry (the price that was paid for her marriage) was converted into 10 drachmas or silver coins, and sown into a special piece of fabric that would be worn upon her outer dress. These ten coins were precious to the woman as they proved that she had "been paid for" and was a symbol of her relationship with her husband. The fabric with the coins was also often passed down as mementos or keepsakes for the children to remember their mother by. If the parable of Jesus was a reference to this custom, then it shows why the woman was so upset and diligently seeking a coin worth so little in monetary value. It meant more to her than just financial income!

If Jesus was alluding to such a custom in this parable, then the fabric of coins represents the relationship of the church and Jesus Christ. We must guard all aspects of our relationship with Jesus so that we do not lose any small part! Notice that all ten of the coins were important to keep and to have! With that principle in mind, note some of the "tens" in scripture that we must keep:

1. The Ten Commandments

2. The Ten Clauses of the Lord's Prayer

3. Tithing is the concept of paying a tenth to the Lord

4. Romans 8:38-39, expressed ten things that cannot separate us from the faith

The narrative of this familiar story is found in Luke 15:11-32. For the sake of space, we will only give a brief of recap. Jesus said that a father had two sons and that the younger went to him and asked for his inheritance early. The father not only complied but distributed both sons their inheritance at the exact time. After receiving his money, the youngest son decided to leave his father's house and went into a far country where he blew the money on partying and "living it up." After the money was gone, there was a great famine in the land and the younger son began to be hungry and the only job that he could find was working for a farmer feeding his pigs with slop. As the boy began to feed the pigs, he was so hungry that he thought about eating the slop himself and it was the hunger that caused him to "come to himself" and decided to return to his father's house. In his mind, he thought "even the servants of my daddy eat better than this, so I'll go home and ask for forgiveness and since I am not even worthy to be called a son, I'll volunteer to be a servant."

The scriptures say that things went much better than the younger son had planned. As he began to journey toward his father's house, to his surprise his father was watching diligently for him and saw him coming a long way from home. To the son's surprise, not only did his father forgive him, but called for the servants to bring shoes, the best robe, and even the signet ring which was like giving him the checkbook to the daddy's fortune! In the days before signatures and credit cards, wealthy men "sealed" their business transactions by placing an emblem into soft wax. The ring or stamp was either carried around the neck or on a finger and signified that the wearer had the full authority of the estate. What the father was saying was "I not only forgive you, but give you everything that I have!" In other words, "I trust you again!" Not only was the son restored, but the father killed a "fatted calf" and through a tremendous party because his beloved son had returned.

The principal meaning of this story has been preached many times. The father is God; the younger son is a wayward saint. The far country represents sin, and the entire narrative paints a beautiful picture of how far God will go to restore a "backslider." Because the story has been (and will be) preached so many times, I will only take time here to point out the highlights of the story:

1. We cannot survive on our own if we step out from under the authority of our Father, but -- like the younger son -- have the choice to either stay or leave Daddy's house.

2. Sin -- like the far country in the story -- seems more fun and less demanding than it actually is. The "wages of sin" are death and leaving the Father's house for a world of sin will always lead to loss of everything valuable in your life and extreme spiritual hunger. Not only that, but eventually your appetite will become so desperate that you will turn to the "slime" of this world to try to fulfill your inner man.

3. The backslider -- like the youngest son -- must make the first step toward getting back to the Father's house. When they do, they will find that God was waiting to welcome them back with loving arms, but they must decide first to leave the "far off country" of sin.

4. Like the father in the story, God will forgive a backslider and even restore them to a position in His kingdom with full authority. Thank God for His bountiful mercy!

5. This story very clearly illustrates an important aspect of the kingdom of God. It is possible to be a "son of God" and be lost, if you choose to leave the Father's house and return to a world of sin. You are never considered by God again to be a servant, but simply a wayward son. However, the son would not have been saved and would have perished in the "far off country" if he had not come to his senses and returned home! This principle is even more obvious from verse 32 where the father refers to his younger son as "dead" while he was in the "far country."

The other lesson to be learned from this parable is the importance of taking advantage of everything God has for us. When the older brother saw that the father was throwing a feast for the younger son by killing a fatted calf and inviting many people to a celebration, the scriptures say that he became jealous. His father answered his complaints with thus:

The eldest son could have had a celebration and a fatted calf killed for him at any time that he had wanted, but he had never asked! Understand that there was only one signet ring and so the father had basically given the younger son complete control of the family estate and businesses. The eldest assumed that it was his but had never actually asked for it so he lost it! What he took for granted, was given to another.

Sometimes people who have served God for a while become jealous when they see God bless newcomers abundantly in certain areas. Remember before you become jealous: God is no respector of persons and what He will do for others, He will do for you. Could it be that the reason that you have not received such blessings as they have is because you never asked, or because your spiritual belly was so full, that you did not hunger after those things as the newcomers did? We cannot get so content with our level of blessing that we get settle for less than what God has for us. Listen to what God is saying today: "all that I have is thine!" But you must ask. How many people are like the older brother Esau who lost his blessing because they simply take it for granted!?

There is one last, perhaps grander, way to interpret this story. In the New Testament the term "sons of God" always refers to the born-again church, the redeemed. In the Old Testament, however, the term "sons of Gods" always refers to the angels in heaven. It is then possible to look at this parable as a portrait of the events of the entire Bible. Humanity, the younger son, turned away from God and went into sin, wasting their inheritance of eternal life in the Garden of Eden. Just like the fatted calf was killed, so was Jesus our sacrificial lamb which brought us back into communion with the Father. But today, even though we are not worthy to no longer be called sons, God not only forgives us of our sins, but through the power of the blood of Jesus clothes in a "robe of righteousness" and restores us to not only being "sons of God" but has made us heirs to everything that we have! And the scriptures state that one day, we will "judge angels" (1 Corinthians 6:3)! The scriptures also say that the angels "desire to look into" our salvational experience (1 Peter 1:12)! Do you realize that humanity has experienced the love of God in a much greater way than the angelic hosts? When Lucifer rebelled and took a third of the angels with him, God did not make any effort to redeem them or provide them a way back to eternal life. But when man fell, God loved him enough to be born of woman and be crucified so that we could be saved! That's powerful, selfless love! And that is the reason that Satan hates the saints of the living God. He is an "older brother" standing jealous of what he let slip through his fingertips due to his carelessness of God's plan and commandments. God loves people more than anything! He loves you and I so much that He gave His very life for us!

At times we may stumble and mess up, but remember these three stories that were told by Jesus with one point in mind: to remind you that God loves you and cares for you and will never forsake you!