Today’s Bible Study Message in Luke 15 for watchmen is about one key theme according to the will of God for mankind: God wants relationship with His own. Heaven rejoices to see the will of God accomplished. The key words are: “Lost” and “found”, “dead” and alive”. It is also about what quantity or weight is considered significant to God: One-hundredth, One-tenth, or One-half? The answer is, every individual unit matters. There is no limit to God’s grace and mercy.
Who matters to God? Who are God’s treasures/possessions? All are invited, but the specific treasure will be those who respond to His calling for repentance and have a mark of God (reverent fear of the Lord) on them. (Read Malachi 3:16-18. Also read Revelation 9:4-5; Ezekiel 9:4-6; Revelation 14:1)
(The watchman’s notes are in brackets. )________________________
Luke 15 (NIV)
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
(God delights in those who listen to Jesus. They are the ones who respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The spiritually discerned can receive the things of the Spirit of God. 1 Cor.2:9-16. The Holy Spirit transmits God’s messages, but the natural man does not receive. The Pharisees and scribes are obsessed with their physical realm and refuse to believe in the spiritual supernatural realm of God as demonstrated by Jesus, the Son of God.)
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
(Sheep is a valuable asset to a shepherd. It is like his family as he lives with his flocks for long period of time moving according to the availability of pasture and water. Although in this case the loss is only one percent, the shepherd values his relationship with each sheep. Note how different the way God looks at value, putting high worth on persons whom religious leaders consider of low worth. There is a key to appreciating a person’s worth in God’s accounting system, “repentance”. The moment the sinner repents a relationship with God is initiated in the heavenly realm! Hallelujah! )
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
(Each coin is worth a day’s wages. Compared to the lost sheep the value of each unit alone is much less. But in this case the woman lost one-tenth of her collection of coins, and it meant a lot to her. It was night time when she discovered her loss. What was she doing prior to that? She took out her coin collection and looked at them. The missing part was not overlooked. The worth of the loss is determined by the owner himself/herself. It depends on who the owner is. When we are owned by God, each unit/part becomes just as valuable as the whole. This is the law in heaven. Even angels know this.)
The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
(In terms of physical importance, one out of two or one-half of the whole is quite important. But the key to being valuable here is again, “relationship”. The father described the lost son as: “this son of mine” and “this brother of yours”. He described a relationship on which he has placed great worth and he has reminded his elder son to focus on the unchangeable relationship and not on physical aspects that can change. God is our Father in heaven. He places great worth on relationship with His own. This is what Jesus wants us to know.)
Summary: No matter who you are in the eyes of men, what you have gone through, and how badly you have fallen, the only thing that matters is to get into a relationship with God. Repentance is the first step of faith in action. However, there is a time limit for this. Read Luke 17:34-36 on how 50% of each pair can be eternally lost in the days of the Son of Man.
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