Scripture Snapshots:
3 LOST THINGS
Series 2 Lesson 9
Have you ever lost anything that was precious or important to you? Maybe it was a pet, or perhaps a baseball, or a special necklace. You may have looked and looked for it and did not give up until you found it. How did you feel when you found it? No doubt you were excited, happy, and relieved.
In this lesson, we’ll talk about three lost things. Jesus told these stories, called parables, to a group of very religious men known as Pharisees. A parable is sometimes called “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” The Pharisees thought they could earn their way to Heaven by their good works. They looked down on others and complained among themselves about Jesus because He spent time with sinners. The Pharisees looked good on the outside, but Jesus could see their sinful hearts. While it was clear that the drunkards and others were lost and needed to be saved, the Pharisees were just as lost but didn’t know it. Jesus told these stories to them to correct their wrong thinking.
LOST SHEEP His first story (or parable) was about a shepherd who had 100 sheep. The shepherd took good care of his sheep and knew them all by name. Each morning, he would lead them to green, lush pastures and to quiet streams of clean, cool water. At night, he guided them back to the fold, a walled-in area with only one opening. Here, the sheep could sleep safely during the night with the shepherd close by, guarding the opening from wolves and thieves.
One night, the shepherd noticed that one of the sheep was missing. He double-checked to be sure. The sheep (let’s call him Apollo) must have wandered off in search of greener pasture. He was now lost on the dangerous hillside, surrounded by sharp drop-offs and hungry, wild animals. The shepherd still had ninety-nine other sheep who had obeyed. He could have said, “I’ll just leave him out there to teach him a lesson. It’s cold, dark, and dangerous, and I could get killed.” This shepherd, though, loved his sheep, all of them, even the rascals.
The shepherd in Jesus’ parable was not about to let one of his sheep die out in the wilderness. He found someone else to stay with the ninety-nine, picked up his staff, and started in search of his lost sheep. Apollo’s adventure started out fun. He had looked at the lush, green grass on the hills and thought of how good it would taste. He also thought that it would be great to be free and roam wherever he wanted. So, little by little, he crept away from the rest of the flock until he reached the edge of the flock and finally, scampered out of the shepherd’s sight. The grass was sweet, and Apollo ate his fill. Before he knew it, the sun began to sink into the western sky. “Oh no!” thought Apollo.” I don’t want to be out of the shepherd’s sight all night.” He knew that he should have watched closer, so when the flock moved with the shepherd, he would catch up with them. As he looked all around, he realized the truth: he was lost. Try as he might, he had no idea how to get back to the fold. Suddenly, he heard the low growl of a mountain lion. Apollo’s wool tingled with fear. He ran this way and that, trying to find a place to hide. In the dark, he stumbled over a ridge and became caught in a bush.
Regardless of how he struggled, he could not escape. Then he heard his master’s voice calling his name, “Apollo, where are you? “B-a-a-a,” replied Apollo, as if to say, “I’m caught in a bush over here.” The shepherd hurried towards the “b-a-a” but then saw the mountain lion. The lion was hungry, and it made no difference to him if he ate the sheep or the shepherd. The lion lunged at the shepherd, but the shepherd reacted quickly and fended him off with his staff. The defeated lion slunk away into the early darkening skies. “B-a-a” sounded again. Following the sound of Apollo, the shepherd reached the ledge; he carefully took the crook of his staff and gently lifted Apollo to safety. He placed the frightened sheep on his shoulders and carried him back to the fold. No doubt he lovingly scolded his naughty sheep.
When he got back to the fold, he called all of his fellow shepherds and proclaimed, “I’ve found him!” They rejoiced with the shepherd that the sheep that was lost had been found. Jesus concluded that parable with this statement. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance. When one of those sinners whom the Pharisees looked down on repented of his sin and came to God, there was great joy in heaven. The Pharisees, who didn’t think they needed to repent, brought no joy in heaven.
LOST SILVER The next story (or parable) Jesus told was about a woman. When she got married, she received a very valuable necklace that she wore as a headband. It held ten silver coins, each worth about a day’s wage. It would be like a diamond wedding ring that women wear today. One morning, as she was dressing, she noticed that something was wrong with her necklace. She counted the coins and carefully counted again. One of her coins was missing! She must find it.
LOST SON The third parable was about a father who had two sons. This man owned a farm and had servants who worked for him. His sons worked on the farm, too. Someday, after the man died, the sons would divide the farm, and it would become theirs. Two-thirds would go to the older son and one-third to the younger. This was called their inheritance. The younger son was not happy. He worked on the farm every day, but what he really wanted was to have some fun. He didn’t want to wait until his father died to have his part of the money; he wanted it now. He began to think of a way to get his inheritance and to go off to see the world. One day, he sat down in his father’s office and said, “Father, I don’t want to wait until you die to get my inheritance. I want it now.” The father knew his sons and knew that this young man would not spend his fortune wisely, but, reluctantly, he arranged for the younger son to have his share before the usual time.
The younger son packed up some of his things and said goodbye to his father. With great joy in his freedom, he started to journey to a far-off land. He was going to have some fun first, and then maybe he would settle down. The Bible says that this young man wasted all he had in wild living. We can imagine that he bought himself fancy clothes and rented a beautiful home. He had plenty of money and wasn’t afraid to spend it. Soon, he had many new “friends.” They were more than willing to let this young fool spend his money on them. These were not true friends at all; they were just using him.
One morning, he reached into his money bag. There were only a few coins left. Where had it all gone? He paid his rent and bought some food, but it wasn’t too long before the bag was empty. He sold his fancy clothes to get money for food, but that didn’t last long either. All of his money and resources were gone. He had to move out of his house. Since he had no money for food, he started to get hungry. To make matters worse, there was a famine in the land. Food was scarce, and the price was very high. The young man asked his “friends” for help, but they no longer cared for him since his money was gone.
Finally, he found work, feeding pigs on a farm. This was the lowest form of work he could do, especially since he was a Jew. God commanded the Jewish people to stay away from swine. Nobody gave him any food, and the money he earned didn’t buy much, so he was always hungry. The husks of corn that he fed the pigs began to look good to him. Eventually, the young man came to his senses. He began to think of home and how his father treated his servants. They had a nice, warm bed to sleep in and plenty of food. The place he once hated seemed like the most wonderful place now.
Although it would be very difficult to do, he decided to go home and ask his father to take him back, not as a son, but as one of his servants. This proud young man had truly been humbled. He rehearsed his speech as he made his way home. His greatest fear as he shuffled along slowly thinking that his father might tell him, after wasting all of his inheritance, to leave and never come back. As he neared home, he could see the house and someone standing in the road. Was that his father? The father had been waiting for his son to come home, perhaps for a very long time. As his father looked down the road, he probably asked, “Could that really be my son? He’s so thin and ragged.” When he was sure it was his lost son, the father ran to him and put his arms around him. The young son was probably covered with dirt from head to toe and didn’t smell very good. It didn’t matter. The father had looked for him every day. His heart was bursting with joy! His lost son had come home!
The son began his speech, “Father, I have sinned against you and God. I don’t deserve to be your son . . .” Before he was able to finish, the father called his servants to bring a clean robe to put on the son, a ring for his finger, and new shoes for his feet. Then he ordered them to prepare a great feast to celebrate his son’s return. Everyone was excited. Although they realized the son had been very foolish, they were glad that he was alive. They rejoiced to see their master so happy.
One person wasn’t happy, though. It was the older brother. He had been out working in the fields when he heard the noise of the celebration. He asked what was going on. When they told him that his father was throwing a party for his sinful younger brother, he refused to go in. He should have been happy that his brother had come safely home, but he was angry instead. The father asked him why he wasn’t coming to the feast. The son said, “I’ve served you all of these years, and you’ve never had a party for me. But as soon as my brother comes home from wasting all of your money, you throw him a party.” The father replied, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. It is right, though, that we celebrate, for your brother was lost but now he is found. It was like he was dead but has come back to life.”
These stories about the sheep, the silver coin, and the lost son were directed at the Pharisees. They looked good on the outside, but inwardly they were sinful. They weren’t happy that wicked sinners were repenting and coming to God, but God certainly is. Have you received Jesus? Have you shared that good news with someone else?