Luke 15:1
Ἦσαν δὲ αὐτῷ ἐγγίζοντες πάντες οἱ τελῶναι καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ.
Now there were, drawing near to Him, all the tax collectors and the sinners to hear Him.
Paraphrase: On another occasion, Jesus was again teaching people what it means to be one of His disciples. A large number of tax collectors and others, who the Jews regarded as “sinners,” were gathered around Jesus listening carefully to everything He had to say.
Comments:
Luke 15:2
καὶ διεγόγγυζον οἵ τε Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς, λέγοντες ὅτι, Οὗτος ἁμαρτωλοὺς προσδέχεται καὶ συνεσθίει αὐτοῖς.
and the Pharisees and the scribes complained saying, “This Man welcomes and eats with them.”
Paraphrase: This really irritated the leaders of the Jewish religious establishment. Their idea of holiness was to band together with likeminded people, to wall themselves off from anything evil, and to let everyone else go to hell. Because of this, they couldn’t understand Jesus’ ministry. He welcomed the very worst kind of people into His circle. (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:37) There didn’t seem to be anyone who He wouldn’t give a place at His feet (Matthew 21:31–32); everyone was given a place in His kingdom classes. He patiently taught them what was expected of anyone who would follow Him. When the classes went long, He would provide food for them, sometimes miraculously. (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39) This especially irritated the Pharisees who were strictly forbidden from eating with anyone regarded as a sinner. Jesus completely disregarded these rules. (Luke 19:5-7; Acts 11:3)
Comments:
See Blomberg’s book Contagious Holiness. Jeremias:
To understand what Jesus was doing in eating with ‘sinners’, it is important to realize that in the east, even today, to invite a man to a meal was an honor. It was an offer of peace, trust, brotherhood and forgiveness; in short, sharing a table meant sharing life. The report in 2 Kings 25:27–30 (par. Jer. 52:31–34) that Jehoiachin was brought by the king of Babylon from prison to the royal table is a public proclamation of his rehabilitation. In a similar way, king Agrippa I had the supreme commander Silas, who had fallen out of favor, invited to his table as a sign that he had forgiven him. In Judaism in particular, table-fellowship means fellowship before God, for the eating of a piece of broken bread by everyone who shares in the meal brings out the fact that they all have a share in the blessing which the master of the house had spoken over the unbroken bread. Thus Jesus’ meals with the publicans and sinners, too, are not only events on a social level, not only an expression of his unusual humanity and social generosity and his sympathy with those who were despised, but had an even deeper significance. They are an expression of the mission and message of Jesus (Mark 2:17), eschatological meals, anticipatory celebrations of the feast in the end-time (Matt. 8:11 par.), in which the community of the saints is already being represented (Mark 2:19). The inclusion of sinners in the community of salvation, achieved in table-fellowship, is the most meaningful expression of the message of the redeeming love of God. New Testament Theology p115–116.
Edersheim (p67): To put the general feeling in the words of Tacitus, the Jews kept close together, and were ever most liberal to one another; but they were filled with bitter hatred of all others.
Luke 15:3
Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην, λέγων,
Then He spoke to them this parable saying,
Paraphrase: Jesus noticed their irritation and decided to respond to it. “Listen,” He said, “Let me use an illustration to explain the proper way to live with evil.”
Comments:
Luke 15:4
Τίς ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἔχων ἑκατὸν πρόβατα, καὶ ἀπολέσας ἐξ αὐτῶν ἓν, οὐ καταλείπει τὰ ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καὶ πορεύεται ἐπὶ τὸ ἀπολωλὸς, ἕως εὕρῃ αὐτό;
A certain man of you, having one hundred sheep and losing of them one, would he not leave behind the ninety nine in the wilderness and go for the lost until he might find it?”
Paraphrase: Suppose one of you has one hundred sheep. One morning, as you lead the sheep out of their fold and make your count, you notice that one of them is missing. I know that any of you in this situation, would immediately leave the other sheep behind and set out in search of the lost one. You wouldn’t stop searching until you had found it. Am I not right?”
Comments:
Leaving the sheep “in the wilderness” doesn’t imply that they are left unprotected. “wilderness” here simply means uninhabited or open country.
Luke 15:5
καὶ εὑρὼν, ἐπιτίθησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους αὐτοῦ, χαίρων.
and finding, he places [it] on his shoulders, rejoicing
Paraphrase: And when you found that sheep, you would lift it on your shoulders and carry it safely home. All the way home you would be rejoicing that the sheep was not torn to pieces by wild animals and that you had reached it in time. Your heart would be overflowing with gratitude and joy.
Comments:
Luke 15:6
καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὸν οἶκον, συνκαλεῖ τοὺς φίλους καὶ τοὺς γείτονας, λέγων αὐτοῖς, Συνχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὸ πρόβατόν μου, τὸ ἀπολωλός!
and coming to the house, he calls his friends and his neighbors saying to them, “Rejoice with me because I found my sheep, the lost one!”
Paraphrase: When you finally arrived at home with the lost sheep on your shoulders, you would invite your friends and neighbors to come to a celebration. “Gather round, my friends,” you would announce gladly, “That sheep which got away from me last week has been found! It has been found alive and well, and I have safely returned it to the fold. This is a great day which God has given us; let us rejoice and be glad in it!“
Comments:
See principle 18.
Luke 15:7
λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὕτως χαρὰ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἔσται ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι, ἢ ἐπὶ ἐνενήκοντα ἐννέα δικαίοις, οἵτινες οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν μετανοίας.
I say to you that in this manner joy in heaven will be at one sinner repenting more than at ninety-nine righteous which have no need of repentance.”
Paraphrase: Now I say to you, Rabbis, that this is how we are to approach people who are living in sin and evil. We are not to cut ourselves completely off from them and to wall them out of our lives. (Matthew 5:13-16) On the contrary, we are to do as God does. In His love and mercy, He seeks them out like a good shepherd and restores them to His flock again. He takes away their heart of stone and gives them a heart that loves and serves Him. (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26) He baptizes and cleanses them with His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) and conforms them to His image. (Romans 8:29) Furthermore, there is a jubilee celebration in heaven every time a sinner repents and turns to God. In fact, there is far more joy in heaven when one lost sinner repents than over the thousands of “righteous” ones who preen themselves on their own righteousness and think that they have no need for repentance. Now if this is what God delights to do, then we, who count ourselves among His people, should do likewise. We too should be careful not to engage in evil or to affirm it, but to go to lost sinners and to show them a better way to live. We should show them the love of God, and His sincere offer of salvation. Then, we can join the angels in heaven (Luke 15:10) and sing praises to God every time another sinner turns to God and is saved. (Luke 19:10)
Comments:
Edersheim (p253): Properly to understand these Parables, the circumstances which elicited them must be kept in view. As Jesus preached the Gospel of God’s call, not to those who had, as they imagined, prepared themselves for the Kingdom by study and good works, but as that to a door open, and a welcome free to all, ‘all the publicans and sinners were [constantly] drawing near to Him.’ It has formerly been shown, that the Jewish teaching concerning repentance was quite other than, nay, contrary to, that of Christ. Theirs was not a Gospel to the lost: they had nothing to say to sinners. They called upon them to ‘do penitence,’ and then Divine Mercy, or rather Justice, would have its reward for the penitent. Christ’s Gospel was to the lost as such. It told them of forgiveness, of what the Savior was doing, and the Father purposed and felt for them; and that, not in the future and as reward of their penitence, but now in the immediate present. From what we know of the Pharisees, we can scarcely wonder that ‘they were murmuring at Him, saying, This man receiveth “sinners,” and eateth with them.’ Whether or not Christ had on this, as on other occasions, joined at a meal with such persons—which, of course, in the eyes of the Pharisees would have been a great aggravation of His offence—their charge was so far true, that ‘this One,’ in contrariety to the principles and practice of Rabbinism, ‘received sinners’ as such, and consorted with them. Nay, there was even more than they charged Him with: He not only received them when they sought Him, but He sought them, so as to bring them to Him; not, indeed, that they might remain ‘sinners,’ but that, by seeking and finding them, they might be restored to the Kingdom, and there might be joy in heaven over them. And so these are truly Gospel-Parables, although presenting only some aspects of it.
Luke 15:8
Ἢ τίς γυνὴ, δραχμὰς ἔχουσα δέκα, ἐὰν ἀπολέσῃ δραχμὴν μίαν, οὐχὶ ἅπτει λύχνον καὶ σαροῖ τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ ζητεῖ ἐπιμελῶς ἕως οὗ εὕρῃ;
Luke 15:9
καὶ εὑροῦσα, συνκαλεῖ τὰς φίλας καὶ γείτονας, λέγουσα, Συνχάρητέ μοι, ὅτι εὗρον τὴν δραχμὴν ἣν ἀπώλεσα.
Luke 15:10
οὕτως λέγω ὑμῖν, γίνεται χαρὰ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀγγέλων τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι.
Luke 15:11
Εἶπεν δέ, Ἄνθρωπός τις εἶχεν δύο υἱούς.
Luke 15:12
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ νεώτερος αὐτῶν τῷ πατρί, Πάτερ, δός μοι τὸ ἐπιβάλλον μέρος τῆς οὐσίας. ὁ δὲ διεῖλεν αὐτοῖς τὸν βίον.
Luke 15:13
Καὶ μετ’ οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας, συναγαγὼν πάντα, ὁ νεώτερος υἱὸς ἀπεδήμησεν εἰς χώραν μακράν, καὶ ἐκεῖ διεσκόρπισεν τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ, ζῶν ἀσώτως.
Luke 15:14
Δαπανήσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ πάντα, ἐγένετο λιμὸς ἰσχυρὰ κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἐκείνην, καὶ αὐτὸς ἤρξατο ὑστερεῖσθαι.
Luke 15:15
καὶ πορευθεὶς, ἐκολλήθη ἑνὶ τῶν πολιτῶν τῆς χώρας ἐκείνης, καὶ ἔπεμψεν αὐτὸν εἰς τοὺς ἀγροὺς αὐτοῦ βόσκειν χοίρους.
Luke 15:16
καὶ ἐπεθύμει γεμίσαι τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν κερατίων ὧν ἤσθιον· οἱ χοῖροι καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδίδου αὐτῷ
Luke 15:17
Εἰς ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἐλθὼν, ἔφη, Πόσοι μίσθιοι τοῦ πατρός μου περισσεύονται ἄρτων, ἐγὼ δὲ λιμῷ ὧδε ἀπόλλυμαι;
Luke 15:18
ἀναστὰς, πορεύσομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου, καὶ ἐρῶ αὐτῷ, Πάτερ, ἥμαρτον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐνώπιόν σου·
Luke 15:19
οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἄξιος κληθῆναι υἱός σου. ποίησόν με ὡς ἕνα τῶν μισθίων σου.
Luke 15:20
Καὶ ἀναστὰς, ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ. ἔτι δὲ αὐτοῦ μακρὰν ἀπέχοντος, εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, καὶ δραμὼν, ἐπέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν.
Luke 15:21
Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτῷ, Πάτερ, ἥμαρτον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐνώπιόν σου· οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἄξιος κληθῆναι υἱός σου.
Luke 15:22
Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ, Ταχὺ ἐξενέγκατε στολὴν τὴν πρώτην καὶ ἐνδύσατε αὐτόν, καὶ δότε δακτύλιον εἰς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑποδήματα εἰς τοὺς πόδας·
Luke 15:23
καὶ φέρετε τὸν μόσχον τὸν σιτευτόν, θύσατε, καὶ φαγόντες, εὐφρανθῶμεν.
Luke 15:24
ὅτι οὗτος ὁ υἱός μου νεκρὸς ἦν, καὶ ἀνέζησεν· ἦν ἀπολωλὼς, καὶ εὑρέθη. καὶ ἤρξαντο εὐφραίνεσθαι.
Luke 15:25
Ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, ὁ πρεσβύτερος, ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος, ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν.
Luke 15:26
καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος ἕνα τῶν παίδων, ἐπυνθάνετο τί ἂν εἴη ταῦτα.
Luke 15:27
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὅτι, Ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἥκει, καὶ ἔθυσεν ὁ πατήρ σου τὸν μόσχον τὸν σιτευτόν, ὅτι ὑγιαίνοντα αὐτὸν ἀπέλαβεν.
Luke 15:28
Ὠργίσθη δὲ, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν εἰσελθεῖν. ὁ δὲ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ, ἐξελθὼν, παρεκάλει αὐτόν.
Luke 15:29
Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς, εἶπεν τῷ πατρὶ ‹αὐτοῦ›, Ἰδοὺ, τοσαῦτα ἔτη δουλεύω σοι, καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐντολήν σου παρῆλθον, καὶ ἐμοὶ οὐδέποτε ἔδωκας ἔριφον, ἵνα μετὰ τῶν φίλων μου εὐφρανθῶ.
Luke 15:30
ὅτε δὲ ὁ υἱός σου οὗτος, ὁ καταφαγών σου τὸν βίον μετὰ πορνῶν, ἦλθεν, ἔθυσας αὐτῷ τὸν σιτευτὸν μόσχον!
Luke 15:31
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Τέκνον, σὺ πάντοτε μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἶ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ, σά ἐστιν.
Luke 15:32
εὐφρανθῆναι δὲ καὶ χαρῆναι ἔδει, ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου οὗτος, νεκρὸς ἦν, καὶ ἔζησεν· καὶ ἀπολωλὼς, καὶ εὑρέθη.