Luke on the 15th chapter of his gospel brings to us three different parables. In the context that we gather from the previous chapter, there were many people coming to Jesus to hear and learn from him. In the beginning of the 15th chapter, we see that the religious leaders were jealous of the crowds coming to relate to Jesus. “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:1–3a).
In the gospel of John, we read about one of the last moments of Jesus with His disciples, and the relationship between the Son and the Father was one of the main focuses of that moment. At one point Philip was asking Jesus to show them the Father. “Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:8–11).
We all tend to have a very distorted image of who God is, and Jesus came to correct that! He came to open the door for a relationship with His Father without the false images and wrong concepts we inherit from religious traditions. “Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:5–6).
If we want to really get to know God, the Father, there is only one way. And that is the importance of Luke 15, it is a unique opportunity to get to see the heart of God through the eyes His Son.
To keep this blog short and concise it would be good for you to take some time and read Luke 14 and 15 and meditate upon it. I will also add several other scriptures that hopefully will help you to see the Father as loving, accepting, and rejoicing over His children. The well-known parable of the Prodigal Son has been, to me personally, one of the main ways to connect with the unconditional love of God.
The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and of the Prodigal Son were teaching about a rejoicing Father that invites everyone to celebrate with Him every time someone repents and returns to His house. While the religious leaders were grumbling about the fact that Jesus was talking to the sinners that they rejected, Jesus was revealing the heart of the Father that wants to include everyone and is ready to have a party when His lost sons and daughters return home.
“Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:13–14, NASB95)
“How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! How vast is their sum total!” (Psalm 139:17, NET)
“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.” (Psalm 40:5, NASB95)
““I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.” (Jeremiah 32:41, NASB95)
“The Lord your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver. He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.”” (Zephaniah 3:17, NET)
“Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness. He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18–19, AMP)
“The great turning point in your life comes not when you realize that you love God but when you realize and fully accept the fact that God loves you unconditionally.” Brenan Manning – A Glimpse of Jesus, 94.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS