1

Jesus Seeks the Lost

Luke 15

Characters: Narrator, , Pharisee, , Older Son, Father

Narrator: Jesus crucifixion was coming near—he was in the very last weeks of his ministry. Large crowds had followed him, and came from all over the countryside to hear him preach. One day, some tax collectors and other “sinners” had gathered around to hear him teach. This greatly upset the :

Pharisee: This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.

Narrator: Jesus did not respond directly to the Pharisee. Instead, he started telling the crowd a parable:

Jesus: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the lost sheep? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors, and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” 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.

Narrator: The crowd didn’t really fully understand the parable. Jesus was trying to explain to the crowd how God would feel when a sinner comes back to him, and repents of his sins. Jesus tried another parable:

Jesus: Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me: I have found my lost coin.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the of God over one sinner who repents.

Narrator: After Jesus had finished his second parable, he knew that the crowd still didn’t understand the meaning. Jesus tried teaching the meaning through a third story.

Jesus: Once, there was a man who had two sons. One day, the younger son told his father:

Prodigal son: Father, give me my share of the estate, so I can go out and live on my own.

Jesus: The father was disappointed with his younger son, but complied with his request, and divided the inheritance, giving him half. The younger son went off 2

to a distant country, and squandered his wealth in wild living. One day, the younger son thought to himself:

Prodigal son: I wish I wouldn’t have wasted all of my money… now I have nothing… I’ll have to start working again. It’s too bad things aren’t growing because of this famine.

Jesus: The younger son sought a job, and was given one feeding pigs. His boss didn’t feed him very well, and son wanted to eat the pig food instead. No one really helped him out. One day, he finally figured things out:

Prodigal son: How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and I am starving to death! I will return to my father, and ask him to take me back—I will ask him to treat me as one of his hired workers, instead of a son, because I have sinned.

Jesus: So, the younger son returned to his father. Before the younger son even had a chance to meet with his father, his father spotted him in the distance, and was filled with compassion. His father ran to him, and hugged him.

Prodigal son: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Jesus: But the father didn’t care about the younger son’s sins, instead, he commanded his servants:

Father: Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Bring a fattened calf and kill it—let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!

Jesus: So, the family and the servants began to celebrate the younger son’s return. Meanwhile, the older son had found out his younger brother had returned, and refused to go to the feast. His father came out and pleaded with him.

Father: My son, we have much to celebrate! Please come inside and feast with us!

Older son: 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. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you hold a feast for him!

Father: My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 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.

Narrator: Jesus concluded his third parable—although many in the crowd understood its meaning, the Pharisees did not.