In the name of Jesus. Amen.
You can take each of these parables out of their context, and they will correctly teach you about the Kingdom of God and His grace and mercy. When these parables are taken out of context, they become nice stories about how Jesus seeks out you who are lost sheep, lost coins, and lost sons, and the angels in heaven rejoice at your being brought into the fold. To view yourself as the lost sheep, coin, or son is not entirely wrong, but neither is it entirely right.
So first, let’s consider the context of these parables. The reason Jesus tells them is the grumbling of the Pharisees when Jesus is eating with and welcoming sinners. So, the point of each of the parables is to pound into our heads the joy of heaven over one sinner who receives grace. The parables show us the ludicrous feasting and joy of God’s mercy, pardon, and steadfast love over sinners.
In each of these parables, what is lost – the sheep, the coin, and even the son – is not valuable. That is the point of the parables. This is most apparent in the parable of the lost coin. The party the woman throws costs more than the coin that she recovered. That one sheep was worth less than the cost of the party that the shepherd threw. Even that one son was not worth the cost of the party. And don’t pish-posh that statement.
The son had told his father to drop dead. The twerp demanded that his father sell off everything. The little brat went off, blew the inheritance, and returned only when he is tired of sharing swill with swine and thinks he has a chance at getting some bread. He came sauntering back to negotiate a job for himself. Had the father brought him on as a hired hand, it would have been gracious. Restoring him to sonship is merciful. Throwing a party about the whole business is unimaginable. No, the son is not worth a party.
But that is the point. The point is that God is like an obsessive and foolish shepherd, woman, and father who loves too much. God pays for work not performed and for merchandise not delivered.
If these parables give you a picture of a God who seems reasonable, then you are reading them wrong. Your heavenly Father turned His back on His perfectly good, entirely faithful, and completely obedient Son to purchase those who killed Him. Jesus laid down His precious life for sinners.
To paraphrase our Old Testament text (Mic. 7:18-20), “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression? You do not retain Your anger forever, because You delight in steadfast love. You have compassion on us, and You will have compassion us again and again.”
Because of our sin, we are broken. No one wants to admit it, but we are happy when our neighbor suffers and we are sad when he rejoices. The Germans created a word for this by combining their words for ‘harm’ and ‘joy’ into one word, Schadenfreude. The worst part is we justify our Schadenfreude. We enjoy others’ pain because we figure they deserved it. We want others to get what we think is justice. But this is the opposite of compassion and is from the devil.
Satan wants justice for others. His desire is that you get the wages of your sin – death. And when we desire and demand justice, we join our voices to the serpent and receive nothing but hell and condemnation.
Like the Pharisees, we live good, respectable lives but only in an outward way. We mow our lawns and use our turn signals. We volunteer, pay our bills, and give to charities. And we think we deserve good, peaceful lives because of it. When we encounter any trouble or trial or cross, we conclude that God isn’t being fair. And worse than that, when God showers blessings on others, we figure God is rewarding bad behavior. And instead of repenting, we judge God to be unjust. We are entirely foolish for thinking so.
The Pharisees were angry at Jesus for receiving sinners, so they are damned and go home condemned. They refuse to repent. And they refuse to repent because they hate grace – even though they will never admit it. Irritation at God for accepting sinners through grace is the height of hubris and pride.
Instead of being encouraged that God forgives sinners whom we deem worse than us, we get jealous and think that God should simply accept us as we are because we are so much better than others. It is the same as saying, “I don’t need mercy, so others shouldn’t get mercy.”
Repent. The sheep, the coin, and the son are not worth the cost to restore them nor the party thrown afterwards. And, sinner, you are not worth the cost of your redemption. Let me repeat that and let it sink in: You are not worth the cost of your redemption.
But God does it anyway. How great is God’s steadfast love toward us and others?
No one is worthy of the banquet. No one is worthy to enter the feast. The feast is full of sinners accepted by God’s grace alone. Otherwise, what is Jesus doing on the cross?
The father in the parable slaughtered the fattened calf in order to celebrate the fact that 
he restored and received his son back into the family. Sinner, your heavenly Father has fattened up Jesus, His faithful Son, to serve as food for you who are unworthy.
Come, you poor, lame, cripple, and blind. Come, you who have no other options or choice. You and I are sinners received entirely by God’s grace without any merit or worthiness of our own.
Heavenly Father, teach us to rejoice in this and in nothing else. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
So, the man has sent out this invitation without saying exactly when the banquet would begin. Then in v. 17, the preparations are finished – the food is cooked, the table is set, the decorations are hung, the wine is poured, everything is ready. The man sends his servant to tell all those who were invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But they all make excuses, and their excuses are lame and stupid.
Christian, God has ushered you into His paradise. You receive the benefit of the sacrifice of Christ’s death. You are promised the resurrection. And, now, in this feast you are about to receive, God nourishes you and declares you to be the object of His love and His perfect bride.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Even though the parable doesn’t explicitly say it, we know the rich man does not love God. As our Epistle text (1 Jn. 4:16-21) says, “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen…. Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 Jn. 20-21). The rich man’s lack of love for Lazarus makes his lack of love for God as plain as the nose on your face.
So, when your conscience is pricked and you feel guilt for your lack of love, first repent. Repent of your lack of love. Then, make a list of the people God has placed in your life to help, to care for, and to love starting with the people closest to you.
And never forget, Christian, that you have been given a name. Through the waters of your Baptism, God gave you your name. He has adopted you into His family. You are His child and part of the household of Jesus. The love you fail to show to those God has placed in your life is forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus, your Savior. And God does not forget to pour out His love, mercy, forgiveness, and provision for you.
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
We didn’t hear Peter’s whole sermon. It goes on for another fifteen verses, but I want you to hear the highlights of the whole thing. In the part of Peter’s sermon that we did hear, Peter tells the people that, if they had read their Bible, wouldn’t have been surprised at what they are hearing because it had been foretold in the prophet Joel. Then, Peter goes on to proclaim Jesus to the people.
So you, when the Law comes and points its finger at you and declares you to be a sinner, don’t make excuses. Don’t try to turn the accusations away. Don’t try to put your own spin on it and say that at least you aren’t as bad as so-and-so. Instead, repent. Repent because the Holy Spirit wants you to know that Jesus came to save you who are lost in sin. That means that Jesus has come to save you and me.
God given you a new heart and a new spirit. God has put His Holy Spirit within you, and He has caused you to walk in His statutes and rules. Again, God promised to do this for the sake of His name, His reputation, and your benefit because you are His.
So, “Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” The Scripture readings today have called you – in fact, they have commanded you – to sing to God five times (Ps. 98:1, 4, Is. 12:5, 6).
Now, why does God command us to sing; isn’t speaking good enough? Apparently, no. There is a great passage in everyone’s favorite Old Testament book, Zephaniah 3:17. Listen to this, “The Lordyour God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” It is an absolutely beautiful picture. But the reason I bring this up is that this is the one place in all the Scriptures where God sings, and the reason He sings is His joy over you.
And Jehoshaphat appoints the front line to be – guess who – the Kohathites and the Korahites, the choir. The Lordwould fight for them, so why not have the singers be the first into battle? The army marches out behind the choir and listen to this, it’s from 2 Chron. 20:22, “And when they began to sing and praise, the Lordset an ambush against the men of Ammon [and] Moab… who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.” Through their singing, God defeated the enemies of His people.
This ‘little while’ has lasted nearly two thousand years and counting. Yet, two thousand years is nothing when you compare it to everything that lies ahead for you in eternity. And it is even more miniscule when you realize that it will only be a few short years before you meet Jesus face-to-face – even if you live to be one-hundred-twenty. But we still have a problem. During our pain and anguish, our difficulties and seasons of tribulation, time seems to stand still while we suffer. But we can take heart and be encouraged. Jesus says it will only be ‘a little while.’
Now, there is no denying that your suffering is real. Some of you are currently enduring that suffering in severe ways right now. We pray that your relief will be soon and swift. But know this: God is working through those sorrows. He is using your trials to keep you close to Himself, to work virtue in you, to teach you to trust in Him. This does not mean that you should rejoice because of trials and tribulations. Instead, it is a reminder that you can rejoice in spite of and in the midst of that suffering. Like buds on a tree indicate that full blossom is coming, those troubles, trials, sorrows, and crosses are harbingers of the joy that is to come.
For our great comfort, Scripture gives many images of God shepherding His people. Psalm 23, of course, comes to mind. We have a picture in the entry of our church of Jesus walking through green pastures and still waters leading a flock of good-looking sheep. Jesus tells the parable of the shepherd who goes out seeking his one lost sheep, hefts it on his shoulders, and brings it home. All of that imagery is Scriptural and comforting and good.
Yes, it does mean ‘good’ but not in a subjective sense, not in a way that is open to anyone’s interpretation. Jesus is uniquely qualified to be the Shepherd of sinful sheep. Christ is the ‘good for you’ Shepherd. Kalos also means ‘right, fitting, true, beautiful, and competent.’ And Jesus Himself defines exactly what makes Him the kalos Shepherd. His the kalos Shepherd because of the fact that He lays down His life for the sheep.
My dear fellow sheep: Jesus is the kalos Shepherd; you are the sheep. You are not called to stand toe-to-toe with the devil. Satan, sin, and death are the wolves, and you are the sheep. Hide behind Jesus. Christ, your kalos Shepherd, places Himself in danger to rescue you from every threat. But even as you hide behind your kalos Shepherd, you do not cower in fear. Hide behind Jesus confidently knowing that He has overcome the wolf, won the victory, and His victory is your victory because you are His.
he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Listen carefully: You don’t outgrow your need for the Gospel. Ever. There are many things that Scripture teaches that are important about how to live and function in this world, and all of us need to heed that instruction from the Word. But you don’t graduate from the pure spiritual milk of the Gospel. You never mature past the point of needing to hear about the peace that Jesus has won for you on the cross and which He preaches to His disciples in this text.
Jesus is speaking about you. Christian, Jesus had you in mind when He spoke those words. You have not seen Your resurrected Savior in the flesh. You don’t see the marks in Jesus’ hands and side. Instead, you see crosses that remind you of the death that Christ died for you. You see the font where Jesus delivers to you His mercy and forgiveness and washes away your sins. You see an altar on which nothing has ever been sacrificed but which Jesus uses as His table to feed you His risen Body and Blood.
And you can smile in his face, “Yes, death, you used your sting, didn’t you? You should have used your sting on me. The sting would have stuck on me. But you didn’t. Instead, death, you used your sting on my Savior, my God, and my Lord. You used your sting on Jesus, didn’t you? You had Jesus pinned tightly on the cross, and you stuck Him with your stinger and buried it into Him. Death, you were a fool that day. You stung God Himself. You stung Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:25). But when you went to the tomb to find your stinger and get it back, Jesus wasn’t there. And guess what, death, Christ has taken my sin as He hung on the cross. And, death, you will not ever get your sting back. Never. That empty tomb means that your sting is lost forever. Death, I don’t fear you any longer.”
Pastorsamwise 
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