Bible study week: A study on Luke 15

Greetings to you all brothers and sisters in Christ. I am excited to introduce the topic for this week which attempts to take a close look at the teachings of Jesus on the Kingdom of Heaven. There are three parables given in this chapter, all carrying a heavenly principle explained in earthly terms. Lets dive into it

The parable of the lost sheep

The setting of this chapter starts off with Jesus being in the company of sinners in full view of the onlooking Pharisees who began to question the credibility of Jesus as a teacher in Israel.

The response of Jesus to these murmurs posed a very interesting scenario. In his anology, Jesus gives a parable of a man who goes out to look for one of his lost sheep. Well, when he does find it, he is overjoyed and celebrates with his neighbours.

What is profound in this story is that Jesus spoke of himself and how he longed to be with his sheep. That is how much God longs for fellowship with his children and even when we lose our way out of the care of our shepherd, He is willing to leave the ninety-nine to save the lost one. Think about this, for a moment. Would we be willing to leave the ninety-nine to seek for that one which is lost?

Parable of the lost coin

Jesus continues to solidify the gospel in the parable of the lost coin. In this anology, he presents us as people of value, just as coins are to someone who would in the end wish to purchase something. However, the ten coins would be incomplete unless, the lady made an effort to seek for that lost coin.

A point of note, is that the lady of the lost coin did what shepherd did. They both acted on their faith knowing that in the end they would find what they were looking for. The principle being that unless you make an effort to leave the comfort of your security and seek out for that which has eternal value, then you will be like the Pharisees who couldn’t see the value in bringing the sinners to salvation.

The parable of the prodigal son

Up to this day, this remains one of my favorite teachings by Jesus. The characters in this parable speak volumes about the character of God as our Heavenly Father.

The word father, by definition is a Hebrew word that is stated as 'Abba', which means source and provider. This would make perfect sense because the prodigal son leaves the care of his father's house in rebellion only to discover that his blessings would soon run out. Well, the prodigal son comes to repentance and realises that he is safer in the care of his father than to strangers, in a distant land. Eventually, he humbles himself only to be received by his father who is so happy to see him.

It is at this point that we get introduced to the other son who isn't at all impressed by his brother's absence let alone the celebration of his homecoming.

There is several principles that I have learnt from this story one of which is forgiveness. You see the prodigal son's father could have chosen to disown his son but because he loved his son so much, he was willing to overlook his past mistakes and start on a new page. I would assume that in spirit the father was praying that his son does return home and take his place in the household.

The next principle that I picked up is loving your brother even though he may have gone astray. It seems to me that Jesus was putting emphasis on discipling the brother who has returned home so that he may be part of the family again and represent the family in way that the father would have wished. Often times, when people come to faith, we neglect to show them about how we operate in our Father's house and often times do it out of obligation rather than love.

Conclusion

This chapter talks to me a lot about family values and how much God wants us to embrace. How the eternal kingdom is more like a family that attempts to create perfect fellowship with one another just as Christ with the Heavenly Father. With this i pray that this chapter in Luke 15 was a true a blessing to you all. Until next time may you have a blessed week.

Amen