Luke 15 involves an initial encounter with the Pharisees; who are chiding Christ for hanging out with sinners. Thus the Parables in this chapter certainly are meant for them to hear along with the crowds.
Luke 15:7 "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Whether this refers to the self righteous Pharisees which Christ described in a similar manner in Luke 5:31 or it literally means people in a right standing with God or both could be debated.
Luke 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.' And he divided unto them his estate. What is often missed here is that BOTH sons had their inheritance divided at that time; and it was likely as tradition held the older son would have the largest sum. Something else I noticed here as well that is often overlooked is that the youngest son spent all of his inheritance. Thus; forgiveness was complete but nonetheless we see the concept of loss of reward.
To avoid not seeing the big picture here; it was clear that the Pharisees had no love for seeing someone repent and finding any joy in it; whether among themselves or the Gentiles. Their concept of God no doubt affected their lifestyle and dogmas; adding hundreds more laws to the Old Testament Canon through their own thoughts and imaginations (which resulted in the Talmud and other extrabiblical uninspired and mystical texts and traditions of men). With this attitude no one sees the need to repent in order to be ABLE to obey the law; at least in regard to the thoughts and intentions of the heart whereby men had to EXCEED the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes in order to be saved ( Matthew 5:20). What was missing was understanding the nature and character of God and basically worshipping the law itself rather than it's creator. We can only truly love the law if saved.
Luke 15:7 "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Whether this refers to the self righteous Pharisees which Christ described in a similar manner in Luke 5:31 or it literally means people in a right standing with God or both could be debated.
Luke 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.' And he divided unto them his estate. What is often missed here is that BOTH sons had their inheritance divided at that time; and it was likely as tradition held the older son would have the largest sum. Something else I noticed here as well that is often overlooked is that the youngest son spent all of his inheritance. Thus; forgiveness was complete but nonetheless we see the concept of loss of reward.
To avoid not seeing the big picture here; it was clear that the Pharisees had no love for seeing someone repent and finding any joy in it; whether among themselves or the Gentiles. Their concept of God no doubt affected their lifestyle and dogmas; adding hundreds more laws to the Old Testament Canon through their own thoughts and imaginations (which resulted in the Talmud and other extrabiblical uninspired and mystical texts and traditions of men). With this attitude no one sees the need to repent in order to be ABLE to obey the law; at least in regard to the thoughts and intentions of the heart whereby men had to EXCEED the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes in order to be saved ( Matthew 5:20). What was missing was understanding the nature and character of God and basically worshipping the law itself rather than it's creator. We can only truly love the law if saved.
This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.
Note: Comment threads older than 2 months are automatically locked.
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Please Sign In or Register to post comments...
Report Comment
Which best represents the problem with the comment?