HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1309
L UKE 16
page 939
Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins* and
loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the
entire house and search carefully until she finds
it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her
friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with
me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the
same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s
angels when even one sinner repents.”
Parable of the Lost Son
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them
this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger
son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to
divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed
all his belongings and moved to a distant land,
and there he wasted all his money in wild living.
14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.
15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and
the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
16 The young man became so hungry that even
the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good
to him. But no one gave him anything.
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he
said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am
dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father
and say, “Father, I have sinned against both
heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy
of being called your son. Please take me on as
a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And
while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him coming. Filled with love and compassion,
he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed
him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against both heaven and you, and I am
no longer worthy of being called your son.*’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick!
Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on
him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his
feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening.
We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of
mine was dead and has now returned to life.
He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party
began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields
working. When he returned home, he heard
music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked
one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your
brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father
has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating
because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t
go in. His father came out and begged him,
15:8 Greek ten drachmas. A drachma was the equivalent of a
full day’s wage. 15:21 Some manuscripts add Please take me
on as a hired servant. 16:6 Greek 100 baths . . . 50 [baths].
16:7 Greek 100 korous . . . 80 [korous].
29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for
you and never once refused to do a single thing
you told me to. And in all that time you never
gave me even one young goat for a feast with
my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes
back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son,
you have always stayed by me, and everything I
have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy
day. For your brother was dead and has come
back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Jesus told this story to his disciples:
“There was a certain rich man who had
a manager handling his affairs. One day a report
came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and
said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’
3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now
what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the
strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to
beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have
plenty of friends who will give me a home when
I am fired.’
5 “So he invited each person who owed money
to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you
owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take
the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.*’
7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’
he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager
said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.*’
16
• Bitterness
LU K E 15:11-32
The older brother pictures himself as a
paragon of righteousness and responsibility. He relishes his role as the good
son. Yet the hardness of his heart is
revealed in his bitter reaction to his wayward brother’s return. When his father
orders a joyous party, the older brother’s
resentment boils over. In this parable,
Jesus is pointing out the Pharisees’
resentment over sinners repenting and
being welcomed into God’s Kingdom.
An unwillingness to forgive is evidence
that one’s heart is consumed by pride
and selfishness. Ask God to forgive you
for any resentment or bitterness and to
open your heart in love, even to those
who don’t deserve it.