(15) The one lost sheep (Lu 15:3-7). Luke 15:1, 2 shows that the illustration was prompted by the muttering of the Pharisees and the scribes over the fact that Jesus welcomed sinners and tax collectors. Matthew 18:12-14 records a similar illustration used on a different occasion.

Tax collectors, particularly those who were Jews, were hated because their occupation was to gather taxes for the hated Romans. They were held in scorn. Jesus’ illustration concerning the one lost sheep was one that his hearers would readily recognize from everyday life. A lost sheep is helpless; it is the shepherd who does the searching to recover it. The joy in heaven over the sinner who repents is in marked contrast with the muttering of the scribes and Pharisees over the concern that Jesus showed for such persons.

(16) The lost drachma coin (Lu 15:8-10). The setting is found in Luke 15:1, 2, and this illustration immediately follows the one concerning the one lost sheep. Verse 10 points out the application.

A drachma was worth 65 cents, almost a day’s wages. However, this lost coin may have had special value as one of a set of ten, perhaps an heirloom or part of a prized string used for adornment. It was necessary to light a lamp to search, because the light opening in a home, if any, was usually quite small; and the sweeping would facilitate the search, because the floor was generally just clay.

(17) The prodigal son (Lu 15:11-32). The Pharisees and scribes were muttering because Jesus welcomed tax collectors and sinners and ate with them. Jesus replied by giving the illustrations of the one lost sheep and the lost coin, followed by this parable.

The inheritance of the younger son was half that of the elder brother, according to Jewish law. (De 21:17) As the younger son went to a far country, so the Jews viewed the tax collectors as having left them to take up service to Rome. To be forced to take up swineherding was degrading to a Jew, since these animals were unclean according to the Law. (Le 11:7) On his return home, the younger son asked to be accepted, not as a son, but as a hired man. Such a man was not even part of the estate, as were the slaves, but was an outsider hired, often for just a day at a time. (Mt 20:1, 2, 8) The father called for a robe, the best one, for the younger son. This was not merely a simple article of clothing, but it probably was a richly embroidered vestment of the sort presented to an honored guest. The ring and sandals were possibly tokens of dignity and of a free man.

(22) The self-righteous Pharisee and the penitent tax collector (Lu 18:9-14). The setting and the objective of the illustration are found in verses 9 and 14 respectively.

Those who went to the temple to pray did not go into the Holy or the Most Holy, but they were permitted to enter the surrounding courts. These men, Jews, probably stood in the outer court, the Court of Women, as it was called. The Pharisees were proud and self-righteous, viewing other men with contempt. (Joh 7:47, 49) They fasted twice a week, though this was not required by the Mosaic Law. The days they chose for this, it is reported, were the regular market days when many people would be in town, when special services were held in the synagogues, and when the local Sanhedrin met; so their piety would be observed. (Mt 6:16; compare 10:17, ftn) The Jewish tax collectors were permitted to go to the temple, but they were hated for their service to Rome.