Luke 15

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.

The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”

He told them this parable:

“Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?

When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

“Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?

When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost!’

Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.”

He said, “A certain man had two sons.

The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ So he divided his livelihood between them.

Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living.

When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need.

He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

He wanted to fill his belly with the pods that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any.

But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger!

I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’

“He arose and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him.

The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat and celebrate;

for this, my son, was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

“Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

He called one of the servants to him and asked what was going on.

He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’

But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and begged him.

But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

“He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter centers on Jesus’ teaching about God’s compassion toward sinners, offered in response to the religious leaders’ criticism of His welcoming posture toward tax collectors and sinners. Through three parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son—Luke 15 reveals the heart of God’s redemptive pursuit and the joy that accompanies repentance, culminating in the emotional climax of the prodigal’s return and the tension with the older brother.

Flow.

Jesus responds to the murmuring of Pharisees and scribes by telling parallel parables of searching and rejoicing: the shepherd for the sheep and the woman for the coin, each illustrating divine diligence and heavenly joy over repentance.
The third and longest parable unfolds the story of a younger son who demands his inheritance, squanders it, hits rock-bottom, and returns home, where he is met with unexpected, lavish grace.
The focus shifts to the older brother, whose refusal to rejoice exposes a heart distant from the father’s mercy, mirroring the attitude of the religious leaders.

Connections.
Following chapter 14, where Jesus challenges self-exaltation and calls disciples to count the cost of following Him, Luke 15 deepens the theme of God’s kingdom by revealing its inclusive, restorative nature. The critique from religious leaders in chapter 14 spills over into chapter 15, where Jesus answers not with rebuke but with story, unveiling the joy of God’s saving work among the marginalized. This emphasis on divine grace and inclusion prepares the way for chapter 16, where Jesus continues teaching on stewardship and faithfulness, calling both sinners and religious people to examine their hearts before God.

What it teaches.
God actively seeks the lost and delights in their restoration, a joy shared in heaven and among the angels (WCF 7.3; HC LD 52). The parables affirm that repentance is not a human achievement but the divinely-empowered turning that elicits celebration, not mere acceptance. The father in the final parable reflects God’s merciful character—welcoming the unworthy with honor, restoring them as sons (BC Article 20; Canons of Dort II.5). Yet the older brother’s resentment warns against a legalistic spirit that keeps one “near the house” but far from the heart of the Father, underscoring that covenant relationship is sustained by grace, not merit (WCF 18.2; HC LD 32).

Apply.
The gospel meets those who know their need and disrupts those who think they have none.

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