Before you read
- Who is speaking?
- Jesus, on his long journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51 onward).
- Who is listening?
- Tax collectors and sinners who came to hear him — and Pharisees and scribes who objected that he ate with them.
- What should I watch for?
- Three stories, one pattern: something is lost, someone searches or waits, and it ends in joy.
Tap a verse to understand it.
The complaint1Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. The lost sheep3And he spoke to them this parable, saying: 4What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? 5And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: 6And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? 7I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. The lost coin8Or what woman having ten groats; if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? 9And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost. 10So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance. The father and the younger son11And he said: A certain man had two sons: 12And the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance. 13And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously. 14And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want. 15And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine. 16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. 17And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger? 18I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee: 19I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him. 21And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son. 22And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry: 24Because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. The father and the older son25Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing: 26And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27And he said to him: Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe. 28And he was angry, and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him. 29And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends: 30But as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me, and all I have is thine. 32But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition · Public Domain
After you read
What just happened?
Answering critics who objected that he welcomed sinners, Jesus told three parables. A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one; a woman searches her house for one coin; a father welcomes home a son who had wasted everything — and then goes out to plead with his resentful older son. Each story ends in rejoicing, and the last one ends with a question left open.
Key idea
God seeks the lost and rejoices when they are found — and invites everyone, including the “righteous”, to share that joy.
Bible Lens
Look at Luke 15 through…
The heart of it in plain words
Explanation (AI-assisted)
Three short stories with one message: God goes looking for people who are lost, and throws a party when they come home. The last story adds a twist — the son who never left can be lost too.
People you met
- Jesus — The storyteller, answering his critics
- Pharisees and scribes — Religious teachers who murmured
- The father — Waits, runs, restores, pleads
- The younger son — Lost by leaving
- The older son — Lost while staying
Places
- A far country — Unnamed — the point is distance from home, not geography
Symbols
- The first robe, ring and shoes — Restored sonship, not servanthood
- The feast — The joy of heaven over one sinner who repents
- The far country — Distance from God
Words to understand
- Publicans
- Tax collectors — Jews collecting taxes for Rome, widely seen as collaborators and cheats.
- Murmured
- Grumbled — the same kind of complaint Israel made in the desert.
- Portion of substance
- The share of the family property he would inherit.
- Riotously
- Wastefully, recklessly.
- Husks
- Pods (often identified as carob pods) fed to animals.
- Fatted calf
- An animal kept for a great celebration.
Connections to other Scripture
One question to think about
Which of the two sons do you recognise yourself in more — and which does the father go out to meet?
Awaiting theological review