The Pharisees had essentially divided people into two convenient groups; the righteous and the impure (the sinners). They saw themselves as the righteous. Anybody who kept the Mosaic Laws and their man-made rules exactly as they did was also considered righteous. They believed that they were righteous before God because they kept these rules. This created a separation between them and the "little people", whom they saw as sinners. They believed that if they were associated with these sinners, their personal righteousness would be compromised.
In response to all this attitude of self-righteousness and looking down on other people, Jesus told these two parables. They are given to reveal God's heart to people who are fundamentally sinners.
See also The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The Parables of the Lost Sheep:
Jesus spoke of a man who had 100 sheep, and one of them had gone astray. The man will then leave the 99 and search for the one who got lost. If he finds it, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 who never got lost. It means that it's not the will of God the Father in Heaven that any of his Christian believers should perish.
There will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who need no repentance. (Mat 18:12–14, Luk 15:3–7).
That the man left the flock doesn't mean that he abandons them so that the other sheep were unprotected. The shepherds of that time often worked together and could take care of another shepherd's flock when its shepherd had to search for a lost sheep. Note that there is great joy in Heaven over a Christian believer who has left God, if that person repents and turns back to God (Mat 18:13, Luk 15:7).
The Pharisees and the religious leaders saw the people they thought were sinners coming to hear Jesus. Instead of being happy about it, they criticized Jesus
(Luk 15:1–2). They felt no joy in the fact that these people turned away from their former lifestyle and came to Jesus and opened their hearts to God. They didn't care for the lost. These religious legalistic leaders only cared that their rules were kept. Jesus basically shows the heart of God towards the lost by these parables.
There is a risk of getting caught up in rules even for born again Christians, see Legalism in The Book of Colossians, and seeing God as strict and demanding, even to be a little cruel. A loving God who searches for the lost becomes a foreign thought. God's heart isn't that; it's mercy, forgiving, loving, caring, tenderness.
Showing mercy triumphs over keeping rules (Mat 12:3–4, 7, 11, Mark 2:25–26, Luk 6:3–4), see the end part of The Book of Ruth. God is not soft on sin, but he loves sinners. In Christ there is no condemnation (Rom 8:1).
This parable says the following about God's love:
- It's an individual love. The man left the 99 sheep that were safe and went away searching for the lost. There are Christians who have gone away from God, but then come back to him. Every one of them has been a lost sheep. God loves us personally. God cares about sinners.
- It's a patient love. God comes looking for us when we get into trouble.
God doesn't give up on us. - It's a searching love. The man didn't just sit and wait for the lost sheep to return. He was looking for the lost sheep. Similarly, Jesus came to seek and save the lost, see Salvation. Jesus sought sinners (1 Tim 1:15), something that we all are (Rom 5:8). Jesus didn't die for righteous people, he died for sinners. The Pharisees and religious leaders of that time didn't understand that they too were sinners.
- It's a rejoicing love. The man rejoiced over the lost sheep when he found it, more than over the 99 sheep that never went astray (Ezekiel 18:32).
The Parables of the Lost Coin:
She looked for it until she found it. When she found it, she rejoiced over it.
Jesus said that there is joy before the angels of God over a sinner who repents.
(Luk 15:8–10). This parable conveys the same message as the previous one.
