15, 16. What prompted Jesus to give the illustrations in Luke 15?

¹⁵ Those illustrations testify to God’s merciful interest in sinners, painting a harmonious picture for us to imitate. Consider the setting of the illustrations: “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners kept drawing near to [Jesus] to hear him. Consequently both the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering, saying: ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”​—Luke 15:1, 2.

¹⁶ All the people involved were Jews. The Pharisees and the scribes prided themselves on their supposed punctilious adherence to the Mosaic Law, a sort of legalistic righteousness. God, though, did not agree with such self-proclaimed righteousness. (Luke 16:15) Evidently, the tax collectors mentioned were Jews who collected taxes for Rome. Because many exacted excessive sums from fellow Jews, tax collectors were a despised group. (Luke 19:2, 8) They were classed with “sinners,” which included immoral persons, even harlots. (Luke 5:27-32; Matthew 21:32) But Jesus asked the complaining religious leaders:

17. What was Jesus’ first illustration in Luke 15?

¹⁷ “What man of you with a hundred sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine behind in the wilderness and go for the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it he puts it upon his shoulders and rejoices. And when he gets home he calls his friends and his neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you that thus there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance.” The religious leaders could understand the imagery, for sheep and shepherds were a common sight. Out of concern, the shepherd left 99 sheep to graze in familiar pasturage while he went searching for a stray. Persisting until he found it, he tenderly carried the frightened sheep back to the flock.​—Luke 15:4-7.

Heavenly Rejoicing​—Over What?

19, 20. Jesus’ first two illustrations in Luke 15 were primarily about whom, and what central point did they make?

¹⁹ These two illustrations were in response to criticism of Jesus, who some months earlier had identified himself as “the fine shepherd” who would give his soul for his sheep. (John 10:11-15) Nonetheless, the illustrations were not primarily about Jesus. The lessons that the scribes and the Pharisees needed to learn centered on God’s attitude and ways. Thus, Jesus said that there is joy in heaven over a sinner who repents. Those religionists claimed to serve Jehovah, yet they were not imitating him. Jesus’ merciful ways, on the other hand, represented the will of his Father.​—Luke 18:10-14; John 8:28, 29; 12:47-50; 14:7-11.

²⁰ If one out of a hundred was a basis for joy, one coin out of ten was more so. Even today, we can sense the emotions of the women rejoicing over finding the coin! Here, too, the lesson centers on heaven, in that “the angels of God” rejoice with Jehovah “over one sinner that repents.” Note that final word, “repents.” These illustrations were really about sinners who repent. And you can see that both stressed the appropriateness of having joy over their repentance.

21. What lesson should we learn from Jesus’ illustrations in Luke 15?

²¹ Those misguided religious leaders who felt smug over superficial compliance with the Law overlooked God’s being “merciful and gracious, . . . pardoning error and transgression and sin.” (Exodus 34:6, 7) Had they been imitating this aspect of God’s ways and personality, they would have appreciated Jesus’ mercy toward sinners who repented.