Luke 15–16

A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin

15The tax collectors and sinners all came to listen to Jesus. ²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain: “Look, this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.”

³Then Jesus told them this story: ⁴“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep but loses one of them. Then he will leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the open field and go out and look for the lost sheep until he finds it. ⁵And when he finds it, he happily puts it on his shoulders ⁶and goes home. He calls to his friends and neighbors and says, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep.’ ⁷In the same way, I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his heart and life, than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to change.

⁸“Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, ⁿ but loses one. She will light a lamp, sweep the house, and look carefully for the coin until she finds it. ⁹And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ ¹⁰In the same way, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner changes his heart and life.”

The Son Who Left Home

¹¹Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. ¹²The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided the property between his two sons. ¹³Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country, and the son was poor and hungry. ¹⁵So he got a job with one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. ¹⁷When he realized what he was doing, he thought, ‘All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dying with hunger. ¹⁸I will leave and return to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but let me be like one of your servants.” ’ ²⁰So the son left and went to his father.

“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for his son. So the father ran to him and hugged and kissed him. ²¹The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ^{n 22}But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³And get our fat calf and kill it so we can have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵“The older son was in the field, and as he came closer to the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. ²⁶So he called to one of the servants and asked what all this meant. ²⁷The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the fat calf, because your brother came home safely.’ ²⁸The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. ²⁹But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends. ³⁰But your other son, who wasted all your money on prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fat calf for him!’ ³¹The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³²We had to celebrate and be happy because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.’ ”

True Wealth

16Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him. ²So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can’t be my manager any longer.’ ³The manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I know what I’ll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.’

⁵“So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶He answered, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.’ ⁷Then the manager asked another one, ‘How much do you owe?’ He answered, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.’ ⁸So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being clever. Yes, worldly people are more clever with their own kind than spiritual people are.

⁹“I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever. ¹⁰Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot. ¹¹If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches? ¹²And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

¹³“No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.”

God’s Law Cannot Be Changed

¹⁴The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus. ¹⁵He said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight.

¹⁶“The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until John ⁿ came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force. ¹⁷It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

Divorce and Remarriage

¹⁸“If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.”

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹Jesus said, “There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰And a very poor man named Lazarus, whose body was covered with sores, was laid at the rich man’s gate. ²¹He wanted to eat only the small pieces of food that fell from the rich man’s table. And the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²²Later, Lazarus died, and the angels carried him to the arms of Abraham. The rich man died, too, and was buried. ²³In the place of the dead, he was in much pain. The rich man saw Abraham far away with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴He called, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire!’ ²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember when you were alive you had the good things in life, but bad things happened to Lazarus. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering. ²⁶Besides, there is a big pit between you and us, so no one can cross over to you, and no one can leave there and come here.’ ²⁷The rich man said, ‘Father, then please send Lazarus to my father’s house. ²⁸I have five brothers, and Lazarus could warn them so that they will not come to this place of pain.’ ²⁹But Abraham said, ‘They have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets; let them learn from them.’ ³⁰The rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham! If someone goes to them from the dead, they would believe and change their hearts and lives.’ ³¹But Abraham said to him, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not listen to someone who comes back from the dead.’ ”