Parables Illustrating God’s Love – JSS2 Christian Religious Studies Lesson Note (Second Term)

The parables illustrating God’s love are three stories Jesus told in Luke chapter 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. state why Jesus told the three parables in Luke chapter 15;
2. retell the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son;
3. explain what the main characters and objects in each parable represent;
4. list lessons about God’s love and about sin and repentance from the parables;
5. explain what repentance means, using the prodigal son as an example.

What is a parable?

A parable is a short story that uses everyday things to teach a spiritual or moral truth.

• Everyday setting: the stories use shepherds, coins, homes and families that listeners knew.
• Hidden meaning: each person or object stands for something in the spiritual lesson.
• Main message: the three parables in Luke 15 show how much God loves people.

Why did Jesus tell these parables?

Jesus told the three parables to answer religious leaders who complained that He welcomed and ate with sinners (Luke 15:1-2).

• The complaint: the Pharisees and teachers of the law murmured because Jesus spent time with sinners and tax collectors.
• The answer: Jesus showed that God’s love reaches out to everyone, especially those who have gone astray.
• The shared message: something precious is lost, it is searched for or waited for, it is found, and there is joy.

What is the parable of the lost sheep? (Luke 15:3-7, Matthew 18:12-14)

The parable of the lost sheep is the story of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for one that is lost.

The story

1. A shepherd has one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost.
2. He leaves the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost one.
3. He keeps searching until he finds it.
4. He does not scold the sheep. He lifts it onto his shoulders, full of joy.
5. He carries it home.
6. He calls his friends and neighbours and says, “Rejoice with me! I have found my lost sheep.”
7. Jesus explains: there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

What does the parable of the lost sheep mean?

• The shepherd: represents God or Jesus, who watches over His people.
• The hundred sheep: represent all people. God cares for everyone.
• The one lost sheep: represents a sinner who has wandered away from God.
• The shepherd’s search: represents God’s seeking love. God actively looks for those who are lost.
• Finding the sheep: represents a sinner repenting and coming back to God.
• The joy and celebration: represent the joy in heaven when someone turns from sin to God.

What is the parable of the lost coin? (Luke 15:8-10)

The parable of the lost coin is the story of a woman who searches her house for one lost silver coin.

The story

1. A woman has ten silver coins, and each one is valuable to her.
2. She loses one coin, so only nine are left.
3. She lights a lamp, because houses of that time often had few windows and little light.
4. She sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds the coin.
5. She calls her friends and neighbours and says, “Rejoice with me! I have found my lost coin.”
6. Jesus explains: there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

What does the parable of the lost coin mean?

• The woman: represents God, who carefully looks after what belongs to Him.
• The ten coins: represent all people. Each person is valuable to God.
• The one lost coin: represents a sinner who is separated from God.
• The lamp: represents the light of God’s word, which helps people see their need for God.
• The sweeping: represents God’s thorough search and the preaching of the gospel.
• Finding the coin: represents a sinner repenting and being restored to God.
• The joy: represents the celebration among the angels when someone comes to God.

What is the parable of the prodigal son? (Luke 15:11-32)

The parable of the prodigal son is the story of a father who forgives and welcomes home a son who wasted his inheritance.

• Prodigal: means wasteful, spending money carelessly.

The story

1. A man has two sons.
2. The younger son asks his father for his share of the property. This was disrespectful, but the father divides his property between the two sons.
3. A few days later, the younger son gathers everything and travels to a distant country.
4. There he wastes his money on wild living until he has nothing left.
5. A severe famine comes, and he begins to be in need.
6. He hires himself to a citizen of that country, who sends him to feed pigs. Jews counted pigs as unclean animals.
7. He is so hungry that he wants to eat the pods the pigs eat, but no one gives him anything.
8. He comes to his senses. He remembers that his father’s hired servants have more than enough food.
9. He decides to go home and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”
10. While he is still far off, his father sees him, feels compassion and runs to him. He hugs and kisses him.
11. The son begins his speech, but the father interrupts and gives orders to the servants.
12. The father asks for the best robe, a ring for his finger, sandals for his feet and the fattened calf for a feast.
13. The father says, “This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
14. The older son, coming in from the field, hears the music and dancing and learns the reason.
15. He becomes angry and refuses to go in. He complains that he has served faithfully but never received even a young goat for a feast.
16. The father answers gently: “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

What does the parable of the prodigal son mean?

• The father: represents God, with His patient, forgiving and generous love.
• The younger son: represents sinners who rebel against God and go their own way.
• The distant country: represents a life far from God, living in sin.
• The famine: represents the emptiness and consequences of living without God.
• The son’s return: represents repentance, turning from sin and coming back to God.
• The father’s running: represents God’s eager love. God runs to meet us when we turn to Him.
• The robe, ring and sandals: represent full restoration as God’s children. The ring shows he is still a son, and the sandals show he is not a slave.
• The celebration: represents the joy in heaven when a sinner repents.
• The older brother: represents self-righteous people who think they deserve God’s favour because of their good works.

How do the three parables compare?

The three parables share one message but use different pictures, as the table shows.

What is repentance?

Repentance is being sorry for sin and turning away from it to return to God.

The prodigal son shows the steps of repentance:

1. Coming to his senses: he realised he was wrong.
2. Feeling sorry: he admitted, “I have sinned against heaven and against you.”
3. Deciding to change: he said, “I will get up and go back to my father.”
4. Taking action: he got up and walked home.

What lessons do the parables teach about God’s love?

The parables teach six lessons about God’s love.

1. God loves every individual person: the shepherd cared for one sheep, the woman for one coin and the father for each son. God knows you personally.
2. God actively seeks the lost: the shepherd went out searching, the woman swept her house and the father watched and ran to his son.
3. God’s love does not depend on our worthiness: the sheep wandered, the coin could not find itself and the son wasted everything. Yet each was restored.
4. God rejoices when the lost are found: the shepherd, the woman and the father all held celebrations. Heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents.
5. God’s love is patient and forgiving: the father did not reject his son. He welcomed him home and did not hold his past against him.
6. God restores us fully: the son received a robe, ring and sandals, not the place of a servant. God gives us a place in His family.

What lessons do the parables teach about sin and repentance?

The parables teach five lessons about sin and repentance.

7. Sin separates us from God: the sheep wandered, the coin was lost and the son left home. Sin moves us away from God’s care.
8. Living without God leads to emptiness: the prodigal son ended up hungry, feeding pigs. Sin may seem enjoyable at first but brings regret.
9. Repentance means turning back to God: it is more than feeling bad. It means changing direction.
10. We must take the first step: the son had to get up and walk home. God does not force us, but He meets us when we turn to Him.
11. We cannot save ourselves: the sheep could not find its way home and the coin could not find itself. We need God’s grace.

Evaluation

1. Why did Jesus tell the three parables in Luke chapter 15?
2. What do the shepherd, the lost sheep and the shepherd’s search represent?
3. What do the robe, the ring and the sandals represent in the parable of the prodigal son?
4. Who does the older brother represent?
5. Using the prodigal son, explain what repentance means.

Assignment

Choose one of the three parables. In your own words, write two lessons it teaches about God’s love, and give one example from the story for each lesson.