Parables of the Lost

This free Bible lesson, Jesus’s Parables of the Lost, will teach preschool and elementary students about three parables that Jesus told. These parables are: “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”, “The Parable of the Lost Coin”, and “The Parable of the Lost Son”, also known as “The Parable of the Prodigal Son”.

FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Luke 15

This lesson comes from the Seeds of Truth Elementary Bible Curriculum that is free to anyone looking for ideas to "plant seeds" into the hearts of children as they are learning about Jesus. Find more details HERE.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Seeds of Truth podcast, where seeds of biblical truth are planted into the hearts and minds of listeners so they can grow into a relationship with Jesus. I'm your host, Miss Dana. Thank you for joining me today. Let's get started. Hello, friends. Today's Bible lesson is going to be about three different parables that are very similar. They're called the Parables of the Lost. So a parable is an earthly story or a story that uses something that's familiar to listeners to teach something spiritual or heavenly. A parable will often use symbols to teach a lesson. So each of the three parables that we're going to study today involves something that is lost. Before we read the parables, I want you to think about something. It is important when we're reading the Bible to think about who the audience is that Jesus is speaking to here. So if I read in Luke chapter 15, verses 1 through 2, this is right before Jesus tells these three parables. So those verses say the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus, but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were whispering among themselves. They said, This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So the audience who is listening to these three parables are tax collectors, sinners, the Pharisees, the scribes, and the teachers of the law, or the religious leaders. So why do you think that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were upset that Jesus was teaching tax collectors and sinners? Well, that's because the Pharisees thought that they were better than everyone else and that God loved them more than everyone else because of their works or the things that they did and the rules that they followed. Even though everyone sins, the religious leaders didn't consider themselves to be sinners. The Jewish people didn't like tax collectors. Jewish tax collectors were considered traitors because they worked for the Roman government and many of them stole money from other Jewish people. So Jesus was talking directly to the people who were considered sinners. Now we're all sinners, right? Of course. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve way back in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So even though we are all sinners, what do we know about God? Even though we are sinners, we know that God loves us and he wants to have a relationship with us. So we're going to think about three parables that Jesus told the crowd gathered that day. So the first parable is called the parable of the lost sheep. And we're going to read that from Luke chapter 15, verses 3 through 7. The Bible says in those verses, then Jesus told them a story. He said, Suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Won't he leave the 99 in the open country? Won't he go and look for the one lost sheep until he finds it? When he finds it, he will joyfully put it on his shoulders and go home. Then he will call his friends and neighbors together. He will say, Be joyful with me. I have found my lost sheep. I tell you, it will be the same in heaven. There will be great joy when one sinner turns away from sin. Yes, there will be more joy than for 99 godly people who do not need to turn away from their sins. So let's think about who is the sheep a symbol of? So what is Jesus comparing the sheep to in real life? Jesus is comparing the sheep to sinners who have not been saved by Jesus. So the sheep is a symbol for sinners. What does it mean when a sinner is lost? When a sinner is lost, that means that they don't know God. They haven't yet trusted Jesus to save them from their sins. And when a sinner is found, that means that they have trusted Jesus to save them from their sins. They have asked Jesus to live in their hearts and save them. So the 99 sheep are symbols of sinners who have been saved by Jesus. They have already turned from their sins and asked Jesus to forgive them and save them. The one lost sheep is a symbol of a sinner who has not been saved by Jesus. So what do you think Jesus is trying to teach the people by telling them this story? Well, Jesus is teaching the people that God cares for one sinner, the one sheep that is lost, who doesn't have Jesus in their heart. And when that one sinner is found, meaning that that sinner turns from their sins and trusts Jesus to save them, God is happy and he rejoices in heaven. So the second parable that Jesus tells us called the parable of the lost coin. And this is right after the parable of the lost sheep in chapter 15, verses 8 through 10 in Luke. So the Bible says here, or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the house? Won't she search carefully until she finds the coin? And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors together. She will say, Be joyful with me. I found my lost coin. I tell you, it is the same in heaven. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns away from sin. So who is the coin a symbol of? What is Jesus comparing the coin to in real life? Again, the coin is a symbol of a sinner, sinners who have not been saved by Jesus. So the coin is a symbol of a sinner. And when a sinner is lost, it means that they don't know God. They haven't yet trusted Jesus to save them from their sins. And when the sinner is found, that means that they trust Jesus to save them from their sins. They ask Jesus to live in their heart and save them. So the nine coins are symbols of sinners who have been saved by Jesus. They have already turned from their sins and asked Jesus to forgive them and save them. The one lost coin is a symbol of a sinner who has not been saved by Jesus. So he is teaching the same lesson as the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus is teaching the people that God cares for one sinner, the one coin that is lost, which means they don't have Jesus in their heart. And when that one sinner is found, meaning that the sinner turns from their sins and trusts Jesus to save them, God is happy and he rejoices in heaven. So just like the first parable. And the word prodigal means wasteful. So this parable is found right after the parable of the lost coin in chapter 15, verses 11 through 14. It says, Jesus continued, there was a man who had two sons. The younger son spoke to his father. He said, Father, give me my share of the family property. So the father divided his property between his two sons. Not long after that, the younger son packed up all he had. Then he left for a country far away. There he wasted his money on wild living. He spent everything he had. Then the whole country ran low on food. So the son didn't have what he needed. He went to work for someone who lived in that country. That person sent the son to the fields to feed the pigs. The son wanted to fill his stomach with the food the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. Then he began to think clearly again. He said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough food? But here I am dying from hunger. I will get up and go back to my father. I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and I have sinned against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up and went to his father. While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him. He was filled with tender love for his son. He ran to him, he threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattest calf and let's have a feast and celebrate. This son of mine was dead, and now he is alive again. He was lost and now he is found. So they began to celebrate. So who do you think the Son is a symbol of? What is Jesus comparing the Son to in real life? The Son is a symbol of sinners who have not been saved by Jesus. And when a sinner is lost, that means they don't know God. They haven't yet trusted Jesus to save them from their sins. When a sinner is found, that means that they have trusted Jesus to save them from their sins. They have asked Jesus to live in their heart and save them. So Jesus is teaching the same lesson as the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, except this parable is a little bit different than the other two. The lost son is a symbol of a sinner who has not been saved by Jesus. The sinner is wandering around without Jesus. He thought he could get through life on his own, but he found out quickly that he couldn't do it on his own. This is the part of the parable that is really special. So in the culture at that time, the people would have understood that if a young son were to leave home and abandon his father and his home, he would not be accepted back into the family. In fact, he would most likely be killed as a punishment for his actions. So Jesus is teaching the people that God cares for one sinner, which is the lost son in this story, that is lost, meaning doesn't have Jesus in their heart. God, symbolized by the Father in this story, loves us so much that he happily accepts sinners into his family, just like the father in the story accepts his son back into his family. God does not give us the punishment of death that we deserve, just like the son did not receive the punishment of death that would have been normal at that time. The story says that the father brought together all of his servants to have a feast and celebrate the return of his lost son when that one sinner is found, meaning the sinner turns from their sins and trusts Jesus to save them. God is happy and he happily takes the sinner because of his great love for us and he rejoices in heaven. That is the reason Jesus came to the earth. Jesus came to find and save the lost. Luke 19, 10 says the Son of Man came to look for the lost and save them. The Son of Man is another way that we say Jesus. Remember, Jesus told these parables to teach an important lesson to the people. And since they are written in the Bible, they are for us too. Jesus came to earth to live a sinless life, die on the cross, and raise back to life so that he could take the punishment for the sins of all of the people. Anyone who has not asked Jesus to save them is lost. He wants everyone to be found. All you have to do to be found is believe in Jesus and ask him to save you from your sins. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for your word, the Bible. We can learn so much from the parables that are written in the gospel books, and we thank you for these amazing lessons. Please help us to be strong and ask questions if we don't understand something. And please help us to make good choices in our lives. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins on the cross. We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus' sweet name. Amen. Until next time, friends, God bless. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Seeds of Truth Podcast. For more free Bible resources, visit Seeds of Truth Ministries dot com.