The God Who Comes Looking
February 22 | Rick Thiemke
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Luke 15:1-32
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Luke 15 opens with a scene that explains everything that follows. Tax collectors and sinners are drawing near to Jesus, while the Pharisees and scribes grumble that He welcomes them and eats with them (Luke 15:1–2). In response, Jesus does not offer a defense of His behavior. He tells stories. And in these stories, He reveals the heart of God and the nature of His Kingdom.
The three parables in Luke 15 are often read as separate stories, but they are meant to be heard together. Each one deepens the same message: God is not distant from the lost. He is the One who goes after them. To know Jesus is to encounter a God who pursues.
A God Who Searches for the Lost
Jesus begins with two brief parables about loss (verses 3-10). A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for one that has wandered away (Isaiah 40:11). A woman lights a lamp and sweeps her house to find a single missing coin. In both stories, the lost object contributes nothing to its recovery. The sheep does not find its way home. The coin does not cry out to be found.
The emphasis is clear. God’s saving work begins with His initiative, not ours. Lostness here is not framed primarily as rebellion, but as helplessness. Jesus is revealing a God who refuses to accept loss as final. His kingship is not expressed through control at a distance, but through determined, active pursuit.
When what was lost is found, the response is joy. Rejoicing spills outward and becomes communal. Jesus insists that this joy reflects heaven itself (Luke 15:7,10). The Kingdom of God is not driven by begrudging mercy. It is marked by celebration when the lost are restored.
A Father Who Runs Toward the Wayward
The third parable intensifies the picture (verses 11-32). Here, lostness is no longer accidental. The younger son deliberately rejects his father, squanders his inheritance and returns home empty and ashamed. Yet, before he can finish his rehearsed confession, the father runs to meet him, embraces him and restores him fully.
The father absorbs the cost. He bears the shame. Restoration comes before explanation. Jesus is showing that God’s mercy toward repentant sinners is not cautious or conditional. It is generous, decisive and deeply personal.
But the story does not end there. The older son reveals another form of lostness. He is outwardly obedient, yet inwardly distant, angry that grace disrupts his sense of fairness. He stands near the father’s house, but far from the father’s heart. Jesus leaves the parable unresolved, confronting His hearers with a question: Will they enter the joy of the Kingdom, or remain outside, clinging to control and comparison?
Luke 15 invites us to encounter Jesus as He truly is. He is gentle with the broken, patient with the wandering and persistent with the lost (Luke 19:10). Yet He is also King, redefining righteousness, joy and belonging around Himself. To get to know Jesus is to discover that God comes looking for us, not only when we are helpless or rebellious, but even when we are resentful and resistant to grace.
The question is not whether God is willing to pursue. The question is whether we will allow ourselves to be found.
Discussion Questions
Which character in Luke 15 do you find yourself relating to most right now - the lost sheep, the lost coin, the younger son or the older son - and why?
Where in your life do you sense Jesus “coming looking” for you, rather than waiting for you to get your act together?
How might allowing yourself to be found by Jesus reshape the way you relate to God, others or your own sense of worth this week?