In the days of the prophets leading up to the exile, God’s people were steeped in idolatry. God did all that He could to plead with His people to worship Him alone. Figuratively speaking, He rose up early to send prophets to the people, but they would not hear (Jer. 7:13, 25; 11:7; 26:5). As an adulteress leaves her loving husband to pursue her illicit affairs, so Israel and Judah were unfaithful to their God (Ezek. 16:8-63; 23:1-49; Hos. 1:2; 3:1-5). God would have to put them away. They would be exiled for seventy years (Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10).

Rather than completely destroying His people, God spared some of them (Isa. 48:9); God referred to their time of punishment as a furnace of affliction (Isa. 48:10). Just as a refining pot makes hard metals molten, when people suffer they can be brought to their knees, soften their hearts and pray to God. However, the furnace of affliction can be a kiln to further harden their hearts if they are not receptive. The minority who would not be destroyed by their punishment but rather purified to come back from captivity are often called the remnant (Isa.10:20-23; 11:11-16; 28:5; 37:4, 31, 32; 46:3; cf. 6:13; 7:3*).

In Isaiah 40-66, God instructed His people about His plans for them. He identified two anointed servants—a conquering servant and a suffering servant—who would bring hope back to His people. God’s conquering servant was the Persian king Cyrus, who was used by God to bring an end to Babylonian captivity and allow Judah to return to their homeland (Isa. 41:25; 44:24-28; 45:1-7; cf. Ezra 1:1-4). The suffering servant was Jesus Christ who descended from the remnant of Judah and came into this world to bear the stripes for our sins (Isa. 52:13-53:12). This shoot from the stem of Jesse rules the remnant (Isa. 11:1-16).

Daniel and his friends, who were of the king’s royal seed (Dan. 1:3), had to endure captivity in a foreign land. They continued to make the one true God known. God used them to interpret dreams, reveal the future, and miraculously endure death sentences. Instead of giving up, Daniel faithfully served God (as his first priority) and also ministered to foreign kings until he saw the reign of Cyrus (Dan. 6:28; 10:1). He told Nebuchadnezzar about Christ’s church, the kingdom of God that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44-45). As Christians, we are children of God who belong to Christ; thus, we are part of the royal seed (Gal. 3:26-29). We must continue to stand for Christ’s church, the eternal kingdom, even when the world around us makes us feel as if we are in a faraway land. Genuine faith gleams in a dark world, and it might surprise us who takes notice (Mt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-15; 1 Pet. 1:7). If we allow suffering to refine us and remain faithful to the end, we will see the Lord’s salvation (Mt. 7:13-14; 10:22; Rev. 2:10; 3:10-12).

*The name “Shear-Jashub” in 7:3 means ‘a remnant will return.

In Luke 15 Jesus is speaking to a crowd of tax collectors and sinners. The hypocritical religious elites were also present, and they were complaining saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2b) The scribes and Pharisees were disgusted that Jesus would associate Himself with people who were so lowly and ungodly in their eyes.

In response to this condescending attitude, Jesus gives us three parables about lost things. In Luke 15:4-7 we are told of the “lost sheep”. In verses 8-10 and verses 11-32 we are told about the “lost coin” and the “lost son” respectively. All three of these parables describe a situation in which an individual has something very precious that is lost, and this loss brings tremendous distress to the individual. With the lost sheep and the lost coin, we see situations in which the individual actively works to reclaim that precious thing that was lost. In the story of the lost son (or prodigal son as we often call it) we see a situation in which the son who was lost must decide to return himself.

All three of these parables depict a person who is a child of God, a Christian in the fold of God who wanders away and becomes lost in the world. We can draw much comfort from these parables in the reality that God seeks out the lost sinner. That is why Jesus came to this earth, to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He works providentially to draw His children back to Himself and reconcile our relationship with Him (2 Cor 5:18-19). In all three instances we can see that God views the lost as precious beyond measure, and He demonstrates His love in His desire to see the lost return to Him and be restored to His house. There is joy and celebration in heaven over one sinner who repents and returns to the fold of God(15:7). It is comforting to know that no matter how far we may stray, no matter how caught up we become in the far country of sin, God desires us to be restored to His possession. We need only turn back to Him and walk in His ways once more.

While we may draw great comfort from these parables, we should also draw some warning. At the opening of the chapter the scribes and Pharisees complain about Jesus’ association with sinners, prompting the parables. The scribes and Pharisees viewed themselves as superior to these sinners because they thought they were much more righteous in their obedience to God. However, they were mistaken. They had grown legalistic and proud, and in doing so they themselves became as those lost things. Being Jews of the highest order was not enough to save them because they forsook the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23). We should take heed lest we too grow proud in our own obedience and forget the weightier matters of the Gospel. We should never grow condescending of those outside of Christ, because we too were once foolish, disobedient sinners before the grace of our Lord gave of hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7). Rather we should humbly seek out the lost and show them the love of Christ through the Gospel.

-Daniel Goshorn