January 9th – From the Pastor’s Desk
Grace, Repentance, and the Way We Read Luke 15
Every now and then a passage of Scripture stirs deep conversation in the life of a church. That is a good thing. It reminds us that we are not simply consumers of sermons, but a community learning together under the Word of God.
Recently, Luke 15—the parable often called “the Prodigal Son”—has done exactly that. So I wanted to take a moment to share more fully how I read this passage, and also to reflect on something just as important: how we listen to one another when we disagree.
Why Luke 15 matters so much
Luke 15 does not begin with a story. It begins with a confrontation.
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (Luke 15:1–2)
This is the interpretive key to everything that follows.
Jesus tells three parables not in response to sinners asking how to repent, but in response to religious leaders questioning why He welcomes the wrong people. The issue on the table is not first human morality. The issue is divine mercy.
So Jesus tells three stories—each one intensifying the same point.
- The lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7)
A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to go after one that is lost. The sheep does not return on its own. It is sought, found, carried, and rejoiced over. Jesus’ conclusion is striking:
“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…”
Notice: repentance is named, but the story itself places the spotlight on the shepherd’s initiative, not the sheep’s decision-making. The repentance that follows is the fruit of being found, not the cause of being sought.
- The lost coin (Luke 15:8–10)
A woman searches her house until she finds a coin. Again, the coin does nothing. It cannot repent. It cannot choose. It can only be found. And yet Jesus repeats the same refrain:
“There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Why? Because repentance is the human side of a divine action. Heaven rejoices not because sinners finally deserve grace, but because grace has done its work.
- The lost sons (Luke 15:11–32)
Then comes the longest and most misunderstood of the three stories.
We often call it “The Prodigal Son,” but Jesus never names it that. In many ways, it is more accurately “The Story of the Father”—or even “The Story of Two Lost Sons.”
Yes, the younger son comes to his senses. Yes, he prepares a confession. But the emotional and theological center of the story is not his speech—it is the Father’s run.
In the ancient world, dignified patriarchs did not run. They waited. They demanded explanations. They preserved honor. But this father breaks every cultural expectation. He runs, embraces, interrupts the confession, and restores his son before a single condition is set.
This is not a story about a sinner earning his way back.
It is a story about a father whose love outruns his son’s repentance.
And then Jesus turns the story toward the people who started the whole conversation—the Pharisees and scribes. The older brother represents those who have stayed near the house but grown far from the father’s heart. He is morally upright, doctrinally sound, and emotionally distant from grace.
The question we are left with as the parable comes to a close is “Will the older brother rejoice?”
That is why Luke 15 is not primarily about repentance—though repentance is certainly present.
It is primarily about what kind of God we have.
A God who seeks.
A God who runs.
A God who rejoices.
A God whose grace goes ahead of our change and makes our change possible.
As Paul later puts it so beautifully, “It is the kindness of God that leads you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4)
Grace is not the reward for repentance. Repentance is the result of encountering grace.
Why this matters for us as a church
When we reverse that order, we subtly change the gospel.
The story becomes:
“Change first, then be welcomed.”
But Jesus tells it the other way:
“You are welcomed—and that welcome will change you.”
This does not weaken repentance. It deepens it. It turns repentance from fear-driven behavior into love-driven transformation.
How we walk together when we disagree
Just as important as what we believe is how we hold our beliefs in community.
The church has always distinguished between:
- Core doctrines — truths that define historic Christianity: the Trinity, the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection, salvation by grace.
- Secondary convictions — important, but not church-dividing: views on eschatology, modes of baptism, church polity, Calvinism and Arminianism, and more.
For example, I personally disagree with five-point Calvinism in how I would frame certain doctrines. But I would never question the sincerity, faithfulness, or motives of a Calvinist brother or sister. We belong to the same Christ, the same gospel, the same family.
That is the spirit of Christian unity.
We can hold convictions strongly without holding each other suspiciously.
We can love truth deeply without treating disagreement as danger.
Scripture calls us not only to sound doctrine, but to humility, curiosity, patience, and love. The goal of theology is not to win arguments—it is to help us love God and one another more faithfully.
N.C.W