Luke 15:8-10 | The Rejoicing Woman

Luke 15:1–10 In my opinion, the Bible editors have unfortunately over time misnamed the three parables that make up Luke 15. Many Bible editors will have these three parables named in one form or another as the “Parable of the Lost Sheep” (Luke 15:1-7), “Parable of the Lost Coin” (Luke 15:8-10), and “Parable of the Lost Son” or “The Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32). By giving them these titles, Bible editors have unknowingly caused Christians throughout time to have the wrong focus, which is now placed on what was lost (the sheep, the coin and the two sons), and not on Jesus. Here in these three parables, we see Jesus pictured as the Good Shepherd (Luke 15:4-7), the Rejoicing Woman (Luke 15:8-10), and the Compassionate Father (Luke 15:11-33). This week we will study the parable of The Rejoicing Woman, and next week, we will look at the parable of The Compassionate Father.

What we will study this morning in The Rejoicing Woman…01. The Review (Luke 15:1-3); 02. Ten Silver Coins (Luke 15:8a); and 03. The Seeking Woman (Luke 15:8b-10).

01. The Review (Luke 15:1-3)

Too often when we study parables, we see it through Western eyes. But in order to make sure that we are getting a proper understanding of the parables, we need to realize that the Middle Eastern culture is different than ours, so therefore we need to look at these parables with Middle Eastern eyes to properly understand these parables. As we study this parable today, and the third next time, I will do my best to bring our Western minds to the Middle East, so that we may better understand what Jesus is saying here in these three parables. At the time of Jesus, tax collectors were seen as sinners by the Jews, for they were Jews working in cooperation with Rome, which was seen as being unfaithful to their race and their religion. The way that the tax system was set up in Israel at this time was that the Romans would hire Jews to collect taxes throughout the land, because they knew the land, customs and people. A person would buy the rights to collect taxes in a region, and they in turn could charge any amount, for contractually he was bound to collect a certain amount, anything beyond that was bonus. The Jewish tax collectors usually reported directly to Gentiles; they collected taxes so that their superiors wouldn’t have to work. The main requirement that the tax collectors had to fulfill was to collect the taxes from the people. Because the tax collectors usually would collect more than what was required by Rome, they would make life extremely difficult especially for the poor. They would place a tax on all exports and imports and all that was bought and sold. They would charge a tax to cross a bridge, to go on a road, to go into the harbor, entering and leaving town, the number of axels on a cart, how many animals you were using etc. To make matters worse, they could stop the traveler, make them unpack all of their goods, impose a tax on them for all that they had, and of course charge them more than what was required by Rome. It’s not hard to see why the Jews despised the tax collectors for all the physical and financial hardships that they placed on people, and that they were Jews working for Gentiles. The Rabbis taught that repentance was nearly impossible for a tax collector. Tax collectors were also banned from being judges, witnesses and from worshipping in the synagogue.[1]

Luke 15:1 “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.” Why did the tax collectors and sinners come to Him? It was probably in response to Jesus’ final command at the end of the previous chapter: “He who has ears to hear, let him [hear]!” (Luke 14:35) These are whom Jesus was speaking about in (Luke 13:30) when He said, “And [indeed] there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

Remember, the Jewish people considered themselves to be first in every way, but they would be last, that is, they would be left out of the kingdom. In contrast, some Gentiles, considered last, would be in the kingdom and would really be first in importance^[2]…because they had “ears to hear” (Luke 14:35)!

Luke 15:2 Dr. Luke records for us the criticism faced by Jesus from the religious elite for welcoming tax collectors and sinners and eating with them.

Luke 15:2 “And the Pharisees and scribes complained,” G1234 διαγογγύζω diagŏgguzō, dee-a-gong-good´-zo. The Greek word for “complained” is written in the imperfect which suggests that it was a continuous, normal action by the Pharisees and scribes, which is what they normally did whenever they come in contact with Jesus. As the publicans and the sinners were drawing near to Jesus just in that proportion the Pharisees and the scribes increased their murmurings.^[3] This complaining by the Pharisees and scribes imitates the attitude and actions by the Israelites in the desert, where they too saw the signs of God’s presence, saw His miracles yet they still did not believe. In fact, complained is the same word used in the Greek Old Testament for the repeated “murmuring” of the people against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Exodus 15:24; Exodus 16:2; Exodus 16:7–8; Exodus 17:3; Numbers 14:2; Numbers 16:11). It appears only twice in the New Testament, here and in Luke 19:7. Both times it is in the mouth of Pharisees complaining against Jesus. It is either “murmuring among themselves” or “murmuring through the crowd.” We get the clear picture of an undercurrent of discontented complaining about Jesus’ actions. These rumblings eventually crescendo in the events of the Passion.^[4] Back in Luke 5:29–32 (cf. Matthew 9:11), we see the same religious elite raising this same condemnation towards Jesus. As the one class (the sinners) drew near, so the other (the religious elite) stood off and found fault.^[5] The Pharisees and scribes stand in a direct contrast from the tax collectors and the sinners, for they rejected the teaching and baptism of John, which was a call to repentance: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2; cf. Luke 7:29).

Luke 15:2 “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” Is written in the present tense, meaning that the charge here is that this is the habit of Jesus. He shows no sense of social superiority to these outcasts.^[6] Jesus regularly welcomed sinners into fellowship, accepting them as a friend.^[7] To eat with another person in the Mideast is a sacramental act signifying acceptance on a very deep level.^[8] This complaint by the Pharisees and scribes that “This Man receives sinners and eats with them”, was their way of calling Jesus unclean and a traitor to the nation of Israel.

Luke 15:3 “³ So He spoke this parable to them, saying:” Here we see Jesus answering the complaint of the Pharisees and the scribes, and the three parables that follow here in Luke 15:4-32 consist of the response by Jesus to the Pharisees and scribes to their accusation that “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2) The noun used here that is translated as “parable” is G3850 παραβολῆς (paraboles) and is the genitive, singular, feminine version of παραβολή (parabŏlē). The Greek word (G3850) παραβολή (parabŏlē) comes from (G3846) παραβαλλω (paraballō) to throw alongside (From παρά [G3844], beside, and βάλλω [G906], to throw^[9]), to place alongside for measurement or comparison like a yardstick.^[10] A parable is a form of teaching that Jesus often used in which one thing is thrown beside another,^[11] as a physical illustration of a spiritual truth. Most of the time, Jesus used parables to illustrate one main point and the details are secondary. For some of the parables, Jesus does explain the secondary details, but when He doesn’t, we need to be careful in interpreting those details. As a rule, when the Bible is silent, we are to be silent. So if we don’t have any interpretation of the details, whether from Jesus or the rest Scripture, we are to remain silent. There have been many false teachings that come from false interpretations of parables. In Luke 8:10, Jesus explained to the apostles why He taught in parables to the people before He answered the apostles and told them the meaning of the parable of the Sower. Jesus tells His apostles that the parables He uses are open to them, but shut to the Pharisees with their antagonistic hearts. Depending on whether one is open to hearing what Jesus teaches will reveal whether His words are revealed or concealed by His hearers (cf. Luke 8:10). By speaking in parables, Jesus was actually being very gracious to His hearers. For if they rejected His claim as the Messiah, the Son of God, then their judgment won’t be as bad if they had understood more (Matthew 11:20–22; Luke 10:13–15; 1 Timothy 4:2). 1 Timothy 4:2 “seared with a hot iron,” G2743 καυτηριάζω kautēriazō, kŏw-tay-ree-ad´-zo; from a der. of 2545; to brand (“cauterize”), i.e. (by impl.) to render unsensitive (fig.):—sear with a hot iron.^[12] Whose souls are branded with the marks of sin, i.e. they are those who carry about with them the perpetual consciousness of sin.^[13]

The parable that we will study today is similar as the first one because they both are done in a chiastic structure. A chiasm or chiastic structure is common in oral traditions, as it helps the memorization of it, and the way that it works is in a pattern of A-B-C…C-B-A. A sandwich can best explain it, where you place a piece of bread on top (A), then some mustard (B), a piece of meat (C), then another piece of meat (C), some more mustard (B) and finally another piece of bread on the bottom (A). It is the repetition of similar ideas in a reverse order. Just like in The Rejoicing Shepherd, we see the Woman having (A) one who is lost; (B) the Woman seeking to find that which is lost; the Woman tells the people to “Rejoice with me”; (B) because she found (A) that which is lost. Both of the parables in this pericope end stating that there is joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10).

02. Ten Silver Coins (Luke 15:8a)

This parable is peculiar to Luke.^[14] This second parable begins with the word “Or”, which in the Greek is a single letter (G2228 ἤ ē, ay) and it is known as a disjunctive conjunction, which simply means it connects the two parables as a pair, one with a man as the main character, the other with a woman. Just as Jesus is portrayed as the Good Shepherd in the previous parable, now in this next one we see Him being portrayed as the Rejoicing Woman. So, what is the cultural setting of the parable of the lost coin? Middle Eastern peasant women occasionally carry their worldly wealth in gold or silver coins fastened to a chain around their necks. This jewelry is referred to as “the women’s bank.” Literally millions of dollars are tied up in this kind of capital. If divorced or widowed, this wealth will help sustain her. When her husband gives her a gift, it may be another pierced coin or medallion. Some commentators have suggested this custom as a background for the parable.^[15] But there is a more probable alternative. Peasant women carry any cash held for daily expenses in a tightly knotted rag. It was a day’s wages for a laborer. Perhaps these ten coins were given to the wife to provide for the family for a week or two. She tied them up in her little rag but the knot worked loose and a coin fell out. Having failed to be more careful, she was filled with shame and remorse for not tying her rag more tightly.^[16]

Luke 15:8 “having ten silver coins,” The Greek word for “silver coins” is (G1406 δραχμὰς) δραχμή drachmē, drakh-may´^[17], and weighs an eighth part of an ounce. The root is from (G1405) δρασσομαι [drassomai], which literally means to grasp with the hand (1 Corinthians 3:19)^[18] or ‘as much as one can hold in one’s hand’^[19], and so a handful of coin. Ten drachmas would be equal to about $37 in 2018 (https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=2&year=1933), but in purchasing power much more.^[20]

So its purchasing power was by no means insignificant…it was the price of a sheep, or one-fifth the price of an ox. Under specially favorable circumstances it was even possible to buy a whole ox for one drachma, or a slave for four…Conversely, the soldiers of Mark Antony look upon a gift of 100 dr. per man as proof of stinginess.^[21] This is the only time that a drachma is mentioned in the New Testament, though a double drachma is found in Matthew 17:24.^[22]

Pictures of ancient drachmas.[23] Drachma, silver coin of ancient Greece, dating from about the mid-6th century BC, and the former monetary unit of modern Greece. The drachma was one of the world’s earliest coins. Its name derives from the Greek verb meaning “to grasp,” and its original value was equivalent to that of a handful of arrows…As a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Athenian drachma came to be the monetary unit of the Hellenistic world…The drachma also became the prototype of an Islamic coin—the dirham. Nevertheless, as foreign invaders gained control in Greece, the drachma disappeared from use.[24] The drachma has been Greece’s national currency since 1833…up to 1 January 2002. On 28 February 2002, drachma banknotes and coins ceased to be legal tender and were replaced by euro banknote and euro coins.[25]

03. The Seeking Woman (Luke 15:8b-10)

This seeking woman has ten drachma and now Jesus continues the parable by saying that “if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8b)   

So here you might say, how can this woman represent Jesus when we see that this woman loses a drachma, and yet didn’t Jesus say “²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall >>never<< perish; >>neither<< shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and My Father are one.”” (John 10:27–30; cf. John 6:39–40; John 17:12; John 18:9; 1 Peter 1:5)? Here, in the second parable-story, the ruined soul is represented as a lost coin, and we learn from it that God positively misses each lost soul, and longs for its restoration to its true sphere and place in the heaven life and work for which it was created. In other words, in the first parable the lost soul is viewed from man’s standpoint; in the second, from God’s. If, then, a soul be missed, the result will be, not only missing for itself, but something lost for God.^[26] Just like in Luke 15:4; the word here for “does not” in the Greek has the interrogative word (οὐχί) that expects an affirmative answer. Any normal woman would, of course, do what is asked by Jesus.^[27]

Luke 15:8 “sweep” (σαροι [saroi]). Of course means to clear by sweeping, and is used three times in the N. T. (Luke 11:25; Luke 15:8; Matthew 12:44). ^[28] Oriental houses often have no windows, and a lamp would be necessary for a search even in the day,^[29] and probably also a dirt floor.^[30] Part of what drove her frantic search was the realization that she had lost the coin in the house. The lost sinners Jesus was receiving (Luke 15:1-2) were in the house of Israel, not in a far country. They were a part of the “wealth” of the nation and could be found. If Jesus’ critics would seek diligently they too could find the lost.^[31] The sheep and the drachma picture one and the same sinner, and every lost sinner is lost through a fault of his own.^[32] (cf. Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 1:22; Proverbs 1:29;  Jeremiah 4:22; Romans 1:28–2:1; Romans 3:23; Romans 8:7–8; 1 Corinthians 15:34; 2 Peter 3:5)

Luke 15:9 “her friends and neighbors” (τας φιλας και γειτονας [tas philas kai geitonas]). female friends (feminine article and φιλας [philas]).^[33] The word for friends as well as neighbors here in the Greek is with the feminine article, meaning that these are female friends and neighbors. No meaning is to be sought in the change of gender, which merely preserves the harmony of the picture. It is women who congratulate Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 4:14, 17).^[34]

There are only two commands in this pericope of Luke 15:1-10, and both commands are the same, to rejoice, seen here in Luke 15:9 and previously in Luke 15:6. This shows us the main theme of this chapter, which is the theme of joy, which culminates at Luke 15:23-24 and Luke 15:32. A woman finding a lost coin is a big event that merits a party…The finding of a lost tax collector should have stimulated similar joyous excitement^[35] in the Pharisees and scribes.

Luke 15:10 “there is joy” (γινεται χαρα [ginetai chara]). More exactly, joy arises.^[36]

Luke 15:10 “in the presence of the angels of God” (ἐνωπιον των ἀγγελων του θεου [enōpion tōn aggelōn tou theou]) this is also another way of saying that there is joy in God’s presence.^[37] Here we see further condemnation of the Pharisees and the scribes (Luke 15:2), who fail to share in the joy that exists in the presence of God when a lost sinner repents, but instead the complain at the very thing that causes angels to rejoice! Jesus is the Rejoicing Shepherd and the Rejoicing Woman because He “has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) A sheep can get up and run to the shepherd, a coin cannot do anything on its own (Ephesians 2:8-9). The sheep and the coin cannot save themselves.

This is the moral throughout,—the value of a single sinner. The Pharisees condemned Jesus for trying to reclaim multitudes of sinners. They had a saying, “There is joy before God when those who provoke Him perish from the world.”^[38] The Greek word for “repents” (G3340 μετανοέω mĕtanŏĕō, met-an-ŏ-eh´-o) is the root word for “repentance” in Luke 15:7 (G3341) μετάνοια mĕtanŏia, met-an´-oy-ah and it literally means a change of mind.^[39] Repentance is not being sorry that you were caught, that is a false repentance. True repentance, as found throughout Scripture is an active response after one has been confronted with their sin, causing them to become contrite and putting their trust in Jesus (Matthew 3:2; Matthew 12:41; Mark 1:4; Mark 1:15; Luke 3:8; Luke 10:13; Luke 15:10; Luke 17:3; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18; Acts 17:30; Acts 26:20; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:9; 2 Timothy 2:25; Hebrews 6:6; 2 Peter 3:9). In Acts 3:17, Peter acknowledges that those there in the crowd that day contributed to the death of Jesus ignorantly, “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” But Peter in Acts 3:19 called them to “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” (Acts 3:19).

2 Corinthians 7:8–9 Paul’s harsh letter had hurt them. It had hurt Paul too. He had not relished his role as a disciplinarian, and in fact he apparently had wished he had not sent it with Titus. Yet because of the results his regret was softened. In sorrow the Corinthians acknowledged their failure and redressed the wrong.^[40]

2 Corinthians 7:10–11 They had exemplified repentance, a change of mind involving action in accord with God’s will. As such it was a godly sorrow (like Peter’s remorse after his denial of Christ). This was not a worldly sorrow which brings death (like Judas’ “sorrow” after he betrayed the Lord; Matthew 27:3–5). The Corinthians’ genuine sorrow … produced several things: (a) a diligence or concerted effort to make amends, (b) an eagerness to vindicate themselves, (c) indignation against Paul’s opponent (2 Corinthians 2:5–11), (d) alarm at their own passivity and its injurious effects (2 Corinthians 2:1–4), (e) longing and concern for Paul (2 Corinthians 7:7), and (f) readiness to see justice done (2 Corinthians 2:6).^[41] Paul writes that Jesus died to reconcile the ungodly, the sinners to God (Romans 5:6-10). We come into the presence of God not to be condemned but to be forgiven.

This double parable, which is addressed to the Pharisees and the scribes, brought us the glaring difference between them and the angels in heaven: they murmured at the very thing that made the angels rejoice. That should have given them pause to search their hearts, where something must have been wrong. Repentance rings out in this parable; it is that which causes this astounding joy. That, too, reached at the hearts of these men. Were heaven and its angels rejoicing over them? Were they furnishing heaven the repentance that would cause such joy? Did their lack of joy over sinners who were drawn to Jesus hang together with a lack of joy over themselves in heaven?^[42]

We must not press parabolic images too far, but it is worth noting that the coin would have on it the image of the ruler (Luke 20:19–25) The lost sinner bears the image of God, even though that image has been marred by sin. When a lost sinner is “found,” God begins to restore that divine image through the power of the Spirit; and one day, the believer will be like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10; 1 John 3:1–2).^[43] These two parables help us understand something of what it means to be lost. To begin with, it means being out of place. Sheep belong with the flock, coins belong…together, and lost sinners belong in fellowship with God. But to be lost also means being out of service. A lost sheep is of no value to the shepherd, a lost coin has no value to the owner, and a lost sinner cannot experience the enriching fulfillment God has for him in Jesus Christ.^[44]

But to turn this around, to be “found” (saved) means that you are back in place (reconciled to God), back in service (life has a purpose), and out of danger. No wonder the shepherd and the woman rejoiced and invited their friends to rejoice with them!^[45] It is easy for us today to read these two parables and take their message for granted, but the people who first heard them must have been shocked. Jesus was saying that God actually searches for lost sinners! No wonder the scribes and Pharisees were offended, for there was no place in their legalistic theology for a God like that. They had forgotten that God had sought out Adam and Eve when they had sinned and hidden from God (Genesis 3:8–9). In spite of their supposed knowledge of Scripture, the scribes and Pharisees forgot that God was like a father who pitied his wayward children (Psalm 103:8–14).^[46]

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[1] cf. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Peabody; Hendrickson, 1993], Bk 03, Ch 17, p351-58, 1.507-19

^[2] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 241). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:2). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[4] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, p. 28). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[5] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 794). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.

^[6] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:2). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[7] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, pp. 28–29). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[8] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, p. 29). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[9] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 1, p. 74). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

^[10] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 13:3). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[11] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 1, p. 74). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

^[12] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 41). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

^[13] Thayer, J. H. (1889). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: being Grimm’s Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti (p. 342). New York: Harper & Brothers.

^[14] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:8). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[15] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, pp. 34–35). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[16] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, p. 35). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[17] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 24). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

^[18] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:8). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[19] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 261). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

^[20] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:8). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[21] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 261). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

^[22] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:8). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

[23] https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Coinage/

[24] https://www.britannica.com/topic/drachma

[25] http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Euro/drachma.aspx

^[26] Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). St Luke (Vol. 2, p. 41). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

^[27] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 804). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.

^[28] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:8). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[29] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke (p. 370). London: T&T Clark International.

^[30] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:8). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[31] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, p. 35). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[32] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 804). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.

^[33] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:9). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[34] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke (p. 371). London: T&T Clark International.

^[35] Bailey, K. E. (2005). The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Second Edition, p. 36). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.

^[36] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:10). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[37] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 15:10). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[38] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke (p. 371). London: T&T Clark International.

^[39] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 640). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

^[40] Lowery, D. K. (1985). 2 Corinthians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 572). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[41] Lowery, D. K. (1985). 2 Corinthians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 572). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[42] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 806). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.

^[43] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 234). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[44] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 234). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[45] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 234). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[46] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 234). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.