“Chapter 29: Jesus Tells Three Stories,”
New Testament Stories, 76
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One day Jesus was eating and talking with some sinners. Some Pharisees came to talk to Jesus.
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The Pharisees thought they were good men. They did not talk to sinners. They thought Jesus should not talk to sinners.
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Jesus wanted to teach the Pharisees they were wrong. He wanted them to know why he was with the sinners. He told them three stories. The first story was about a lost sheep.
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The Lost Sheep
The First Story
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A good shepherd had one hundred sheep. One of the sheep was lost.
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The good shepherd left the other ninety-nine sheep. He went to look for the lost one. He wanted to save it. He found the lost sheep. He was very happy.
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He picked it up and put it on his shoulders. He carried it home. When the shepherd got home, he called to all his friends and neighbors. He told them to come and be happy with him. He had found the sheep that was lost.
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Jesus told the Pharisees what the story meant. Jesus said he is like the good shepherd in the story. Sinners are like the lost sheep.
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The shepherd wanted to save the lost sheep. Jesus said he wants to save sinners.
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The shepherd was very happy when he found the lost sheep. Jesus said he is happy when sinners repent.
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That was why Jesus was talking with sinners.
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The Lost Coin
The Second Story
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A woman had ten silver coins. Coins are pieces of money. The woman lost one coin. She looked all through the house for it.
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At last the woman found the lost coin. She was very happy. So she called her friends and neighbors. They were happy, too, because the woman found the lost coin.
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The friends and neighbors in the story were like angels. The angels of God are very happy when a sinner repents.
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Jesus said he is like the woman in the story. The lost coin is like a sinner. Jesus wants to find the sinners. He wants to help them repent. Jesus is very happy when a sinner repents.
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The Lost Son
The Third Story
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A man had two sons. Each son would get some money when the father died. The younger son asked for his part of the money. He did not want to wait until his father died. He wanted the money then. The father gave the younger son the money.
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The son took the money and left home. He went to another land. He spent all his money. He sinned. He did not obey God’s commandments.
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He had no money to buy food. He was very hungry. He asked a man for help.
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The man sent him to feed the pigs. The son was so hungry he wanted to eat the pigs’ food. He thought of his family. He knew everyone at home had enough to eat. Even the servants had enough to eat. He wanted to go home. But he knew he had sinned. He had not obeyed God’s commandments. He had not obeyed his father. He thought he was not good enough to be a son. But he wanted to repent. He would ask to be a servant in his father’s house.
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The son went home. His father saw him coming.
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The father loved his son. He ran to meet him. He put his arms around him and kissed him.
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The son said he had sinned. He had not obeyed God’s commandments. And he had not obeyed his father.
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The father told a servant to bring good clothes. The servant put the clothes on the son. He put shoes on his feet. He put a ring on his finger.
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The father told the servant to make a big dinner. He wanted everyone to eat and be happy. His son had gone away, but now he was home. His son had sinned, but now he had repented.
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The older son had been working in the field. When he came home, he heard music and dancing. He asked a servant what was happening. The servant said the younger son had come home. Their father wanted everyone to eat and be happy.
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The older son was angry. He would not go into the house. His father came out to talk to him.
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The older son said he had worked many years for his father. He always obeyed his father. But his father had never given him a big dinner. He asked why his father had a big dinner for the younger son. The younger son was a sinner.
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The father said the older son had always stayed with him. He had not gone away. Everything the father had would belong to the older son. The father said it was good to have a dinner for the younger son. His younger son had gone away, but now he was home. His son was a sinner, but he had repented.
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Jesus ended the story. He had told the Pharisees three stories. The stories showed the Pharisees why Jesus was talking to sinners. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know how much Heavenly Father loves everyone. Heavenly Father loves people who obey him. He also loves sinners. He wants sinners to repent so they can come back to him.
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