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The Gospel of Luke 15

15 Now, many tax collectors and other people whom the religious leaders considered to be sinners kept coming to Jesus to listen to him teach. 2 When the Pharisees and teachers of the Jewish laws saw this, they began to grumble. They said, “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.” They thought Jesus was defiling himself by doing that. 3 So Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose that one of you had 100 sheep and you lost one of them. Certainly you would leave the 99 other sheep in the wilderness and go search for the lost sheep until you had found it. 5 When you found it, you would joyfully put it on your shoulders to carry it home. 6 Then when you arrived home, you would call together your friends and neighbors and say to them: ‘Be joyful with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ 7 You should know that, in a similar way, there is great joy among those in heaven when one sinner repents from his sins. That joy is greater than their joy over many people who are already right with God and do not need to repent.

8 Or suppose that a woman had ten valuable silver coins but lost one of them. Certainly she would light a lamp and sweep the floor and search carefully until she found it. 9 When she found it, she would call together her friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be very happy with me, because I have found the coin that I lost!’ 10 I tell you that, in a similar way, there is much joy among the angels of God when one sinner repents from his sins.”

11 Then Jesus continued and said, “There once was a man who had two sons. 12 One day the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me now the share of your property that I would otherwise have received when you died.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons. 13 Only a few days later, the younger son gathered together all that he owned and traveled to a country far away. There in that country he spent all his money foolishly in wasteful, immoral living. 14 After he had spent all his money, there was a severe famine throughout that country. Soon he did not have anything left to live on. 15 So he went to a man who lived in that country and asked him to hire him. So the man sent him out to his fields to feed his pigs. 16 He became so hungry that he wished he could eat the bean pods that the pigs ate, yet no one gave him anything. 17 Finally he began to think clearly about how foolish he had been, and he said to himself: ‘All of my father’s hired servants have more than enough food to eat, but here I am dying because I do not have anything to eat! 18 So I will leave here and go back to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I do not deserve to have you consider me your son any more. Please let me work for you as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 So he left there and started traveling back to his father’s house. But while he was still a great distance from the house, his father saw him and felt deep compassion for him. He ran to his son and embraced him and kissed him on the cheek. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. So I do not deserve to have you consider me your son any more.’ 22 But his father said to his servants; ‘Go quickly and bring my best robe and put it on my son. Also put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet! 23 And bring the calf that we have fattened for a special occasion and kill it, so that we can eat it and celebrate! 24 We need to celebrate because this son of mine was like a dead man, but he is now alive again! He was like a lost person, but we have found him again!’ So they all began to celebrate.

25 While all that was happening, the father’s older son was out working in the fields. After he finished working, he headed home. As he was getting close to the house, he heard people playing music and dancing. 26 He called for one of the servants and asked what was happening. 27 The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has come home. Your father told us to kill the fattened calf to celebrate because your brother returned safe and healthy.’ 28 But the older brother was angry and did not want to join the celebration. So his father came out and pleaded with him to come in. 29 But he replied to his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have worked as hard as a slave for you. I have always obeyed everything you told me to do. But you have never given me so much as a young goat that I could use to host a feast for my friends. 30 But now that this son of yours has come back home, after wasting all your money on prostitutes, you have told your servants to kill the fattened calf for a celebration!’ 31 But his father said to him, ‘My son, you are always with me, and all that I own is yours. 32 But it is right for us to celebrate and rejoice, because it is as though your brother was dead and is alive again! It is as though he was lost and we have him found again!’”

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