PARABLE THEMES | GOD'S MERCY & GRACE

1. Parable Themes

a) As we look at the particular parables of Jesus, let's focus on the general themes that keep on recurring in those parables. Jesus might tell a new story to teach an old lesson. The parable themes are simple, yet they are at the heart of Jesus’s teaching.

2. God's Mercy And Grace

a) Certain parables illustrate the grace and mercy of God, in forgiving us when we did not deserve it, and when we could not make amends for our sins. God shows a Fatherly love for us, and is long-suffering toward us, even though we may be erring children. 

b) The parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7) reflects the imagery of Ezekiel 34:11-16. It proclaims God's joy over the recovery of the repentant sinner. It also demonstrates God's initiative in seeking the sinner.

Luke 15:3-7

3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Ezekiel 34:11-16

11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. 16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.