Context

• How are the Jewish people similar to salt? [ Luke 14:34-35 ]
• What is Jesus’ suggestion concerning those that are not listening to him?

Characters

• Why are the Pharisees grumbling about Jesus? [ Luke 15:1-2 ]
• What do they expect that Jesus, as a teacher, should be doing?
• Within the context of this passage, who is the sheep [ Luke 15:4 ], the lost coin [ Luke 15:8 ] and the younger son [ Luke 15:12 ] ?
• Who is the shepherd, the woman and the father?
• Why does the Lord seek the lost sheep of Israel? [ Luke 15:3-7 ]
• What is he hoping to achieve? What does the number 99, rather than a full 100 suggest about God’s character towards redeeming the lost?
• Who will rejoice? [ Luke 15:7 ]
• How is God’s behaviour similar to that of the woman? [ Luke 15:8-10 ]
• What is he seeking to achieve?
• Who will rejoice?
• When should the younger son have received his inheritance? [ Luke 15:12 ]
• What did the younger son think of his father?
• What struggle caused the younger son to come to his senses? [ Luke 15:14-16 ]
• What does he finally start to see clearly?
• How does the father react to his son’s repentant heart? [ Luke 15:20 ]
• Why does the older son hate this? [ Luke 15:28 ]
• How are the Pharisees similar to the older son?

Application

• What is the desire of God? (Beyond the people of Israel in this passage.)
• How much effort is God willing to put into this?
• How does God care for the lost that come to him in repentance?
• What was the Pharisees’ error?
• How might we fail in the same way as the Pharisees?
• Are we willing to go to the sinners?