Pieces in God’s Puzzle: Luke 15:11-32

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours, ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found’” (Lk. 15:31-32, NASB).

Our article for today is taken from Luke 15:11-32. This pericope of scripture is famously known as “The Prodigal Son.” Although this title is a good one in that it identifies this particular son in his relationship to his father, the parable is told by Jesus to make known the love that the father has for his wayward son. We will explain this later. For now, let us begin by using this illustration. God, who is sovereign, has a plan. This plan has been in existence before the foundation the world. We can think of God’s plan as a jigsaw puzzle. A jigsaw puzzle has many pieces; 200-350 pieces. When the puzzle is completed it makes a picture. Each piece in the puzzle has its own unique size, shape, and color. Each piece of the puzzle must be connected to the right piece in order to complete the puzzle. In like manner everything in the entirety of the universe is one piece of the puzzle. That is everything has its unique place in God’s plan for His world that He created.

One section of the puzzle forms something that is part of the picture in the puzzle. Likewise, one of the sections in God’s plan is named soteriology; that is God’s plan to save human beings from their sins and to restore a broken relationship that has existed ever since the man and the woman sinned in the garden, and God drove them from the garden (Gen. 3:22-24). In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables. Each parable is designed to show the Pharisees, His opponents in that day, and opponents to God’s plan even today, that God loves every human being regardless of their station in life as stated in John 3:16: “For god so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (NASB).

The parable of The Prodigal Son is not a story about the son. Rather, the son is one example of three parables in chapter fifteen that are about God’s redemptive love. Now, we can establish this truth by reading Luke 15:11. “And He said, ‘a man had two sons. The word “man” is the subject in the sentence. The word “had” is the verb, and “two sons” is the direct object in the sentence that tells what the man had. Thus, the parable is about the father. At the closing of the parable we do not see the prodigal son. Rather, we see the father in conversation with his other son. Let us examine more closely the reason that Jesus tells this parable as well as the other two parables in Luke 15.

In Luke 14:1 we read these words: “It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely” (NASB). Why were they watching Him closely? Let us continue. “And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy” (v. 2). Now, this is not the first time that Jesus encounters a sick man on the Sabbath Day. It is not the first time that Jesus has to deal with religious leaders that think that strictly observing the Sabbath Day is more important that the well being of a human being. Especially when it comes to persons that the religious leaders have labeled as sinners; to be rejected and forever condemned in the community. Before Jesus says anything to the sick man, He addresses the religious leaders. “And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?’ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away” (v. 4). We see that the religious leaders reject some people, but Jesus receives all people.

The rejected people were attracted to Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes criticized Him. “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So He told them this parable” (15:1-3, NASB). Jesus tells three parables. They are The Lost Sheep (vv. 4-7); The Lost Coin (vv. 8-10) and the Prodigal Son (vv. 11-32) These parables tells us that Jesus comes into the world to save sinners. He makes every effort to save and restore the sick and the lost. The sick, the sinners, and the lost are not people that the religious leaders should shun; rather they are the very ones that the religious leaders should be seeking for. These people too are pieces in God’s puzzle. They too, are in God’s plan to save and restore humanity back to God.

When we buy a jigsaw puzzle, it comes in a box. The box has a picture that shows us what the puzzle will look like after it is completed. Thus, we can know what the outcome will be before we begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The person that puts the pieces of the puzzle together did not design the puzzle. They did not cut out the various pieces in their sizes, shapes, and colors. This was done by the manufacturers. Our role is simply to put the pieces together correctly so that when completed the puzzles is a replica of the picture on the box. How does this relate to Jesus’ ministry to the all people? How does all of this relate to the words of Paul? “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NASB). Further, we see that Jesus died to save us from sin (v. 9) and through the death of Jesus we are reconciled to God (vv. 10-11).

Salvation is not within our control. We did not plan it, and we did not decide how salvation was to be accomplished. This was done by God alone. The need for salvation did not surprise God. When the man and the woman sinned in the garden, God did not drop His head and scratch His head. God shed no tears, because the omnipresent and omniscient God is also the Omnipotent God. God, who is sovereign had it all thought our and planned before He created the world. Ephesians 1:1-9 tells us that God did not wait until humanity sinned before He made plans for salvation. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:4-5, NASB).

The picture on the puzzle box shows us how things will turn out if the pieces in the box are connected together correctly. God has already determined the outcome of all things. We are among the many pieces in the box that results from the shattering of God’s plan as a result of sin. Jesus came into the world to show us the Father. He came to put the pieces in the puzzle together. We are the broken pieces in the box that ultimately will be put together correctly so that the puzzle will be a perfect replication of the picture on the box.