In this episode, Bryce dives into the scriptures about God's care for us!
Chapter 1: Does Jesus really care about you?
What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford Podcast. I'm Bryce, and today, by the title of the episode, you know we're going to talk about, does Jesus really care about you? How do you know if God cares about you? There's millions of people, billions of people, so many people have existed before and will exist after you.
How do you know that you're valuable and God cares about you? We're going to talk about that, guys. We're going to be in Luke chapter 15 today. It's going to be amazing. And listen, the hard posture behind this was I started getting plugged into a church back in my hometown in Georgia. And Pastor James is just amazing. I want to have him on the podcast one day.
And man, Pastor James, when we did this series, this little series on Luke 15 at church, it rocked my world so much that this has been a passage that I continually go back on, reflect on, that I love talking about. And so today we're going to share it with you guys as well. So Luke chapter 15. Does God really care about you? Let's talk about it.
Chapter 2: What parables are discussed in Luke chapter 15?
And there's gonna be three types of parables in Luke chapter 15. Parable of the lost sheep, parable of the lost coin, parable of the prodigal son. You guys might be familiar with them or may not. Don't wanna assume things, but here's the reality of parables. What is the purpose of a parable? You guys know, I've talked about this multiple times, but a parable is a sifting mechanism, okay?
Chapter 3: What is the purpose of a parable?
It's a sifting mechanism to see who really wants the benefits of the kingdom over the king and who really wants the king. Right? King Jesus. Do you want King Jesus or do you just want what he has to offer? And these parables were a sifting mechanism for Jesus to get his point across.
And for those that didn't want Jesus but wanted the benefits of Jesus, they ran away from the parables because they were like, this guy's a bozo. He doesn't know what he's talking about. But for those people that wanted to know more, they would go, hey Jesus, what did you mean when you said this? You can see an example of that in Mark chapter 4.
But let's read through each of these parables and we're going to explain them. We're going to go through them one at a time. It's going to be great. Luke 15 verse 1. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. All right, time out, time out.
We got already in this book right now three types of sinners that have been described, all right? You got the rich sinners. You got the tax collectors, all right? These guys were like the Jewish tax collectors were people who would go to their own people. Imagine Rome, the government of Rome, would hire out these tax collectors, right?
And these tax collectors would be Jewish people amongst the Jews. And they would say, hey, listen, look, you got to go collect these fees, but overcharge the fee. And whatever you overcharge, the amount that you add on to the actual fee, that's going to be your salary. And so that's why these guys were rich sinners was because they would take more than they needed.
And they were taken from their own people because Rome was hiring out Jews to take money from Jews for the government. It was crazy. So you got the rich sinners. Then he says you got the tax collectors and the sinners. Then he says you got the good old-fashioned sinners. And back in this time period, they would call them the Torah defilers, the guys that went totally against the law.
And then you have the third people group. You have the self-righteous sinners. And the self-righteous sinners might actually be the worst one. Like when you think you know it all, you've already lost. When you think you're perfect in everything and you got it and you know it all, you've already lost.
It's like the tiniest ounce of wisdom will make your head big and then you realize that you don't actually know anything when you learn that there's more. Does that kind of make sense? Like these guys were the self-righteous sinners. And they make a statement. They say, this man receives sinners and eats with them.
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Chapter 4: Who are the different types of sinners in Luke 15?
Now, we may think that that's a stupid statement, but you have to understand the perception that the Jews had of the Messiah, what they thought at least.
I mean, these Pharisees, they thought that the Messiah was going to be this holy, righteous, amazing person that came from a rich family, that came from a royal background, that was going to bring this government that was going to overthrow Rome, okay?
And so when they look at someone that claims to be the Messiah hanging out with people that they don't think the Messiah would hang out with, that's why they make this statement. So sometimes we can look at a statement that the Pharisees make, like, this man received sinners and eats with them. And we go, oh, these guys are stupid. We make fun of the Pharisees and the Sadducees now.
But back in this time period, it was kind of a valid statement to make. to say this man receives sinners and eats with them, how can he be the Messiah? How could this be so? Because they thought that Messiah was going to be someone who wouldn't even tolerate sin at all.
They think that because Jesus is hanging out with the sinners and tax collectors that he's tolerating sin when in reality, how can sinners come out of their lifestyle of sin if we don't meet them where they're at? And this is what Jesus is about to tell them. He told them this parable. What man of you, having a hundred sheep,
if he has lost one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. 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 that was lost.
Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need repentance. Okay, what is going on here? Jesus gives a picture, okay? Shepherd and sheep. He says, there's a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray. And if you think about it, if you're in a room of a hundred people, right?
And one person leaves, you would probably count the cost. You probably wouldn't even realize that one person had left if you're in a room with a hundred people. You see what I'm saying? But in the story, Jesus says, no, the shepherd recognizes that one of his hundred sheep have gone missing. And he says, now look, most people would say, I'm going to count the cost and let that one go.
But no, Jesus said, no, the shepherd in this story, he has to go get the sheep. And he goes all throughout the countryside and waters and this and that, and he finds the sheep. And when he finds the sheep, he doesn't scold the sheep. He doesn't yell at the sheep. He doesn't curse at the sheep.
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Chapter 5: What does the parable of the lost sheep teach us?
And to recognize that we're stupid allows us to come to ourselves and say, I need someone outside of myself to help me. That's the purpose of the good shepherd. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. And he says, I am the good shepherd. Let me guide your life. Let me guide your path. Let me teach you and show you the way. Because when we lean on our own understanding, we wander away.
Proverbs says, there's a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death. The way that seems right to a man means, let me go out of my own strength. Let me do things my way. And we wander off and we die. But Jesus Christ says, let me be your good shepherd.
And Psalm 23 reminds us that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, what happens when we have the good shepherd by our side? We fear no evil for he is with us. And then it says his rod and his staff, it comforts us. It means when we're leaning astray, but Christ is our good shepherd. He uses his staff. He doesn't beat us with the staff. He gently corrects us back in line.
It's a powerful thing. So it's kind of like a funny jab that Jesus says when he's like, they're sheep, sheep are stupid. He's like, we're stupid without him. And here's the other part that we can recognize. He shows the 99 how important one is. You're valuable. Does Jesus care about you? Yes, you're valuable because the shepherd is willing to risk the 99, leaving the 99 just to come after you.
And that's the perspective of Christ. If every human being in this world was perfect except you, and you were wretched and sinful and wicked, Jesus Christ would still come and live in this world and die for you, just for you. He would allow his sacrifice to be made just for you because you're valuable. So here's what we can learn for the first parable, right?
We need to draw near to Jesus because we are the lost sheep and he is the good shepherd. When we draw near to him, we tend to live this life of change and live this life of righteousness and live this life of holiness for him. And here's another thing I want to point out. Verse 7, to close out that parable.
Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. He's calling them out. He's saying, you guys think you're good because you followed the law. The law, obedience to the law should be a byproduct of your love for me is what Jesus is saying.
He said, you could be a good person on paper, but not turning away from sin. And what is repentance? Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction, a change of decision, a change of lifestyle. Okay, so he's saying there should be an outward expression of what God's doing in your heart.
Like a repentance of turning from our ways, turning from our sin, a turn of direction, a change of mind that leads to a change of direction is a cause and an overflow of what God has done in our heart of faith and trust in him. Jesus is the good shepherd. We should draw near to the good shepherd. My favorite parable out of all these three might be this next one, okay?
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Chapter 6: How does Jesus illustrate the value of one lost soul?
And the only way they can be set free from their sin is if I take it on myself. That's the price Christ puts on you, is his own life. If you're sitting here or listening to this and you're not valuable and down on yourself, I want you to look at the gospel. I mean, listen to these words. Christ values you enough to lay his own life down for you. That's why I love this parable.
He puts it into terms that society exalts right now, money, value. You want to know the value? There's no monetary value that can be put on you There's a value greater than money. There's a value more powerful than the amount on your bank account screen. It's a life. It's breath inside of your lungs because we only get one. And time flies like a vapor in the wind.
And to know that God took his life and decided, what am I going to use with my own life? But to put it on the cross for you is powerful, man. That gets me fired up. You are valuable. What can we learn from the first two parables? We're stupid without God and we need him, but we're valuable in his eyes. Let's read the third parable. Prodigal son. And he said, there was a man who had two sons.
And the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into the far country. And there he squandered his property and reckless living. Okay, let's talk about this, all right?
So father has a inheritance that he leaves to his children, leaves to his, that's something you do today. Like when people die, they leave money, they leave houses, they leave items, assets to people. Now imagine what's being said of this. You will receive an inheritance when someone important in your life passes away.
So when the son comes to his living father and says, give me what's mine already, he's looking at the father and saying, you're dead to me. Do you know what happens when we choose sin over Christ? We're looking at God dead in the face and saying, you're dead to me.
And when I say those words out loud and I reflect on my life of when I sinned, it breaks my heart to think that every time I chose sin, I was basically looking God dead in the eyes. I said, you're dead to me. That's what the son does to the father. He's looking at him and says, give me what's mine because I want this now before you die because you're dead to me and I can live this on my own.
This son is motivated by foolishness and greed, often what people are motivated by today. It tells us what happens to him. He says he lost it all. Lost it all. Blew it on prostitutes. Blew it on food. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in the country and he began to be in need.
Verse 15, so he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. Now this is important. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate and no one gave him anything. Are you kidding me? If you're a Jew listening to this or you're not a Jew, let me put this into perspective. Pigs are considered unclean in Jewish culture.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of the parable of the lost coin?
Your repentance, your obedience should all be a byproduct of your love for what I've done for you. And so when the son is coming home, now think about this. Established men never ran. The father runs to the son. He runs and meets him down there. Now think about this. This is how I view it. The father always looking down every day, maybe wondering where his son's at.
You know what we oftentimes think is like when we're screwing up and we're making stupid decisions and we're rebelled against God, we think that God wants nothing to do with us. That's what our sin convinces. Our sin convinces us that God wants nothing to do with us. But in reality, the father is constantly checking out the window. Where's my son at? I miss my son. Is he here?
And then he sees someone walking. So he runs and he runs down there and it wasn't his son. It was just a servant coming back. And so he turns around and walks back. And finally he looks and he sees the son and he notices that his son, because he's limp in that certain way his son used to walk. So he runs and he sprints. And I love the verbiage. It says, the father saw him and felt compassion.
What is compassion? Compassion is putting yourself in the place of someone else, feeling what they've experienced and having a sense of love and grace for them. The father had compassion on the son. It was like, man, I just love my son. And so he goes out there and embraces him. And look, the son gives his whole speech.
And do you notice that the father doesn't even acknowledge a single word he says? The son creates this lofty speech thinking that it was going to fix the father's perspective of him. And the father doesn't even listen to a single word of what he says. He just says, look, bring the best robe and put it on him. Do you know what the robe that he was bringing? He was bringing the father's robe.
The best robe was the robe that the father wore. Brought that and gave it to him. When we're drowning and clothed in our sin, the father gives us his robe. His robe is righteousness, changes our identity, changes who we are. put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and brought the fattened calf and killed it and let us eat and celebrate it.
This is my point when I share these parables with you and this is my point. It's crazy how we forget the words of Christ and we listen to what social media says sometimes and we listen to what sometimes our family and friends say or what society says and we lose all sight of how valuable we are. When I was 17 years old, I planned on taking my life because I thought my life wasn't valuable anymore.
I thought my life wasn't valuable enough to take my life. I had depression and anxiety and I thought, man, I'm not going to push through the depression and anxiety because my life isn't valuable. And the music I was listening to and the movies I would watch and the stuff I would read on social media and the comments and all the bullies at school, you know, all these things.
They would tell me who I was and I allowed it. And I thought I wasn't valuable. And then I read the words of Christ, who I believe is God, perfect, almighty, powerful. He says, Bryce, I think you're valuable enough to give my own life for. You know what society told me I was valuable enough for? Their own gain.
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