He spake this parable; the three parables of this chapter contain each a vindication of the Saviour's conduct in receiving publicans and sinners. The point of them all is, that not what is safe, but what is lost, is the just occasion of labor in finding and joy upon recovery. We are not to infer from verse Luke 15:7 that there are any who were never lost and never need repentance. The Saviour simply reasons with the Pharisees upon common principles, as much as to say, If, as you think, you are safe within God's fold, why blame me for my solicitude to find and save the lost?

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Old Testament