When the skeptics criticize Jesus for His associating with those who are viewed as exceptionally sinful, Jesus responds by presenting three parables in Luke 15. This episode focuses on the first two parables in this trilogy of illustrations that are all connected by the same theme: God’s care and concern for the lost. God’s love for all sinners is powerfully portrayed as Jesus shows God’s willingness to seek, search, and sacrifice for those who have wandered away from Him, those who have been misplaced by carelessness of others, or those who have rebelled against Him.