The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

Last two week:

Hebrews 1:1-3—Began our look at the centrality of Jesus Christ

Luke 19:28-40—Continued our look at the centrality of Christ seen in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and His announcement as the Messiah; making sure we are seeing Christ the way He desires us to see Him.

Beginning today, we take a look at three (3) accounts within Luke 15, which help us understand the Biblical purpose for which Christ came:

(Today)-The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-7)

(Next)-The Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10)

(Next)-The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

Starting near the end of Chapter 9 and ending in the first portion of Chapter 19, Luke recounts Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem where He would humbly, obediently, and willingly endure the cross. Within these chapters, Luke records Jesus’ teachings and the public conflict that came with them. In the verses contained in these chapters, we see Jesus as the predominate speaker, the primary voice. Why? Because His true purpose for His coming to this earth, as the Incarnate Word of God, was at hand. There was much to say and much to teach about, all of which designed and purposed to direct people to the cross He was to carry, bear, and endure for man and his sins. And tucked within these 11 chapters, we come across Chapter 15;

Chapter 15 of Luke is not only one of the most important chapters in Luke’s gospel, it is one of the most important chapters in all the Bible. Contained in this chapter are three of the most famous parables Jesus ever told. Each of these parables teach and make a single, yet dynamic point. GOD LOVES THE LOST. According to David Jeremiah, “The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son comprise a trilogy of increasing value. The lost son is one of a hundred, the lost coin is one of 10, and the lost son is one of two. In the first, Jesus is the Good Shepherd; in the second, He is the good woman; in the third, He is the Father who seeks His lost sons.”

Further, each of them deal with the singular purpose for which Christ came (again Matt 1:21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”” ). God’s great love for man is seen in Him seeking and receiving the lost sinner, who repents and turns home.

Today we discuss the first of these three, The Parable of the Lost Sheep—a story that could be called, “The Story of Four Verbs—lose, seek, find, rejoice.”

As we discuss this parable, and as we discuss the other 3, my prayer is that we continue to hold on to and remember the centrality of Jesus Christ, that wrapped up in His deity as the Son of God, His part and role within the three-in-one Godhead, and His Incarnate role in our humanity, we find His compassion, concern, and care to see to it no one fails to obtain God’s grace (Hebrews 12:15)

(READ Luke 15:1-7)

I. (v.1-3) Tax collectors and sinners drew near Jesus

Luke 15:1-3 “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying:”

(CONTEXT)—Note 2 things:

There are two groups of people (Tax-collectors/sinners and the Pharisees & Scribes)

What to know about tax-collectors

Worked for the Roman government (nation which conquered Israel)

Considered traitors to both Israel and God

A group despised by the people and cut off/shut out by religionists

What to know about “sinners”

They were the rank immoral and unjust who did not keep the law; and included:

Harlots

Liars,

Thieves, and

Murderers

What to know about both groups

They were hungry for His message-

They were not coming out of curiosity/nor to observe/nor to seek physical blessings

The were coming out of a spiritual need—a need to hear His message of salvation

They acknowledged their great need

Both of these groups were sinners, traitors to both God and man—and they knew it

When Christ arrived preaching deliverance from sin and hope of the Kingdom of God, they flocked to Him

Pharisees & Scribes

Religious leaders of the day

Held the Jewish people under their thumb of religion/the law

Worked in the midst of Roman officials

Pharisees & Scribes attitude—tragic

Grumbled against Jesus b/c He associated with these “terrible” sinners

Grumbled b/c they felt is was beneath the dignity of any respectable person to associate with sinners

The difference in these two (2) groups

One group recognized:

Themselves as sinners in need of a Savior

The purpose/mission/intentionality of Christ and His message

Their acceptance of God to come through the means and mode of Christ’s message

One group failed to recognize

Themselves as sinners in need of a Savior

The purpose/mission/intentionality of Christ and His message

Their acceptance of God was to come through the means and mode of Christ, but rather through the means of:

Religious activity

Following the Law

Being morally right/good

(CONNECTION)-Which group do you fit into?

Are you as the tax collector and sinner, recognizing yourself a sinner in need of a Savior; are you hungry for God’s message of deliverance and redemption in and through Jesus Christ?

Acknowledging one’s need of Christ and hungering for His message must be at the heart of any person who seeks salvation; for this is heart of a believer’s confession of faith:

The message of salvation—Jesus’ message and gift of salvation—is reserved for those who 1st hunger and thirst for the message b/c they recognize they are sinners—that they are traitors/rebels towards God==the is the 1st part of believer’s confession

If you cannot/do not/choose not/neglect to recognize yourself as a sinner, you miss this 1st vital understanding of believer’s confession and by default miss out on the 2nd part of believer’s confession—that of seeing your need of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins

Are you as the Pharisee or Scribe, failing to recognize yourself a sinner in need of Jesus, being dependent upon religious activity, morals, and the law for God’s acceptance of you?

(LET ME MAKE SOMETHING ABUNDANTLY CLEAR): Faith requires feet—it requires pursuit—requires sanctification—and requires spiritual discipline

Spiritual disciplines are Biblical and necessary, and the practice of them is good;

Reading/memorizing/meditating/and obedience to God’s Word, is both necessary and good

Possessing the characteristic of a persistent prayer life, is both necessary and good

Attending/serving/being a part of the local church, is both necessary and good

Offering one’s life to be an ambassador/witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is both necessary and good

However, apart from being (1) Being born again, of being (2) surrendered to Jesus Christ, these activities reveal nothing more than a Pharisitical heart, avoiding the truth that one’s acceptance from God is ONLY through Christ and Him crucified, embracing a false-doctrine that God’s acceptance comes through any other means.

Spiritual disciplines produce spiritual fruit; spiritual fruit are fruits which are produced and pruned through the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is Who must dwell inside a person’s heart for Him to conform us into these things; a for the Holy Spirit to dwell in a person’s heart, the person’s heart must first be surrendered to Jesus Christ

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

II.(v.4) A sheep was lost

Luke 15:4 ““What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

(CONTEXT-Simple representation here)

The Sheep—refers to:

The unbeliever

The sinner who wanders out in the wilderness of the world

The person who has gone astray and is lost to God

What man must grasp is this:

We were all born astray, we are not born “Christian”

Our “growing up in a Christian home,” isn’t a qualifier for salvation

Our “growing up in a non-Christian home,” isn’t a disqualifier for salvation

We were all born already in captivity

We were all born in sin (Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” )

What man must also grasp is:

Left to ourselves, we were (are) prone to wander deeper into the “wilderness”

Left to ourselves, we were (are) blind to see & find our way out

What man needs to see and realize is: Christ knew and knows this

He knew we were born into captivity

He knew we were born already set to the wilderness

He knew, left to ourselves, we are prone to wander and blind to see & find our own way out

This is why He came!! He knew that apart from Himself, those He created would be “lost”

The “lost”—means:

To perish

To destroy

To lose

To be spiritually destitute

To be cut off

Ask yourselves this: Why would God, who created you in His likeness and image, to be the pinnacle of all He created, to be in a relationship of worship and fellowship, not come after you? Why would God, who loved you enough to create, not love you enough to restore you? Why would God, who loved you enough to create you, not do all He could to redeem you, protect you, shepherd you?

III.(v.4) The Sheep was Lost because of self

Luke 15:4 ““What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

(CONTEXT—There are 5 (five) ways a sheep loses itself

The sheep is attracted by something, “in the wilderness,” away from the flock of the shepherd

What the sheep sees is more attractive/appealing

What the sheep sees tempts and seduces him—and he lusts after it (“lust of the eyes” 1 John 2:16)

The sheep is aimless, not paying attention to what is going on

The sheep wanders off and in the process of “getting lost,”

Does not know it is losing its way and is already lost when it discovers it has lost it’s way (we are not born believers, we are born lost—”in sin did my mother conceive me,” says David

The sheep refuses to heed the warnings of the shepherd and the example of the other sheep (“pride of life” 1 John 2:16)

The sheep is not attached enough to the shepherd or the other sheep

The sheep possesses no bond or union to the shepherd as there should be

The sheep stays off by himself, eating, resting, working alone until he wanders off without anyone’s ever knowing it, including himself

Hebrews 10:25 “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The sheep does not trust the shepherd

The sheep does not think the shepherd will take care of him

The sheep does not think the shepherd will provide and protect him., and by default—searches for greener pastures and more satisfying food)

(CONNECTION)—Seeing how man is similar in these 5 ways to the sheep; being “lost” is what we bring on ourselves—it’s a result of our rejection and rebellion.

Man is attracted/lured away/enticed by something, “in the wilderness,” or “in the world”;

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

Lust of the flesh

Lust of the eyes

Pride of life

Man is aimless, not paying attention to where he’s going/what he’s doing

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Man is stubborn, refusing to listen to God’s truth/His warning/His message of deliverance

Example of Pharaoh from our time in Exodus;

The more stubborn and resistant a man—the more His heart becomes hard and calloused

Man is not attached to Christ; there is no bond with Him or the church

Think of a ship not anchored to a dock—if there is nothing to tie the ship down, it will do adrift at the will of wind/waves

If a person is not anchored to Christ, to the Word of Christ, or the local body of Christ—he will go adrift at the will of the world and it’s wind/waves

Man is not trusting of Jesus Christ, of God the Father, His Word/His promises/His assurances—

Man doesn’t trust Christ

With his sin(s); that He can and will cleanse them

With his struggles/circumstances/situations…that He can overcome them

Fears/anxieties…that He can quench them

Marriages/children…that He can redeem and sanctify them

Finances…that He is Lord over them

And b/c man does not entrust Christ we things things, man turns to and trusts in trust in other things to provide assurance/relief/satisfaction:

Alcohol/drugs/pornography

Money/fame/fortune

Immoral relationships

Worldly lusts/pleasures/satisfactions

Religion

IV.(v.4) The Sheep was Lost in the Wilderness or Open Country

Luke 15:4 ““What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

(CONTEXT)

About the wilderness:

It had an excitement about it

It’s unknown and the risks aroused curiosity and emotions

About the sheep who goes the way of the wilderness

At first—the wilderness looks enticing, however, the sheep soon finds it to be a dangerous place, a place where there’s

Rugged terrain

Narrow ridges and deep ravines

Dangerous footing/thick underbrush, and ultimately a place where there’s

No way out

What’s next—as the sheep finds itself in the wilderness,

Alone with it’s strength gone

Alone and without protection/provision

Alone and the wilderness ready to take it’s life

The sheep here has done it’s own way, chosen to live for itself, to live according to it’s desires, cravings, and wants, rather than be under the protection, provision, assurance of the shepherd

(CONNECTION—You and me)

(ABOUT THE WILDERNESS)

The “wilderness” for us today, refers to this world, the systems of it; the beliefs and doctrines of this world; the images and worth the world promises; and the allurement and attractiveness the world offers, along with it’s promises

Occupation and purpose

Lifestyle and acceptance

Ego and self-esteem

Recognition and privilege

More and more honor

Position and image

Wealth and plenty of it

What we must understand one vital truth about the “wilderness” of this world:

What this world offers, the doctrines and beliefs, the images and worth it wants to define you with, it’s promises, allurement, and attractiveness, provide no life-giving value, provide an inheritance of things which do not last; an inheritance of defilement and corruption, and ultimately an inheritance leading to spiritual death

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away...”

(ABOUT THE SHEEP)

The “wilderness” is where a person finds themselves when they see they make the chose to listen and follow after their own flesh—or sinful nature. In choosing to live our own way, we are choosing to live according to the flesh—according to our sinful nature. A person who is not surrendered is thereby indebted to live this way; or said this way, “is obligated to live” according to their flesh—which is to live as the world

Being “lost” is what we bring on ourselves—it’s a result of our rejection and rebellion—we find ourselves there, b/c we put ourselves there; though we may say things like, “I was just born this way,” or “It’s just how I am made,” these (and others) are just excuses we make, justifications we make, side-steps we make, to avoid accountability to this truth

God didn’t make you a sinner, but He restores the sinner

God isn’t evil—but He overcomes evil

The “wilderness,” no matter how hard a person tries, no matter the excuses, the justifications, or beliefs, leaves a person:

Alone without strength

Alone without protection/provision

Alone in a world that will take their life

To help bring some understanding, let’s ask two questions in light of what Paul teaches us in Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.”

Question #1 “What has the flesh (our sinful nature) ever done for us?”

Contaminated us with sin.

Made us to be fleshly and carnally minded

It causes us to die—(Romans 6:23(a)-“For the wages of sin is death…”

Provide the opposite of peace and life

Your sin will not give you rest

Your sin will wear you down and wear you out

Put as at odds with God

Question #2 “What has God promised you in and through His Son Jesus Christ?

To cleanse you from sin

Isaiah 1:18 ““Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

To cause us to think spiritually and godly and to know we are hidden in Christ

Colossians 3:1-4 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

To give us peace and rest

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

To give us true life and contentment

John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Philippians 4:12-13 (true meaning of this verse) “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

To give us a relationship with God, no longer and enemy but a rightful son or daughter

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

To make us a new creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

To give you us both

An inheritance that is undefiled, uncorrupted, and everlasting,

1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

A new nature

2 Peter 1:4 “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

V.(v.4) The sheep was Sought Until Found

Luke 15:4 ““What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

(CONTEXT)—Note 4 things:

The sheep was sought

The shepherd left the 99 (those already in the fold) to go after the 1

The 1 needed to be sought

The 1 needed the attention of the shepherd—and needed the time, attention, energy, and effort of the shepherd

The 1, as long as it was lost, was the primary purpose and reason for the shepherd

The search was urgent

“Went after,” or “go after”—indicates the shepherd was gripped with concern; he went after the sheep as if were the only one

If you were the only sinner on this earth—Christ will still have gone to the cross for you; He doesn’t desire for (1) person to be left out of the flock

The shepherd sought until he found the sheep

The shepherd’s search for the sheep

Was not one of complacency

Was not slow

Was not as though there was plenty of time

The shepherd:

Did not give up—despite the difficulties that lay along the pass to rescue the sheep

Did not grow weary in his search for the sheep, rather he sought and kept on seeking until he found the lost sheep

Did not slacken, back off, nor give up

The shepherd embraced the sheep when it was found and threw it over his shoulders. He received it:

With arms wide open

Embracing the sheep

Rejoicing in his heart

Supporting and carrying it to his home

(CONNECTION)

Jesus came to seek and save the lost—those who have been lost to this world, have gone wayward, and have gone the way of their flesh (sinful nature)

Luke 19:10 “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.””

Jesus came with urgency

2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Jesus searches until we are found; He pursues us

He pursues us b/c we are created in His image and likeness

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

He pursues us b/c we have gone astray

Genesis 3:8-9 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?””

He pursues us b/c we are valuable to Him

Psalm 139:13-14 “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.”

Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Jesus (the heavens) rejoice when a lost sheep comes into the fold

Luke 15:7 “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

VI. (v.5-6) The sheep, once found, brought great joy

Luke 15:5-6 “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”

(CONTEXT) Note what the shepherd did

He called his neighbors together

Everyone rejoiced b/c the shepherd’s labor was not in vain

The shepherd tenderly called the lost sheep, “my sheep”— “My sheep which was lost.”

The sheep belonged to the shepherd—no matter how dirty, filthy, unclean, destitute, depraved, ugly or lost it had been—it was still the shepherd’s sheep

John 10:25-30 “Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.””

1 Peter 2:24-25 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

(CONNECTION--Focus on this point is on the 3rd from the context)

John 10:11-16 ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

VI!.(v.7) The sheep represented a repentant sinner

Luke 15:7 “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

WORSHIP TEAM—(CONTEXT and CONNECTION)

Salvation is not universal—there is no Biblical truth to the doctrine of “universalism”

Salvation is also not limited—there is not Biblical truth to “limited atonement”

Salvation is offered to ANY person who would confess & repent

Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

Ezekiel 18:21 ““But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.”

Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Confession involves two parts (acknowledgment of sin and acknowledgment of the Savior)

Repentance means—

“to change one’s mind”,

“to turn one’s mind”; “it’s a turning from sin and towards God”

Repentance includes:

Resolving never to think or do a thing again; to turn away from glaring sins, such as:

Lying/cheating/stealing

Sexual sin & immorality

Drunkenness and addiction

To turn away from sins of the spirit/silent sins, such as:

Self-centeredness

Envy/bitterness/pride

Covetousness/anger/evil thoughts

Hopelessness/lazy/jealous/lust

Repentance is more than sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

Worldly sorrow: is the sorrow that produces guilt, shame, remorse for being found out, for being punished; sorrow over wrongdoing or coming up short on one’s expectations;

Worldly sorrow eats a man up with

Guilt and remorse

Depression & despair

Defeat and inactivity

Worldly sorrow is man’s default reaction to his wrongdoing, where he avoids and resents the accountability and consequences of sin; it is not repentance, because it revolves around self-preservation and self-pity, and not around the conviction which comes through the Holy Spirit

Godly sorrow is understanding conviction—which comes from the Holy Spirit—which is God fighting for you; where a person’s heart is led to repent of their sins