The Parables: The Lost Sheep

Welcome and Recap:

Today, continuing our “Parables of Jesus Series,” we look at the “Parable of the Lost Sheep.” For those of you joining us, parables are teaching examples rich in language. They are analogies that communicate a truth, not unlike allegories and metaphors. Still, they are exalted due to their connection to the life and ministry of our Lord. Therefore, they are set apart and really the only things Christians refer to with the title “parable.”

Intro:

As with the Parables of the Mustard Seed and that of the Yeast or Leaven, the Lost Sheep parable, together with the Lost Coin, which was preached on two weeks ago, are part of a pairing, both sharing meaning. Namely, there is an emphasis on the breadth of God’s love and grace, which extends to all people regardless of their circumstances or status and communicates the joy of redemption and the value of each individual in God’s eyes. This aspect of God is portrayed, through these parables, as an active role of God in seeking and saving the lost. It challenges its hearers to consider their own response to God’s invitation to repentance and reconciliation in participation in the celebration of God’s mercy and grace.

‌So, in the same way as the Mustard Seed and the Yeast, within this formulation, Jesus describes Kingdom work in terms of both the agrarian activities of men, as we see in today’s text, Luke chapter 15, verses 3–7; and then a focus on women’s domestic activities immediately following in verses 8–10, which illustrates the cleaning of a house. Both parables share the same moral and application and really underline the point that this call is to everyone.

Illustration:

In today’s Scripture, we’re talking about the value of something lost. In economic terms, this could be an opportunity cost, the sum of all things lost in pursuit of something else. Consider what your “yes” means. When you say “yes” to anything, you say “no” to something else. You could have said “no” to chapel today; that would free you up to say “yes” somewhere else. A “yes” to anything that automatically determines your unavailability to another opportunity, this is an opportunity cost.

This is also comparable to the dilemma in gambling; when to cut your losses. One thing I’ve learned from day trading is, frankly, that I’m not that good. I bought into Bitcoin as it began to have a bull run. As in gambling, you should just be happy with recouping your investment, but why not ride the wave and get a big payout? When it starts to dive, that’s when real long-term investors buy (you get it low, sell it high, that’s smart math), but with cryptocurrencies that aren’t backed by anything, who knows if this is really it or what. So, when you miss it, you’ll probably miss it big. Real big. So, when you’ve lost all your investment and decide to sell below your purchase price just to stop the bleeding, you do it because you don’t actually have faith in recouping anything. And you’ll be upset. Even if you sell at your purchase price, you’re mad because you “had” more. So, you’re upset because you’re missing that value.

Scripture:

Look with me as I read Luke’s account of the passage, chapter 15, verses 4-7:

4 “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, 6 and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.

Matthew adds in his account that “13b he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Exposition:

In examining the usage of this parable, it’s entirely possible we are seeing two different settings. In Matthew, which is typically attributed as an eye-witness account, Verse 24 reads: “When they came to Capernaum…” In Luke’s account, who is a companion of the apostle Paul, chapter 15 begins with, “1All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him.” So, here, Jesus is traveling from Galilee toward Jerusalem, Capernaum is in Galilee, and there is reference to a meal that was shared with these “sinners,” or at least people who were “less-than” this group of Pharisees and scribes, because it says in verse 2, that “The Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.””

So, it’s also entirely plausible that these are one and the same event.

If we’re trying to be syncretistic, that is, to harmonize the gospels—which is hardly ever a good thing, mind you, but it’s fine, I think, when trying to speak generally about the time frame that something took place. This roughly matches up with John chapter 6, when, in verse 53, many people decide to stop following Jesus due to a difficult teaching he gave them.

Now, it’s commonly held that the journey to Jerusalem from His ministry in Galilee was in the last year of His earthly ministry. This understanding is supported in that, within this same chapter, as our parable appears in Luke, Jesus foretells his death, so it’s apparent He’s gearing up for His betrayal, death, and ultimately His resurrection.

Transition:

That whole transaction is actually intimately connected to both today’s message and the hard teaching in John’s Gospel. You see, everybody knows John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But the next verse, John 3:17, says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Interpretation:

In the same way, the hard teaching Jesus gave them was that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves…” in verse 58, He likens Himself to the Manna God provided in the desert, “This is the bread that came down from heaven; [but] it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—they died [he says]. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Application:

He’s tying up loose ends, connecting his teachings to his ministry—that’s authenticity! In John’s Gospel, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. It’s the same illustration, again, simply a teaching example, paraphrased and reused by his disciples. We still have this rich language with us; the leaders of our churches are called pastors. I certainly have no shepherding training, but it’s what I do. Together, we are a flock.

Point 1:

The point is that the shepherd rejoices when the lost sheep is found. We, too, should rejoice as people accept Christ. Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.”

Transition:

Imagine if Jesus came back the day before you were saved. That’s how you should regard your brothers and sisters. What Jesus is pointing out, not necessarily within the parable, but in setting the scene—and by drawing contrast, is that that’s not how the Pharisees and Scribes were regarding their sheep.

Exposition:

This is the ministry of reconciliation because calling a person to repent of sin is calling the person to recognize their worth in God’s sight. Sin is a tool by the king of the thieves designed to steal, kill, and destroy the dignity and value of image bearers. He conflated his purpose with his status, and because of it, God forever changed his likeness. He, himself forgot and therefore caused his own image, and with it, his purpose to be forever distorted. For us, however, repentance restores our inherent value within the likeness we have in whose image we bear.

What we call people to do in repentance isn’t merely to give up this life’s pleasures but to gain heaven’s greater pleasures. The presence of the Lord and our participation in His Kingdom on earth is the only way through which we experience fulfillment.

Narrative:

Look back at our passage in Luke 15. Our parable begins in verse 4, but look at verses 1 and 2, which I had drawn our attention to before: “All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Application:

Isn’t that just the snootiest HOA board you’ve ever heard? Well, Jesus has some dumb sheep. He’s got smelly ones, too. But they’re all in the image of God, so what’s that mean?

What’s important is the emphasis on repentance isn’t so much an emphasis on ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts;’ instead, it’s is an emphasis on seeing life as it truly is—one with a God-given purpose.

Christianity is not moralism, either. That is its own religion, one clearly to which the Pharisees and Scribes subscribed. Their moralism viewed the lost as dirty; Christianity views them simply as they are… only guilty of being lost. This is something that, through faith, a life-changing structure through which one views their world and moves them to compassion, whereas in moralism, it clearly moved them to a value-based judgment, one that valuates people and regards them with contempt and anger. While Christians may subscribe to a high view of morality, it’s important that morality does not become our identity or purpose; in other words, what makes the Christian.

Transition:

So, the first point is that the shepherd rejoices when the lost sheep is found; therefore, we, too, should rejoice as people accept Christ.

Point 2:

The second point is kind of the opposite of that, but it needs saying. If you’re over there crafting a flock that doesn’t include any sinners, you’ve got some lost sheep.

Interpretation:

And if you’re comfortable with that, you’re just like the devil. You’re just like the devil because he forgot his purpose. And that’s how his deceit plays out with us. We were created in God’s image, but that has been affected by the fall.

So, Jesus asks in the Lukan account, “What man among you?” The challenge, I think, is intentional. We’ve got the couplings here, the pointed masculine and feminine/household and field-work parables, the lost coin and the lost sheep, and the yeast and the mustard seed variants of a similar message. So, He’s saying your likeness is like something else if you’re not ready to risk your comfort for the lost. Not feminine, he wouldn’t insult women; they’re in his image, too. I just led you to make that connection with the coupling reference. He’s referring to your image being further depraved if you don’t get excited about the lost one. A self-selected deprivation.

What’s more, is that if it makes you more comfortable not having them around or making them feel less-than—if there is anything other than pure joy in your hearts at the welcoming of your own prodigal brother, that found sheep—as wrong, as sinful, as smelly and even as dumb as he very well may be, look out.

Allusion to illustration:

Because, if you’re doing that, you’ve probably started your own flock.

The thing is, John 10 says, “The gatekeeper opens the gate for [the Good Shephard]” (v3), meaning you don’t put yourself there. “The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep (v11)... A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd.” (v12b)

Verse 10 says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

I don’t know if it’s out of fear because of what you’ve invested, what you’re mad about in perceiving what you’ve lost, that opportunity cost, or even your jealousy about sharing what you’ve been given if you perceive someone hasn’t invested as much? I challenge you to come back in two weeks; the parable of the workers in the vineyard is all about that.

I started this morning talking about investing. Remember, you only sell below your purchase price to stop the bleeding. You don’t do it if you have faith in recouping your investment. But we don’t just stop the bleeding in following Christ. That’s fireproofing—and it doesn’t work because it isn’t genuine. Long-term investors buy-in when it starts to dive; that’s when they double down.

If there’s any animosity at all, it’s because you’re perceiving you invested something that, trust me, you didn’t. Nothing you or I do, not even the most righteous of us did, warrants our entry into heaven. It was a debt that no one could pay. All sin required the blood of Christ.

The parable of the lost sheep is about sacrificing comfort for others. It’s about being joyful about not just receiving but seeking out the lost. Sharing what we feel like is ours.

Transition:

There’s a connection here to another parable: the Prodigal Son from last week’s message. Earlier, I brought up two connected couplings of parables: this one and the lost coin, which appears right after in Luke’s version, as well as the leaven and the mustard seed. Both couplings are thought to have similar applications but focus on different groups.

The difference between the two parables that focus on masculine activities, the lost sheep and lost coin, and the third parable, that of the Lost Son, is that the first two parables speak of the relentless search of the owner for the lost. In the Prodigal Son, the father waits at home for the son until he decides to return. The reason for this difference is simple: the first two parables describe God’s perspective, and the third describes ours.

You see, sometimes we stray when we belong to the family. We know we’re wrong.

God knows that we are lost in our sins. And the difference between those who know they need repentance and those who don’t—know it, that is.

The apostle Paul, writing to the Roman church, explains our plight; this is Romans 3:10–12: “No one is righteous—not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

This is the situation that humanity finds itself in. We are so captured by our rebellion that we can’t even turn away if we don’t already know better. Not until God has done the work. That is why the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin come before the parable of the lost son. God reaches out for us first. As Paul later writes in Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Point 3:

That is the third important point, God prioritizes the lost sheep over the safe ones.

It’s tempting to think that it’s unfair that God prioritizes the lost over those who already know him. But look again at the last lines in the parable in both accounts:

Luke 15:7 I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.

Matthew 18:13-14, And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over that sheep more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 …It is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Application:

You’ll remember, concerning how you should regard your brothers and sisters, I asked you to imagine if Jesus came back the day before you were saved. The contrast, again, in this analogy of shepherding is that it’s not how the Pharisees and Scribes were regarding their sheep.

Of course, we all need God’s constant presence and support in our lives, so we are fortunate that God is present everywhere. This is why, upon His ascension, John records Jesus’ words, “It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Spirit will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) He doesn’t actually abandon anyone in order to reach the lost. The point is that the lost are His priority and, therefore, should be ours also.

I mean, didn’t you ever wonder why the lost sheep or the lost coin was worth more than the other 99 or 9? It’s pretty clear from these parables, including “The Lost Son” for that matter, that there’s nothing special about the lost, apart from the fact that they are lost.

Interpretation:

God doesn’t search for the lost because the 99 or the 9 are incomplete without them—He searches for the lost because he wants everyone to be found. Jesus uses the shepherd analogy because herd animals are dumb. You’ve heard the analogy, “Until the cows come home?” It’s describing a time that will never happen. Cows don’t come home on their own, even if there’s food waiting. They’re herd animals, and they have herd mentality. They have ADD, and so, if it’s not in front of them, it has ceased to exist. Like a child with peekaboo, no object permanency. They will exhaust every source of food or water in front of them, so a shepherd’s job is to round them up, drive them home, and pen them.

Summary:

A good shepherd doesn’t hunt for that lost sheep because they’re so excited about its potential. In fact, there’s probably some real frustration! They hunt for it because itslife is in danger, and the shepherd is its only hope. Not the other way around.

Remember, it’s about motivations and opportunity cost. We’re not here to get our investment back, and we don’t just stop the bleeding in following Christ. As beloved members of the family of Christ, we double down when it gets hard, doing the work of the Gospel—not reverting to being a herd animal.

This pursuit and valuation of the one is also not unfair because we were all once lost. Heaven has rejoiced over all of us at some time or another. And in the same way that the third parable, “The Prodigal Son,” describes our perspective, versus the two agricultural parables that describe God’s perspective as the one doing the seeking, we, as in the ones who aren’t lost at the moment, are compared to having the constant, ongoing love of the Father, just as Jesus describes in the parable of the Prodigal Son, “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” (Luke 15:31–32)

Challenge:

Now, the challenge, because the question we should always be asking in hermeneutics, that is, the interpretation of Scripture, is, “What is lost if we sacrifice this truth?”

The point of this, or these truths from the parables, is that it encourages us to focus heavily on those who don’t know Christ—and that’s good; it’s clearly God’s focus, but what if we focus on them to the point where there is no “home” for them to come to here on earth. The church is supposed to be the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, but if it forgets to have fellowship together, how can we expect the lost to grow? We end up with a church that is hollow, so busy with evangelism, and so outwardly-focused that there is no time for loving one another, building one another up in Christian discipleship and fellowship. No one can live with that for very long. God gave us to one another to love and encourage one another. The lost sheep doesn’t return to a fold full of strangers but to a fold full of its family. The opposite extreme, of course, being the insular church, where people are just interested in being together, in their family. This sort of church is doomed to die, both spiritually, because they are not obeying Jesus’ call to reach the lost, and physically, because they are not being replenished with new believers.

Close:

The call, I would propose, that this parable has for us, and what we see Christ modeling is to be an outreaching Church, a community that is known both by its love for one another and its inward dimension, that power that transforms, as well as its love for the lost—an outward dimension. This is a balance of community and good news, that Euangelion.

As we prepare to go out today, remember 1) that it is right to rejoice as people accept Christ because the shepherd rejoices when the lost sheep is found.

Jesus says in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant doesn’t know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

2) If you’re crafting a flock that doesn’t include any sinners, you’ve got some lost sheep. And 3) that God prioritizes the lost sheep over the safe ones.

As Christians, Saints, or Disciples, or however you conceive of yourself as a follower of Jesus, we are God’s representatives here on earth. Christ’s body to do His work; His ambassadors. So, do we think of those who don’t know Christ as lost ones who deserve our priority? Are we moved by their desperate plight? Do we recognize that, without God, they will not make it? And does that motivate us to search for them diligently?

In the same way that in this parable that illustrates God’s perspective of the same reality from last week’s message, The Parable of the Prodigal Child, when we do Kingdom work or take up His work as Christ’s body, we’re probably going to experience the same frustration. All I have to say is, read Hosea; it’s short. It’s supposed to be self-sacrificial. It’s a good mirror to hold up to yourself to see if you are treating any people in your life, people bearing the likeness of God, mind you, as “less-than.” And it’s rewarding, it’s selfless, and it comes naturally if your heart is in the right place.