Luke 15:1-10 - Found By Christ - The Sheep and the Coin
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
When we think about God, what attributes of His stand out?
His glory?
His justice?
His omnipotence meaning His power?
His omniscience meaning He is all-knowing?
His love and mercy?
His forgiveness?
There are many, many others we could describe as well.
However, one that is probably among the least discussed is the joy of God. We discuss the concept of joy in believers fairly often because it is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatian 5:22-23.
But what about the joy of God? What gives God joy? Today we are introduced to something that brings God much joy. And that is the salvation of lost souls! God and His angels in heaven rejoice over the repentance of sinners unto salvation! This is not a new thing for God in the New Testament. Listen to Zephaniah 3:17:
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah was a prophet during the reformation of King Josiah. He gave warnings of judgment and spoke of the coming Day of the Lord. However, he also spoke of restoration as well. This section of Zephaniah speaks of the restoration of Israel through Jesus Christ. Zephaniah speaks of the coming King of Israel - namely Jesus Christ as we see the disciple Nathaneal proclaim in John 1:49.
Christ came and has taken away judgment from those who believe in Him and repent of their sins. He offered eternal life through His death on the cross. He is the mighty one who has saved.
When one puts one’s faith and trust in Jesus and repents, we are told that God rejoices over him with gladness and that He exults over him with loud singing.
Can you imagine God singing? Can you imagine the greatness of the joy of God? Listen to our Scripture today as we see even more about what brings God joy…
Read Full Scripture:
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable:
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine 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 ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Prayer
Today we will discuss two of the three kinds of people that Christ searches out (we will address the last group in the next sermon)…
I. Christ Searches Out Those Who Are Last (1-2)
I. Christ Searches Out Those Who Are Last (1-2)
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
Jesus is now surrounded by tax collectors and sinners. If you know much about tax collectors in the first century, they were the lowest of the low. They often took advantage of their own people by taxing them at higher rates and pocketing the excess. They were seen as sellouts to Rome. Their money was considered dirty money, and the synagogues would not even accept their gifts. Tax collectors were looked down upon so badly that their testimony was considered no good in court. Gentiles were even held in much greater honor than a tax collector.
Understanding this makes it even more amazing that Jesus chose Matthew - a former tax collector - to be one of His disciples!
Not only was Jesus surrounded by tax collectors, but we also see that He was surrounded by sinners. This term referred to those who were immoral and did not live in observance of the law. These people lived their lives however they wanted to.
Both of these groups of people were outcasts. They were not a part of the synagogue and were considered outside of the true camp of Israel. These were souls that were doomed for destruction according to the religious leaders. They were lost causes and not worth the time of the religious elites.
In fact, these people were repulsive to them… Listen to their response in verse 2…
And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
The Pharisees and scribes, always worried about how they appeared in front of others, grumbled at what Jesus was doing. He was receiving sinners and eating with them.
Eating with someone in the first century was a sign of camaraderie. It was a sign of acceptance. Today, it can be somewhat similar, but first century culture definitely saw having a meal with someone as accepting them and being their friend.
We see Jesus accused of being a friend of sinners and tax collectors elsewhere (Luke 7:34, Mark 2:17, Luke 19:7, Luke 5:30, Matthew 9:11, Mark 2:15).
These religious leaders cannot fathom why Jesus would be willing to damage His reputation by associating with such sinners. They would never be caught eating with sinners. They were much too holy and set apart to associate with such people.
But what is important to note here is that Jesus rose the bar everywhere He went. He didn’t participate in or condone the sins of those who surrounded Him. He called them to repentance. He shepherded them to the Father.
We can learn a lot from Jesus here. We must be sure that we are intentionally spending time with people who are lost. We must be wise in this and be sure that we do not put ourselves in a situation where we fall into sin. But we must, instead, share the love of Christ and the Gospel of Christ with those who are lost sinners in need of a Savior.
We must have a heart for the lost like God. We must not write people off who are lost like the religious leaders did.
Listen to God’s heart for the lost in Ezekiel 34:1-4 along with His judgment on the religious leaders who refused to shepherd His people:
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.
God had strong words to the shepherds of Israel who neglected the sick and the lost. He has strong words for these religious leaders who refuse to feed the sheep and instead only take care of themselves. Woe to those who do not care for the flocks of God.
We see this happening today as well. There are pastors who only fatten themselves with the church’s funds. They do not feed the sheep the Word of God. They neglect them and feed them lies. They condemn the sick and the lame for their supposed lack of faith. They condemn the injured and the hurting. This is a grave warning of indictment on the prosperity and healing false gospel preached in many churches today. And it is an indictment against the fluffy non-Biblical preaching that occurs in the churches as well.
Shepherds are to care for the sheep. As under-shepherds, pastors are to care for God’s church in the way God has commanded.
Before moving forward, it is important to see something beautiful about Jesus.
Luke 15:1–2 (ESV)
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Despite the opposition from the religious elites, Jesus is spending time with these outcasts and sinners. Not only that, we see that these people were drawing near to Him.
Christ has that kind of power doesn’t He? He can draw in the worst of people. Consider Paul who was a murderer on his way to kill more Christians or at least throw them in prison in Acts 9. Christ saves Paul and draws Him into the kingdom. Consider the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43) who is drawn to Christ even as they hang dying on their crosses! Consider Zacchaeus who is a chief tax collector that has become rich by taking advantage of his fellow Jews. Christ saves this man as well as seen in Luke 19:1-10.
We see time and time again in the Scriptures that Jesus searches out those who are last. He seeks out the people furthest from salvation - the outcasts - the sinners - the hopeless cases - and He saves them! What glory He deserves for such magnificent work!
Maybe you were one of those people. Maybe you were the last - the hopelessly lost - and Jesus saved your soul! Proclaim that to others. Tell others of the mighty power and work of God in your life. If He can save you then He can save anyone!
Maybe you have some people in your life that you have written off. They are too far from God in order to be saved. It isn’t even worth starting a conversation about the Gospel with them so why bother? Let the Pharisees and scribes be a warning to you and let Jesus be an encouragement to you - no one is too far from God to be saved. He can save even the last - the hopeless - the outcasts.
Moving forward, we see that…
Scripture References: Jesus a Friend to Sinners (Luke 7:34, Mark 2:17, Luke 19:7, Luke 5:30, Matthew 9:11, Mark 2:15); Ezekiel 34:1-4, Acts 9, Luke 23:39-43, Luke 19:1-10
II. Christ Searches Out Those Who Are Lost (3-10)
II. Christ Searches Out Those Who Are Lost (3-10)
IIa. The Lost Sheep (3-7)
IIa. The Lost Sheep (3-7)
So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
We are introduced to a shepherd in this first parable.
The shepherd in this parable is to be understood as representing God.
Interestingly, God describes Himself as a shepherd many times in the Bible. Many of God’s chosen people were shepherds as well - consider Jacob and his family, Moses, and David among others.
Yet, shepherds were near the bottom rung of the social ladder during Jesus’s time. They ranked just above tax collectors and sinners. They were increasingly viewed as dishonest, uneducated, and unreliable. They also were unable to testify in court. Shepherds struggled to keep the religious demands of the Pharisees because of their constant need to watch over the sheep - even on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees were probably already cringing considering God as a shepherd.
Jesus then tells us that this shepherd has 100 sheep - which is a fairly decent flock size for the first century. He is doing his daily count and finds that he is one sheep short.
He asks a rhetorical question: Paraphrased - If you lost a sheep, wouldn’t you go and try to find it? Any good shepherd would do this, right?
His question is hitting at the religious leaders lack of care and compassion for the lost souls of Israel. Like the fattened shepherds only concerned about themselves that we discussed in Ezekiel 34:1-4, the Pharisees have no compassion or care for the lost sheep of Israel.
But Jesus is not like these Pharisees and scribes. He is the Good Shepherd - John 10:11:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He seeks after the lost. And as we see in John 10:11, He lays His life down for His sheep. Jesus is not only willing to allow His reputation to be damaged by hanging out with tax collectors and sinners, but He also lays down His life for the lost sheep - the sinners and outcasts.
Listen to Jesus continue…
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 ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Here the shepherd is shown rejoicing after finding this lost sheep. He lays this large animal on his shoulders and carries it back to his home - rejoicing all the way!
It is important to note that…
You are the lost sheep.
I pray that God has saved your soul. If you have not been saved, the Good Shepherd is still chasing you down. Repent of your sins and accept the free gift of salvation!
Why does the shepherd carry the sheep? It is likely that this sheep has gone without food and water. It could have even been harmed by a wild animal while away from the shepherd. It obviously is struggling and needs help.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is there to bind the wounds of the hurting. He carries the broken and bruised and binds their wounds. He counsels the broken. He comforts the afflicted. What a gracious and merciful God we have!
Brothers and sisters - are you the lost sheep? Are you hurting and broken and alone? Call out to the Good Shepherd who is ready to carry you home.
Whereas religious people may scoff at the the broken because they feel that they have just reaped what they have sown and got what was coming to them - Jesus embraces the repentant sinner.
We must not miss that Jesus left the 99 in order to go after the lost - but repentant sinner. This lost sheep had repented!
Some of you have experienced that tender care of the Good Shepherd. You have walked through tough times. Yet the Good Shepherd chased you down and saved you and bound up your wounds and comforted you. Tell others of the goodness of God. Testify to the world of the sweetness of His love.
Yet some of you still may need to repent and allow the Good Shepherd to carry you home and save you. May today be that day my friends. Listen, again, to what the Good Shepherd does when he gets home with this lost sheep who is now found!
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 ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
And when home, the shepherd celebrates with a party! And we are told that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. God rejoices over those who are saved!
There are two important things we need to see here. I am going to start with the last statement of Jesus in verse 7. What does Jesus mean when He refers to the 99 who need no repentance? Doesn’t everyone need to repent?
What about the 99?
Some commentators see the 99 left behind to symbolize the religious leaders who saw no need for repentance. They needed repentance but did not see that they did. And so God chased down the lost sheep that understood its need for a Savior.
This seems to clearly align with this parable. Israel was a chosen people. But not every Israelite was saved. God always had a small remnant that was true to Him in Israel. The 99 appear to symbolize the self-righteous and pious religious elites and those who followed them. We will see in the parable of the prodigal son coming up in our next sermon that the older son is identified as the Pharisees and religious leaders as well.
May we never feel like we have arrived my friends. We are all wretched sinners who need salvation. Apart from Christ we are all lost. And without repentance - no one can be saved.
But the main focus in this parable is on the lost sheep and the joy and love of the Good Shepherd. Listen to these three beautiful teachings in this these verses.
1. God seeks us out - not the other way around. He draws us (John 6:44) and then we repent and are saved.
2. God brings us home with Him. He promises us heaven!
Note that the shepherd didn’t take the lost sheep who had been found back outside to put it with the rest of the flock. He took the sheep to his home and threw a party!
3. God rejoices over a repentant sinner who is saved!
What a beautiful teaching here! Like what we saw in the opening of this message, God rejoices over lost sinners being saved.
Jesus isn’t done yet, He has another short parable that parallels this one as well…
Scripture References: Ezekiel 34:1-4, John 10:11, John 6:44
IIb. The Lost Coin (8-10)
IIb. The Lost Coin (8-10)
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
A silver coin was the Greek equivalent of a denarius - which was around the wage paid for a day’s work. Just like the sheep that was lost in the last parable, there is a coin that is lost. And just like the shepherd that went out to find the sheep, we see a diligent search made by this woman who had lost her coin.
The woman in this parable symbolizes God while the lost coin symbolizes you.
Unfortunately, in our culture I have to give a quick explanation to this parable that shouldn’t need explained but does with the confusion in our world today.
Sadly, progressive and un-Biblical Christianity has sought to use this parable to speak of God being a female. God is as much a literal female as He is a literal shepherd in the field. Both of these are metaphors for how God chases down the lost. God has chosen to reveal Himself as Father throughout the Scriptures. He came as a God-man - namely Jesus Christ. We have no liberality in choosing to refer to God by the female gender. God is God and gets to choose how we address Him.
Despite the fact that God is beyond gender - as He is Spirit - we must address God how He has so chosen to be addressed.
Getting back to our parable, we see that the woman lights a lamp and looks all over the house to diligently search for the lost coin.
It is important to see the value placed on the 1 sheep and the 1 coin by the shepherd and woman in these two parables. The shepherd would have likely been just fine with 99 sheep instead of 100. The woman might have felt the loss of this one coin moreso since it was now 10% instead of 1%. And we will see in the next parable of the prodigal son that the ratio is 50% with the one son of the two total sons who leaves. The point Jesus is making in these parables is that He values lost sinners who repent.
We see this reiterated again in the following two verses.
And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Similarly to the last parable, we see another party thrown after the coin is found.
And Jesus, again, says there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
A common theme we are seeing here is the love and joy of God over a sinner repenting.
The Bible teaches that we are all like sheep who have gone astray. Listen to Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Because of our sinfulness, we are all lost without Christ. Yet, we see the solution to our lostness at the end of verse 6 we just read. The Lord has laid on him - meaning Christ - the iniquity of us all. All of our sin has been placed upon Christ on the cross.
This wasn’t a band-aid plan from God. It was the plan from the beginning (Genesis 3:15). Man did not take the life of Christ - Satan did not take the life of Christ - He laid it down for us (John 10:18).
It was the will of the Lord for Christ to be crucified for our sins. Listen to verse 10 in Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53:10a (ESV)
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him…
Why would God send His only begotten Son to save sinners? For His glory, for our good, because of His great love, and for His eternal joy.
Despite the horrendous suffering Christ took on the road to the cross, the cross itself, and also shouldering the weight of the sin of mankind - God knew what joy would be found in saving sinners. He knew how glorious it would be to see someone go from death to life.
We have been going through some hard words from Jesus regarding the judgment of God. Hell is a real place. God will judge those who refuse to repent. Jesus is the only way to God as we see in John 14:6. But we must balance God’s justice and judgment with His love and mercy. Listen to a couple of beautiful verses:
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
He takes pleasure in those who fear Him. This is a reverent and awe-filled fear. He takes pleasure - or finds joy - in those who hope in Him and fear Him.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
His love is patient. Many ask me why God doesn’t do something about all of the evil things going on in this world. My friends, He will judge all of the evil. Nothing will be hidden in the judgment. Justice will be served.
But in the meantime, as we await His return, He is allowing the evil in the world to continue and patiently waiting to for His return because He delights to see more souls saved!
Listen to John Piper speaking on this topic of God exulting and rejoicing over people being saved:
“We must banish from our minds forever any thought that God admits us begrudgingly into his kingdom, as though Christ found a loophole in the law, did some fancy plea-bargaining, and squeaked us by the Judge. No way! God himself, the Judge, put Christ forward as our substitutionary sacrifice, and when we trust him, God welcomes us with bells on.”
John Piper
This beautiful understanding brings God all of the glory. We are saved - not because of our own goodness - but because of God’s goodness and mercy and grace. He rejoices in saving sinners and giving them His own righteousness to be applied to their accounts. He delights in taking our garments of crimson and giving us a white garment of righteousness (Isaiah 1:18). He delights in taking our sin and applying His sinless perfection to our accounts (2 Corinthians 5:21). What a wonderful Savior. What a wonderful God.
Scripture References: Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 53:10a, John 14:6, Psalm 147:11, 2 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21
Conclusion:
As we come to a close today, I want you to consider the love and joy of God. Have you brought God joy by believing in His Son Jesus Christ - believing that He lived a sinless life, died on the cross some 2,000 years ago, and rose from the dead. Have you brought God joy by repenting of your sins and trusting in Christ alone for salvation?
If not, may today be the day of salvation for you. May a party be thrown in heaven. May God and His angels rejoice over your salvation!
For those who are saved - make it your priority to bring God joy by sharing the Gospel with others. May we see more and more people added to His Kingdom.