Lost is No Place to Be

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000—that’s genius.

Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million dollars—that’s capital.

Uncle Sam can take gold, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20.00—that’s money.

A mechanic can take material that is worth only $5.00 and make it worth $50.00—that’s skill.

An artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000—that’s art.

God can take a sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity—that’s salvation.

It is the touch of the Master’s hand, that makes something valuable.

Noteworthy is the reaction in heaven when one sinner repents: “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus makes this statement in Luke 15:1-3, as he is dealing with self-righteous and misguided religious leaders. 

Luke 15:1–3 ESV

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable:

The Pharisees were complaining about  Jesus’ relationships with outcasts.[1]  They did not like the fact that Jesus was eating with those who were known for their deception and loose living.  And so, as Darrell Bach points out, “Jesus presents a set of Parables that highlight why he seeks sinners.”[2]

This parable is about finding what is lost.  There are three objects presented.  Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like….”  He speaks of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  Not in progressive order, you will notice that it is money, an animal and a person that are mentioned.  Maybe this was to cover the spectrum of what we as humans value, with people/loved ones at the very top. 

The Lost Sheep

Luke 15:4–7 ESV

4 “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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 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.’ 7 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.

Any shepherd who cared for a medium size flock, would’ve valued one lost sheep over the 99 that were kept within bounds.  This would have been a modest herd.  Normally, a flock would follow a stray. 

But here, the one sheep has gone a distance and is challenging to find.  Laurence Porter points out something interesting about sheep who go astray,

“When he realizes he is alone he cannot (go back), with his limited faculties, find his way back to the rest.  If no one finds him he will stay where he is, or wander yet farther away and starve.”[3]

Notice that the shepherd’s efforts are measured by the reaction he has to finding his lost sheep.  Jesus compares this with what goes on in heaven when one repents.  Verse seven: “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.”

Today, there are many people who are lost sheep.  They live without meaning and purpose.  Their worth is gauged by how many people are in their lives, telling them of their love and devotion.  Their value is based on accomplishment or the lack thereof.  They live according to their desires.  They desperately need God and the forgiveness of their sins.

The Lost Coin

Luke 15:8-10 The next story is based on ten silver coins.  One goes missing. 

Luke 15:8–10 ESV

8 “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? 9 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.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The woman searched high and low for it.  She swept her entire house.  Now if she was a widow with no children, that coin is precious.  Widows with no children had no one to take care of them.  Remember that in first century Palestine, there were no pensions and no social security. 

Regarding the lost coin, this is most likely a drachma, which would have amounted to one day’s wage for a laborer.  The fact that a woman is looking for it implies that it is a part of a modest savings, or maybe a part of her dowry. 

Since she was a poor woman, she would have been living in a home with limited window’s, if any.  Therefore, this small coin is going to be hard to find.  She turns her house upside down looking for it.  And she rejoices greatly upon finding it. 

Darrell Bach points out that

“God is pleased with the righteous, but He is even more pleased to recover one who is lost.  So Jesus’ priority is to pursue the lost.”[4]  

And when such people as Zacchaeus the tax collector, or the woman at the well come to faith and repented, Jesus rejoiced. 

God rejoices when one sinner repents.  Such thoughts made the old hymn writer John Newton write: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see.” 

The Lost Son

And then we seek the story of the prodigal son.  Among the three parables given in Luke 15, it is much more detailed.  Here, the Father goes against his better judgment to grant the son’s request. 

Darrell Bach points out that the younger son would have been eligible to receive 1/3 of the estate, according to Deuteronomy 21:17. But the request is somewhat of an insult because it suggests that the son wants nothing to do with his family.[5]

Well, the young man goes off to a foreign land and squanders his inheritance.  Compare it with Las Vegas or somewhere like that.  He partied it up.  He lived wild for a time.  That is, until the money ran out.  He had no foresight.  He was driven by impulse. He lived in the moment. 

And such behavior got him stuck with feeding the pigs.  Feeding swine would have been a deplorable job for a Jewish boy, for pigs were considered an unclean animal.  But the lowest point will be the catalyst for his greatest gift.  At this time of adversity, his senses return to him.  It dons on him that he did not have it so bad back home.  And so, he starts back. 

Notice the reaction of the father.  He sees his son on the horizon and runs to meet him!  Upon seeing him, the father puts a robe on the son, a ring on his finger, and a pair of sandals on his feet.  Sandals were often worn by free people.  Slaves went barefoot.  This was royal treatment.  This was love and devotion.  This was an unconditional welcome back!

Bach states:

“In this honor-and-shame culture, the father was under no obligation to welcome the son. In fact, it would be expected that the son apologize before the father would respond.  Even then, the father need not act.”[6] 

From this, we know that a combination approach to the wayward is necessary.  They ought to be sought out and they ought to be waited for- just in case they turn.  And when they turn, they must be embraced and welcomed. As a church, we must always be ready to embrace the returning wayward son or daughter. 

A few years ago, I had a pastor friend that committed a moral lapse of judgment.  It cost him his pastorate.  He left the ministry and did something else for a living.  He complied with the church’s authority on a restoration process. 

At the end of that time, showing the fruits of repentance, he was welcomed back.  When he walked into the presbytery meeting, he was given a standing ovation.  They warmly received him. He was restored and had many more fruitful years of ministry.

Abraham Lincoln, President Lincoln, during his presidency Lincoln issued 64 pardons for war-related offences; 22 for conspiracy, 17 for treason, 12 for rebellion, 9 for holding an office under the Confederacy, and 4 for serving with the rebels.[7] when asked what should the nation do, if the confederates reunited with the union, he said: “We will welcome them back as if they’d never left.” 

But notice the reaction of the older son.  He was indignant.  This one could not understand the celebration of the father.  He expected some reservation at this traitor’s return.  This older son, relied on his own righteousness for good standing with the father. 

Sometimes we treat others as if it is a matter of intelligence, goodness or will power that one repents and gets right with God.  And we wonder what the hang up was.  But Jesus said in John 8:34-36

John 8:34–36 ESV

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Someone once said that the church is the only organization that shoots its own wounded. 

By the same token, repentance is necessary.  Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery in John 8: “Go and sin no more.”  As a church, repentance and faith towards Christ must be a regular part of our messages.  And in some cases when repentance is not produced, church discipline is applied in order to hopefully bring it about.   

An attorney, after meditating on several Scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months. He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its Biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail.

One by one, the letters were returned by the Postal Service, unsigned and undelivered. Perhaps a couple people had moved away though not likely. Sixteen of the seventeen letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts.

How profound! We owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it but too many people will not even open the letter that explains how.

So often we struggle with one’s worth if we gauge them by our own standards. But with God, it is vastly different. Remember the one sheep, the one coin and the one son.

Maybe the following poem by Myra Brooks Welch will help us understand.

‘Twas battered and scarred and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while To waste much time on the old violin, But he held it up with a smile.

“What am I bid, good folk?” he cried. “Who’ll start the bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar ... now two ... only two ... Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?

“Three dollars once, three dollars twice, Going for three” ... but no! From the room far back a gray-haired man Came forward and picked up the bow.

Then wiping the dust from the old violin And tightening up the strings, He played a melody pure and sweet, As sweet as an angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, With a voice that was quiet and low, Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?” As he held it up with the bow.

“A thousand dollars ... and who’ll make it two? Two...two thousand, and who’ll make it three? Three thousand once and three thousand twice ... Three thousand and gone!” said he.

The people cheered, but some exclaimed “We do not quite understand ... What changed it’s worth?” and the answer came: “Twas the touch of the master’s hand.”

And many a man with soul out of tune And battered and scarred by sin Is auctioned cheap by the thoughtless crowd Just like the old violin.

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd Never can quite understand The worth of a soul, and the change that is wrought By the touch of the Master’s hand.

O Master! I am the tuneless one Lay, lay Thy hand on me, Transform me now, put a song in my heart Of melody, Lord, to Thee!—Myra Brooks Welch

[1]Other places for this are found in Luke 5:27ff and 7:36ff.

[2]Darrell L. Bach, Jesus According to Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 280. 

[3]Laurence E. Porter, “The Gospel According to Luke,” A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1969), 236.

[4]Darrell L. Bach, Jesus According to Scripture (Grand Rapids, Baker, 2002), 281. 

[5]Bach, 281. 

[6]Bach, 282.

[7] Ruckman, P.S., Jr., and David Kincaid, Inside Lincoln's Clemency Decision Making, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 1, March, 1999, pg. 92