The Chronicles of the Lost and Found Pt.1
The Son: Meeting Jesus through Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Opening Comments:
Opening Comments:
Please meet me in your copy of the word of God and Luke 15:1-10. If you're using one of our church provided Bibles you can find your place on page 821. This is God's holy Word let's read it together.
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:
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.
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.”
Introduction:
Introduction:
Luke 15 is perhaps one of the most important in all of the Bible. It gives us 3 of Jesus most well known parables. All three of these parables deal with the lost sinner and God’s love for them demonstrated by his seeking and receiving the sinner who repents and returns home.
The first parable is of the lost sheep. (v.4-7)
The second the lost coin. (v.8-10)
Thirdly, and most well known, The Prodigal Son. (v.11-32)
Luke 15 opens with a powerful statement: 'Tax collectors and sinners' were all drawing near, flocking to Jesus.
Why? Because these marginalized groups – the despised, traitorous tax collectors and the openly immoral 'sinners' – understood their deep spiritual need. They recognized something vital in Jesus' message of salvation.
But this created tension. Verse 2 tells us the Pharisees and scribes were standing apart, grumbling. (Grumbled is in a tense suggesting they were continuously doing it.) Their complaint was sharp:
Just read the last part of the verse in quotes.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
To them, this was scandalous! It violated their sense of holiness and contradicted rabbinic traditions about avoiding the 'godless.' They wouldn't associate with these people, didn't care about them, and were genuinely offended that Jesus did.
Consider with me the weight of this moment?
The attitude of these religious leaders wasn't just wrong in their time; it was a tragic echo of the very failure God condemned centuries earlier through the prophet Ezekiel in ch.34 of his prophecy.
God called out the shepherds of Israel precisely because they fed themselves but neglected the flock.
4 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.
These Pharisees, by their grumbling and rejection, showed that this same heartbreaking failure – this neglect of the lost – was still painfully present among Israel's leaders.
It was because of such failures, both in Ezekiel's day and now in Jesus day, that God declared,
11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
And He promised the ultimate solution
23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
Now, see Jesus! Standing right there, embracing the rejected, He is that promised Good Shepherd. He is God Himself fulfilling that promise to seek and save, stepping into the gap left by these failing leaders.
The parables of Jesus in this chapter aren't just stories; they are His divine answer to this embodied failure, revealing the true Shepherd's seeking heart that these leaders couldn't comprehend.
Today, we'll explore the first two parables together since they are structured the same way in what I've titled “The Chronicles of the Lost and Found Pt.1.”
1.) Chronicle 1: The Missing and Sought. (v.4,8)
1.) Chronicle 1: The Missing and Sought. (v.4,8)
In both parables something has gone missing and needs to be sought.
A.) The missing.
A Sheep
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?
100 sheep would have been a large flock for one shepherd to handle by himself. However, Jesus is making up a parable to teach a truth so that would have been irrelevant. The point is that one one of this man’s sheep wandered off into the wilderness. 1 out of 100 is a small percentage but to this shepherd it was a great loss. This one sheep had wandered off from the rest, gone missing and was in danger.
2. A Coin
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?
These coins are “drachmas” the footnote in the ESV points out:
a drachma was a Greek coin approximately equal in value to a Roman denarius, worth about a day’s wage for a laborer
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
While the loss of 1 out of 100 sheep was not a huge value, this woman's loss of 1 out of 10 of her coins would have been. This was the loss of an entire days worth of wages. If your poor as apparently the woman in this parable was, this is a great loss.
In both of these parables, something of great value to its owner has gone missing and it prompts immediate action on the part of the person who lost them.
B.) The search
The shepherd and the woman upon learning of their loss, immediately set out to find what was missing.
The Shepherd
Leaves the 99 in the safety of the pasture, perhaps with his hired hands and goes on the hunt for his lost sheep and does not stop searching until he has found it because he knows his sheep is helpless and defenseless.
2. The Woman
When she realizes her coin is missing, (lights a lamp because ancient homes lacked windows and were very dark. The only light would have come through a low door, and a lamp had to almost always be shining.) She then gets out her broom and begins to sweep away the straw that would have covered the dirt floor looking for it. Perhaps she gets down on her hands and knees and looks under every piece of furniture and into every nook and cranny until she is able to find it.
Can you feel their panic? Maybe much like the panic of a parent who loses their child in the store.
Both the shepherds and the woman's searches are absolutely relentless. Neither gives up until they have found what they were looking for.
Application: This relentless searching isn't just a detail in these parables; it serves as a window into the very heart of God, revealed through His Son, Jesus.
It stands in stark contrast to the failure God condemned in Ezekiel 34:4– those false shepherds were blamed because they neglected their duty.
But God promised He would act differently by searching for his sheep himself in Ezek. 34:11.
How does He do this? Jesus, the promised true Shepherd (Ezek. 34:23), shows us right here.
In the shepherd Jesus paint a picture of God's heart embodied in himself. Leaving the 99 to pursue the one.
This is Jesus the Good Shepherd, driven by compassion, actively seeking the helpless and wandering.
In the woman lighting the lamp, sweeping, searching diligently until the coin is found – Jesus reveals the he values the lost soul like a precious treasure. Meticulously, thoroughly searching until it's recovered.
So, through both the caring shepherd and the diligent woman, Jesus says, 'This is what God is like! This is what I am like!' Unlike the failed shepherds, God actively, relentlessly, and lovingly pursues the lost, driven by compassion and a profound sense of value of the souls of men to Him.
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.
2.) Chronicle 2: The Joyfully Found. (v.5-7, 9-10)
2.) Chronicle 2: The Joyfully Found. (v.5-7, 9-10)
After all of the searching the shepherd finds his sheep and in a strong yet tender move places it on his shoulders and carries it home
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Likewise the woman, after all of her frantic searching locates the lost coin.
And what do they both do?
v.6 and v.9 tell us that they call of their friends and neighbors together and say:
Luke 15:6–9 (ESV)
6 ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
9 ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
Their successful missions lead to joyous celebration. That celebration isn’t just contained to themselves, it overflows to everyone they know. Because finding what was lost is something that you inherently desire to share with others.
Notice Jesus brings both parables to the same conclusion:
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.
10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Application: Again here Jesus pulls back the curtain to give us a glimpse into the heart of God expressed in Him.
God isn't some distant, emotionless deity. Jesus demonstrates to us that he is a God whose heart explodes with celebration when even just one lost soul is found!
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.
That is the kind of joy God has for His people, like a bridegroom rejoicing over his bride.
Isaiah 62:5 (ESV)
5 … as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
And why can heaven rejoice like this?
Think back to the shepherd – he doesn't just find the sheep, "he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing" (v. 5).
This is exactly what Jesus, our Good Shepherd has done. He didn't just seek us out; He took our burden upon Himself, carried our sins on the cross, making our return to the Father possible.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Heaven rejoices because reconciliation is accomplished through the work of Christ on the cross.
Notice also this joyful celebration is happening because (v.7,10) one sinner repents.
God's seeking love is extended to all, Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for all, but the celebration begins when a lost soul turns from their sin and to God through faith in Jesus.
This reflects the Father's heart, Jesus said this in:
14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
For every single person here who has genuinely repented and trusted in Jesus– heaven threw exactly this kind of party for you!
And if you're here today feeling lost like that sheep or coin, understand this: this same incredible, welcoming, celebrating joy awaits you.
God’s not tapping His foot waiting to judge; He's leaning forward, eager to celebrate your return home through faith in His Son.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Remember we started this morning with the Pharisees and scribes, standing apart, grumbling.Constantly complaining that Jesus welcomed sinners.
Now, compare their cold, critical, excluding spirit with the passionate, searching, celebrating heart of God that we've just seen!
Heaven is throwing a party, while they're standing outside complaining about the guests.
These parables force us to ask:
Whose heart are we reflecting?
The critical heart that keeps score and excludes?
Or the heart that searches relentlessly, then rejoices over every repentance?
If you are here today and your lost – like that wandering sheep, exposed and vulnerable, or like that coin hidden in the darkness, maybe feeling overlooked or worthless – hear this incredible news:
The Good Shepherd is seeking you because you are infinitely valuable to Him.
So valuable that on Friday, we remember He willingly went to the cross.
The Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep (John 10:11.)
He carried your sins on His shoulders on that tree so you could be found and brought home.
His resurrection three days later (which we’ll celebrate next Sunday)is the ultimate proof that He conquered sin and death, and His salvation is real and powerful.
God isn't waiting to condemn you; He is waiting to throw a party for you.
Don't stay lost in the wilderness or hidden in the dark. Turn from your sin today, put your faith in Jesus Christ who died and rose again, and be found.
And for those of us who have been found?
Let deep gratitude well up within us. Live as one who has been sought, found, and carried home by the Shepherd.
Examine yourself through the lens of these two parables.
Do our hearts truly rejoice like heaven rejoices when someone messy, someone unexpected, someone we might have overlooked, comes to faith?
Or do we sometimes find a hint of that Pharisee spirit – a subtle judgment, a reluctance to welcome?
Do we actively participate in the Shepherd's seeking mission?
As we walk through this week, preparing our hearts for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, let's remember the purpose behind it all.
Jesus sought us at the heavy cost of His own life. His resurrection guarantees the victory and empowers us for the mission of the Gospel.
Let's ask God to align our hearts completely with His – to be a people characterized by relentless love, diligent seeking, and extravagant celebration whenever a lost soul comes home.
May Heritage Winchester be known not for its grumbling, but for reflecting the heart of God.
