Lost in the Wilderness

Luke 15:3–7 KJV

3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 15 opens with one of the most beautiful scenes in the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Luke 15:1 KJV

Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

Publicans were tax collectors.

In Jesus’ day, they collected taxes for Rome or for local rulers under Roman authority. The Jews despised them because they were seen as:

— working with Rome, the occupying power.which made them Traitors 

— many overcharged people and kept the extra.which made them Thieves 

— they often dealt with Gentiles and corrupt systems.which made them Unclean socially 

A Jewish publican was looked at almost like a sellout to his own people.

Sinners means people known publicly for sinful lifestyles.

Of course, the Bible teaches that all have sinned. But in this context, “sinners” refers to people the Pharisees considered openly wicked, morally stained, or religiously unacceptable.

This could include people such as:

immoral people,

dishonest people,

drunkards,

harlots,

people who did not keep the Pharisees’ religious standards,

people viewed as spiritually unclean.

The Greek word used for “sinner”, meaning one who misses the mark.

The phrase “publicans and sinners” means: the people respectable religion had written off, but Jesus welcomed.

The Pharisees saw them as trash. Jesus saw them as lost sheep.

The Pharisees avoided them. Jesus received them.

The Pharisees murmured over them. Heaven rejoiced when they repented.

“Publicans and sinners were the people religion pushed away, but grace invited near.”

The publicans and sinners were drawing near to Jesus.

The people society had written off were leaning in to hear the Son of God.

Luke 15:2 KJV

And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

Thank God He does.

Jesus answers their murmuring with three parables:

a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.

The first story is about a sheep.

The sheep was not lost because it was rebellious like the prodigal son.

It was not lost because someone else misplaced it like the coin.

The sheep was lost because it wandered.

That is why this parable touches every one of us.

Isaiah 53:6 KJV

“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way…”

That is not just the drunkard. That is not just the publican. That is not just the harlot. Not just the sinner out in the far country.

“All we like sheep have gone astray.”

religious people can go astray. respectable people can stray. church people can stray. preachers can stray. That includes every one of us apart from grace.

The Pharisees could easily see publicans and sinners as lost sheep, but they could not see themselves in the same condition.

It is dangerous when we can see everybody else’s lostness but cannot see our own need of grace.

I. THE SHEEP’S FOOLISHNESS

Luke 15:4 “…if he lose one of them…”

The sheep was lost because sheep have a tendency to go astray.

Sheep are not known for wisdom.

They do not have sharp claws.

They do not have strong teeth.

They do not have great speed.

They do not have a natural sense of direction like some animals seem to have.

Sheep need a shepherd.

That is why the Bible uses sheep as a picture of us.

1 Peter 2:25 KJV

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

A sheep does not usually get lost all at once.

It gets lost one bite at a time.

It sees a little patch of grass. Then another….. Then another. Then it steps a little farther from the shepherd. Then a little farther from the flock. Then the sun starts going down. Then the shadows start moving. Then the wolf starts watching. And suddenly that sheep is in danger.

That is how people drift from God.

Most people do not ruin their lives in one leap…. They drift one step at a time.

One ignored conviction. One neglected prayer. One unopened Bible. One wrong friendship. One secret compromise. One Sunday out of church. One bitter thought nursed too long. One sinful appetite fed too often.

Then one day they lift their head and realize they are not where they used to be.

They are colder than they used to be. They are harder than they used to be. They are farther than they used to be. They are quieter in worship than they used to be. They are less burdened than they used to be. They are less sensitive to sin than they used to be.

The sheep was lost because it wandered.

And the root of wandering is found in Isaiah 53:6: “we have turned every one to his own way.”

Isaiah 53:6 KJV

“… We have turned every one to his own way…”

That is the heart of sin.

Sin says, “I want my own way.” Sin says, “I know better than the Shepherd.” Sin says, “I can handle this myself.” Sin says, “I do not need anyone leading me.”

A sheep does not have to hate the shepherd to get lost.

It only has to wander away from him.

And a person does not have to shake their fist in God’s face to drift spiritually.

All they have to do is stop staying close.

💡 Before long, it lifts its head and cannot hear the shepherd’s voice. That is how drifting works. Nobody wakes up and says, “Today I will wreck my life.” It happens one step, one compromise, one ignored conviction at a time.

II. THE SHEPHERD’S FAITHFULNESS

Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them…”

The shepherd noticed one was missing.

That may sound simple, but it is powerful.

He had one hundred sheep, but he knew when one was gone.

He did not say, “Well, ninety-nine is good enough.” He did not say, “That one should have known better.” He did not say, “That sheep made its choice.” He did not say, “I have plenty left.”

No. The one mattered.

In Bible days, a shepherd was responsible for the sheep under his care. If one was missing, the shepherd had to answer for it unless he could prove it was killed by a predator. Jacob spoke that way in Genesis 31:39 when he said, “that which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it…”

That helps us understand the seriousness of this scene.

The shepherd’s name was connected to the care of the sheep.

To lose one and not seek it would show carelessness. It would bring loss and shame.

But Jesus is showing us something deeper than an earthly shepherd’s responsibility. He is showing us the heart of the heavenly Shepherd.

The Pharisees saw sinners as a problem to avoid. Jesus saw sinners as sheep to rescue.

The Pharisees saw publicans. Jesus saw people.

Matthew 9:36 KJV

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

That is the heart of Jesus.

The Shepherd noticed the one.

The crowd may not notice. Friends may not notice. Family may not notice. The church may not notice. But the Shepherd notices.

He knows when one is missing.

John 10:14 KJV

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

The Lord does not see people as numbers on a church roll.

He sees souls.

He knows names.

He knows wounds.

He knows weaknesses.

He knows where people are.

He knows who is missing.

The Shepherd never loses count.

That is comforting to a parent praying for a wayward child. That is encouraging to a church praying for the lost. That is convicting to the person who has wandered. That is hope for the sinner who thinks nobody cares.

The Shepherd knows who is missing.

III. THE SHEPHERD’S FOCUS

Luke 15:4 “… doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost… ”

Now we need to be careful here.

Jesus is not saying the ninety-nine are unimportant.

He is not saying the shepherd does not love the ninety-nine.

He is not saying the safe sheep have no value.

The ninety-nine were safe. The one was in danger.

The shepherd leaves the safe sheep and goes after the endangered sheep.

This is the evangelistic heart of Luke 15.

The one matters.

One lost soul matters to God. One backslider matters to God. One prodigal matters to God. One wandering sheep matters to God.

D. L. Moody carried this kind of burden. His ministry was marked by urgency for souls. He believed common people, children, and overlooked people mattered to God.

Moody said “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, ‘Moody, save all you can.’”

Jesus said in

Luke 19:10 KJV

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

That was His mission. That must become our burden.

Leonard Ravenhill would say … “How can we be unmoved about what moves heaven?”

IV. THE SHEPHERD’S FINDING

Luke 15:4 “…until he find it?”

I love that word “until.”

He does not search until he gets tired. He does not search until it gets dark. He does not search until the path gets rough. He does not search until it becomes inconvenient. He searches until he finds it.

That is determination…..This is the heart of Christ.

Jesus did not come near to sinners by accident. He came on purpose.

He came from Heaven to earth. He came from glory to a manger. He came from the throne to the cross.

He came through rejection, suffering, shame, nails, blood, and death. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

John 10:11 KJV

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

The good Shepherd does not merely risk His life… He gives His life.

Spurgeon’s said… Do not make the sheep the hero of the story.

The hope of the text is not that the sheep was wise enough to return.

The hope is that the Shepherd was gracious enough to seek.

The sheep did the wandering. The shepherd did the finding.

The sheep got itself lost. The shepherd brought it home.

The sheep was foolish. The shepherd was faithful.

The sheep was lost because it wandered, but it was found because the Shepherd wanted it back.

That is grace.

V. THE SHEPHERD’S FAVOR

Luke 15:5 “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”

This is one of the tenderest pictures in all the Bible.

The shepherd finds the sheep, and then he lays it on his shoulders.

The sheep was strong enough to wander, but it was too weak to return.

But the shepherd was strong enough to bring it home.

The shoulders speak of strength.

Isaiah 9:6 says of Christ, “and the government shall be upon his shoulder…”

Luke 15 says the sheep is upon his shoulders.

The same Christ strong enough to rule the world is tender enough to carry a wandering sheep.

That is a blessing.

Somebody may feel too weak to come back.

You feel ashamed.

You feel broken.

You feel like you have gone too far.

You feel like you have made too many mistakes.

You wonder if the Lord would ever receive you.

Look at the Shepherd.

He carries what He finds.

Adrian Rogers “grace does not excuse the wandering, but grace is strong enough to carry the wanderer home.” thats the favor of God

The sheep came home on the strength of the shepherd.

And every saved person in this building will make it home the same way.

Not by our strength. Not by our goodness. Not by our grip on Him. But by His grace, His power, His blood, and His faithfulness.

VI. THE SHEPHERD’S FESTIVITY

Luke 15:5–6 “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”

The shepherd rejoices.

That means the rescue was not a burden to him. It was a joy.

The sheep may have been dirty. The sheep may have been scratched. The sheep may have been trembling. The sheep may have smelled like the wilderness. But the shepherd rejoiced.

Luke 15:7 KJV

“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth…”

There is joy when the lost is found.

There is joy in the person who is saved. There is joy in the person who helped find them. There is joy among God’s people. There is joy in heaven.

Acts 8:39 says the Ethiopian eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.”

There is joy in salvation.

Warren Wiersbe pointed out that Luke 15 is full of joy.

The shepherd rejoices over the sheep.

The woman rejoices over the coin.

The father rejoices over the son.

But the Pharisees did not rejoice. They murmured.

That is the contrast.

Heaven rejoices over sinners repenting, but religious pride complains that grace is too generous.

God help us never to have the spirit of the Pharisees.

God help us rejoice when sinners come home.

Conclusion

The sheep was lost in the wilderness.

It was lost because of foolishness. It was noticed by the shepherd’s faithfulness. It was pursued by the shepherd’s focus. It was found by the shepherd’s determination. It was carried by the shepherd’s strength. It was restored with the shepherd’s joy.

Maybe someone here is that wandering sheep.

You did not mean to get this far away. You did not mean to get this cold. You did not mean to get this bitter. You did not mean to get this bound up. You did not mean to get this distant.

But here you are.

The good news is this: the Shepherd still goes after the one.

Maybe you are lost and need to be saved. Maybe you are saved but you have wandered and need to return. Maybe you are part of the ninety-nine, and God is calling you to care about the one.

Wherever this message finds you, remember this:

The Shepherd is still seeking. The Shepherd is still saving. The Shepherd is still carrying. The Shepherd is still rejoicing when lost sheep come home.

John 10:11 KJV

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The Shepherd gave His life for you.

Come home.

Closing Line: The sheep wandered into the wilderness, but the Shepherd walked into the wilderness after it—and what He finds, He is strong enough to carry home.