The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Every-time Jesus teaches a Parable, it was always in response to a particular situation.

Luke 15:1 (ESV)

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

Here we find Jesus being surrounded by outcasts, scumbags, and scoundrels.

Luke tells us in verse 1 that the group that was drawing near to Jesus was made up of “tax collectors” and “sinners.”

For a religious person like a Pharisee, Tax Collectors were despised people. They were dishonest, shady, immoral. As far as the Pharisees were concerned Tax Collectors and Sinners were too worldly and sinful to associate with. But here was Jesus welcoming them to sit down at his table for a meal…Jesus was being hospitable to sinners and scoundrels. Roughnecks and Ragamuffins. Gangsters and goons. Jesus wasn't welcoming the devout types because the devout types felt like they didnt need Jesus…so instead Jesus welcomed the dirtbags.

And as a result, the religious crowd was grumbling.

Luke 15:2 (ESV)

2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

The Pharisees and Scribes were the polar opposites of the Tax Collectors and Sinners. The Pharisees were the good, upstanding, church folk. The Tax Collectors and Sinners were the outcasts.

So like the Israelites who complained in the wilderness journeys, the Pharisees were grumbling about the crowd that Jesus was inviting to hear his teaching.

And so Jesus uses this situation to teach the crowd a lesson through a story about a Shepherd, who goes on a mission to seek and save his beloved sheep, and then once he has found the sheep…he gathers all of his friends and family and throws a massive party to celebrate the fact that his sheep that had once been lost was now found.

Now, I know in our culture we dont typically think about going out and finding lost animals like what we find in this story. Like if you lost your dog or your cat you might go around town posting little flyers on the light poles down by Magnolia Blues…or you would for your dog at least (the cats for sure would be angry if we tried to find them—and for all 3 of the cat people in the room that I just offended im sorry). But very few (if any) of us would put all of our responsibilities on hold and go searching for little Shadow the Dog and little Cassie the Cat…and even if we did…none of us would round up the neighbors to celebrate the fact that we found our pet. That’s a good way to convince people to not invite you to the next neighborhood outting for sure.

But here is what you need to know about this story just from the very outset…everyone that would have been standing in this crowd that day would have understood that Jesus’ usage of a shepherd and sheep would have been imagery. Jesus was using a well known metaphor for God being the Shepherd and his people being the Sheep. You see, in the Old Testament God often was compared to that of a shepherd and God’s people were often compared to His Sheep.

Take Psalm 100 for example:

Psalm 100:1–5 (ESV)

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

OR

Isaiah 40:10-11 “10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

Jesus tells this story this morning because he wants us to understand a crucial truth:

God Loves to Seek and to Save Sinners!

In order to see that we have to undetstand what Jesus teaches us in this parable: There are three things about the shepherd that Jesus teaches us about this morning:

The Shepherd Who Seeks

The Shepherd Who Saves

The Shepherd Who Celebrates

The Shepherd Who Seeks:

The story begins this way...

Luke 15:3 ESV

3 So he told them this parable:

Luke 15:4 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?

Jesus engages their imagination…he says imagine that you were a shepherd who owned 100 sheep. Now suppose you lost one of them…what would you do? Would you just leave the one sheep saying, “Well...you win some, you lose some?” And the answer was obvious…of course…no they wouldnt leave the lost sheep behind. They would go searching for the sheep until they found it!

And Jesus uses Shepherd language here on purpose…Shepherds were not very well thought of in the 1st Century. These were dirty, tough guys. They were the “No Country For Old Men” type of guys…and Jesus uses these sterotypical shepherds of his day because what he is saying is that if imperfect shepherds would go searching after their lost sheep…how much more will God go searching for lost people…who are infinitely more valuable than any sheep could ever be?

Here is what this passage makes really really clear...

God Values Lost People— He values lost people so much that he is like a Shepherd who is willing to set aside the other 99 in his flock to go searching after the one sheep that is lost and in trouble. (This doesnt mean that God doesnt care about the other 99…he does…he would never leave his flock in jeopardy… but what this tells us is that God makes people who are far from Him—his priority...)

You see…Jesus does this on purpose…dont forget he is trying to get these religious people who are grumbling to understand why he is spending time with Tax Collectors and Sinners.

He is essentially saying this… I am a friend of sinners because these are the lost sheep…they are the one’s who have wondered off far from the flock…and they need a shepherd who will seek them...

And here is the reality…Jesus says very clearly that He wont stop until he has found you.

Luke 15:4 (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?

Some of you need to hear this incredible truth this morning…Jesus wont stop until he finds you...

You might be in the middle of running from him right now…you might feel like you are too far gone… I want you to hear these words Jesus doesn't say that he seeks after the sheep hoping to find it…he says he seeks after them until he finds them.

If God is seeking you…You will be found… He will seek you…and seek you…and seek you…and seek you…and seek you…until he finds you.

Why? Because He loves you…

The Shepherd Who Seeks…He will seek and he will find...

AND IF GOD MAKES SEEKING OUT THE LOST HIS PRIORITY…SHOULDNT THAT BE OUR PRIORITY IN HIS CHURCH?

Shouldn't we make seeking out the lost sheep that are far from the Lord?

If God holds out his hand to the lost…who are we to turn up our noses?

If God cares about seeking out the lost sheep that are not of the fold…so should we.

Isaiah 53:6 (ESV)

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.

We should seek after the lost because we were once lost…and Jesus sought after us until he found us.

Psalm 14:2–3 (ESV)

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

The psalmist tells us that noone seeks after God…then Paul reaffirms that in Romans 3…and while that may be true…there is hope this morning…Because God seeks after those that dont seek him...

God is Our Shepherd Who Seeks…and he seeks until he finds...

But not only that…He is the Shepherd Who not only seeks…

He is The Shepherd Who Saves

Once the Shepherd finds the sheep…look at what Jesus says the shepherd does

Luke 15:5 (ESV)

5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Jesus says that the Shepherd lays to sheep on his shoulders...

Now…I have never met a shepherd in the middle east…but I know some folks who have. And every one of them says the same thing…shepherds stink...

I dont mean they stink figuratively…like Southern Miss football stinks right now…but not literally...

Shepherds on the other hand…they literally stink.

They stink because they have to carry their sheep…and sheep because they have long whool are some of the dirtiest animals you can imagine. If you have ever worn wool…you know that it holds onto everything. Dirt…grim...

And so when a sheep goes to the bathroom…everything that they get rid of…it doesnt all fall to the ground.

And sheep are stubborn animals…if you try to pull them with a leash…they will just lay down…they wont move

So when a shepherd finds a lost sheep…in order to take the sheep back to the flock…he has to pick up the sheep and he carries them on his shoulders. And he does it “rejoicing” because what was lost has been found...

He puts his own life and limb at risk in order to rescue and save the lost sheep.

And you see…what Jesus is trying to get us to see this morning is that he is much better than an imperfect Shepherd...

If an imperfect shepherd holds nothing back in saving his lost sheep...

And what Jesus is communicating in this story is that he is better than the average everyday shepherd.

He is the good Shepherd that lays his life down for the sheep...

How did he do this? By dying...

Jesus…REJOICED…to die for us…he was joyful in laying his life down, taking on sin, and shame…taking on our filth…it made him happy to submit to the Fathers will and jump down into our muck and mire to save us from the penalty of sin.

Jesus didnt have to endure the cross…he went to the cross out of the joy of knowing that sinners would be save…and God would be glorified.

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

Jesus…is...the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is (NOW) seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

I love the words of Octavius Winslow:

“So completely was Jesus bent on saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself, He created the tree upon which He was to die, and nurtured from infancy the men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood.”

GOD LOVES>>>TO SAVE SINNERS

And God wants to save you this morning…He endured the cross out of the overflow of His love for you…and it was His joy to die for you…Because it gives Him Joy to Save Sinners

The Good Shepherd is the God Who Saves us…all by his work and his effort…the only thing we add to our salvation as lost sheep is the lostness and sin that made salvation necessary...

Christ Our Good Shepherd Does ALL the work required to save us…and he will do all the work to save you!

And then…when you make that decision…look at this last truth found in v. 6-7

Luke 15:6–7 (ESV)

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.

He throws a party!

When a sinner repents of their sin...God throws a Cosmic Sized Party in Heaven...

When repentance takes place within the life of the church...It should be like a crowd at a football game when the Home team crosses the goal line...

And for some of you hear this morning…you are far from God…and what you need to hear this morning is that their is a heavenly crowd watching and waiting for you to cross that goal line...

And if you will turn to Christ this morning…God in heaven is going to jump for joy…Because what was lost…has now been found...

And if that is what happens in heaven when a sinner repents…it should be what happens in the life of the church...

Repentance is not a gloomy thing…it is a beautiful reality that should be celebrated!

When someone who was lost…is found by God…we should cheer and clap and stomp our feet…we should be excited...