INTRODUCTION
Opening Statement: In Luke 15, Luke gives a series of three parables in response to the criticism of the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus received unbelieving sinners and even ate with them. Evidently, His love and vulnerability attracted lost people from all classes and lifestyles. These were people who had no regard for the Torah or for religious traditions. Jesus had made it clear that He came to save people like this, not self-righteous people (Luke 5:27-32; 14:21-24). Seeing the many needy people around Him who were lost and recognizing the criticism coming from the religious establishment who were also lost, Jesus told three “Parables of Lostness” to defend Himself and His ministry as well as to help religious people to see the importance of loving people into the faith. He talked about lost sheep who needed a shepherd; about lost coins that had value and needed to be put into circulation; about lost sons who needed to be in fellowship with the Father.
Transition: Today, our focus is on the first of these stories – lost sheep that need a Shepherd.
Background: Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia gives us the following description of sheep, the most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible: Sheep live in flocks. They follow a leader, usually an old ram (male sheep). They eat grasses and other plants. They like to graze over wide areas of pasture. Sheep are naturally hill animals. They like it best where it is high and dry. They can be raised, however, on any land that is not wet and swampy. Domestic sheep depend on humans for protection. They are very timid. A sheet of paper blown by the wind will frighten them. A thunderstorm may throw them into a panic. They may drown without a struggle if they are scared while crossing a stream. Fire in a building where sheep are kept may destroy a whole flock, because they are too frightened to flee.
The parables of Jesus tell the autobiography of God.
Recitation: Luke 15:3 So Jesus told them this parable: [He’s responding to the criticism of being a friend of sinners.] 15:4 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them [A person owning a hundred sheep was a person of modest income, so one sheep would have been very valuable.], would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? [The sheep were counted at nighttime which would intensify this situation. Imagine gathering your sheep into the holding pen for the night and counting your sheep as they go in, “97 (at a girl Fluffy, get in there), 98 (come on Cream Puff), 99 (step it up Twinkles), and 1… (where’s 100 – where’s Snowball)” and coming up one short in a place where there were predators, dangerous ravines, and dehydration to fear. Just when the Shepherd thought hotdogs and cocoa around the campfire were in his very near future, now he must grab the rod for fighting off predators, the staff for snatching a potential lamb caught in a thicket next to the precipice, the torch for seeing, the anointing oil for cleaning wounds; he must strap on the sandals, and head into the night to look for Snowball. ] 15:5 Then when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:6 Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors [all the other shepherds], telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, [break out the hotdogs and cocoa] because I have found my sheep [Snowball] that was lost.’ 15:7 I tell you, [Jesus’ application coming up.] in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent [One genuinely repentant person brings greater joy than ninety-nine people who have never left the fold, who think they’re OK because they’ve never left, and who feel no need to repent. Can I get an ‘Amen’? Heaven parties when one person says, “I’m going home to God. I’m going to live my life for Him.”].
Key Word / Proposition: The drama of the parable has THREE KEY WORDS or CONCEPTS that need highlighted today.
Title: Losing, Searching, Finding
OUTLINE
Act 1: Losing
Explanation: Jesus is describing our condition of lostness when He talks about a sheep that can no longer be found in the fold. The implication is that the sheep was once a part of the fold, but it somehow has decided to opt out of the fold.
Observations: Like a lost sheep, people get lost for many reasons. What does it mean to be lost?
People are lost because of their proneness to wander (Is.53:6). Thinking that life will be better outside and beyond the sheepfold and care of the Shepherd, they begin to work their way free from all restraint. We all have experienced this process to one degree or another. Feeling lost in the multiplicity of alternatives and having no clear conviction of where our lives are headed and how each challenge or opportunity fits into a greater plan, we begin to nibble. Nibbling here and there, we graze ourselves into a state and condition of lostness. Finally, having gone so far that we don’t know how to get back home or we do not want to return home because we feel guilt over what we have done in the process of straying away. So being lost is living life without a central purpose and a tendency to wander aimlessly away from the God who made us. We have this propensity toward evil called a sin nature that can rear it’s head periodically and can even dominate our entire lives. This is the core of our problem.
People are lost because of their blindness to danger. Sheep just don’t realize what incredible hurt that they expose themselves to when they refuse the care and guidance of the Shepherd. Being lost is not seeing the spiritual dangers of ignoring God.
People are lost because of their misconceptions. Thinking that being a believer and follower of Christ means that they have to conform to someone else’s version of spirituality, they refuse to even try to follow the Shepherd. They end up not serving God for all the wrong reasons. Being lost is being misled as to what it means to be found again.
Perhaps people who have no clue that they’re lost demonstrate the most tragic sense of lostness. They could know the Savior and they could know of His great grace, but for whatever reason, they have not put themselves in a position to learn about it and experience it and perhaps no one has bothered to tell them. Being lost is ignorance of our Creator; it’s ignorance of what went wrong in the world in the Garden; it’s ignorance of what God has done to fix it; it’s ignorance of how God sent Jesus to provide that fix; it’s ignorance of the personal decisions that must be made in response to Jesus.
Definition: All of these things combined with our propensity toward evil equals “lostness.” So being lost, in this parable, means being away from safety and in a place of danger; it means being uninformed about a better way to live; it means not serving God for all the wrong reasons. "Lost" is being where you’re not supposed to be. "Lost" does not really know where you belong, or how to get there. "Lost" is having no valid point of reference outside of "self." A great proportion of society today is unaware that there is any reference point beyond what looks good, or feels good, or seems good at the moment.
Clarification: The worst kind of being lost is not having a clue that you are lost at all. This was the case with the religious leaders. They were lost and didn’t know it. Oh, they never left the sheepfold, but the way you could tell they were lost was by measuring their response when a genuinely lost sheep was found. They weren’t rejoicing in what Jesus was doing in His ministry of saving the lost.
Application: What strikes me about the parable at this point is that God allows us to get lost. He lets us wander away, hoping that weariness and despair will turn us around. Has it occurred to you that the thwarting of your dreams; the foiling of your best-laid plans; the dashing of your hopes could be the work of the Good Shepherd who is hemming you in so that you will allow Him to snatch you up out of the thicket and bring you home?
Illustration: A woman visiting in Switzerland came to a sheepfold on one of her daily walks. Venturing in, she saw the shepherd seated on the ground with his flock around him. Nearby, on a pile of straw lay a single sheep, which seemed to be suffering. Looking closely, the woman saw that its leg was broken.
Her sympathy went out to the suffering sheep, and she looked up inquiringly to the shepherd as she asked how it happened. “I broke it myself,” said the shepherd sadly and then explained. “Of all the sheep in my flock, this was the most wayward. It would not obey my voice and would not follow when I was leading the flock. On more than one occasion, it wandered to the edge of a perilous cliff. And not only was it disobedient itself, but it was leading other sheep astray.
Based on my experience with this kind of sheep, I knew I had no choice, so I broke its leg. The next day I took food and it tried to bite me. After letting it lie alone for a couple of days, I went back and it not only eagerly took the food, but also licked my hand and showed every sign of submission and affection.
And now, let me say this. When this sheep is well, it will be the model sheep of my entire flock. No sheep will hear my voice so quickly nor follow so closely. Instead of leading the others away, it will be an example of devotion and obedience. In short, a complete change will come into the life of this wayward sheep. It will have learned obedience through its sufferings.”
Act 2: Searching
Explanation: This part of the story is beautiful because it portrays God’s persistent searching love. There are some implications regarding God’s searching love.
The Shepherd counts the sheep. How else would He discover that one sheep in a group of 100 is missing? You can’t estimate this. You must count the sheep and know the sheep. He knows who is lost. He knows their name.
The Shepherd never underestimates the value of one. Rather than just cutting His losses and getting on with caring for the other 99, He lays it all on the line when He leaves the 99 in the open field and persistently searches for the one.
The Shepherd hastens the sheep’s return to the fold. He puts the sheep on His shoulders so as to cover the ground more quickly. He hastens to return to the 99 as well as to get the lost sheep back into the fold with the other 99.
Observation: This part of the story is a great picture. It describes how God searches out mankind and endeavors to bring them home. Religions of the world describe how man seeks God and finds God. Christianity describes how God seeks man and found him and brought him home again.
Act 3: Finding
Explanation: In all three of these parables of lostness, the joy of finding or being found is shared with everyone. Some call this being “saved.” Being saved is just the opposite of all the reasons I gave for “lostness.” So being saved means safety and rescue from danger; it means knowing and living a better way; it means serving God. "Saved" is being where you’re supposed to be. "Saved" is knowing where you belong, or how to get there. "Saved" is having a valid point of reference outside of "self." Most importantly, “saved” means that you have been delivered from the biggest problem of all – death.
Illustration: I love search and rescue stories. We had one this week right on the block. Little Julie couldn’t be found. Ron and Gwenna and Curtis and me were all looking for her. Eventually, her head popped up from inside their van. Found. The father went from cursing to smiles and laughter!
Observation: If we look at this in the broader context of what Jesus was addressing, we see the point He’s making here. Jesus was finding lost people. He was bringing people of all lifestyles back to God, i.e., your prostitutes, the immoral, the demon-possessed, your wealthy tax-collectors, your alcoholics, and many who were simply disenchanted with religion. The marginalized in society were finding a place at God’s banquet table because the Savior was finding them and setting them free through forgiveness and a new start (this is one of Luke’s themes). But, the religious establishment had a problem with that. Jesus was making friends with all of these unbelievers and they were being brought back to God, but the religious leaders didn’t like it. Jesus’ point: They of all people should have been rejoicing with the Savior! The disenchanted wanderers are finding home again. Rejoice! Jesus is not just the God of the few, or God of the wise, or the God of those who think they are pursuing God. He’s a God who searches, finds, and cares for lost people.
APPLICATION
It is so important that we recognize several key things in light of this parable and in light of the “Winning Them” track that we embark on today.
There are lost sheep all around you. From the outside, many of them look to be successful. But, they are lost – away from safety, uninformed about a better way to live, or disillusioned regarding spiritual things. It’s not that they’re any less human and valuable, it’s just that they have not come to grips with Who created them, Who has blessed them, and how they are to live in gratitude to Him for what He has provided to them in Jesus.
Get to know the lost sheep. This means crossing traditional boundaries to reach the unbelieving world. The mark of a mature shepherd is not withdrawal; it’s penetration. The mature shepherd does not stand in the middle of the flock inside the sheepfold and call, “Snowball, where are you? Come here snowball. Come back home.” The mature shepherd penetrates into dangerous areas in order to get to know lost sheep and where Snowball is at in his thinking and lifestyle.
Lead them back to God through love. A shepherd does not drive the sheep, but leads them. In order to win sheep back, you may have to follow them into some rough terrain, loving them all the while. A confrontational and intrusional personal style will drive most people away from the faith.
Create a safe place for them to find home again. There are people struggling to make sense of Christianity and we cannot be out of touch with that reality. Gently lead them back to Christ by creating a place for folks to come back to God when they’re ready.
CONCLUSION
Application: If you are not in a right relationship with Jesus Christ; if you do not know him as your Savior, or if you are a Christian and have gone astray, do not think that Jesus is not searching for you. Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, and he is greatly concerned for our protection and well-being.
Those of you who know the Lord and are experiencing pain or loneliness in your life, you may be going through chastisement from the Shepherd. If you are experiencing these things then surrender to the Shepherd today and return to the fold. If you have never known the Shepherd before, and the love and protection that he has for you, then hear his voice as he calls out to you. Listen to that voice and follow him home. As the old gospel hymn says, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!”
