Message
Luke 15:1-10
“Lost and Found”
My grandparents … who we called Opa and Oma … in their retirement had a Hiace camper van in which they travelled all over Australia with their Chihuahua called Snowy. Opa – well let’s just say Opa had trouble admitting he was wrong or asking for help.
One day they were in the middle of Australia and Opa was lost, but he couldn’t admit he was lost so he didn’t ask Oma. Oma knew they were lost but she didn’t say anything …
Opa drove 400km in the wrong direction before he admitted he was lost.
Some people get lost because they are stubborn.
When we met Alex, my now son-in-law, for the first time he came to our house. A little hiccup in the visit occurred when Alex rang Lorinda to say he was lost – the GPS was just not showing the way.
At one point in the journey he was near Kingsford Smith Drive near a blacksmith when the Navman announced he had arrived. When Lorinda found him he was only a kilometre from our house, but still no closer to finding our house.
Some people get lost because they get let down or lead astray.
People get lost … literally… for all sorts of reasons. But, even when they get lost others should help them … no matter what the cause of the “lostness”
People also get lost … spiritually … for all sorts of reasons. What is our calling when they are lost?
Jesus tells us a series of parables which focus on the lost. We find the parables in Luke 15. There are three parables:- the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost sons. We are just going to look at the first two.
Luke 15:1-10 read
Why is the sheep lost? There are a number of possible scenarios.
Sheep are not very bright so they need to be carefully watched.
Maybe it got left behind somewhere and then just wandered around.
Perhaps the shepherd wasn’t watching closely enough.
It is impossible to have a definitive answer – it could be lost for all sorts of reasons.
Why is the coin lost? This one is easier.
It is either because of neglect, or lack of diligence, or disinterest.
The owner of the coin or, at the very least someone who lives in the house, has contributed to the “lostness”.
But the parables aren’t about coins and sheep. They are about people. More specifically they are about the spiritual lives of people – and people are spiritually lost. Why are people spiritually lost?
Some are stubborn.
Some have taken a detour in life.
Some have become attached to false religions.
Some don’t know the right questions to ask.
Some are raised in atheistic homes.
Some are too lazy.
Some get distracted by materialism.
Some are trying to find a soft place to land.
Some are rebelling against a Christian upbringing.
Some don’t realise they are not in the right place.
Some find their status in their career.
Some are afraid they will be judged.
Some don’t want to make a change.
Some are too busy.
Some have been hurt by the church.
There are a 1000 reasons why people are lost – but you can boil it all down to one reason. They are lost because they are sinners who need to repent.
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
John 15:7, 10
As we read this parable let’s be very clear – ultimately the lost are responsible for their “lostness”.
The ones represented by the sheep need to repent.
The ones represented by the coin need to repent.
We can’t remove that responsibility – each of us is responsible for repentance, or lack of repentance.
But there is another responsibility in this parable – one that falls on all those who call upon the name of Jesus. That is the responsibility to notice the lost.
The shepherd has 100 sheep … well he did at the beginning of the day when he brought them out of the sheep pen so they could go to the field to graze and drink water.
With a herd this size the one lost sheep could have gone unnoticed for some time. The shepherd probably noticed when the sheep were being brought back to the sheep pen near the end of the day. As they go through the gate they are counted … 96 … 97 … 98 … 99 …
One is missing
In the days of Jesus sheep were quite. They are used as a means of trade. Their wool can provide a modest income. They also make a tasty meal. Even though the shepherd has lost one out of 100 the shepherd still puts all his efforts into finding the one.
The woman has 10 coins, maybe they are sitting on a shelf and she has been saving them over time. It may have also taken a bit of time to notice one was missing. After all a pile of 9 coins and a pile of 10 coins looks pretty much the same at first glance.
At some point she decides to check by counting them … 7 … 8 … 9.
The coin is a drachma – which is the Greek equivalent of the Roman denarius. A day’s pay for a days work.
This was 10 days of pay, now with one day of work going missing.
It is a reasonable amount. It is not such a small amount that you would just ignore it – it is about $300 in today’s money. Certainly enough to start an intense search in the house to locate the lost coin.
Let’s notice two truths here.
Firstly both the shepherd and the woman had put in place a plan that enabled them to notice that which had been lost.
Sure, it may have taken some time. For the shepherd the time is probably shorter, no more than a day. For the woman … well the coin may have slipped of the shelf a few days or a week ago. But, in the end, they noticed.
And … this is the second truth … and when they noticed they acted. They acted because,
… whether a sheep or a coin,
… whether one of 100, or one of 10,
they acted because the lost have value.
Remember it is a parable.
Jesus is making the point that the spiritually lost … those who struggling with spiritual purpose and spiritual direction … they have value. Indeed they have eternal value.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
In the beginning God created … on the sixth day God created mankind … and it was very good.
Some time after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.
God came to the garden and the first thing God said was “Where are you?”
Where are you?
Not, “where are you hiding I can’t find you” … even though that is what Adam and Eve were trying to do.
“Where are you?” … as in “where are you in your relationship with Me.”
We are in rebellion.
We are sinners.
We are … “lost”.
We are lost and God comes looking. The fall into sin doesn’t stop God from eternally valuing us. We are still in His image
… a poor reflection.
… sin-stained.
… needing salvation.
Yet still in His image. Still valued.
So valued that God comes looking for us.
So valued that God sent His One and only Son to die.
Through this parable we
… we who already know Jesus.
… we who were once-lost but are now-found.
Through this parable we are being reminded of our responsibility to notice the lost …
… to know the lost have eternal value no matter what the cause of the lostness.
… to take the time to put in place strategies which help us notice the lost.
… to be a people who actively get alongside the lost.
… and to be willing to put in the energy required to do all we can to help the lost to be found.
And it will take energy.
Having Corianna out of action for the past three weeks has given me a renewed appreciation of how much work it takes to look after a house.
Keeping it clean.
Making sure everything is in place.
Something could easily be lost in the house and it would take heaps of effort to find it.
The woman looking for the coin was willing to expend energy for that which was lost. But she did it the moment she realised something was lost.
The shepherd even more so. It is getting close to the end of the day when the loss is discovered. The other sheep are safe so off he goes, back-tracking to find the sheep. It could have been quite a walk.
Then when he finds the sheep he picks it up and carries it – that is about 50kg of sheep.
Do sheep like to be carried?
I didn’t know the answer and most theological commentaries are not written by sheep-farmers. So I rang Doug Clark and asked him. Doug has dealt with sheep most of his life.
Doug told me that sheep hate being carried – but the alternative is to put a rope around them and pull them along. But sheep are mob animals – they follow other sheep. They won’t just follow you like a dog on a leash. They will fight against the rope and actually hurt themselves more. So the most compassionate response is to carry them. They don’t like it, but they won’t get more hurt.
And when you bring them back to the other sheep they will just run to the mob – maybe even without a thought for the one who rescued them. They have come back unhurt because the one who went to look for the lost was willing to put in the energy needed to carry a 50kg lost sheep home.
That is a powerful imagery isn’t it.
Going after the lost takes a lot of energy … and it may even be a thankless task. But that is the calling we have because that is the way of Jesus. When Jesus told this parable it is in a particular context.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’
Luke 15:1-2
Let’s make sure we paint a fair picture. The Pharisees also had a concern for the lost. They wanted people in the kingdom and they were concerned about issues of eternal salvation.
But they wouldn’t go … they expected the lost to come.
And they wouldn’t use plain language … they taught with big theological words and complex arguments.
The Pharisees had a “sit and wait” approach.
Not Jesus.
Jesus went to the lost.
He goes to Zacchaeus in the tree. He goes to the tax booth of Matthew. He goes to the well to meet the Samaritan woman.
Matthew 9:35-36 tells us that
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus was willing to put in the energy to search. Jesus put Himself into places where he could have personal contact. People knew this about Jesus and the "tax collectors and sinners" gathered around Him.
Why were they there?
It certainly wasn’t because Jesus had an easy message that tickled people’s ears. And we know that Jesus didn’t compromise when it came to identifying sin a lifestyle that was unacceptable.
He dealt with issues.
He made people look at themselves.
He called for repentance.
But he taught in a way that was unlike any other teacher. When the lost heard, they listened. Because the lost knew that
… no matter what their background was.
… no matter what the reason for their “lostness”.
Jesus was willing to put in the energy.
That is the calling … to be willing to carry the burden which comes with expending vigorous energy in order to bring about repentance and restoration.
But wow … isn’t it all worth it.
The lost are found.
The sinner is restored.
The community is filled with joy.
Not just merely the joy of repentance. But the joy of fulfilling our call as the “formerly lost but now found”.
Prayer
