? Children have no compassion for their parents
? Employer have no compassion for their employees.
? Neighbors have no compassion for their neighbor.
The parable of THE LOST SHEEP reveals the COMPASSION OF CHRIST more than any other of Jesus’ parables.
It is comforting to know that our Lord is compassionate because often those around us are not.
Every day people’s lives are made difficult by the lack of compassion.
-THE BUSINESS WORLD LACKS COMPASSION.
-THE POLITICAL WORLD LACKS COMPASSION.
-THE CHURCH LACKS COMPASSION.
If you think it is bad now to live in this world of people who lack compassion, just think what it would be like if our Lord was not compassionate.
Illus: Jesus stood on a hillside near Jerusalem one day and saw the people, in their confusion, and He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” (Matt. 23:37)
We can all be thankful that Jesus was a compassionate Savior. People were drawn to Him like to a magnet, to hear Him preach because He was such a Savior. For example, look at...
I. THE GROUP -- Verse 1.
“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.”
It is always refreshing to see people gather together for the right reason. Our text tells us these people gathered for the right reason. They did not gather:
- Because of curiosity.
- Because they just wanted to observe.
- Because of any selfish gain.
- Because of a hidden agenda they were promoting.
They were there because they were hungry “TO HEAR HIM.”
WHO WERE THOSE PEOPLE?
The Bible tells us they were...
A. The publicans.
Much was said about the publicans in Jesus’ day and most of it was not good. Today most folks do not know what a “publican” is.
Illus: One little boy went home from Sunday School and his dad asked him what his Sunday School teacher had taught him. The little boy said, “Dad, our lesson was on how wicked the republicans are and How God wants to save them?"
Before I get into trouble with some of you, let me quickly explain that “publicans” ARE NOT REPUBLICANS. In those days the Jewish tax collectors were called publicans. They were hated by the rest of the Jews because they collected revenue for the Roman government. Most of them were “crooked”. They often collected, along with the taxes, a little extra for themselves so they could become wealthy. It is easy to understand why they were hated. It was bad enough they collected taxes for a government they considered an enemy, but to make the people pay more than was due was even worse.
Our text mentions another group.
B. The sinners.
WHO WERE THE SINNERS?
They were those who were considered to be immoral such as thieves, murderers, liars, rapist, adulterers, harlots, etc. They betrayed GOD and MAN.
Back then the “good” Jews considered people who did those things to be social outcasts. No decent Jew would have wanted to have been caught talking to a “sinner” in public.
He certainly would not have wanted to have been caught eating with a “sinner.” Good Jews did not associate in any way with anyone known for being wicked.
The PUBLICANS and SINNERS were considered to be the most despicable groups of people on earth by the religious Jews.
Illus: It was appalling to them that Christ would be caught in broad daylight eating and mingling with “sinners.”
They would think, “Doesn’t Jesus know that if He wants to be 'accepted' in religious circles He should not mingle with such people?”
We read about their shock in verse 2 -- “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” They were SHOCKED!
There was something that crowd did not know about the Lord Jesus.
-Jesus did not come to fit into their social circles.
-Jesus did not come to please the legalistic crowd.
-Jesus did not come to please the religious crowd.
JESUS CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST!
We are not really sure why the religious people went to hear Jesus, but the Bible tells us why the SINNERS and PUBLICANS were there.
As we look, we will see TWO things in this verse of scripture. We will see WHAT and WHY they went to Christ.
A. What did they come for?
We do not have to guess. The Bible makes it crystal clear. We read, “Then drew near unto him...”
It is a marvelous thing when men want to draw close to the Lord.
Let me ask you, “HOW CLOSE TO THE LORD ARE YOU?”
That is something you and the Lord know, and no one else. A person can give the impression he is walking close to the Lord when that may not be the case at all.
Illus: There is a man who lives in South Carolina who professes to be saved. He goes to work and talks about the Lord. He takes his money and buys gospel tracts for distribution. He attends every revival meeting that he knows of. If you met him you would be impressed. But, what if I told you that this same man...
- Does not treat his wife right?
- Does not provide the necessities of life for his family?
- Does not pay his bills?
- Has made his family go from church to church because he cannot have things his way?
- Has tried to mold his family into thinking the way he thinks and has caused his children to literally despise him?
Yet if you met this man, he would convince you that he is living close to the Lord. How sad this is because it could be he is not even saved.
There are many today who, like this man, give the appearance of WALKING CLOSE TO THE LORD WHEN THEY REALLY ARE NOT.
The fact is; I do not know how close any of you are to the Lord, and you do not even know how close I am, but I know this; we are all as close to the Lord as we WANT to be.
The book of James (4:8), teaches, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
Did you know that if you do not draw “nigh” to God, you will never be any closer than you are right now?
Jesus HAS TAKEN EVERY STEP HE CAN to have a close relationship. The NEXT STEP IS UP TO US!
“Draw nigh” to Him. He has promised to “draw nigh” to us as we obey Him.
Our text tells us the PUBLICANS and SINNERS came for the purpose of being “...NEAR UNTO HIM...” No one twisted anyone’s arm to make any of them come. It was their desire to be near Him.
- They wanted to hear more from this Savior Who loved them.
- They wanted to hear more of this Savior Who socialized with them.
- They wanted to hear more of this Savior Who did not look down on them with disgust.
There is another reason for their drawing near to Jesus. We have seen WHAT they came for. Now...
2. Why did they come near?
They wanted to be able to hear everything that came out of His mouth!
Do not misunderstand what we are saying. We realize that not everyone who sits near the back is trying to get away from God’s Word. Often good etiquette dictates that they sit near an exit.
- Obviously when the church is filled, people sit where there is an available seat. Sometimes that happens to be close to the back.
- Obviously people with health problems sit near exits so as not to distract if they must leave.
- Often very shy folks will sit close to the back.
However, when a person consistently sits close to the back and has no reason to do so, that person simply has no desire to draw near to Christ.
An evangelist, who usually knows very little about the people in the congregation, knows that those who sit near the front do so MOST OF THE TIME because they want to eliminate distractions. These are really hungry for the Word of God. They are the ones who have their Bibles open and usually are taking notes as God’s Word is being preached.
The Bible makes it clear that the PUBLICANS and SINNERS wanted to know more about the Savior. The Bible says these made up THE GROUP that, “...DREW NEAR UNTO HIM...” As they wanted to “draw near” to Him for the RIGHT REASONS there were also some among them who were there for the WRONG REASONS. Look at...
II. THE GRUMBLERS.
Verse 2 tells us, “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” Any time people gather for the right reasons, you can rest assured there will be some nearby who have come for the wrong reasons. Look at...
A. The company of the complainers. Whereas it may be hard to tell what is in a man’s heart if he has come for the right reason, it is NOT hard to distinguish those who have come for the wrong reasons. HOW CAN YOU TELL WHO HAS COME FOR THE WRONG REASONS? They tell you by THEIR CONSTANTLY FINDING SOMETHING TO GRUMBLE ABOUT!
Illus: One man was grumbling about his carpet sweeper. He grumbled about his carpet sweeper so much that a fellow worker decided to offer to buy it to hush him up. He said, “Mister, I want to buy your carpet sweeper. I will give you $25.00 for it today!” The man who had grumbled so much said, “Oh no, I had better not do that. When I married her it was for better or for worse...”
Illus: Three monks who were members of an order which had a rule of silence asked the head monk for permission to speak to one another. The head monk granted the oldest monk the privilege of speaking one sentence that year on an upcoming feast day. He granted the youngest the right to speak one sentence on the feast day one year later. The third monk was to wait until the third year for his feast-day privilege.
- Following the feast-day breakfast the first year the oldest monk said, “I hate oatmeal!”
- A year later, after breakfast on the feast-day, the youngest monk said, “I like oatmeal.”
- The third year, after breakfast on the feast-day, the third monk said, “I am getting awfully tired of this constant bickering over the oatmeal!”
Notice, the Pharisees and scribes went under the guise of being members of the religious group, but they were the ones who were doing the grumbling. They were THE COMPANY OF COMPLAINERS.
B. The complaints of the complainers. Their complaint was, “...This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” Their words marked them as being, in common language, “snobs.” It was beneath their dignity to associate with such vile sinners.
Jesus let them know that IT WAS NOT BENEATH HIS DIGNITY! He shows us something very important in this passage. Jesus shows us that He was NOT OF THE WORLD but HE WAS OUT IN THE WORLD, trying to reach the lost.
Many folks have a very difficult time getting that straight. For example, the theme verses of many who make up the legalistic churches is II Cor. 6:17-18. We read, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
They have taken this scripture much farther than God’s Word teaches we should take it. God’s Word certainly teaches we should not be “of this world,” but He said nothing about separating ourselves from those who do not cross their “T’s” and dot their “I’s” the way we do, spiritually speaking. We become religious “snobs” when we decide that a person is not saved just because he does not belong to our denomination. Listen, God saves the person who comes to Him, repenting, accepting Christ as his Savior, whether we like it or not!
There is a need to preach what God’s Word teaches, in II Cor. 6:17-18, because certainly many Christians have not COME OUT FROM AMONG the world. At the same time we preach of the need to be separated from the world we also need to preach Mark 16:15, which states, “GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel to every creature (sinner).”
- God save us from the religious “snobbishness” which causes Christians to feel he is greater than another child of God.
- God save us from the religious “snobbishness,” which causes us to think we are too good to mingle with people who desperately need the Lord.
Now, look at something else in this passage.
II. THE GATHERING.
The Lord was very displeased with the crowd of religious “snobs.” Look at what He said to THE GRUMBLERS in verses 3-7. We read, “And he spake this parable unto them, saying, 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? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 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. 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.”
These verses teach us TWO major things. First they teach us that...
A. The sheep were sought. Jesus saw the SINNERS and PUBLICANS were as sheep that had gone astray. Listen, before they ever came to Him, He went to them. He seeks for the sinner. The sheep represents the unsaved. Look at the word “lost,” in Luke 15:4. It means: “To perish, to destroy, to be cut off. We are told that the sheep loses itself in one of five ways. For example:
(1) It, by nature, wanders off and does not even know it is getting lost.
(2) It is attracted by things in the wilderness.
(3) Some refuse to follow the other sheep that are not wandering.
(4) It does not walk close enough to the Shepherd.
(5) It does not trust the shepherd to lead him into green pastures so decides to take care of himself.
For whatever the reason, the sheep is lost. But THE LOST SHEEP IS SOUGHT BY THE SHEPHERD.
B. The sheep was saved. Look at verse 5. We read, “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” Notice that He used the plural, “shoulders.” This is interesting because in Isaiah 9:6 He said that one day “...the government shall be upon his shoulder” (singular). In other words, when it comes to carrying the government, He will carry it on His shoulder, but when it comes to carrying His sheep He places them on His SHOULDERS! The safest place a person can be is on the shoulders of our Lord and Savior! Jesus does not place us on one shoulder where we can slide off. He places us around His shoulders so we are secure.
Conclusion/Summary: If you are not a Christian, why not come to Him today and let Him take care of you?
I. THE GROUP
II. THE GRUMBLERS
III. THE GATHERING
