All We Like Sheep

Thank you so much, children’s choir! Thank you for leading us in worship, and thank you for giving us such a fresh perspective on the Christmas story.

When Mrs. Ashley first told me the concept, that we were going to tell the Christmas story from the perspective of the sheep, I thought it was a baaaad idea. But then she showed me the script—which she wrote by the way. And boy, did I feel sheepish. Glynwood is blessed to have so much talent in our congregation.

Boys and girls, what if I told you that the Bible is full of imagery about sheep and shepherds, and not just the Christmas story? It’s true! I’m not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. The Bible uses imagery about sheep and shepherds to tell our story over and over again.

The Bible is one big story of sheep that get lost,

a shepherd sacrifices Himself in order to bring them home,

and the hope, peace, and joy we have when we get found.

This morning, we lit the fourth candle of Advent—the candle of love. And so this morning, I want to focus on the love Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has for us, His flock.

Let’s pray

Sheep that Get lost

The prophet Isaiah put it plainly in Isaiah 53:6

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

That’s not an insult. It’s a diagnosis. And a remarkably tender diagnosis at that.

You see, sheep don’t typically rebel or go feral or attack their shepherds. Sheep don’t go awry; they go astray.

They drift. They wander slowly, one bite of grass at a time, following whatever looks good in the moment until they’re farther from safety than they ever intended to be—and no longer know how to get back.

Now, I’m not suggesting we soften sin. Sin is still rebellion against God. It is any action, attitude, word, or thought that disobeys God. And Scripture doesn’t shy away from describing both sin and its consequences. All have sinned, says Paul in Romans 3:23. And the consequence of that sin is eternal separation from God, according to Romans 6:23.

And it’s worth paying attention to how Jesus himself spoke about sin and sinners. Jesus certainly knew how to name defiance—especially when he was speaking to religious leaders. But when he looked at the crowds, he spoke a different word. He didn’t describe them first as rebels. He described them as lost. Luke 15 is Jesus’ most famous trilogy of parables. He talks about

• A lost sheep.

• A lost coin.

• A lost son.

Matthew 9:36 tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, “he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

The gospel doesn’t let us off the hook for our sin. We are not ok. But the gospel doesn’t begin with condemnation. It begins with compassion.

Isaiah 9 is one of our foundational passages for the Advent season. And look how Isaiah sets up the story:

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Lostness isn’t just moral failure. It’s disorientation. It’s moving through life without bearings, without clarity, without a clear sense of where safety lies. It’s that feeling of not knowing where you are and not knowing how to get home.

Just like a sheep without a shepherd.

Into that darkness, Jesus says in John 8:12,

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

To people walking in darkness, Jesus is the Light.

Advent doesn’t begin with a lecture, but with a light.

Not by showing us we’re wrong, but by showing us the way.

The Sacrificing Shepherd

In Luke 15, Jesus asks what sounds like a rhetorical question:

“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?”

The truth is, for most people in that crowd, the honest answer would have been: Not me.

I wouldn’t do that. I would write off losing one sheep as the cost of doing business. As long as the ninety-nine were safe.

I think most shepherds would do that.

But not Jesus.

For Jesus, love doesn’t cut its losses. Love moves toward the lost.

The good shepherd doesn’t wait for the sheep to wander back. He goes looking. He searches the dark. He enters danger.

Luke 19:10 ESV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Don’t miss this. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Not seek and reprimand. Not to seek and correct.