Gold Or Silver

Gold or silver

Luke 15:1:7

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. 2

And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives

sinners and eats with them.” 3 And so He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What

man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave

the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he

finds it? 5 “And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 “And

when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them,

‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ 7 “I tell you that 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 of repentance.

Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel begins with what seems like a simple parable—the parable

of the shepherd who has 100 sheep, loses one, and then goes out to find the one that

was lost. There are many interpretations of what this parable might mean, and that is a

good thing. Jesus’ parables were the best of the best. Rabbis had used parables for

centuries—and still do today—to teach their students and disciples what God’s Word

is all about. So, it is only fitting that Jesus used parables.

One of the beauties of Jesus’ parables is that they can carry multiple layers of meaning.

To see them clearly, one must look for the cultural twist—the part of the parable that

would make the original listeners stand up and say, “That doesn’t happen in our

society!” When you recognize the cultural twist, the deeper meanings of the parable

start to emerge.

In this case, the parable is about shepherds. Throughout church history, the image of

the shepherd has been used to describe Jesus as the Good Shepherd of us all. It’s a

wonderful and comforting image, especially today when people long for guidance and

care. Yet in Jesus’ day, a parable about a shepherd searching for a lost sheep would have

made people sit up and wonder why He was talking about shepherds.

Interestingly, in the Old Testament, shepherds were highly respected. David himself

was a shepherd, and the Hebrew Scriptures speak often—and positively—about

shepherding. But somewhere between the Babylonian exile and the time of the Second

Temple, shepherding became a low-class job. Today, we might compare it (loosely) to

jobs like sewer maintenance or garbage collection. There’s nothing wrong with these

jobs—they are essential—but they’re not the jobs children typically dream of doing

when they grow up. I don’t mean to demean anyone’s work; I’m simply trying to

illustrate why Jesus’ listeners would have reacted strongly when He used a shepherd as

the hero in His story.

It’s interesting that the early church embraced the shepherd theme so fully. When

Christianity shifted from being centered in Jerusalem to being centered in Rome, it

absorbed aspects of Roman culture and imagery. In Roman society, shepherding was

not considered lowly. It was a necessary and respected task. Wealthy individuals owned

flocks, but they hired young men to tend them. These shepherds were trusted and

valued. It makes perfect sense, then, that the church would adopt the image of Jesus as

the Good Shepherd.

So, what does this parable teach us? Jesus is asking us to consider what we value. The

shepherd valued all 100 of his sheep equally. When one became lost, it was as though

he had lost the entire flock. He had to go find that one. People often ask, “Who took

care of the 99?” Shepherds always had assistants, and those assistants would watch the

flock. But if something happened—say, a fox attacked—the lead shepherd was

responsible. This meant the shepherd placed a great deal of trust in his assistants while

he searched for the lost sheep.

The parable challenges us with a simple but profound question: What do you value

most in life? Jesus, the Great Shepherd, values each one of us deeply—both individually

and as a community. He valued us so much that He was willing to give His life to bring

us the message of God’s love—that the Kingdom of God is for everyone, and that God

wants us with Him. Jesus valued us to the point of dying a horrific death on the cross

to demonstrate God’s love.

In this parable, He is saying, “I value you this much. How much do you value God?

How much do you value Me?” Many people are baptized but spend the rest of their

lives never thinking again about God or Christ’s sacrifice. But if you are listening to this