*Intro> A man telephone his business associate’s home and was greeted with a child’s whispered, “Hello?” The man asked, “Is your daddy home?” “Yes,” was the whispered reply. “May I talk with him?” “No,” the child replied. The man was surprised, but wanting to talk to an adult, he then asked, “Is your mommy home?” “Yes,” whispered the child. “May I walk with her?” Again, “No,” was the answer. Knowing it was highly unlikely that the young child was at home alone, the man decided he would try to leave a message with whomever the person was who was watching over the child. So, he asked, “Is there anyone else there besides you?” “Yes,” the child whispered, “a policeman.” Wondering what could be going on, the man asked, “May I speak with the policeman?” “No, he’s busy,” came the reply. “Busy doing what?,” the man asked. The child explained, “He’s talking to mommy and daddy and the fireman.” The man became very concerned now, then began hearing what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece of the phone. “What is that noise?,” he asked. “It’s a hello-copper.” “What’s going on there?,” the man asked, now becoming nearly panicky. The child answered in a hushed tone, “The search team just landed the hello-copper.” “What are they searching for?,” he asked. The child answered, “Me.”
Two weeks ago we looked at the story of the Prodigal Son...a man who had become lost as a result of his desires and desperately wanted to come home.
--Last week we looked at the story of the Good Samaritan, about a man who was beaten up and couldn’t come home because of what others had done to him.
--This week we look at the parable of the Lost Sheep...lost because of his desires and distractions leading him away from his shepherd...and who was also in serious danger of being taken advantage of by the world and its evil elements.
----This time, the sheep wanted to come home but didn’t know how to get there, and was incapable of helping himself.
In each story, whether a prodigal, a man beaten up by thieves, or a lost sheep, there is a common denominator: the compassion of our heavenly Father.
--Presented as the father to the prodigal, as the Good Samaritan to the man beaten up, and now as the good shepherd to the lost sheep, He cares each time “for the least of these,” and seeks to save those who are lost.
I invite you to open a Bible this time to Matthew 18.
--We read earlier from Luke 15, which is our main text, but the parallel text for the same story is found in Matthew 18, and we need to put both passages together in order to get the full picture of what’s going on.
---Matthew 18:12-13 -- “What do you think? If any man (came to have) a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”
--Luke 15 tells us the shepherd has lost one of his sheep. Matthew 18 tells us how...the sheep strayed away.
--Luke 15 tells us the shepherd left the ninety-nine in an open pasture. Matthew 18 tells us that pasture was on a mountain.
--Luke 15 tells us the shepherd has a hundred sheep. Matthew 18 tells us he came to have them...it didn’t happen overnight.
--Luke 15 tells us the shepherd rejoices as he comes home. Matthew 18 tells us why...because it’s not God’s will that any of these little ones perish.
--The Bible tells us that one of the “I Am” statements / identifications of Jesus was, “I am the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the sheep.”
--We’re all familiar with Psalm 23 -- The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack anything.
----It’s a beautiful Psalm written by another good shepherd, David, spoken/sung as though he were a sheep singing to his shepherd.
----I highly recommend Phillip Keller’s book, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23. It presents some wonderful insights about sheep and the meaning of Psalm 23.
--And we’re probably all familiar with the paintings of Jesus carrying sheep on His shoulder, wrapped around His neck.
---Those pictures are based on the truths in today’s story...the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
It’s a story we need to look at in 3 parts: Its context, its content, and its applications to our lives today.
1) THE CONTEXT
-----Luke 15:1-2 -- Now all the tax gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
--It’s a parable.
----A parable is an earthly story with a spiritual meaning...a story with symbolism involved to help us understand God’s kingdom, God’s heart.
--Many have tried to make this story about ministering to fellow Christians. They’ve chosen that perspective because the lost sheep had been numbered with the ninety-nine, part of the shepherd’s hundred sheep.
----And it can be applied that way...we’re certainly to view every sheep, every believer in the flock as important.
--But the real context, the historical context in the setting in which the story was told is about reaching out to those who are not “in,” but outside of the group we usually hang out with...like the tax collectors and other sinners hanging around Jesus, listening to His every word.
2) THE CONTENT
----It’s about a lost sheep, about the shepherd to the sheep, and about us and what we should do.
So, let’s take each part, one at a time:
--a) THE SHEEP WHO WENT ASTRAY.
-------Matthew 18:12 -- “If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray...”
------Needless to say, it is not a lecture about woolly, cloven-footed sheep...It’s a parable about people being like sheep.
------And it’s a parable about our shepherd (pastor, if you will), watching out over us / taking care of us, and how we need to “sense his heart.”
----WHAT THE SHEPHERD KNOWS ABOUT THE SHEEP...
------1) Straying is caused by being distracted.
----------ILL>Someone once asked, “Why is it that opportunity only knocks once, yet temptation bangs on the door constantly?”
----------Straying is caused by the sheep taking his eyes off of the shepherd, giving attention to that which is “outside the lines”
--------------Giving attention to the very things the shepherd wants to protect the sheep from, and guides them to steer clear of.
----------QUOTE: ANON> "Genius has limits, but stupidity has none."
----------Sheep are easily distracted, easily “spooked.”
-------------It’s why a good shepherd leads his sheep beside still waters, so they’ll drink without being scared of running water.
-------------It’s why a good shepherd makes his sheep lie down in green pastures, free of thorns, and in an open pasture so there are no surprise attacks from predators not being able to be seen.
-------------It’s why a good shepherd remains easily visible to the sheep, being present with them so they have no fear, being comforted that the shepherd is with them, and carrying his rod of correction and staff for rescuing and directing the sheep.
-------------APP>Consequently, we, like sheep, have been instructed to “fix our eyes” on Jesus, and follow Him rather than being led away by temptation.
-------2) Straying leads to being disconnected.
----------a) Disconnected from the shepherd.
----------------No protection. No provisions. No direction or guidance.
----------------ILL>A young ensign, after nearly completing his first overseas cruise, was given the opportunity to display his capabilities at getting the ship under way. With a stream of commands, he had the decks buzzing with men, and soon the ship was steaming out the channel en route to the states. His efficiency established a new record for getting a destroyer under way, so he wasn’t surprised when a seaman approached him with a message from the captain. He was surprised, though, when he discovered it was a radio message, and even more surprised when he read what it said: “My personal congratulations upon completing your underway preparation exercises according to the book and with amazing speed. In your haste, however, you have overlooked one of the unwritten rules: Make sure the captain is aboard before getting under way.”
----------------APP>Serving the Lord is not about doing things FOR Him, but doing things WITH and THROUGH Him, being empowered and directed BY Him, and only happens when we give our full attention TO Him.
-----------b) Disconnected from the other sheep.
-----------------No assistance from trusted friend. No camaraderie, fellowship or support from others who care about you.
-----------------The lost sheep would soon find himself like the prodigal...surrounded by others who didn’t really care about him.
-----------------Those strangers wouldn’t be looking out for him, they be using him up, taking advantage of him.
-----------c) Disconcerted, confused in his own mind.
-----------------Didn’t know where he was, how he got there, or how to get back.
-----------------ILL>Someone called Paul Harvey to report a bumper sticker he/she had seen, which read, “If I’m not headed west, stop me and turn me around.”
----------------ILL>When I served as a youth minister I used to recognize nose rings, spiked hair, tattoos, rebellious actions of teenagers, etc., for what they were...a cry for help.
-----------------------They weren’t really saying, “Look at me! Look at me!” No, what they were really saying, whether the person recognized it or not, was, “I’m looking for me. I’m looking for me Tell me I’m okay.”
-----------------------The same is true with drug abuse, alcohol abuse, immorality, etc. -- They’re cries for help by people trying to “feel happy” within because they feel lost inside, and they’re scared.
-----------------QUOTE: Blaise Paschal had it right when he said, “There is within every man a God-shaped vacuum.”
--------------------Nothing the world has to offer will ever satisfy the real longing of a person’s heart.
-------3) Straying leads to danger.
-----------a) Sheep are easy prey for conniving wolves.
-----------------Their only defense is to run...yet they end up running right into the enemy’s traps.
-----------------Then they discover they can’t help themselves out of their dilemma...they need a Savior.
-----------b) Sheep are easily led astray by other enthusiastic sheep.
----------------ILL>The Associated Press reported on July 8, 2005 -- “Istanbul, Turkey: First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher, cushioning the fall.”
----------------Sheep are easily misguided, confusing activity and enthusiasm and volume with trust and wisdom.
-----------c) Sheep are easily trapped in their own fur.
-----------------They literally after awhile “get full of themselves.”
-----------------When sheep are in full wool, they can become easily entangled in thorn bushes.
-----------------They can also become “cast down,” they can fall over and are incapable of getting back up on their feet.
--------------------The weight of their full wool and their short legs makes it impossible for them to get up, and if they don’t get help in that condition they will perish in a matter of a few hours.
--------------------This is why Jesus wept over the multitudes, because He “saw” them as sheep who were cast down, sheep who were “distressed” (meaning they were frantic, like sheep led to the slaughter house), they were behaving as lost sheep, like sheep without a shepherd.
-----------------APP>If we look with spiritual eyes and the compassion Jesus puts inside us, we’ll see them that way too.
--b) THE SHEPHERD WHO GOES OUT OF HIS WAY.
-----Luke 15:4 -- “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep, and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost?
----1) He is rich.
---------Luke 15:4 -- “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep...”
---------A hundred sheep is a lot.
------------First century Israel was very much divided into the rich and the poor, there was almost no middle-class.
------------Sheep were a good barometer of the wealth of the individual.
------------Sheep were also an integral part of the sacrificial system.
---------------Sheep were to be presented as sacrifice, the number depended upon the type of sin, but also on the wealth of the individual.
---------------If a person couldn’t afford to bring a lamb for sacrifice, they were allowed to substitute two turtle doves or two pigeons.
------------------We know Joseph and Mary, for example, brought two turtle doves as a sacrifice at the time of Jesus’ presentation in the temple on his eighth day, presenting Him to be circumcised.
-----------So, for a man to have not only the means to present one sheep for sacrifice, but have a hundred sheep of his own, he was quite wealthy.
---------Sheep were a major source of income.
------------They were a source of renewable resources...wool for clothing, and milk for drinking.
------------In the end, they were also a source of meat.
------------The truth is, sheep are still an important commodity in our culture too.
---------------From their hide and wool: We get lanolin (lotions to keep our skin soft/moist), clothing, yarn, baseballs, insulation, tennis balls, and carpet.
---------------From their intestines: Sausage casings, instrument strings, surgical sutures, tennis racquet strings.
---------------From their manure: Nitrogen fertilizer, and phosphorous.
---------------From their fats and fatty acids: Explosives, chewing gum, paint, make-up, dog food, margarine, medicine, soap, antifreeze, crayons, floor wax, candles, herbicides, shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, and other lotions.
---------------From their hooves and horns and other bones: Syringes, gelatin desserts, piano keys, marshmallows, bandage strips, adhesive tape, combs and toothbrushes, buttons, ice cream, record albums, wallpaper and wallpaper paste, cellophane, and photographic film.
-----------However, as wealthy as the shepherd was, he still would have been rich with only ninety-nine sheep.
--------------So he didn’t only pursue the lost sheep for financial reasons.
----2) He is reliable and responsible.
---------Ezekiel 20:37 -- “And I will make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant.”
--------What Ezekiel is describing is what good shepherds did every evening...they would line up the sheep and have them pass “under the rod” of the shepherd for an inspection, and for counting.
-----------The shepherd would count them, sure, but more importantly he knew every one of his sheep by name, knew their personal characteristics and markings, and he would examine them for any hurts or scrapes or parasites they might have picked up.
-----------He would set aside the injured sheep so later, before the night was over, he could pour oil on the scrapes for healing.
-----------But this was the time he would also know if all the sheep were in the flock, or if there was a sheep out wandering around, with darkness approaching.
-----------One sheep missing was too many...because the sheep missing was now in peril, being vulnerable and defenseless.
----3) He rescues.
---------Luke 19:10 -- “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
----------He would brave the darkness, climb the hills / mountains, go into the dangerous places the sheep might have strayed into, all in search for the lost sheep.
----------He literally was willing to lay his life down for the sheep...risking his own life in looking for the sheep.
----------And he wouldn’t give up, he would keep searching, keep pursuing the lost sheep.
----------Later, he would lay his own body across the entrance way to the sheep fold, laying his life down for the sheep, to the point that a wolf or predator would literally have to get through the shepherd in order to get to the sheep.
----4) He’s redemptive.
---------Luke 15:5 -- “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders...”
----------He brings the sheep back on his shoulder.
-------------He makes sure the sheep doesn’t walk on its own, but come home.
-------------And, if this was an animal who had strayed more than once, the shepherd would even break the legs of the sheep so he couldn’t run away and be forced to stay with the shepherd throughout the healing process.
-------------During that healing process, the shepherd would put the lamb on his shoulder, and carry it with the lamb’s head resting against the shepherd’s heart, literally sensing the heart beat of the shepherd.
---------As a result, this formerly straying sheep, having been restored, would be the least likely sheep to ever stray again.
------------Having learned the hard way, having learned from the “tough love” of the shepherd, and having learned from listening to the heart beat of the shepherd, he would be more likely to trust the shepherd, and want to stay in his presence.
----5) He rejoices.
---------Luke 15:6 -- “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’”
---------Notice the focus: It’s not “rejoice because I have come home safely.”
---------It’s not “rejoice because the ninety-nine are still safe.”
---------These are both items to rejoice about too, but the heart of the shepherd is seeking and saving that which was lost.
3) THE APPLICATION...
-------TRUTHS WE SHOULD APPLY TODAY...
Like a B.L.T. sandwich, we can remember three applications to apply:
---We need to:
--a) Broaden our focus.
--------We must see beyond the ninety-nine, and look to the one who is outside the fold.
------------We have a lot to rejoice about, but our main focus of rejoicing should be in saving the lost, and rejoicing they’re saved.
--b) Leave our comfort zone.
--------We must go seeking the lost, going to where they are.
--------QUOTE: ANON> “The archer strikes the target, partly by pulling, but never without letting go.”
--------Yes, it will be uncomfortable sometimes, even dangerous...but they need rescuing...they’re cast down, they’re in distress.
--c) Trust our Savior.
--------He came seeking us...He’ll go with us as we seek to reach those who have gone astray.
--------We can trust Him...because the Lord is our Shepherd.
------------He’ll bring us through the valley of the shadow of death...bring us through the danger as we leave the ninety-nine and go seeking the one who is lost.
