Luke 15:1-10
God’s Unconventional Reach
Have you ever lost anything? It’s really irritating, isn’t it? Losing car keys, losing your wallet, losing your cell phone. They make devices to ping all these things, but I’m sure I would probably lose that, too!
Luke chapter 15 is all about lost things, and the joy that comes with finding them. The Pharisees are gossiping about Jesus, that he likes to hand around with riff raff, the scum of society. So Jesus tells three stories to describe why such people are important to God.
Jesus is the Master Teacher. He includes a story for everyone in the crowed: one about a lost sheep (that’s for the farmers in the audience), one about a lost coin (that’s for the women present), and one about a lost son (that’s for all the parents out there).
Usually a parable has one central meaning. What we pick up in these stories is that...
I. God loves all kinds of lost people
It doesn’t matter what kind of person you are: you are not outside the love of God. I have met more than one Veteran shaken by the horrors of war, who has said, “Oh, chaplain, what I’ve done, I can never be forgiven!” And I reply, “What you’re saying says more about what you believe about God than what you believe about yourself. You just need to know how great our God is!” We have a great and awesome God! Consider these examples of lost people that Jesus loves. First, he loves what I label ...
1. The stupidly lost (lost sheep)
Sheep are stupid creatures. They can easily wonder off on their own, where predators pick them off more easily, without the protection of their shepherd. They think they’re smart, yet they’ll follow each other over a cliff, or get caught in a briar patch, or grow frightened of running water in a creek. They need a shepherd.
In Ezekiel 34:11, 16, God said, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them ... I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” A consistent theme throughout scripture is that God searches for his people as a shepherd searches for a lost sheep. And if you have enough sense to turn to God, he will find you.
Yet sadly, some people are stupid. They marvel at the Grand Canyon and how it was formed by thousands and thousands of years of erosive force of the Colorado River. They love the creation, yet they never credit the Creator. They love their children, and their spouse, and even themselves, yet never contemplate the truest, purest love modeled by the Heavenly Father God and his son Jesus who brought about the cross of redemption for all sinners who would believe. God himself is the very definition of love. Yet some people are too stupid to get that. They are like sheep without a shepherd. And they are needlessly putting themselves in eternal danger.
But oh, how the shepherd searches for them one by one, until he finds one. And then he lifts that sheep up on his broad shoulders and brings the sheep home to his flock. And celebrates! Every sheep matters. Every person matters! It’s a grand celebration. Then there’s...
2. The simply lost (lost coin)
Some people are like an inanimate object, a coin that disappears in a woman’s home. It might have been part of her dowry, this coin that represented a day’s wages. It might have been part of a necklace or headpiece she wore. Homes back then had dirt floors and hardly any windows. So it took quite a search to track down the missing coin, this inanimate object that couldn’t come to its senses and say, “Here I am! Find me!” It didn’t even know it was lost. The coin was totally dependent upon the woman to find it. (That coin would have been in trouble if I was doing the searching. I lost Becky’s car key for weeks, until she found it for me. And in a place I had looked more than once!)
To the woman, this coin had all the value in the world! And when she found it, oh, she invited the whole neighborhood to celebrate! It was a day to party! Then there’s...
3. The selfishly lost (lost son)
We didn’t read this story in the latter half of Luke 15, but you know it by its familiar title: The Prodigal Son. It’s one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I’ve preached on it several times. And it illustrates the selfishly lost, the young man who basically says to his dad, “I wish you were dead! Just give me my inheritance now!” He’s quite self-centered. And of course, he goes out and blows it all on reckless living. Until he grows ... absolutely ... miserable! It’s a good place to be, at rock bottom, because from there, everything else is up!
But the father never gives up on his son, or should I say sons, because there are two in the story: the reckless spendthrift and the arrogant, prideful firstborn. And the father individually reaches out to both, recklessly pouring out his love for them even when neither deserves it. As the youngest is brought back into the fold, the father invites the whole village to celebrate. It’s party time!
So what are the implications for us?
II. Implications for us:
First,
1. Repent and return to Jesus
Maybe you’re the lost sheep, or the lost coin, or the lost son. Maybe it’s time to bring an end to your stupid or simple or selfish lost condition, and let God find you and bring you home. If you didn’t catch it, God is the shepherd, the woman, and the father in the stories. Maybe you need to surrender your life control to Jesus, make him Lord and Master of all, and allow him to replace your lifelong list of sins with his love and forgiveness. Maybe this message is for you. Jesus loves you. He wants you to come home, to be found. He wants to celebrate your return!
Or if you already belong to Jesus, maybe implication #2 is for you, to...
2. Love those Jesus loves
Who does Jesus love? Everyone! We like to think we love everyone, but we tend to spend time with people most like us, and scorn or judge or talk bad about those different from us. Do we love the refugee without a country? Do we care about the Airman or Soldier away from home for the first time? Do we love that granddaughter who colored her hair purple and moved in with some strange friends? Do we love the one who gossips too much, or eats too much, or races down the halls too fast, or has too much money, or has too little money and never should have moved here in the first place? You get the idea.
Think of your worst enemy. Now consider how much Jesus loves that person. He loves them as much as he loves you! And when you think about all your sin, it’s amazing he loves you! It’s amazing he loves me! Love those Jesus loves, and you’ll find yourself loving sinners and prostitutes and tax collectors ... and even Pharisees! And then #3,
3. Celebrate with heaven when lost people are found
Don’t miss out on the celebration! Encourage people to come home. Join Jesus in his mission to “seek and save the lost” (bottom of your outline, Luke 19:10). Tell them how much Jesus loves them, how they are created to have a relationship with their Creator. Show them by your life how much you love Jesus and try to live by his Word. Don’t be like the sour-faced Pharisees. Celebrate when someone turns away from their sin and turns to Jesus. Have a party! Make a big deal out of it, because it is a big deal! All heaven parties when one person turns to God. All heaven! It’s a huge deal!
This week one of our beloved members went on to heaven. _____ is very special to us. And she is very special to God. She is there with her Maker right now, because a long time ago she realized she was lost, and she came to the one who could give her life more abundantly. She became a child of God. She exchanged her sin for salvation. And now she lives on forever in eternity. Let us heed _____’s example and submit our lives to Christ, loving others like Jesus loves us, and sharing the love of Jesus with everyone we meet. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, please help us to love people as you do. Father, thank you that you have provided the means for salvation for all who would believe. Help someone here today trust you with their life for the very first time. We ask this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.
Luke 15:1-10
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 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 persons who do not need to repent.
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
