"Lost and Found"
Luke 15:1-10
A sermon for 10/30/22 – All Saint’s Sunday
Pastor John Bright
Harmony & Swansonville UMC
Luke 15 1 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 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.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You must choose.
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One of the realities of having smarty-pants phones in our pockets is the possibility it will sound off at any moment with the dreaded Amber Alert – when the police have gotten involved and there is a possible abduction. That will probably never happen to anyone of the parents here, but all of us have had that sudden realization – at the grocery store, in a mall, or in a park – “I don’t know where to find my child.” It creates terror in your minds as you have that feeling of your stomach dropping. You yell the child’s name and rush forward to where you saw him or her last. Then you see your child and joy comes rushing over you.
If you have ever experienced that, then you have some idea of God’s desire to seek you out. His love is so great for you that He seeks after you. Your part in this is to be found.
Today we begin the parables of Luke 15 – parables about lost things: 1 sheep, 1 coin, and 2 sons (that’s next week). While I’m covering these parables in Luke, I rely on the work of Dr. Harry Wendt. (The Parables of Jesus, 1997) The sheep and coin parables are what is known as a double parable where the message of the second reinforces the message of the first. So why would Jesus tell these parables?
Set-up for the parables
The religious folks are complaining – that’s us. They are complaining because Jesus is welcoming tax collectors (code for sinners) and eats with them. This is language of hospitality. It’s not like Jesus saw them at Hardee’s and they decided to eat a biscuit together. Back then, a noble person could feed many who where lower on the social ladder, but he would NEVER eat with them. The noble person would receive his guests and eat with them.
It’s in this brief complaint - “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” that we see how Jesus went about His work. He did not hold to all their cultural or religious rules. He saw the lowest as worthy of great honor.
A question – When God looks at you this morning, do you think He sees you like that, with the eyes of Jesus? Hold onto that answer – you are going to need it at the end of sermon when I open up the altar for folks to come and pray.
Two Introductions
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.
What’s wrong with these introductions? Did you hear the slap in the face for those listening that would be sure to cause offense? Probably not.
In verse 4 Jesus is saying to these important religious people – “Suppose you are a shepherd.” The men (yes they were all men) are complaining about sinners who could fall into two categories:
• Those who don’t keep the law the way we do
• Those with certain jobs – like tax collectors and shepherds
The other introduction in v. 8 places a woman at the center of the story. This would not have been appropriate in Jesus’ day and in the midst of a bunch of religious men.
Dr. Harry Wendt also taught me to see something behind these introductions – they are both set in villages. That many sheep would have been a collection of sheep owned by an extended family and neighbors. If not, there would be no celebration at the end. The woman would have been in a village because Bedouin women who moved from place to place wore their coins on their veils. (p. 45) Also, they lived in tents – not the house described in this parable.
The parables
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.’
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.’
Both of these parables focus on the importance of the one being found. What would be process for finding the one sheep or the one coin?
In that day, if you had more than 40 sheep there would definitely be more than one shepherd. So, the other shepherds would take the 99 other sheep back to the village. At this point the whole village would know what is going on. Imagine this story being told – “We were counting the sheep like we do so many times every day. There was one missing, so Joseph left us to find that one.” Galilean shepherds knew that a sheep finding itself separated from the flock would lie down… just waiting to be found.
When I see paintings of this sheep being found, I always see a man carrying a little lamb over his shoulders. What if that was a full grown, 100-pound sheep? If there are no other sheep to follow, it takes considerable effort to get the one back to the flock. When that happens, there is a great celebration because the sheep is valuable.
The lost coin is somewhere on the dirt floor of the house. It is a confined space, not like the wilderness where a sheep might wander off to and lay down. The coin is also just laying there waiting to be found. It has been covered over with dust and dirt so it blends in. So, out comes the broom. It’s possible that those closest to this woman would have been aware of the lost coin. We assume this a silver coin worth a day’s wage. When that valuable coin is found, she invites others to celebrate with her. The joy in these parables seems to be infectious – do we see that kind of joy in our church?
Two closing statements
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.
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Each of these refers to a sinner who repents. What is the beginning of repentance? “God you are right and I am wrong. (too simple) In this, Jesus is telling them (and us) who is precious in the eyes of God. In that day, there was a debate among the rabbis. On the one side there was a category of folks called “completely righteous.” It was believed that God loved these folks in a special way because they had no need to repent.
Today we see this as folks believe that they can earn God’s love if they are good enough. That’s called earning God’s love and that’s the belief I held for a long, long time because it perfectly mirrored how I thought I could earn my Dad’s love. One story – when I was about 10 there was an advertisement in the back of my Boy’s Life magazine for “Electronic Kit of the Month.” My dad could build a radio with all the cool tools in his workshop. I begged for these kits because I wanted Dad to be proud of me. Actually, I wanted affection from him. You see, he never hugged us or told us he loved us. He agreed to let me subscribe and get the kits. I was told to let him check everything I did before it was used.
The first kit came and I rushed out to the workshop. I carefully soldered the wires to the connections on the board just like it said in the instructions. I was so excited when it was done so I plugged it in and – guess what – it blew a fuse. Dad got home and discovered I had not scraped between the connections on the board. I wanted so badly to have a “Good Job!” and big hug. Instead, I got a stern lecture. Eleven more kits came and were stacked on the shelf in my closet – unopened.
Back to the parable - there were other rabbis in Jesus’ day who believed that God’s greatest love went to sinners who repent. Jesus took their side. Do we?
I certainly hope that those who are sitting here when God’s Word is proclaimed would be able to realize if you are the lost sheep. That sheep wandered never knowing. Or are you the lost coin? Have you been covered over by the dust and dirt of every day living in this world? If that’s you – please don’t pile on the self-condemnation and beat yourself up. It’s been said that God designed our bodies in such a way that we can’t pat ourselves on the back or kick ourselves in the rear end. Yet we do it all the time!
I hope those who need to return to the joy of your salvation or find it for the first time – each of you will feel the joy that comes from being found by God. This is a place where we will rejoice with you because we are a people of grace.
If God is looking at you this morning – what does He see? I want you to believe, this morning, God sees you as one of great value. He sees you as the one worthy of being loved and being found – again.
That’s how I want God to see me. That’s how I want God to see all of us – each and every one! Then, we can begin to see each other the same way. Do you need to come to the altar this morning? While you are thinking about being found – let me tell you the rest of the story…
My Dad’s lack of affection did not cause the problems later in my life. It was the bitterness I held onto and nursed and wrapped around me like a safe blanket that caused me to push folks away – never risking getting hurt. After attending the walk to Emmaus, I hatched a plan with my older and younger brothers. The three of us started telling Dad “I love you” at the end of every phone call. When we went to the house, we would arrive and give him a hug and say, “I love you.” We did the same when we left. At first, he was stiff as a board and said nothing.
I will never forget the sound of his voice on the phone one day. I called with a quick question. He answered and I told him I had to go. He replied, “Hey wait, aren’t you going to tell me you love me?” You see, I later found out that his father never hugged him and grandpa’s father was the same. When Dad was in the nursing home at the end, he hugged us and told us how much he loved us. All it took was us “seeking and finding” Dad and we rejoiced in that!
God is seeking you this day. Do you want to be the one who is found? Amen.
TEACHING SHEET
"Lost and Found"
Luke 15:1-10
Today we begin the parables of Luke 15 – parables about lost things: 1 sheep, 1 coin, and 2 sons (that’s next week). So why would Jesus tell these parables?
Set-up for the parables
The religious folks are complaining – that’s us. They are complaining because Jesus is welcoming tax collectors and eating WITH them. This is language of hospitality. A question – When God looks at you this morning, do you think He sees you like that, with the eyes of Jesus?
Two Introductions, V. 4 & 8
In verse 4 Jesus is saying to these important religious people – “Suppose you are a shepherd.”
The other introduction in v. 8 places a woman at the center of the story. This would not have been appropriate in Jesus’ day and in the midst of a bunch of religious men.
The parables, v 4b-6 & 8b-9
Both of these parables focus on the importance of the one being found. Imagine this story being told – “We were counting the sheep like we do so many times every day. There was one missing, so Joseph left us to find that one.” Galilean shepherds knew that a sheep finding itself separated from the flock would lie down… just waiting to be found.
The lost coin is somewhere on the dirt floor of the house. The coin is also just laying there waiting to be found. It has been covered over with dust and dirt so it blends in. So, out comes the broom.
Two closing statements, v. 7 & 10
Each of these refers to a sinner who repents. What is the beginning of repentance? “God you are right and I am wrong. (too simple) In this, Jesus is telling them (and us) who is precious in the eyes of God. In that day, there was a debate among the rabbis. On the one side there was a category of folks called “completely righteous.” It was believed that God loved these folks in a special way because they had no need to repent.
There were other rabbis in Jesus’ day who believed that God’s greatest love went to sinners who repent. Jesus took their side. Do we?
I certainly hope that those who are sitting here when God’s Word is proclaimed would be able to realize if you are the lost sheep. That sheep who has wandered and has not . Or are you the lost coin? Have you been covered over by the dust and dirt of everyday living in this world? If that’s you – please don’t pile on the self-condemnation and beat yourself up. It’s been said that God designed our bodies in such a way that we can’t pat ourselves on the back or kick ourselves in the rear end. Yet we do it all the time!
If God is looking at you this morning – what does He see? I want you to believe, this morning, God sees you as one of great value. He sees you as the one worthy of being loved and being found – again.
God is seeking you this day. Do you want to be the one who is found? Amen.
