Dr. Bradford Reaves
CrossWay Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
Happy Resurrection Sunday, everyone! What a glorious crossroads in history when the God of the Universe took upon Himself our sins to save us from damnation by going to the Cross and defeating death by being raised after three days in the grave! For those of you who are new to us, we just started a few weeks ago a sermon series on the Parables of Jesus. Parables are stories Jesus told his disciples and listeners to teach them a spiritual truth about the Kingdom of Heaven.
The first parable we covered was the Parable of the Soils, followed by the Parable of the Wheat Among Tares. Tim covered the Parable of the Persistent Widow, and Jeff brought us the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Last week, I talked about Mustard Seed Faith, and today, we’re talking about an endearing parable: the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
One of the most amazing elements of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory of God is the character and nature in the heart of our Lord. He is, by his very nature, compassionate, tender-hearted, merciful, gracious, loving, and most of all, a savior. He does this without reluctance. It is the true reflection of God's character towards his people. Never has this been more prevalent than in Jesus' parable of the lost sheep.
In this parable, we find the heart of the Father. The work of our Good Shepherd, the condition of our souls, and the hope we have through Him. You can't question the character of God as a Savior. Nor can you question if there is any reluctance in God to save the whosoever.
I've been asked many times by people, “If God is a god of love, then why does He allow disasters, killings, and the evil of this world to continue? Why doesn't he stop it?” But that's not really the question. Death for every person, especially in a fallen world, is inevitable. The real question we must ask ourselves is, “Why does God save sinners?”
Which brings me to the parable on this Resurrection Sunday of 2024. We find it in both Matthew 18 and Luke 15. I’m going to read it from Luke:
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays 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, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:1–7)
The Context
Sinners were coming to Jesus, and Jesus was going to sinners. The reason was that Jesus came to seek out sinners. He gave them eternal life and hope, and this outraged the ‘church police.’ Their self-righteous hatred toward sinners became clear here before the parable.
You see, Jesus was not only seeking out the sinners, he was EATING with them. I think Jesus connected with people in a way that connected with their hearts. He wasn’t concerned with ideologies or the opinions of the ‘church police.’ He was concerned with the condition of man's eternity. In other words, God loves sinners.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill, they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. (Jeremiah 50:6)
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. (Ezekiel 34:23–24)
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, (Hebrews 13:20)
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
The Parable
So now Jesus gave the Scribes and the Pharisees a parable to show them the condition of their hearts versus the condition of the hearts of those he came to save. The parable is about how the owner of a flock, or a shepherd, would intentionally go to find a single lost sheep. In Jesus's day, most families had several sheep, as many as 15. So what would happen is a village would consolidate all of its sheep into a single herd and hire someone to watch over the herd. And so Jesus gives us an image: I'll be a flock of 100 sheep. But there is something wrong; one of the sheep is lost. For a shepherd, losing even a single sheep was a big deal. You are one of those sheep.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
The Condition of the Sheep.
To put it mildly, sheep are super stupid animals. Jesus comparing us to sheep without a shepherd is not a flattering statement. Sheep are notoriously incompetent at caring for themselves. They aimlessly wander away, walk right into a fire, fall into a crevice, or fall off a cliff. They are completely aloof to the dangers around them. Sheep are witless and powerless animals.
Sheep, lost out in the wild, are goners. They have no natural defenses. They can’t even run real fast. On their own they don’t do well at finding adequate food and water. To use the word ‘lost’ to describe a sheep is to say that it is as good as dead. (Sherm Nichols, Sermon Central)
Sheep may be dumb, but they are also extremely valuable. They provide wool for clothing and gourmet dinners and were used for the cleansing sacrifice required by the Law of Moses. Today, sheep sell for about $2.00 a pound live weight. People have been known to clone them, raise them like children, and use them to keep grass and weeds cut.
In Luke, Jesus defended his association with sinners and tax collectors and compared sinners to lost sheep. (He is talking about you and I ). Jesus says he would do nothing to stop to track them down, find them, and rescue them.
It is not an understatement to say that sheep must have the outside help of the shepherd. Because sheep don't just run away; they aimlessly wander away and drift from the flock. Sheep defy evolution! Without the assistance and care of the shepherd, sheep will certainly die.
So, Jesus's comment that we are like sheep is not a compliment. Jesus reminds us of our spiritual condition apart from his. We are lost and destined for self-destruction. We may think we can survive, that we can pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, but inevitably, we will wander away and find ourselves defenseless and quickly wounded.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:9–10)
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (Psalm 119:176)
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6–7)
This underscores two important points. First, we need a Shepherd. We need the Lord to look out for us, guide us, and care for us. Second, we need community. We cannot exist apart from the flock.
This is also true for believers. We cannot exist without the intervention of the Good Shepherd or the rest of the flock. We need each other, period. The Bible is full of passages that underscore the necessity of being in community with other believers. By the way, when we exist without believers, we are in a community with other sheep!
The Role of the Shepherd
The next important point is the role of the shepherd. Look at Jesus’ parable:
“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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (Luke 15:4–5)
Shepherds have several critical functions in the life of the flock. They protected the flock from predators and the sheep themselves, they cared for the needs of the flock, they led the flock to pastures and water, they provided for the flock, and they kept track of their flock, noting if even one was missing.
Many of the greatest figures in the Bible were shepherds, including Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus, who referred to himself as the “Good Shepherd.” Likewise, pastors have the role of being Jesus’ under-shepherds. Interestingly, shepherds were also considered a lowly trade and were unable to take part in temple worship. Yet, they were also among the first to receive the announcement of Jesus’ birth.
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. (Ezekiel 34:23–24)
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)
The teachings about a Shepherd emphasize the importance of Christ's leadership, care, and sacrificial love in our lives and of our care for each other as Christians.
Leaving The 99
So when the shepherd tends to his sheep, he is constantly vigilant about their condition. He is aware of predators and the absence of even one animal in his flock. When he realizes that one of his sheep has wandered off, he immediately searches tirelessly to find the lost sheep, knowing that if he does not, the animal will perish.
The truth of the matter is that God is working tirelessly to keep you from wandering off. He may send some of his under-shepherds to find you, he may speak to you in songs or sermons, he may speak directly into your heart through the Holy Spirit. The question is, will you respond to him?
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
Secondly, sheep need each other! Sheep will typically not eat or drink alone. They are herd animals and require the attention of the flock around them. When sheep wander from the flock, they inevitably die.
Maybe you’ve heard the story of the sheep in New Zealand named Shrek. He had escaped and evaded capture and shearing for six years. When he was finally discovered in his high mountain cave by Ann Scanlan, he was almost unrecognizable as a sheep. The first thing she did was to pin back his wool so that he could see to walk.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
People were so interested in Shrek’s return that the owner kept him in a pen for weeks so that reporters could broadcast this amazing return of the lost sheep. Then, on live television, world champion sheep-shearer Peter Casserly shaved off six years' worth of matted wool. (Perry Green, Sermon Central)
Another lost in the wild for years in Australia was unrecognizable after having a whopping 57 pounds (lbs) of wool sheared off. Some 18 rescuers spent five hours carrying the animal, Victoria, through "rugged terrain" in the mountains amid the "bitter cold" as they battled fog, wind, and rain. Without her being rescued, the sheep would’ve died. The shepherds sheered over 57 lbs of wool off the sheep!
The worst kind of lost is being lost and never realizing you are lost. This was the case of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day and many other ‘religious’ people today who think they are ‘safe’ but are sheep without the Good Shepherd.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Finding the One
And when he has found it, he lays 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, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ (Luke 15:5–6)
There is no option if the shepherd finds it. Jesus says, ‘When’ he finds the sheep, he lays it on his shoulders and brings it home. What a picture to characterize our Lord. The brave shepherd, who knows the wilderness and understands the nature of the animals, including the predators, goes out and gets his sheep. He doesn’t put a rope around its neck and pull it home, he doesn’t scold the sheep, he doesn’t chase it back. He carries it home, rejoicing. He puts the animal, weighing as much as 75 lbs, over his shoulders, wraps the legs around his neck, and takes it home.
Melissa Highsmith was kidnapped by a babysitter in 1971 at the tender age of 22 months. Over the next 51 years, Highsmith's family and the police searched for her without success. Finally, with the use of DNA technology, her identity was confirmed, and she was reunited with her family. Melissa lived in Fort Worth, Texas, under the name Melanie Walden. Unknown to Melissa, her family had spent years searching for her. “My heart right now is full and bursting with so much emotion. I'm just really, really happy." She plans on changing her name back to Melissa.
What a celebration it must’ve been for Melissa and her family! Jesus said that there is rejoicing in heaven when the lost sheep is found and brought back to God’s flock. Who goes out to find a lost unclean animal, brings it back, and celebrates with all of heaven about it? Jesus does!
Conclusion
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)
You see, that is what we’re celebrating on Resurrection Sunday! Our Good Shepherd left heaven to come find you, even to the point of going to a sinner's cross, suffering and dying to bring you home. Not only that, but he defeated the enemy of death in the wilderness of this world to come find you. He wants to bring you home.
The problem is that some of us are running from the Shepherd’s voice and not to it. Some of us are wandering away from the flock. Some of us are lost in this world's wilderness and don’t even know we’re lost.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:24–25)
ABC’s of Salvation
