September 26, 2004 Luke 15:1-10
Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable:
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 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.
A Sheep is a Sheep. A Shepherd is a Shepherd.
Dear faithful friends in Christ,
One of the more difficult aspects of Christianity is to remain a member of the same congregation for five, ten, or even twenty five years. Why? Because you get to know the people that you are worshiping with - you get to know them very well - almost too well. For instance, the organist knows when to get up and get ready to play approximately two minutes before I say “amen.” My sermons that maybe were new and refreshing to you may be more predictable to you now that you’ve heard them for over four years. You know what my mannerisms and style are - and it becomes old hat. When you look in the crowd - you might look at someone a few rows away and think, “I remember when he was verbally abusive to his wife.” Or if you veer off to your right, you might see a lady whom you know became pregnant before she was married. Your mind might think back to a statement that was made to you in a voter’s meeting which forever makes you think of someone as a hothead or a just plain jerk. You realize that these people you are worshiping with are not as spiritual as you would picture Christians should be. So you start to think to yourself, “I wonder if this church is really for me. I need to find a stronger congregation - a different approach to God’s Word - a congregation of people that are more spiritual - that can help me to grow more.”
This kind of attitude reminds me of how the Pharisees and the Sadducees approached Jesus. God’s Word for today says, Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” When the Pharisees saw Jesus continually eating (present verb indicates ongoing and continued action) with tax collectors and sinners - this was offensive to them. Tax collectors were known to extract more money than they were supposed to from the Jews - it was in fact a legalized form of extortion. Most of them were crooked. Knowing the background of these “sinners”, it caused the Pharisees and teachers of the law to “mutter” about this “congregation” that Jesus had joined around Himself. What I wonder is what these tax collectors and Pharisees were doing there in the first place? They didn’t come to be a part of the congregation. They only came to judge and find things wrong with Jesus - basing their judgments on the PAST of Jesus’ followers. Do you see the basic difference between the tax collectors and the Pharisees? One group came to hear, the other came to judge.
It’s easy to come to worship with the attitude of the Pharisee. It’s easy to find fault with people in the crowd and wonder to yourself - “what are these people doing here?” I know some people have left services disgruntled because a child was crying or the music wasn’t quite to their liking or they didn’t get what they were expecting out of it. If the message isn’t emotional enough or the people aren’t more enthusiastic - they leave disappointed. They may even think to themselves, “that congregation was dead.” Think about it though. What kind of a world are you living in - if you expect to come into a worship service and expect everyone to gaze at the pastor with undivided attention - the children all prim and proper and never crying - and all singing energetically in tune?
As Christians, we realize that we are not a perfect congregation - most of us don’t expect that. Yet the problem we even have as Christians - is when we do get to know each other - we see the ugly side. It never ceases to amaze me that people who worship together and get to know each other - Christians - allow Satan to grab hold of their tongues and their attitudes and start looking down on and despising the very people that they are supposed to be praying for and supporting. Instead of realizing that we all come here as sinners needing the grace of God - we despise each other because of our weaknesses. We hold grudges and look down on each other because a fellow member has a problem with his temper, her tongue, or her choice of clothing.
But that’s the easy thing to do - because we all have that arrogant little Pharisee within - the kind that wants to judge all the people we worship with and assume that if other members of the congregation aren’t as spiritual or as doctrinally sound as we are - that they really shouldn’t be here. It’s that part of us that likes to despise fellow Christians because they weren’t strong enough to keep from falling into sin at a time of their lives. In reality - this attitude shows our true weakness - the inability to look beyond who you are worshiping with - go beyond the mannerisms of the preacher - and just come to hear the Word of God - like good sheep do.
Jesus once said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Mt 7:1-2) This passage has come true as the Pharisees who were the most judgmental have been judged the most throughout history. The same will happen to you if you come to God with such an attitude. If you come here thinking that you are somehow more righteous than the other members because you have led a better life or you know your Bible better, God is going to spit you out of His mouth on Judgment Day for your blatant and blind arrogance. The message that Jesus was giving by eating with these “sinners” was very clear - He didn’t welcome people based on their past. He simply wanted those who came to listen. There’s a passage on the door to our worship that reads - Ecclesiastes 5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Jesus wants you to come with an attitude that is willing to HUMBLY listen to what He has to say - not to arrogantly think you belong here while others don’t. Ultimately, it shouldn’t matter if this room is filled with demons - if you like my personality or style - or whether the organist plays every note on time or not - as long as the Word of God and more importantly the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ is being declared in it’s truth and purity. Until you come with that focus - to humbly listen as a sinner who needs to hear what Jesus has to say - you can never expect to be fully “satisfied” with any worship service - to feed on the Shepherd.
Jesus - the Shepherd - had something to feed the Pharisees , (even though they didn’t come to listen), and it was a very important lesson. They may not have heard what Jesus had to say - but by God’s grace it was written down for us to hear yet today. Let’s listen to what He has to say -
Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep, Jesus said. This was not an abnormal thing - for someone to own a hundred sheep. Naturally, you would need to take these sheep out to graze in the not so green wilderness that was scattered throughout Israel. What Jesus was doing with these words was trying to put us in His shoes - as the owner of the sheep. An owner of a hundred sheep - though not an abnormal number - is not an easy task - because sheep are just plain dumb and scared animals. Walking through a wilderness for grazing pastures is not a easy thing to do - especially with many rocks, trees and animals around. I remember that we used to own just one dog back in Norton by the name of Charlie. We got him free at a garage sale - he was a basset hound. This dog was not dealing with a full set of doggie knives in his drawer. Every time I left him off of his leash - the rotten dog would run off on me. I would then take Tristan and Rylee in the van and have to find him. They soon thought that his name was “naughty dog” instead of Charlie. It got to the point that I was so sick of chasing after him, that we gave him away. Imagine, then, trying to walk a hundred sheep through a wilderness. These aren’t dogs - they’re a lot more dumb.
Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. That word for “lose” is ajpolevsh. It’s the same word that Paul used when describing a soul that ends up in hell. (1 Corinthians 8:11, Romans 2:12) That’s what happens when Christians who are within the fold - suddenly to decide to run away from their fellowship with Christ and their fellow sheep - foolishly seeking a nice looking ewe from another flock or a green pasture on the other side of the creek. Their souls are temporarily lost and on the way to hell.
But what does the shepherd do - even just for one sheep? Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? He doesn’t say, “to hell with that one - I’m not going after it.” You could see why he would - wouldn’t you? I mean - to go after that one sheep will take the shepherd out of the comfort of his own flock - into places that flock isn’t supposed to go - into dangers that could threaten his own life. Yet the shepherd goes - because he cares for that one sheep - He wants to save it - even though it left of it’s own volition.
Isn’t that a perfect description of what Jesus came to do? After Zacchaeus - another tax collector - was brought to faith, Jesus declared to all those listening, the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. (Lk 19:10) Jesus came down from heaven - leaving His full fellowship with the angels and saints - lived in a dangerous and sinful world. He went down dangerous roads - touched deathly ill people - and willingly walked a path that led him down the most dangerous road of all - into hell itself - when He went to the cross - being separated from HIS OWN FATHER - all for a bunch of lousy sheep. But Jesus didn’t come away from that cross empty handed. Three days later He rose with the blood redemption of the entire world on His shoulders. It didn’t matter that it was THEIR fault. It didn’t matter that it would cost Him pain and suffering and death. He came to save each individual sinner. That’s what He does. A Shepherd is a Shepherd.
And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Notice who does ALL the work here. He does the finding. He does the picking up. He does the carrying. He brings home. The scared little sheep does absolutely NOTHING. The shepherd does everything. Salvation is a free ride. God sought you when you were going astray. God found you while you were astray. God picked you up with His blood and righteousness. And God gladly carried you home through your baptism and the faith that He brings.
And how did God respond when He got you there? Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 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. There was no sorrow over the past state of the sheep. There was no anger over what the sheep had done. There was no list of things the sheep had to do to make up for all the work he had put the shepherd through. There was only joy. The angels rejoiced and God rejoiced. Maybe even the saints in heaven rejoiced.
The Bible is absolutely full of examples like this. The congregation of Corinthians was full of people who were at one time homosexual, prostitutes, drunkards and swindlers. But when they repented and were brought to faith, they were welcomed into full membership. When Peter was sent to the Gentiles and Cornelius to preach the Gospel to them, God converted all of those who had come into contact with Peter in Acts 11. At first, the Jews were skeptical. But after Peter explained, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” (Ac 11:18) They were glad that these former sinners and unbelieving Gentiles were brought to repentant faith. When Saul had been changed from a murderer of Christians into a member of the flock, Acts 9:21 says, All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Instead of being angry about it, they were astonished! Even though they knew what Paul had done - they still rejoiced that these men who had once been thought of as enemies were now believers in Christ. They didn’t hold any grudges. They gave no “trial periods” for these new Christians. After repentance, they were simply accepted in with open arms.
About ten years ago Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted of killing and eating homosexual boys in Milwaukee. Some people claim that he was brought to repentance - realized that what he did was wrong - expressed sorrow over it - and came to faith in Jesus before he was murdered in a Wisconsin prison. What does that mean? If it was true, is he indeed in heaven? Without any punishment whatsoever? Something doesn’t seem right to our reason - to imagine that he should get to spend an eternity in heaven after leading such an immoral and heinous life. It seems too easy.
Yet isn’t that the very crux of our faith? Isn’t the very message of the Bible that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am the worst? (1 Timothy 1:15) Christianity is the only religion that offers a free salvation - not based on the punishment of our selves - but on the punishment of the Son. God doesn’t base His love for us on how good we have been in the past - but on the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If we had to base any of our salvation on the way we perform, how many of us would or could ever be sure of our salvation? But the message of the Bible is clear. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Either ours is a religion of grace or it isn’t.
If this is offensive to you, then you are in the wrong religion. You had best join the Pharisees or the teachers of the law - and start finding your righteousness in how much better you are than us. If it is something that you rejoice in - then you have come to listen - then this is sweet music to your ears. Why? Because you know that God has sought you when you sought him not. You know that even though you may have gone through sheepy times where you walked away from the Lord - He didn’t give up on you. He went and brought you back to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus as your Savior. You know that God has come to save you. You know that God loves you in Christ. Even though you may have been one of those sheep that went astray - God still REJOICED when you came back. Therefore, should we be angry and upset over the fact that there are members of our congregation who have gone astray? Should it offend you that you may be standing next to someone who has committed terrible and very visible sins in his or her past? Or should it be a reason for you to REJOICE that that person is now standing here worshiping the same God with the same faith that you have?
It may sound too easy for that sheep - that lost sheep - to be carried back on the Shepherd’s shoulders with nothing to do but smile. But put yourself in the sheep’s feet. If you were that sheep - being carried on the Shepherd’s shoulders - would you have wanted a big party for your return? Would you not have been embarrassed at making your Master walk all that way? Would you not have wanted him to save His cheers and partying for the other ninety-nine who never strayed in the first place or for the Shepherd for saving him? I can’t imagine the embarrassment that David had - for the rest of his life - at the sin he committed with Bathsheba and Uriah. How he must have abhorred the day he sought company with his neighbor after viewing her on top of his roof. How he must have kicked himself and said, “why didn’t I just LISTEN to my servant!” Yet when Nathan brought David back to the fold - the heavens rejoiced. God took David’s sins and threw them into the heart of the sea - into Jesus’ grave - never to be seen again. Oh, how David must have had to cling to Nathan’s words for the rest of his life, “your sins are forgiven.” It’s the words we as sheep love to hear every day. It’s what keeps us withing the fold every day of our lives - just to hear our Savior’s voice - soothing us with the sounds of forgiven, forgiven, forgiven. No matter what the rest of the congregation knows about you - no matter what the world thinks about your coming to church - don’t let that get to you. You didn’t come here to impress anyone. You didn’t come here try and show people how holy you are. You came here to hear the Savior’s voice. You came here to hear him say, “welcome back.” Do you hear it calling to you this morning? Do you get the point Jesus is trying to make?
In an ideal world - we would live in a congregation of members who never had a stupid sheepy moment. But the thing is, we are what we are. When you have a hundred sheep in a fold - chances are that one of them will go astray at some time. God doesn’t put us in a huge boxed in wall that makes it impossible for us to stray. As Christians, we do have the ability to go astray. God leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. There are dangers and temptations. That doesn’t EXCUSE it - but it happens. The point that Christ is making today is - if you go astray - He WILL go after you - He won’t let you go without seeking you - because He is what He is - a Shepherd. He wants you that badly. And when He finds you, He won’t hold a grudge, but welcome you back with open arms, no matter how far you have gone astray. Does this offend you or give you comfort? Does it make you angry or make you want to rejoice? It all depends on WHO you are - a Pharisee or a sheep. Amen.
