If we say we are Christians, then we follow Jesus. We obey His teachings, follow His way of life, and do what He did. Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). If we follow Him, searching for the lost should be our top priority because:
Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we. Luke 15:1-2
1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
I want to pause here, because this is a key to understanding what comes next. Jesus is going to share three stories for the Pharisees and teachers of religious law (who were considered the most religious, most righteous people of Jesus’ day) because they were complaining about the sort of sinful people Jesus associated with.
Luke 15:3-7
3
So
Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep
and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine
others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he
finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry
it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call
together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have
found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in
heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine
others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
A lot of people struggle with this parable. Leave 99 sheep for the one that’s lost? I think we struggle because we’re worried the 99 will be in danger if left unattended.
A
clue to understanding this is that Jesus actually asks his listeners what they
would do. “If a man has a hundred sheep and one gets lost, what will he do?” It’s a rhetorical question. Everyone Jesus was talking to knew the answer.
They would leave the 99 and search for the lost. They knew the 99 would be safe because:
they were together, they were probably in a sheep fold, they may have
other shepherds guarding them. IE, they
are safe.
But that one lost sheep was in great danger. Predators search for lost sheep that are weak and vulnerable all by themselves. If you ever want to know a good reason why you need to be part of a church, it’s because we are very much like sheep. We need the safety of the flock. We are in great danger when we get off by ourselves. 1 Peter 5:8 says: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” You need the safety of the flock.
But
if someone wanders off and gets lost, Jesus goes searching for them because: Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we. Now, there’s a second story.
8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
The silver coin Jesus is talking about was a drachma. It was worth a full day’s wages.
So I figure in Butt’s County, that’s about $230!
Some things are worth more than their monetary value. About 6 months after my youngest child was born, we took a vacation to Hilton Head, SC. This was back before smart phones with video cameras on them. So we had one of those camcorders. Do you remember those? I took it on the vacation to capture some family memories together. And we went on a put put adventure.
I was determined to get the best score. On one of the wholes, I set the camcorder down so I could concentrate on the put. And sure enough, by the end of the 18 holes, I had the best score! (Proud Dad moment, right? Yeah, who cares, right?) Well, as I was celebrating, I realized I didn't have the camcorder anymore!
It was lost. And that thing wasn't cheap! But even worse, even more precious than the camcorder was the tape inside it. It was the same tape that had the footage of my youngest daughter's birth and the first 6 months of her life!
I frantically zoomed backwards through the miniature golf course, hole by hole until I found the camcorder (and the precious, irreplaceable tape inside). And the relief I felt reminded me of the woman who found the coin in Jesus' parable.
But how much more valuable is a human being? And not just their physical body, but their eternal soul inside! But thank God: Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we.
Now just in case anyone didn’t think Jesus was serious about seeking and saving the lost, He told a 3rd story. And remember, Jesus is telling these stories to the “Church People” of His day–the ones who were the most religious, who always went to worship, and lived good lives.
Luke 15:1-32
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story:
“A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I
want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to
divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this
younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he
wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his
money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15
He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into
his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so
hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no
one gave him anything.
17 “When he finally came
to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food
enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go
home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19
and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on
as a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to
his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming.
Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed
him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against
both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[b]’
22 “But his father said to
the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get
a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill
the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for
this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he
is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older
son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and
dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants
what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told,
‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of
his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was
angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but
he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a
single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one
young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son
of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate
by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to
him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is
yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your
brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
We usually focus on the younger son in this story. We even call it the story of the Prodigal Son who wanders off, comes to his senses, and then comes home (& the Father welcomes him back). But Jesus wasn’t actually focusing on the lost younger son. He’s focusing on the good son. Because, remember who is Jesus talking to in this chapter? He’s talking to religious people. They are the “good sons” in the story, because they feel like they’ve always done the right things. And they look down on Jesus for associating with notorious sinners, prostitutes, & tax collectors. Meanwhile they view themselves as God’s chosen people–holy & pure (even though they weren’t).
And
these “good people” are “lost” because they think they’re holy, but
they’re not. They are sinners in need of God’s saving grace. But they are also blind because they think they are righteous. Their self-righteousness keeps them from coming to the party for the
lost who were found. Their holier-than-thou attitude will lead to their eternal death if they
don’t wake up!
And Jesus is a master story teller. He doesn’t tell how the story ends. Does the older son ever go in to celebrate with his brother? Does he join the party?
We don’t know.
Jesus leaves the question unanswered. And He looks at the Pharisees and teachers of religious law and with the questions in His eyes: “Are you gonna keep standing out here in the cold dark night or are you gonna come inside and celebrate the Father’s extravagant love that welcomes everyone who was once lost, but now is found?”
Three different stories: A Lost Sheep, A Lost Coin, and a Lost Son. And all are found because: Jesus searches for the lost.
So
what are we going to do? What are you
going to do?
…Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we.
