LOST
AND FOUND
Luke
15:1-7
Introduction: Last week we talked about how a shepherd leads
his sheep to a gentle stream in the desert to quench their thirst. Today in the
passage we read, we will look at another shepherd’s concern. How will a shepherd
respond to one of his lost sheep? To understand the hidden message and its
implications, we need to get into the mind of a real shepherd. In his book
“While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks,” Dr. Laniak shares a story of the return
of a lost sheep.
This story comes from the Aref family in a small village in Jordan. Mrs. Aref cared for a flock of forty-five
sheep. A joke in the family was that Mrs. Aref loved her animals as much as or maybe
more than her children. One day to her
immense distress, Mrs. Aref lost track of one of her sheep. She checked with
her neighbors that night to see if the sheep had gone home with someone else.
But none of them had seen the missing creature.
She
inquired among more distant neighbors over the next week, but no one had
noticed a stray or found unidentified remains. Weeks turned into months without
a sign of the missing sheep. Then one day, two months later, a large flock came
through the village led by a hired shepherd. As was still her habit, Mrs. Aref
asked the young man if he had come across a lost sheep. As the words passed her lips, one of the
sheep in the solid pack of moving sheep lifted her head, immediately
recognizing the sound of her owner’s voice.
Mrs.
Aref screamed with delight and rushed through the startled mass to embrace her
lost sheep. It didn’t take long before the whole village heard the commotion
and shared the reunion. Her flock was now complete again. What a compelling true story of the joy of a
shepherd who lost her sheep and finding it again. God uses nature and in
particular, animals to teach us valuable life lessons. In the passage we read
Jesus used the analogy of a sheep and a shepherd to teach us the importance of
not giving up on the lost people, and the joy of their homecoming.
The
Gospel of Luke as the title suggests was written by Dr. Luke is known as the
“beloved physician.” In the entire Gospel Luke portrays Jesus as the
long-awaited Messiah of the Jews and also the savior of all humanity. Luke
places particular emphasis upon the kindness of Jesus toward women, the poor,
the outcaste, the weak, and those who were suffering in different ways. Two
compelling themes can be found in this passage. The one is about a lost sheep
and the second is the persistent heart of a shepherd who never gave up on one
of his lost sheep.
I A LOST SHEEP: (Vs. 3-4)
Vs
3-4, “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? What
necessitated Jesus to tell in fact a set of three stories? It was the grumbling
and the complaining of the so-called righteous people.
Pharisees
and the teachers of the law could not stand to see the collectors of Roman tax,
and the irreligious or non-practicing Jews often referred to as sinners were
coming to listen to Jesus. Not only that Jesus was going into their homes that
was even more offensive. All these things made them an unhappy and sulking bunch
of people. To them, Jesus tells this story.
Imagine
a shepherd had a flock of one hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what
would he do? He would leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and goes
after the lost one. Did you know there are about one billion sheep in the
world, but each one matters to a shepherd somewhere? In the book, I mentioned
earlier; the author listens to the heartache of a Bedouin shepherd who lost a
sheep. From the mountains surrounding ancient Petra, Ahmed related,
“Since
1984, I have never lost a sheep or goat that I did not find again—dead or
alive.” But, then, with hesitation and distinct feeling, he continued, “Except
one.
And
that one I can never forget. She is on my mind every night before I sleep.”
Although he had thousands of animals, he felt ashamed as a shepherd that he
could not account for one that was lost.”[1] Here is another story of
how much a shepherd grieves over his lost sheep. If having the sheep or not
having them brings so much joy or grief to the shepherds, can you imagine how
much more joy or grief we human beings can bring to our father in heaven?
In
the scriptures human beings are often compared to the sheep. The prophet Isaiah
laments over the lostness of humanity. Isaiah 53:6, “All of us, like sheep,
have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” Yet the Lord
laid on him the sins of us all.” The scriptures compare no matter who you are;
you are like a lost sheep.
There
are over 7.7 billion people in this world, according to the scriptures they all
are like the lost sheep wandering in the wilderness of this world. God loves
each one of them dearly. In John 3:16 we read, ““For this is how God loved the
world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will
not perish but have eternal life.”
Thankfully
around 3.5 billion people around the world have believed in Jesus and are saved
or should we say they have been found by the good shepherd, and are back in the
flock. But how about the rest?[2] If Jesus is living here
today who would he seek after? He would go after the unreached people which
amounts to 3.14 billion. They are lost and waiting to be found.
Here
is the challenge. Jesus is not here physically today, but He left his church to
complete the remaining task of seeking and introducing the lost people to their
savior. If that is the case where do you think the church should be focusing on
and spending most of its resources? On those who are already saved and secured
in the fold of God? Or on those who are lost and wandering in the wilderness?
What did the good shepherd do in our story?
II THE PERSISTENT
SHEPHERD
Vs.
4, “Won't’ he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and goes to search
for the one that is lost until he finds it? The imagery of a persistent
shepherd who is out there searching and is unwilling to give up until he finds
his lost sheep is very gripping and convicting. This verse depicts God ‘s
persistent heart over one of his lost sheep. For God, everyone matters.
Consider
these scriptures: Isaiah 65:2, “All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious
people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes.”
Ezekiel 34:11, “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search
and find my sheep.” Ezekiel 34:16 "I will seek the lost, bring back the
scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the
strong I will destroy I will feed them with judgment.”
In
fulfillment of these prophecies, Jesus came into the world and clarified his
whole and sole mission, Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost.” John 10:14-16, “I am the good shepherd; I know my
own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the
Father. So, I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
Vs
16, I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them
also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one
shepherd.” Who were these other sheep that Jesus was talking about? They were: Zacchaeus,
the tax collector, the woman caught in adultery. Mary Magdalene, the prostitute
who was possessed by seven demons. Nicodemus who came at night for fear of his
fellow Jews. It was the leper.
The
blind man, the woman with the issue of blood. It was the Sarmatian woman who
was dejected by the society. It was the crowds who were like sheep without a
shepherd. It was the repentant thief on the cross. Jesus was intentional in
reaching them and many more with love and compassion. In the end, he sacrificed
his life so that they all may be found.
But
that is not the end of the story. The Good Shepherd is not yet content; he is
still going after the lost sheep of our time. Who are these lost sheep? Who
would they look like? Where do we find the lost people? We don’t have to go far
and wide to find them they are all around us, maybe some right here in our
church. God has placed the USA in a unique place in the world.
We
are very privileged to have immense resources and freedoms in this country and
we are to be grateful to God and never to take them for granted. That is not
the case everywhere else. As we speak many are living in war-torn,
poverty-stricken, and violent nations. Many are literally running for their
lives in search of life and some have been heading towards a land filled with
milk and honey called the United States of America.
Would
this presents a golden opportunity for the church of Jesus Christ to rise up and
share and show the love and compassion of Jesus Christ? Or do we see it as an inconvenience and a bother? What should be the response of His Church? Let me
remind you, Jesus sacrificed his life for the sheep. As I read through this
passage, I felt exposed and challenged by the lack of my concern over the lost
sheep and the self-absorption of my own needs.
While
working with Youth with A Mission in India, I was reminded continuously of the
needs of the lost world and how I am to reach out and save as many souls as I
could save. However, since moving to the USA, and becoming a pastor in New
England where the Christians are termed as the “Chosen Frozen,” I felt hindered
in my zeal for evangelism.
In
n a highly intellectual and affluent society, I find it hard to make
connections with people.
I agonize over my inability to reach out at times. Maybe some of you here are
also struggling in that area. How could we regain our passion for the lost? We ask our good shepherd
to fill our hearts with his love and compassion. So that we might become as
persistent and relentless as he is and go out and search the broken, and
wounded sheep into God’s fold. Amen!
[1] Timothy
S. Lanikai, “While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks, page 77
[2] http://www.thetravelingteam.org/stats
