The Lost Sheep – Luke 15:3-7[context – Luke 15:1-2]

A shepherd had 100 sheep.  One day, one of the sheep wandered off, so the shepherd left the 99 sheep who had not wandered off, and went and found the one sheep that had wandered off.  After he found it, he put the sheep on his shoulder and brought it back to the rest of the flock.  He then called his friends and neighbors together, rejoicing over the lost sheep that had been found.  It’s that simple.

Context

Before Jesus told this parable, we are told that tax collectors and sinners(i.e. the worst of the worst kind of people, at least in the minds of the religious elite and likely many others) came to Jesus and listened to Him.  The Pharisees and scribes(i.e. the religious elites) complained that Jesus was actually teaching these people and eating with them as well, something no self-respecting teacher of the time would do.

What Does It Mean?

The context helps us to understand the point Jesus is trying to make.  He was teaching and eating with tax collectors and sinners because they needed salvation, and Jesus came to this world for one reason . . . to seek and to save the lost(Luke 19:10).  The scribes and Pharisees also needed salvation, as they were not sinless. However, they felt that they were better and the tax collectors and sinners.  As such, Jesus told everyone a parable about a shepherd(Jesus) who has a sheep that wanders off.  The sheep is someone . . . anyone.  The sheep wandering off reminds us that we are the ones who wander away from God.  God does not leave us; we leave Him.  And when we leave God(i.e. when we sin), we separate ourselves from God.  Since He is the source of all life(Gen. 1), by leaving Him, we are leaving life . . . which is death(Rom. 6:23).  But God loves us, so He sent Jesus to offer us another chance at life(John 3:16).  The shepherd going looking for the lost sheep is Jesus going out to people to teach them about the kingdom He was going to start.  The fact that it is just one sheep helps us to understand that Jesus is concerned about each individual person.  After he finds the sheep, he brings it back to the rest of the flock.  This is a reference to Jesus restoring this person to the kingdom.  The celebration after he brings the sheep back is an attempt to convey the joy that is experienced when a sinner(the sheep) repents and is brought back into the kingdom.  Jesus confirms this in Luke 15:7, when He states that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents(that sheep that He went and got) than over the 99 who reminded faithful.  The scribes and Pharisees did not think some people(i.e. tax collectors and sinners) were worthy of teaching or worth the effort of teaching about the kingdom.  They were wrong . . . so wrong.

Takeaways

Here are some basic things that we can learn from this parable:

Jesus came to this world to seek and save the lost(Luke 19:10).  Since all have sinned and are in need of salvation(Rom. 3:23), Jesus came to seek and save everybody.  As a result, He would teach anyone who would listen, and this included the most sinful people.  And when I refer to “the most sinful people,” I am looking at it through the eyes of people.  This is not how Jesus looked at these people, but rather how many people, and especially the religious elite, looked at “tax collectors and sinners.”

Everyone needs to hear the good news about Jesus.  The gospel(i.e. good news) is not just for those who are worthy of it, as anyone worthy(not a sinner) would not need it.  And anyone who needs it(sinner) is not worthy of it. 

Jesus cares about each and every one of us.  He cares about me.  He cares about you.  He cares about everyone we know.

After finding the sheep, the shepherd brings it back to the rest of the flock.  Jesus is not forcibly bringing people into the kingdom, as some might think based on this parable.  The Parable of the Prodigal Son will demonstrate that it is up to the person to return to God, but that is a lesson for another article.

The sheep that had wandered off had wandered off from the flock.  That means that this sheep was part of the flock, which represents the kingdom of God.  This sheep/person had been faithful, but had wandered off.  This is a warning to us.  We can wander away from God.

Heaven rejoices when a sinner repents.  Let me say that again . . . heaven rejoices when a sinner repents.  It isn’t that God doesn’t care about the 99 remaining faithful, but He understands that those people who are faithful are saved.  It is the one who wanders away from God that is in danger of hell fire.  So, when that person returns, it is an understandable cause for celebration; that person has been saved from spending an eternity separated from God . . . is hell.  Why would there not be more joy and celebration over that sinner who repents?

Jesus thought the most unlikely of people(tax collectors and sinner) should have the gospel preached to them.  He didn’t think anyone was a lost cause.  This is something we need to be careful about.  It can be easy to judge someone as having an attitude that “they will never accept the gospel.”  Were there people who Jesus effectively did not teach?  Yes, but Jesus is God; He knew their hearts.  We do not.  As such, we need to share the good news about Jesus with people . . . all people.

Most of us are not very familiar with sheep, but they are pretty stupid.  They just are.  And although it might sound insulting that Jesus is using sheep to illustrate people, but it is quite fitting.  Anyone who would leave God, the source of all life, and head straight toward certain and eternal death if more than deserving of being compared to a stupid sheep.  And we ALL are deserving of that representation(Rom. 3:23).

The Wrap

The scribes and Pharisees didn’t think some people were worthy of having the good news preached to them.  But Jesus told them a parable that they could relate to.  What shepherd in his right mind wouldn’t go after a lost sheep who had wandered off?  Of course, he would.  It is incredibly sad that they could see that value of one sheep, but not see that value of the human beings that Jesus was trying to save.  If we are not careful, we can fall victim to the same thinking.  Let’s not do that.  Let’s see everyone as being worth the time to tell them about Jesus . . . the real Jesus . . . the One the Bible tells us about.