Luke 15:1-7 The Parable of the Lost Sheep 9/12/2004
#1. All We Like Sheep
(Isa 53:6, Matt 18:12, Gal 3:13-14)
#2. He Brings Them In One by One (Luke 15:4, John 20:21, 2Cor 5:19-20)
#3. Rejoice With Me (Luke
15:5-7, Matt 18:13)
Please open your Bibles to the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 15:1 (2X).
The title of the sermon today is, “The Parable of the Lost Sheep” (2X).
Even though the Lord Jesus is speaking about sheep, He actually has in view people; and particularly He has in view two groups of people:
In one group are Publicans & Sinners, and in the other group are Scribes & Pharisees.
Let us hear what God says in this Parable of the Lost Sheep about Publicans and Sinners:
Luke 15:1-2 ¶ Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
Luke 15:3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Luke 15:5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Is it not amazing how often the Lord Jesus attracted publicans and sinners?
They were drawn to Jesus.
They were outcasts in their own society.
Their fellow Jews branded them incurably sinful, deserving Hell and on the way to Hell, and they received no mercy from the scribes and Pharisees.
But from Jesus they did not receive such condemnation.
It does not mean that Jesus condoned their sins, but with Jesus they found mercy.
With Jesus they found that there was a new life possible.
Something similar is going on today when people are branded "alcoholics".
They are treated as if they are physically sick, and they have an incurable disease: "Alcoholism".
Well, if the disease is incurable, they have no hope of ever being cured of it.
But God does not call it a disease.
God says it is sin; it is a dreadful sin, and you can stop it.
There is hope for sinners; you can be cured of it.
The Lord Jesus Christ can save you from your sin.
Our God delights in mercy and God the Holy Spirit can give you a new heart, so that you do not desire that sin any more.
That is the hope for sinners.
But did you know, there is another reason why the Lord Jesus was so often surrounded by publicans and sinners?
It is true that they found mercy with Him, but Jesus was demonstrating that such mercy comes only to those who realize that they are grievous sinners; not little sinners.
Only BIG sinners can be saved,
not little sinners.
Of course, the man in this
parable represents the Lord Jesus Christ.
The lost sheep represents any one
of us before our salvation.
But among the many questions we
might ask, the first one should be: "How is it that anyone of us
could get lost?"
How is it that NONE of us
actually could find our way back home?
The answer that the Bible gives
is that we all sinned in Adam when Adam rebelled against God, and
Adam plunged the whole human race in bondage to sin.
We could not find our way back to
God because we all were born as voluntary slaves of Satan.
If God does not pursue the
sinner, the sinner shall never come to God.
That is why God must choose
certain people unto salvation, or else no one will become saved.
In order to save someone God must
first deal with the problem of sin in that person.
God must provide a Substitute for
that person.
Therefore God says in Isa 53:6,
#1. Isa 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:6, Matt 18:12, Gal 3:13-14)
It is true that everyone of the human race has gone astray.
God says: “There is NONE righteous, NO NOT ONE”.
But in Isa 53 God is not speaking about everyone in the whole world.
God did not lay the sins of all the people in the world on the Lord Jesus,
but only "the iniquity of us all",
which means the sins of all of us whom the Lord Jesus came to save,
which means "all the elect".
All of us were born as lost sheep in this world were Satan is the prince of the power of the air,
and all of us sooner or later come to realize that we are lost sinners in need of a Savior.
And God makes sure that all of us will sooner or later be drawn to the Lord Jesus, until our number is complete.
Please turn now to the Epistle to the Gal 3:13.
The 100 sheep are a picture of the complete set of
all the elect of God.
The principle that God is
teaching us here in this parable is: Not one of them will remain lost.
They all will be found.
God committed Himself to save all
who were written in the Book of Life of the Lamb before the foundation of the
world.
Now, how did this one get lost?
And how was he found? God says in Matt 18:12
Mat 18:12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
All we like sheep have gone
astray.
We went astray in Adam,
and we went astray from the day we were born.
But let us be clear about this: This sheep does not
represent a sheep that was found and got lost again, and was found again.
In other words, this sheep does
not represent a "Backslider".
This sheep does not represent a
person who was saved, and then wandered away from the faith, and then was saved
again. O NO !
There are no
"Backsliders" in the
The Bible teaches that the
Saints will persevere in the faith.
If you find that you are presently living a life
away from God, then you have never been saved.
Now, that is a surprise to many,
but this is what the Bible teaches.
And how was this sheep found?
1. The Shepherd must Himself seek that which is gone astray.
2.
The
Shepherd must come into this sin cursed world;
3.
The
Shepherd must take on a human nature;
4.
The
Shepherd must be subject to all the Laws of God for mankind;
5.
The
Shepherd must seek out all the sins of everyone of His sheep, take
those sins upon Himself and on the Cross be subject to the wrath of
God upon all those sins.
That is the great mercy of God.
That is why we read in Gal
3:13-14,
Gal 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Before we were saved we were at enmity with God.
Christ came to reconcile us to God in this way.
Therefore the Saints
have peace with God and are not afraid to stand before God when
this body dies.
Please turn with me to the Gospel according to John
10:3 (2X).
We all know that Jesus died on
the cross to save His people, but that was almost 2000 years ago.
What did the Lord Jesus do in the
20th century to find us and draw us out of this wicked world?
In the Gospel of John, chapter
10, Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, who came to seek out His sheep.
Jesus said in John 10:3,
John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Now, read carefully what
God has written here.
It does not say:
"He calleth the sheep by name",
but it says: "He
calleth His own sheep by name".
His own sheep were those who had been given to Him by the
Father from all eternity.
And when He calls them, all of
these sheep must come to Him, for it is written: "All that the
Father giveth Me shall come to me".
These sheep are all the lost
sheep of the house of
When the Lord Jesus speaks of the
lost sheep of the house of
meaning all the sheep that belong
to His household, because Christ is the
To the unbelievers the Lord Jesus
is saying in Verse 26: "But ye believe not, because ye are not of My
sheep".
Now, is that not exciting?
The Lord Jesus knows our name,
and He calls us personally, one by one out of the fold wherever we
were, and takes us into His fold.
Have you heard His call?
1.
John
10:3 says: "The sheep
hear His voice",
2.
and the
next verse says: "For they know His voice",
3.
and the
next verse says: "They know not the voice of strangers".
The Father chose us to be the
Bride of Christ;
Is it not exciting to hear the
voice of the Bridegroom?
He knows us, and we know
Him.
That is what we read John
10:14,
John 10:14 I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Jo 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Wow ! He
knows us as intimately as He knows the Father.
And because He knows us and loved
us, He was not just willing to lay down His life, but He did lay
down His life for the sheep.
For which sheep did Christ lay down His life?
Only for His sheep.
All others in the world He
passed by.
He passed by the goats, and the
wolves, and the false shepherds and all others that know not God. And
then we read in verse 16,
John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Here the Lord Jesus is speaking about His
elect worldwide.
He speaks about all His other
sheep in the world who were not present in the ring of disciples that were
around Him at that time.
He lays down His life for
"all the children of God that were scattered abroad" (John
11:52).
And did you notice that Jesus did
not say: "Other sheep I shall have", but He said: "Other
sheep I have".
They were His already, because
the Father gave them to Him from all eternity.
Jesus did not say: "If they are willing to listen", but He said, "they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
#2. He brings them in, one by one (Luke 15:4, John 20:21, 2Cor 5:19-20)
Let's return to the Gospel
according to Luke, chapter 15.
The publicans and sinners were
drawn to listen to the Lord Jesus,
but the Scribes
and Pharisees were murmuring against Him, saying, "This man
receiveth sinners and eateth with them".
What an awful thing this Jesus of
Nazareth is doing?
Can't He find better company to
eat with?
And then Jesus told this parable
to them, to the Pharisees:
Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
If I may paraphrase, Jesus
says: If any of you Pharisees would be in this situation, and you would
have lost one sheep, would you not go after that lost sheep until you have
found it?
How much more should you expect this of the Good Shepherd
who cares for the souls of every single one of His people?
He brings them in one by one.
Not one of them may remain lost.
Did you notice that the lost
sheep do not come to Him?
The Shepherd must go and find
them one by one.
Every effort is focused on
finding that one sheep, and then the next one, and then the next one.
No cost is too great; every possible hindrance is put aside.
But now let's look at the
record.
When the Lord Jesus went back to
Heaven, and the faithful disciples gathered in the upper room, how many
faithful were there?
Only 120. That
is not much.
How can the Shepherd bring in the
millions of Saints who initially are lost sheep?
Well, we have to understand God’s
methodology in bringing salvation to His elect.
The Lord Jesus said in John 20:21, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you",
and God said in 2Cor 5:19-20, "He hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation".
"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ".
We have been appointed to be the
witnesses in this world, witnessing of His death and Resurrection to His chosen
people.
But realize now that it is Christ who is doing the seeking
and saving of that which was lost.
We are just instruments in His
hands.
It is God who does it all.
Now, is that not a great
relief to us?
We are not perfect preachers like
Jesus was.
We stumble over our words and
often we mess things up.
But God did not say that we must
give a perfect Gospel presentation to a dead person.
A dead person is dead; he cannot
hear.
We only have to be a willing
instrument in God's hand.
God does it all, and therefore we
do not receive the credit, and we do not receive the blame either.
He brings them in one by one also means that we do not get into Heaven on
the coattails of our parents.
But what about the ninety-nine?
Does the Shepherd not care for
the ninety-nine?
Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
Whom do the ninety-nine sheep represent?
First of all, they are sheep;
they are among the elect.
Jesus said in verse 7:
These are ninety-nine just persons,
which means that they
already are in His sheepfold,
which means that they
have already been saved.
But why does Jesus leave them in the
wilderness?
This refers to the wilderness of this
world.
We know that Jesus "will
never leave us nor forsake us" in this world.
He will never abandon those who
have put their trust in Him.
Why then did He say it this way?
We find the answer when we look
for the great type of the Lord Jesus in the O.T., David the son of
Jesse.
In I Sam 17 the brothers
of David are in the army of Saul. Then
we read in:
1 Samuel 17:17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; (Then we read in V. 20)
1 Samuel 17:20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a Keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
David did not leave the sheep alone in the wilderness, but he left the sheep with
a Keeper.
The Lord Jesus does not leave the ninety-nine
sheep alone in the wilderness, but leaves them protected.
Please turn to the Epistle of 1John 1:8 (2X).
Now we read something strange in Luke 15:7,
"ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance"?
Does this mean that after we are saved, we are done repenting?
NO, that is definitely not true.
For example, when David wrote Psalm 32, David was already saved, and yet he acknowledges that he still needed to confess of his sins. We read in:
Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
The same principle is expressed
in the NT in 1John 1:8-10 (2X),
1 John 1:8-10 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
To confess our sins implies that
we must also repent of those sins.
Without repentance there is no
salvation.
Let us now return to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15.
Therefore the word "repentance"
in Luke 15:7 is only emphasizing a common character trait among those
who have become saved.
The Lord Jesus said: "Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,
more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance”,
because they have already confessed and repented.
And so, The Savior is
rejoicing!
#3. Rejoice With Me (Luke
15:5-7, Matt 18:13)
Luke 15:5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Here is the application of this
parable.
When anyone of us has
become saved, Christ puts us on His shoulders, so that we cannot be lost
again.
Why am I preaching today on this
Parable of the Lost Sheep?
Today we are celebrating the
ceremony of water baptism of Mercedes and her two boys.
This does not mean that all three
will suddenly be saved when I sprinkle water on her and her 2 children.
But from all that we can observe,
God has already saved her.
Water baptism is an outward sign
of what God has hopefully already done on the inside.
By this action it is as if God is saying to her:
"Thou art mine forever. In
My hand I hold thee, in My arms I fold thee, I am thy Redeemer. I will not
forget thee, and I will care for thee. ".
God’s mercy and grace are given
freely to whomever God wants to bestow it.
There is a city in
Do you know what this means?
A city that is named Mercy would
be named
Providentially her parents named
her Mercedes, because God knew that He would have Mercy on her.
Her children will also be
baptized because they are now in a Gospel home.
Just like children of OT
believers received the bloody sign of the Covenant, they were circumcised,
so children in the households of
NT believers receive the non-bloody sign of the Covenant, they are baptized.
Now another question: Think
about the ninety-nine sheep again.
Why would there be a rejoicing if
the ninety-nine who are left in the wilderness could go astray, while
the Good Shepherd is seeking for the one sheep that was lost?
That would not make much sense,
would it?
But the answer to this question
is given in Matthew's Gospel, where we read:
Matthew 18:13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
And so, the ninety-nine went
not astray, because they have already been saved, and they are under the
safe care of a Keeper.
The Bible does not disclose who
that Keeper might be, but we can surmise that He probably is God the Holy
Spirit, because He is also our Keeper.
Another question: Why should there be rejoicing in this day
and age?
I can find a list of ten reasons
why we should not rejoice in this day and age.
1.
We see works
gospels creeping into most churches,
2.
divorce
and remarriage are acceptable
in most churches,
3.
women
as deacons and elders are
approved in most churches,
4.
and Gay
is OK in most churches.
5.
In most
churches the Sunday is no longer the Lord's Day but it has become a day
in which men pursue their own pleasures,
6.
most
churches have adopted the concept of "Backsliders" which are
sometimes called "Carnal Christians",
7.
most
churches have adopted or are very tolerant about speaking in tongues,
8.
or
having dreams and visions from God,
9.
most
churches do not preach any more about Hell, or about Judgment Day,
or about the fear of God,
10. and most churches teach that there is a
glorious 1000 years coming with Christ reigning from
Not only are all these 10 errors dreadful
sins, but these are sins which are presented to God in a Christian
Church,
and they are leading people
astray who should know better if they were studying the Bible, but they
are not.
So why should there be any
rejoicing in this day and age when we see church after church go down the
drain?
The Lord Jesus answered this
question in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, here in Luke 15. When only
one sinner was saved,
in other words: when only one lost sheep was found, "he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing".
There is our example.
We should be rejoicing if only one sinner is found by Jesus.
Please turn with me now to Psalm 126:5 (2X).
This is a joy and a rejoicing that
is different from that which most people know.
It is a joy that is accompanying
the experience when someone is saved.
Anyone of us who have been witnessing, and who perhaps
have experienced that someone through our efforts became saved, can testify
to the fact that it brings exceeding great joy.
It is a joy that is greater than
the world has to offer.
This is what drives us to
go to work to bring the Gospel here or there.
In every Saint there is that urgent desire to be a witness,
and to be part of an outreach effort to save souls throughout the world.
For example, can you imagine your joy when someone
becomes saved for whom you have prayed for years? It is indescribable.
Therefore, never give up praying
for that person whom you presently have in mind.
Three times does the Lord Jesus say in this parable that
He is rejoicing when only one sinner comes to repentance.
1. In verse 5, "He layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing".
2. In verse 6, "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
3. And in verse 7, "Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth".
He brings them in one by one.
This is also expressed in Psalm 126:5-6. There we read,
Psalm 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Psalm 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
These verses are not
speaking about a farmer's fortune in his field.
They are speaking about sowing
the seed of the Word of God, and rejoicing when God gives the increase.
And just like the farmer's
harvest entirely depends on what God decides to give him, so the spiritual
farmer depends entirely on God to give the increase.
So, when you engage in this
business of sowing the seed of the Word of God, don't wait rejoicing
until you see ten or thirty souls come to life.
Only one is enough.
We are in the business of
robbing Satan's treasure chest.
And when only one soul has come
to Jesus, remember what the Lord Jesus said in Mark 8:36-37,
Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mark 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
That is the value of just one
soul. It is of greater value
than this entire material world with all its kingdoms, and cities, and houses
and cars are worth.
So, don't wait
rejoicing.
The return on our investment is greater than any stock
can give you.
This is the most profitable
business we can get our hands into.
As a corollary, any Church that
decides to cut their evangelism program is committing suicide.
But there are other reasons
why we can rejoice:
Because we too will
not be lost. We read in Luke 15:1,
Luke 15:1 ¶ Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
If Jesus could love the publicans and harlots and rejoice in
their salvation, then there is hope for me too.
In fact, no matter how great my
sin, that sin too can be forgiven.
How can we know that we too have been forgiven by Christ on
the Cross?
First look at the parable and
then look for the evidence in the life of the sheep.
We read in Luke 15:5,
Luke 15:5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
When the Lord Jesus has put this
sheep on His shoulders, this was one sheep that could not get away until
He came all the way into His heavenly home.
This was one sheep that got to
know the Lord Jesus very well, and this was one sheep that led a life
very close to the Shepherd.
This was one very happy
sheep.
That is the lesson we learn from
this parable.
How can we know if we too have been forgiven by Christ on
the Cross?
Now look at your own life and
look for the evidence like you saw the evidence in the life of this sheep.
1.
Do we
find in ourselves an earnest ongoing desire to do the will of God?
2.
Do we
find in ourselves a desire to get to know the Lord Jesus through His
Word?
3.
Do we
find in ourselves a desire to live very close to Jesus?
4.
Are we happy
about that, or do we want to break loose?
Ask yourself these questions, and
be honest with yourself.
And if we have found that the Lord Jesus has indeed suffered and
died for all our sins, because we have this unexplainable desire to live
very close to Him, then there is great rejoicing in our heart.
Then our life will be directed
by Him, and we will be happy about that,
and we will be "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God", from Hebrews 12:2.
Our whole life will be directed
upward.
We are no more living for some
fleeting pleasures of this life, but our focus is on the life to come.
That is indeed a cause for great
rejoicing.
In this Parable of the Lost
Sheep, to sum it up, the Lord Jesus was seeking for one of His lost
sheep, me, and He saw me from a great distance away:
He saw me before the foundation
of the world, and He saw that I was walking on the road to Hell.
He caught up with me and passed
me by for a moment, and went to where I was heading: Hell.
There He paid for my sins, and on
His way back He picked me up, and put me on His shoulders and He will carry
me home all the way to Heaven.
AMEN. Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.
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Our Merciful God and Heavenly
Father,
We want to thank You, Father, for giving us this
Parable of the Lost Sheep. It is true that we are dumb like sheep. We depend
completely on the providence of our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. That
is our situation and it is good. This is how You have designed it for us, and
therefore we thank You for this dependency on our Good Shepherd.
We want to thank You, Father, for hiding us in
Christ when He atoned for our sins, for calling us out by our name, and for
bringing us into the fold of Christ one by one. We do not deserve such great
salvation, because we are just as filthy as the publicans and sinners who were
drawn to the Lord Jesus, but we gladly receive it.
We want to thank You, Father, for accepting us and
adopting us as sons of the Most High. That is why we want to serve You all our
days. We want to do those things that are pleasing in Your sight. And we know
that it pleases You when we witness for the Lord Jesus and for everything the
Bible says. This is what we want to do.
Therefore, Father, we pray that You keep us faithful
in this endeavor and keep us faithful in all our ways, for we know that only by
Your grace can we be faithful. We pray this for everyone who is here, old and
young, and we pray this also for everyone who hears these words through the
radio, or through the Internet, or through the tape ministry.
We pray for all these things in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.