“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he
loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and
go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found
it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he
calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with
me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (Luke 15:4-6)
Have you ever heard it said that if only one
person in all history had ever sinned, Jesus would have died for that
one person? A more personal way to say it is this: if YOU were the only
one who had thought or acted in a manner that was contrary to the will
of God, Jesus Christ would have died just for you. That idea has been a
theological concept for quite some time. “Theology,” by the way, is “the
study of God and His relation to the world” (Webster’s New Collegiate
Dictionary). Not all theology is valid, but what was just mentioned
is true – If you were the only one who ever sinned, Jesus Christ would have
given Himself for you.
Like many theological ideas, the idea of Jesus
dying for just one is academic because the reality is that, “ALL have sinned
and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). You indeed are
utterly loved by the Lord as an individual person, but we all have a
problem – God is holy, just and pure, full of love, and when you look at
the world, we don’t measure up. We’re a race of sinners in conflict with
God. “The wages of sin is DEATH…” (Romans 6:23). But praise
the Lord, the verse continues: “…the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” We can "REJOICE" in the Lord
who brings us to safety when we say "yes" to Him.
Today’s Scripture is part of a “parable” spoken
by Jesus Christ while He walked this earth. His audience
included the religious leaders of the time. Those leaders had been
complaining among themselves that Jesus “receives sinners and eats with
them” (Luke 15:2). These were the men who went to the “right” schools,
wore the proper clothing, spoke exactly as it was thought they should at
just the right time, and associated only with those who were almost
exactly like themselves.
Jesus was a surprise to them. He did not go to
their schools of higher learning, did not wear the priestly garments,
didn’t say what they expected, and He associated with the “wrong” people.
At the moment He was just leaving the house of a prominent Pharisee
(Separated One), where He ate a Sabbath meal. Jesus asked those at the
meal, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” And then He turned and
healed a “certain man before Him who had dropsy,” which in more modern
terms is an “edema” (Luke 14:2-4); a swelling of the soft tissues,
sometimes caused by kidney or heart disease. The Pharisees would have
thought the man was deformed, and branded him as some kind of
sinner. Jesus healed the man utterly, right on the spot, and it was done
on the Sabbath. The Pharisees did not "rejoice"
at the man's healing.
He told them a number of parables during the
Sabbath dinner, and He continued with more after He left the
house.
The Pharisees and scribes in the crowd muttered among themselves about
Him, and Jesus knew what they were thinking as He shared out loud the
parable which is our Scripture for today. This one was the
first of a series, and note that "parables" are word pictures to aid in
understanding.
The first one was about a lost sheep, the second
concerned a lost silver coin, and the third was what we call the
“Prodigal Son” - a young man who left his father. In all three,
something or someone of great value was lost. The son was especially valuable
to the father who loved him.
In recent decades, the world has increasingly
become urbanized, which makes the loss of a farm animal or a bale or two
of hay seem less meaningful. But to lose one’s money is a problem right
now in today’s economy, for many have lost their life
savings and for some, their retirement plans no longer exist. My wife and I
have facilitated many “grief groups” for those who have lost loved ones,
and to lose a beloved child, even when that “child” is in their
thirties, forties, or older still, is an unthinkable loss. Our Lord
knows and He does care.
In each parable, Jesus gave an example of how
God feels about the so-called “sinners” who were scorned by the
Pharisees. The theory of that group, their “theology,” if you will, was
that people had to be somewhat “perfect” in human terms or they would not be accepted
by the Lord. When you think about it, that attitude is a terrible sin
because it discourages people from coming to the Lord.
When Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be judged”
(Matthew 7:1), He was speaking precisely about such an attitude. The old
English saying about the “pot calling the kettle black” is what this is
all about. The Pharisees were proud, arrogant, mean-spirited gossips.
They hated those who were not just like they were, smugly thinking “lesser”
people were abject “sinners.”
God viewed them like the place called “Sodom” –
The Word of God reports that the Sodomites had “pride, fullness of
food, and abundance of idleness… (but did not)
strengthen the hand of
the poor and needy. And they were haughty… before Me; therefore I took
them away as I saw fit.” That’s found in Ezekiel 16:49-50, where God
spoke to Israel and He speaks to every nation and organization on earth.
It means that if we are blessed by the living God, if we have abundance;
we shouldn’t be proud, haughty and selfish like the Pharisees and the
Sodomites, or our attitudes and actions will destroy us.
God DELIGHTS in those who “strengthen the hand
of the poor and needy.” And there is “rejoicing” in heaven if one
Sodomite or Pharisee trusts in the Lord. Actually, some of the
Pharisees did abandon their bigotry and give themselves to the love
of God in Christ Jesus. An example is the man “Nicodemus,” who
“came to Jesus by night” (John 3:1-2 & context). Nicodemus was one of two
men who later asked Governor Pilate for the body of Jesus and
placed Him into a rich man’s tomb (John 19:38-42).
God must have shouted to His holy angels,
“Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep which was lost” (Luke
15:4-6) when Nicodemus placed his faith in the Lord. Another notable
Pharisee who gave his heart and life to Jesus was Paul the Apostle.
Religious people who do NOT have the love of Christ can be like the
“hundred sheep” who didn't run. God gives special care to the one who DOES run because the “ninety-nine” may not want His help. When we know we are in need, we
will want
the Lord.
Which one are you? Do you feel that you need to
be rescued? Do you yearn for the Great Shepherd who rescues the lost
sheep of this world? We ALL are that little lost lamb and He will "rejoice" when we are brought home. If you were the only one who ever sinned, Jesus Christ would
have died for you.
Lord, in my attitudes and actions, I have run
away from You. I need You. I confess my sin and trust in You now. Thank
You for finding and rescuing me. In Jesus Name. Amen.
