We’ve all had occasions where something of ours goes missing. Often the missing item is important, and/or valuable. We then frantically search high and low, even enlisting the help of our family in trying to find that lost item. Sometimes the item is found fairly soon. Other times it may be hours, days, or even longer before it is recovered. And there are times when we never find the item again. How glad we are when we find our missing treasure, whether we find it quickly or after days, and how sad or disappointed we are whenever we think of the item that is never found. In our Scripture today from the Gospel of Luke, we read of two different lost things, and the great effort that is gone to find and retrieve those things.
As our Scripture passage begins, the Pharisees and other religious leaders were criticizing Jesus for preaching and teaching the lost people who had come to Him, people with disreputable backgrounds, who they felt He should shun just as they did (vs. 1-2). Jesus then proceeded to tell them two parables, in the hopes that these might change their thinking about the lost souls all around them.
The first parable that Jesus told was about a shepherd who had a flock of 100 sheep (vs. 4-7). Throughout the day, a shepherd would keep track of all of their sheep, noticing if any were wandering off where they shouldn’t, and if any were missing. Sheep are not real intelligent or alert animals, and they need the shepherd to take care of them, or they quickly get themselves into a bad situation. In Jesus’ parable, the shepherd noticed that one of the sheep was missing. So immediately the shepherd leaves the flock to go search for that lost sheep. When he finds that sheep he returns with the lost one, and rejoices with his friends.
The second parable is quite similar. A woman loses a valuable coin, and so begins to search all throughout her house until she finds it (vs. 8-10). When she does she, too, rejoices with her friends.
In both parables, the lost item refers to lost sinners, lost souls, those who have never turned to God for salvation, and need to be brought to Him. Before we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we were that lost sheep, that lost coin, and Jesus came looking for us. Our Good Shepherd loves each of us so much that He is willing to go and search, no matter how long, and no matter the effort, until He finds us. Jesus was emphasizing that every effort was made to retrieve the one that was lost, including His coming to earth to die for our salvation.
Sinners are the lost sheep who need to hear about the Savior. Jesus didn’t think it was okay for them to be lost. He would search for them until He found them. Every single sheep matters to God. Our Shepherd actively seeks and cares for the lost. Notice that it is not the sheep seeking the Shepherd, but the other way around. God’s love pursues us. God’s love for each individual is so great that He seeks each one out, and rejoices when they are found. Each individual is precious to God. He grieves over every loss, and rejoices whenever one is found and brought into the kingdom.
The same was the case with the woman and the lost coin. She searched all over with a light, trying to find the missing one. The light of the Gospel, which is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, can alone find the lost soul. We didn’t find Jesus, He found us!
Are we someone who prays as passionately for the lost and unsaved as we pray for our lost treasures to be found? If a woman and her neighbors delight in recovering a lost coin, and if a shepherd takes joy in rescuing a single sheep, how much more praiseworthy is the salvation of a sinner? (vs. 6-7, 9-10). God is concerned for every single individual. He is not an aloof God. He puts great value on even one soul. Since all heaven rejoices in the salvation of one sinner, surely we can do the same!
One of the greatest statements that can ever be said is when Jesus says “I have found My sheep which was lost”.
No comments:
Post a Comment