Monday, September 14, 2009
Lost and Found, Part 9 of 78
TEXT: "So He spoke this parable to them, saying, '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!" I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance' " (Luke 15:3-7).
IDEA: God values and pities lost people.
PURPOSE: To convince listeners that respectable men and women are often shocked by what Jesus said about God.
Have you ever lost a pet or an animal? What was it like?
Jesus told a story about a shepherd who lost a sheep in Luke 15:3-7.
Why do you think that the shepherd went to such lengths for a single sheep?
I. How do you think members of His audience responded to this story?
He spoke to tax collectors and sinners.
He also spoke to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. How do you think they responded? They were shocked.
II. The Pharisees and scribes were shocked that God is pictured as suffering loss when sinners are separated from Him.
That was an insult to God and an insult to their religious dedication.
They were also shocked to see God pictured as so concerned that He goes out to search for sinners.
The rabbis had told similar stories about a sheep or a valuable coin that was lost and the owners searched for them diligently. They used these stories to illustrate how men and women must strive to find God. As a shepherd searches for a lost sheep and a woman searches for a misplaced coin, so men and women should search and find, please and be obedient to God. Jesus reversed the meaning of the stories. The seeker is not a human being, but God.
III. In this story, we do not find Christ. He finds us.
Even more shocking, God was not searching for good, honest people, but for sinners, riff-raff, the dirty and diseased, the socially undesirable.
