I Have Found My Sheep
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that 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 his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:1-7)
In our culture, it may be hard to understand this parable because not many of us understand having sheep. Most of us likely think of sheep as the dumb animals that literally need a shepherd to care for them or they’ll die. But here we’re given context to the owner of the sheep’s perspective. If one sheep is lost, they leave the ninety-nine and go after the one lost sheep, rejoicing when it’s found.
It’s very interesting here because Jesus is telling this parable to Pharisees and scribes, none of which would lower themselves to the status of shepherd, which was a rather low society job and a social outcast. Yet He is telling them a parable specifically with the shepherd’s perspective. It was going to require the Pharisees and scribes to humble their perspective to understand God’s perspective, that of a Good Shepherd.
The Lost Sheep
We already know God likens us to sheep. We may be smarter than animals, but in light of God, we’re dumb like sheep. We get into all sorts of trouble and we NEED our Shepherd to guide us, lead us beside still waters, restore our soul, anoint our heads with oil, and literally step by step take care of us through life. We are completely dependent on Him for eternal life and should be completely dependent on Him for all our needs on this side of eternity too.
We all go astray at times, but God is faithful to go after us when we do.
Notice that when the sheep is found, it is laid on the shoulders of the shepherd, as the shepherd rejoices. There are times of going astray and it takes its toll on us. God doesn’t just find us and poke and prod us with the shepherd staff, He picks us up and carries us home. We are close to Him, hearing His voice once again, and being carried to a place of safety.
The Joy of Repentance
And look at that heavenly scene Jesus describes – that there is joy in heaven when a sinner repents!
Jesus makes a clear point here, but it can be easily looked over. He says there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Now this requires realizing that there will only be one righteous human being in heaven who never needed to repent, and that person is Jesus Christ. We know that all have sinned and fallen short and all need to repent in order to receive salvation in Jesus and stand righteous before God. So, then what is Jesus saying here?
Jesus is emphasizing the point that repentance is highly important and joy inducing, even among the angels in heaven.
Repentance is required to enter heaven; therefore it is important and therefore it induces joy because that means that Jesus gets one more person whom He died to redeem. Jesus gets more of the reward He died to pay for and that is a joyous thing! The prideful Pharisees and scribes who thought of themselves as righteous before God in and of themselves were faced with this truth – that even if they were able to be completely righteous by themselves, God’s joy and delight is in the sinner’s repentance.
Jesus spent time telling the Pharisees and scribes again and again that they weren’t all that and a bag of chips to help them see and understand their need for salvation in Him, to understand what their Law had been saying all along. Repentance was always part of what God was saying to them through the Law and Prophets, but they refused to acknowledge it. They instead sought to create their own self-righteousness that would never truly be righteous before God at all.
And on the other hand, the tax collectors and sinners who had drawn near to hear heard the good news of repentance. They would have already felt like the lost black sheep of Israel, but the good news that God had come to seek and save the lost was stirring hearts to repentance.
Where Are You?
Where are you at in the fold of God today? Are you part of the herd, eating up the Word of God with your fellow sheep, listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd? Or have you wandered off alone – maybe you haven’t even taken the time to look up and realize that you’re lost?
Take a personal pause today and look up – if you see your Shepherd and you’re among the sheepfold being guided by the Shepherd, keep going in that right direction. If you realize you’re alone and lost, call out to the Shepherd now and know that He will find you and carry you back home. Your wool might be a bit overgrown over your eyes and you may be a bit parched and thin depending on how long you’ve been away, but your Good Shepherd will cut away the wool that’s been blinding your sight and get you settled back in with your fellow sheep. Eat up the Word of God and let your Good Shepherd restore your soul.