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Author: Stephen Weller
695 words, 4 minutes read time

A Sheep Is Missing!

Scripture: Luke 15:1-4

With the previous lesson we finished the section about counting the cost of following Jesus. With this lesson we will start a section of two parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin.

^{Lk 15:1} “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”’

These “tax collectors” collected tolls, tariffs, and customs, and were notoriously dishonest and were despised. They were representatives of the Roman governing authorities. “Sinners” are defined by the Pharisees as anyone who failed to keep God’s law as they interpreted it. The use of “sinners” here seems to reflect a commonly understood meaning by which it included both people guilty of publicly known sin and others who did not keep the strict purity requirements of the Pharisees.

These sinful dishonest people were for some reason being drawn to Jesus to hear him, causing the Pharisees and the scribes to be upset with Jesus for allowing them to be there. Their grumbling seemed to indicate that Jesus should sent them away because their presence may cause others to become unclean. These Pharisees and the scribes were acting in a way similar to the way Jonah was acting toward the people of Nineveh. Neither cared to share the message of repentance with sinners and so they were being disobedient to God’s command.

Jesus instructed us to 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19 – 20 ESV). How do we feel about sinners coming into our churches and life groups to hear the gospel? Would we prefer they not be there?

To make matters worse, after his teaching, Jesus would go with them and eat with them so that he could teach them about himself and his mission. If God has commanded us to go to sinners with the gospel, then we need to find time to associate with them so we can help bring them to salvation. Jesus seeing their, and maybe our, hypocrisy was prompted to share a parable about a lost sheep.

^{Lk 15:3} “So he told them this parable: ⁴ “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?”’

There is this man who has a hundred sheep. In Matthew 18:12 there is also a man with a hundred sheep. When doing a harmonization of the gospels, it was realized that this same parable was used by Jesus on two different occasions when teaching on a little different topic. That parable and context was covered in lesson H411.

This man who has a hundred sheep finds that one is missing. What do you suppose would be the natural thing to do? You and those Jesus was speaking to would probably suggest that the man go look for his missing sheep. The remaining sheep are described as being in the open country and thus for a short time would be safe.

Sheep tend to wander around and could get lost. Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 34:6 (ESV), speaks of this: “they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.” The Pharisees were not concerned about the lost sheep, but Jesus and this man were, so they both are in search of the lost.

Conclusion

In Philippians 2:4 (ESV) we are told to “look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others.” One thing that should interest us about them is, “Might they be a lost sheep?” Should we not share the gospel with them and find out?