Lost & Found

Well, I wonder if you've ever got somebody badly wrong.

My favourite example of this is a famous story from 1962,

told of a man who travelled to London with his guitar and his three friends

to perform one of their first ever music auditions in front of a record producer.

So they perform in front of this record producer.

They finish and then they ask him what he thought about them.

And he replied, sorry mate, we don't like your sound.

Boy bands are on the way out.

As it turns out, the record producer had just turned down Paul McCartney and the Beatles.

Getting somebody badly, badly wrong.

Well, as we turn to Luke chapter 15 this morning,

Luke 15 · chapter mention

I encourage you to have that passage open in front of you.

As we turn to Luke chapter 15 this morning,

Luke 15 · chapter mention

and to think, no exaggeration to say one of the world's most loved stories,

we need to understand that Jesus is talking to a crowd.

And in this crowd are people who have got God badly wrong.

Luke who's listening to Jesus at verses 1 and 2.

Luke tells us, do you see, that there are two groups in this crowd.

First group, tax collectors and sinners.

As we've seen in the play, you don't get much more hated.

I'm a much more hated group of people in this culture than tax collectors.

Because they are Jews who work for the Romans by collecting taxes for the Romans from their fellow Jews.

I mean, these guys are like the opposite of Robin Hood.

They steal from the poor and they take that money and they give it to the rich.

And so in this culture, they're regarded as total scum.

Probably told that every day, that God wants absolutely nothing to do with you.

Little wonder then that as they hear Jesus talk about God's great banquet.

Remember we saw that in Luke chapter 14?

Luke 14 · chapter mention

God's great banquet where outsiders are welcomed in.

No wonder that they are drawing near to Jesus.

Because they have never seen or heard or met anyone quite like him in their whole life.

Pharisees and the scribes of the other group.

What are they doing in this story?

They're grumbling.

Do you see how Luke tells us that?

Why?

Well, because they are watching Jesus as an action.

And they are aghast at what he's doing.

He associates with them.

He associates with them.

He eats with them.

And it's not like Jesus and the tax collectors and sinners have just accidentally turned up at the same restaurant.

It's not like they've gone to Nando's and they just happen to share a booth.

Jesus is going towards these despicable outsiders.

That is a red rag to a bull to these Pharisees.

Because in their minds, Jesus should be at their parties,

wining and dining with them,

and proposing a toast, raising a glass to their righteousness.

They want him to say about them.

When the God said in the beginning,

when we were thinking about the epitome of man,

we could not have imagined it could have got any better than this to the Pharisees.

That's what they want them to say.

You see these two groups in this story?

Two groups in this crowd?

Both of them asking, why?

Why Jesus?

One group asking,

why would Jesus bother with me?

And the other group asking,

why would Jesus bother with them?

I wonder if that's you here this morning.

If that's the,

right, I've got a thing for symmetry,

okay, I'm just moving this to the middle.

I wonder if that's you this morning.

Are you asking,

why would Jesus bother with me?

Why would Jesus bother with me?

Because if he knew what I'd done,

if he knew what I'm doing,

then he would run a mile from me.

But the thing about being God,

the one who created you,

is that he knows you.

He knows all things about you.

It's kind of how being God works.

He knows all things.

And here are two groups of people in their minds asking why.

Well, to help this crowd understand the why,

verse 3,

do you see Jesus told them this parable?

Featuring firstly verses 3 to 7,

a determined shepherd.

See how many sheep he's got?

100 sheep.

What happens?

One wanders off.

Now we might look at that and say,

a 1% loss?

I think I take those odds.

1% loss?

Are you kidding me?

But we have to understand that in this culture,

this is a big deal.

A big deal.

Most likely this flock of 100 sheep

would have been made up of the shepherd sheep,

his wider family sheep,

and maybe even some of their neighbor sheep as well.

And the shepherd has got collective responsibility

to look after this whole flock.

And so when Jesus asked his listeners,

would the shepherd not leave the 99

and would he not go and hunt for the one?

They are not thinking,

no chance.

They are thinking,

of course he would.

Of course he would.

But the question is,

what is this shepherd in this story?

What's he going to do?

You know,

our little girl Chloe,

she was singing,

in the bath the other night,

she was singing Little Bo Peep.

Do you know that song?

Little Bo Peep.

Little Bo Peep

has lost her sheep

and doesn't know where to find them.

And I'm listening to her singing this song

and I'm thinking,

that's interesting

because I've been studying a shepherd this week

who has also lost some sheep.

I wonder how Little Bo Peep plans

on finding her sheep.

And she goes on,

leave them alone

and they will come home

wagging their tails behind them.

And I'm thinking to myself,

I don't want to burst her bubble,

I don't have the heart,

but I'm thinking to myself,

Little Bo Peep,

you've been getting away with this for years.

So I'm going to out her

as a terrible shepherdess this morning

because couched in the middle

of a sweet lullaby

is some quite shocking shepherding.

Her plan on getting her lost sheep to come back

is to leave them alone

and trust that they will find their own way back.

It's terrible shepherding.

That would never happen.

That's why that's terrible shepherding.

And the shepherd that Jesus talks about here,

he knows that all too well.

See how Jesus describes the plan of this shepherd

at verse four.

Look at it there.

What does he do?

He goes after the lost sheep

and he finds the lost sheep

and you see the joy that it brings him

that he's found his lost sheep.

See the effort that he goes to

to find the sheep

and then get it back.

What does he do?

He puts it on his shoulders

and he walks all the way home

with it on his shoulders.

And when he gets home,

he doesn't just collapse in the armchair.

What does he do?

He throws a massive party

to celebrate all his friends and neighbours.

Come and rejoice

because this lost sheep of mine,

I found it.

Now that is what I call a shepherd.

That is what I call a shepherd.

And as we'll see in a little bit's time,

we've got to praise God

that this is the shepherd

that he describes here.

Is that just a nice story?

No, it's a wonderful picture,

says Jesus,

of God's heart for the lost

and the party that kicks off in heaven

every time a lost sinner

repents and calls out to God

and comes home to the Father.

Do you see how you have got

God badly wrong,

says Jesus?

So if to underscore the point,

secondly, verses 8 to 10,

he says,

picture a diligent woman in your minds,

picture a diligent woman.

She's got 10 coins.

And the Greek word for coin there,

drachma,

one drachma is the equivalent

of one day's wage in this culture.

So this woman has lost

one day's wage.

That is a significant amount

of money to her

and it's little surprise

that she wants to get it back.

And look at the lengths

that she goes to again

to find it.

Verse 8,

what does she do?

She lights the lamp,

she sweeps the house,

she searches carefully.

And again,

do you see the joy

that finding that lost coin

brings to her?

She calls all her friends

and her neighbors together,

come and celebrate with me

because I found my lost coin.

Is that a nice story?

No.

It's a wonderful truth,

a wonderful picture,

says Jesus,

of God's heart for the lost

and the party

that kicks off in heaven

every time a lost sinner

puts their hand up

and says,

God, I'm sorry

and comes back home

to God the Father.

Do you see how you've got

God wrong,

says Jesus?

Do you see how he's,

Jesus being the master

storyteller that he is?

Do you see how he's just

building the suspense here?

He's intensifying the drama

and we've moved from a,

what did we start with?

A 1% loss.

Now we've moved to a 10% loss.

Well, at verses 11 to 31,

Jesus continues

and he speaks about

a desperate father.

A desperate father

who's not suffered

a 1% loss,

who's not suffered

a 10% loss,

but who's suffered

a 50% loss.

And a 50% loss,

not of his possessions,

but of something

far, far more precious to him.

He's lost 50% of his sons.

Remember Jesus,

he's still trying to get

these folks in the crowd

to understand the why

of what he's doing.

He tells them a story.

A story that centers

around a family home

and it centers around

a father.

And the big question

we have to ask

as we meet this father

here in Luke chapter 15

Luke 15 · chapter mention

is what is this father like?

What is he like?

And as we meet

the father's two sons,

the question we need

to ask is,

what do they think

their father is like?

Have they got him right?

Or have they got him wrong?

Verse 12,

we're introduced

to the younger of the sons.

You see him,

son number two.

Well, what's he like?

Well, we get to know him

a little bit.

He loves the thought

of the high life.

He wants the clothes.

He wants the parties.

He wants the cars.

But what he lacks

is both the money

to make it happen

and the freedom

to live it out.

So what does he do?

He goes to his father

and he doesn't say,

Father,

would you give me

just a little bit

of pocket money?

Because if I could save up

over a number of months

and a number of years

and just put it away,

then maybe I could afford

to do some of the things

I want to do.

He doesn't say that,

does he?

He goes to his father

and he says effectively,

Dad,

I'd much prefer

if you were dead.

Because when you die,

I can get the stuff

that's going to come to me.

So I would really like it

if somehow we could

speed up that process.

I'd love it

if we could speed up

that process.

In other words,

Dad,

I don't want you.

I don't want you.

I just want your stuff.

I just want your stuff.

Now who does he understand

his father to be?

He understands his father

to be just a means

to an end.

He thinks that true joy

is not to be found,

certainly not to be found

at home with his father.

He thinks that true joy

and true satisfaction

is to be found

in living his life

as far away from home

as he can possibly get.

C.S. Lewis

in his book,

Surprised by Joy,

which is really just

his autobiography,

testimony of how

he became a Christian,

he talks about how

before he became

a Christian,

he viewed the God

at the heart

of the Christian faith

as nothing other

than a giant interferer.

I read that,

I remember reading that book

a few years ago

and thinking,

that's kind of how

I used to think of God.

He was kind of like

the football referee.

I used to hate

football referees

when I was growing up.

Do you know why?

Because I thought,

your job,

and you're getting paid

for this,

your job is just

to spoil my fun,

to tell me I'm doing wrong,

to stop me from

doing certain things,

and to probably stop me

from winning the game.

That's how I viewed God.

He was just a killjoy.

Certainly no joy

to be found

in knowing him.

So C.S. Lewis

is saying,

God is a giant interferer.

And she's son number two,

he's got his father

all wrong.

But his father,

amazingly,

he divides his property.

You see,

for the father,

this is more than simply

writing out a blank check

to his son.

The father here

is literally said

to have divided himself

over this request

from his son.

Do you see

what he's saying?

Jesus is saying

the father is,

he's been ripped apart

by this.

He's heartbroken

by what his younger son

wants to do.

But God,

the father in the story,

gives him up.

And the son takes

his father's money

in verse 13.

Do you see that he goes

in the gap year

of all gap years?

He lives this life

that he once wanted to live,

but eventually

that money rounds out.

Eventually the champagne

stops flowing.

Eventually these new

friends that he made

have disappeared.

And to survive,

what does he do?

Well, he,

a Jewish boy,

he melts himself

a slave,

which is bad enough.

But to a Gentile pig farmer,

that is incredibly shameful.

And to feed the pigs

total humiliation

for son number two,

he has hit rock bottom.

Total rock bottom.

And as he's there

in rock bottom,

he remembers

what life was like

at home.

And he thinks,

I've got to get home.

Got to get home.

And he makes his way home

and you can imagine him,

can't you?

Cap in hand.

He's no doubt

thinking through

what's going to happen

when he gets home.

The fact that he returns

a failure,

he does not return

a success.

He cannot go up

to his father

and say,

Father,

I've got a master's degree

now.

I've got 2.4 children.

I've got a Ferrari.

I'm a success.

Get me on the wall.

He returns to his father

with an empty stomach,

with stinking clothes

and with a bruised ego.

And here's the tension

in the drama

at this point.

See,

when he gets home

and his father learns

that he's blowing it

big time,

I mean,

that inheritance money

that the father gave him,

gone just like that.

What's the father

going to do?

As the reader,

we know what son number 2

deserves.

The people in the crowd

listening to the story,

they know what son number 2

deserves.

Hey,

even son number 2

knows what son number 2

deserves.

The question is,

will the father give him

what he deserves?

And we cannot stress

enough

the sense of shock

that the original

hearers

would have had

at what comes next.

Verse 20,

do you see it?

The camera pans

from looking at son number 2

to now looking

at the father.

And I just want you

to see two words

that Jesus uses

to describe the father

here.

First word at verse 20,

what does the father feel?

Compassion.

The father is

desperate

to see his lost son

come home.

His father is

looking for his lost son.

His father is

longing for his lost son.

And so then

it's little

wonder

that as he sees him

in the distance,

he runs to meet him

and he greets him.

Not with a handshake,

not with a nod

of appreciation,

not with a fist pump.

He's not from the west

coast of Scotland.

But he embraces him

and he kisses him

and he hugs him.

Which you have to say

is horrendously strange

behaviour

for a Jewish man.

I mean,

they didn't run anywhere.

In fact,

it's more than strange

the father here,

and we need to see this,

the father here

is humiliating himself.

His father is

stooping so low.

His father is

taking the spotlight

of shame

off of his son,

taking it instead

upon himself

out of his great love

for his lost child.

What a father.

And what does that lead to?

Second words

for us to see

at verse 23.

What does the father do?

He celebrates.

The father is joyous.

The father is lavish.

Look at the description

at verse 22.

Give him the best robe.

Give him a ring.

Give him sandals.

Kill the fattened calf.

The son who came

to the father

thinking that he was

going to negotiate terms

and start off again low

is blown away

by the grace of the father.

What is the father like?

He is a longing looker,

says Jesus.

He is a loving seeker.

He is one who rejoices

when lost people

who have no way

of finding themselves

are found.

This is what

the father is like.

Just a nice story?

No.

It's a wonderful picture,

says Jesus.

A wonderful picture

of God's heart

for the lost

and the description

of the party

that kicks off in heaven

every time a lost sinner

repents,

puts their hand up

and says,

God, I am lost.

I'm sorry for what I've done

and comes home

to God the father.

Do you see how

you've got God wrong,

says Jesus?

Do you see how

you've got him wrong?

Let me ask you,

are you sitting here

this morning

as we see the father here?

Have you got God wrong?

You're like son number one.

Do you believe

that true joy,

that true satisfaction

in life

is to be found

away from him

rather than with him?

You see,

the question to this crowd

and to us this morning

is how will the younger

brothers in the crowd

respond

as they see themselves

in his character

and

as they see

the character

of the father?

So what about son number one?

What about the older son?

Well,

from the field,

verse 25,

son number one

hears the party

that's going on inside

and he finds out

that the arrogant traveler,

he finds out

that his brother

has somehow

had the audacity

to turn up at home.

But here's the square

that he can't quite circle

in his mind.

If my brother

has returned a failure,

then why are we celebrating?

Why are we celebrating?

What is he described

as being at verse 28?

Do you see it?

He is angry.

He's not just indifferent,

he's raging

at his brother.

You see,

he wants a front row seat

at his brother's

public humiliation party.

He's not interested

in taking a front row seat

at his brother's

welcome home

celebration party.

He is angry.

And so the father

goes to son number two,

the older son,

and he pleads with him,

my son,

you should be in here

celebrating with me.

You should be in here

sharing my joy

with my guests.

Come on in

and celebrate

because your son,

my son,

your brother

is back.

Not a chance,

says the older brother.

Not a chance

I'm going in there.

Who does son number one

understand the father to be?

We'll see how he describes

his relationship to him

at verse 29.

All these years,

I've been what for you?

I've been slaving for you.

Slaving for you.

Who does son number one

understand his father to be?

Someone to be tolerated?

Someone to just obey?

Someone to keep up

appearances with?

Certainly not somebody

to be enjoyed.

Because I perform for you,

father.

Because I obey you,

father.

Because I am better

than others,

father.

Surely that means

that I deserve

to be treated better

than those who don't

perform and don't

obey for you.

You see how son number

two had the father wrong?

Do you see how son

number one has equally

got the father

just as wrong?

What's son number

two's problem?

Son number one's

problem rather.

He's got a hard heart.

He's got a hard heart.

Geographically speaking,

he's right up close

to the father.

He's in the house.

Proximity speaking,

he's right there.

But spiritually speaking,

his heart is a million

miles away from

understanding the truth

about who his father

is.

You know,

I wonder if that's

some of us here this

morning.

Your relationship with

God,

if you had to describe

it,

you would describe it

in slave terms

rather than son terms.

This is the older

brother here.

You know,

we might have been

at church all these

years.

We might have been

living our lives

in and around

Christian family

and Christian friends

and Christian circles

all these years.

But the truth of it

is,

if you scratch beneath

the surface,

if you look deep

down,

you don't really

know who God is.

Certainly some

who are in this

crowd that Jesus

is talking to

this morning,

talking to here

rather,

sorry,

have you got

God wrong?

It's interesting

how as we come

to the end

of this story

that we're not

told how son

number one

responds.

I mean,

does he stay

outside or

does he go in?

That's a deliberate

cliffhanger from

Jesus aimed at

the older brothers

in the crowd

because how will

they respond as

they see themselves

in his character?

And how will

they respond as

they see the

character of the

father?

Now,

if Jesus has

shown them that

they are getting

God wrong,

then surely the

question as we

come to the end

of this parable

is now,

will you get

God right?

How are they

going to do

that?

By understanding

that this

is what Jesus

is all about.

He is the one

who has humiliated

himself by

leaving his

father's house,

by taking on

our flesh to

go in search

of those who

are lost.

He is the one

who is on the

way to the

cross.

Remember where

this comes in

Luke's gospel?

To go to the

cross, the place

where he will

stoop so low

offering his

life on the

cross, taking

the sin of

running rebels

like you and

me on himself

so that we

can be made

right with

God and we

can come into

the father's

house.

Will the

people in

the crowd

get God

right?

How are they

going to do

that?

By getting

Jesus right.

And that's

the challenge

for us this

morning as we

work towards

a close.

Have we

got God

right?

have we

got God

right?

Two thoughts

as we finish.

First thought

to make us

praise.

I was left

marvelling this

week as I've

been studying

this passage

and what a

joy it's

been in just

how much God

has done for

me.

Just how much

God has done

for me.

The lengths

that he has

gone to to

buy me for

himself.

Do you see

yourself in

Luke 15?

I was that

lost sheep.

I was that

lost coin.

I was that

lost son.

I had no

chance of

finding myself.

No chance of

saving myself.

No chance of

rescuing myself.

But praise God

this morning

that he is not

like an

apathetic

shepherd.

Praise God

this morning

that he is

not like an

unconcerned

woman.

And praise God

this morning

that he is

not like a

cold father.

No.

What were we

singing earlier?

What's the

truth?

That Jesus

sought me

when a

stranger.

When I was

wandering far

from the fold

of God.

He, to

rescue me

from danger.

He shed

for me

his precious

blood.

Does that

thrill your

heart this

morning?

Because that

is right at

the heart of

the gospel,

is it not?

This is what

our God has

done for us.

Does that

thrill your

heart?

That you

are that

valuable to

God?

That as his

once lost

creature, he

made a way for

you to be

found?

That's the

heart of the

gospel.

First thing to

make us pray.

Second thought to

make us pray.

do we share

God's heart

for lost

people?

You see, here

is Jesus

showing us

God's heart.

And here is

Jesus in the

wider context

of Luke as

he's calling

sinners to

himself.

Here he is

filling the

Father's house

with guests.

So remember

the question

that the

crowd were

asking at

the beginning?

Why

Jesus?

Well, here

is Rico

Tyson in

his wonderful

little book

Honest

Evangelism.

Probably the

best book I've

read on

talking to

your friends

about Jesus

if you're

looking for

something to

buy and

devour, maybe

over the next

week.

He writes

this, puts

it so

beautifully,

God is the

great evangelist,

the great

seeker and

finder of

people, and

he's called

his followers

to the same

pursuit and

to the same

emotion.

So here's

what I want

us to do

just as we

close this

morning.

I know

that many

of us have

got good,

good friends

who we

would love

to see, we

would love

nothing more

than to see

them become

Christians.

And I know

for many of

us here that

we have

parents and

we have

children who

have perhaps

wandered from

the faith or

people who

we long to

see in our

families,

one day bow

the knee to

Jesus and

worship him.

And it's

painful, isn't

it, sometimes

that the

people that

we love

sometimes don't

seem interested.

But here's

what I want

us to do

just as we

close.

I want you

to picture

some people

in your

mind.

Just picture

some people

in your

mind.

And as

you're thinking

of them,

just before you

go this

morning, why

do you ask

someone else

this morning

who they

had in their

minds?

Who has

God placed

in their

hearts and

minds?

And why

don't you

pray for

them as

well this

week?

But just

as we

close in

the silence

now, having

seen the

heart of

God in

Luke chapter

Luke 15 · chapter mention

15, these

people that are in

our hearts and

our minds, why

don't we just

bring them before

our Father?

Just now as we

close, and then

I'll close in

prayer.

let's pray

together.

So dear

Father, we

thank you

that we've

seen in Luke

Luke 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15 this

morning that you

are the great

seeker of

lost people.

And so dear

Lord, we ask

that by your

spirit who is

living in us,

that you would

install in us

now your

heart for a

broken and

lost world.

So Lord, we

lift the names

of those that

we love to

you, and we

ask dear

Father that you

would be so

gracious in

finding them.

Dear God, we

praise you this

morning, and we

thank you for

Jesus, and we

pray in his

name.

Amen.