Luke 15:1-7

And turn to Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

And so,

I'm trying to preach

Christianity is Jesus Christ.

You'll be thankful,

I hope to know that Christianity

is not a set of rules

or a philosophy.

You should never confuse Christianity

with the institutional church.

Christianity is the person

of Jesus Christ.

And when we open this passage

this evening,

we find that the person of Jesus,

Jesus is in trouble again, isn't he?

One of the extraordinary things

that you find about the adult life

of Jesus

is that he's nearly always in trouble.

He's in trouble with his family.

He seems to be always in trouble

with the local clergy.

He's in trouble with his followers

at times.

But by far the most deep resentment

and hostility

towards Jesus

comes from those who are

seriously religious.

There are some exceptions

to that.

But you can almost

describe the gospel

as a sliding scale.

In a sliding scale

where the more we move

to religious observance,

the more opposition

there is to Jesus.

I think you see that.

Because Jesus kept doing things,

he kept saying things,

that just didn't sit comfortably

with the religious observance

of his day.

Of the Pharisees.

And what annoyed them

so much

was not that Jesus spoke

as though he was God

in the flesh,

nor that he did

mighty miracles

without their permission.

That was bad enough.

The problem was

he did these things

at the wrong times,

in the wrong place,

with the wrong people.

So he cast out demons

in the middle of a church service.

It's something that's very,

very un-Presbyterian,

isn't it?

He healed people

on the Sabbath.

A day of no work.

And Jesus did work

according to them.

Not just once or twice

so that it could be overlooked.

But repeatedly,

as if he was making a point

which he was.

He reached out

and touched lepers,

the untouchable.

But worst of all,

he seemed to spend

an inordinate amount of time

with the wrong people.

And that is where

we pick up the story.

Verse 2.

Chapter 15, verse 2.

And the Pharisees of the skies

grumbled,

saying,

This man received sinners

and eats for them.

Now we have to say

that we tax collectors

and sinners,

tax collectors

have never been rehabilitated.

In every culture,

tax collectors

remain the same,

disliked.

Tax collectors

and sinners

were all drawing the item.

If you work

for the Inland Revenue,

I'm sorry.

It's an unfair shot.

You can get me back

at the end of the year,

I suppose.

Now, let's go back

to the passage.

The tax collectors

and sinners,

can you see it?

They are drawing near

to him.

Verse 1.

But the Pharisees

and the scribes

murmured,

they grumbled,

saying,

This man received sinners

and eats with them.

So the problem

for the clergy

was not just that

Jesus was spending time

with these people,

he seems to like them.

And what galled them

was that Jesus

wasn't treating them,

wasn't treating

the kind of religious people

with the dignity

they felt

they obviously deserved.

He wasn't observing

the usual distinctions

that there were

that had become

so important.

He seemed

to accept

and love people

irrespective

of their background

and irrespective

of their future potential.

So they did

what all religious people

do

when confronted

with something

that they don't like.

Can you see it?

In verse 2.

What do all religious

people do

when they're confronted

by something

that they don't like?

They grumble.

They murmur.

You've just got to spend

about six months

in any church

to find that out.

But the truth is,

Jesus does not feel

comfortable

with one kind of person

or with one class

of person

or another.

The problem is

all those

well-practiced

distinctions

that make our city

go round,

they are just

irrelevant to him.

Or more accurately,

they are a hindrance

to his true purpose.

All those things

that maybe we

have carefully crafted

our own identity,

our capacity

of what we can do,

our little cliques,

our core competencies,

Jesus sees through them

and he sees the real

you and me.

The failure of the Pharisees

is not a moral failure,

it's not a religious failure,

it is a failure

to completely understand

what Jesus is there to do.

It's a failure to understand

his life and his ministry.

And that is why

this parable is so important.

Because in this

short story,

Jesus takes us

right to the heart

for the reason

that he came into the world.

for why he dies

on the cross

and why he rises again.

And I don't think

in Luke's gospel particularly

there are any words

that describe so simply

and so movingly

when you meditate on them

his own understanding

of what he's doing.

So the parable

has got two parts.

The first part

is in verses 4 and 5

which speak of

the joy of rescue.

Is that verse 5?

Verse 4.

What man of you,

which one of you,

having a hundred sheep,

if he's lost one of them,

does not leave the 99

in the open country

and go after the one

that is lost

until he finds it.

And when he's found it,

he lays it on his shoulders

rejoicing.

It's a very simple story,

isn't it?

It's a very simple story

of search and rescue.

But it's no ordinary rescue.

It's a sheep

that's gone missing.

And every person

in Jesus' audience

knows that when

a sheep goes missing,

that sheep

is not going to find

its own way home

by itself.

Unlike Mary's little lamb.

It will not find

its own way home

unless the shepherd

goes out.

You know that,

don't you?

That sheep,

when it leaves the flock

and goes out on its own,

if nobody goes to get it,

it will very quickly

become somebody's dinner.

For anyone

of a number

of hungry predators.

And this immediately

has a jarring note,

doesn't it,

for Jesus' listeners.

Why?

Because they knew

the Old Testament.

And they knew

that the Lord's my shepherd.

They knew that God

is the shepherd.

They knew that the Lord

is my shepherd

more times than we ever will.

But for them,

when they said

the Lord is my shepherd,

it was a great source

of pride.

It comes to complete

shock to them

to think that

Jesus thinks

that they may have

gone astray.

Let alone be lost.

And what Jesus is doing

is saying,

all that you know

of the God

of the Old Testament,

that is true of me.

I have come

from God,

from heaven,

into this world.

To rescue

men and women,

boys and girls

who are lost.

The reason behind

my miracles,

the reason behind

my teaching,

the reason I'm

speaking to you

is because God

is searching you

to bring you

back to himself.

You see,

God is not a

detached observer,

is he?

Watching from a distance.

He doesn't wait

to be asked

before he begins

caring for us.

And the proof

of that is where?

It is in the life

and the death

and the resurrection

of Jesus.

And you can tell

how seriously

God takes our lostness

by the fact

that he sends

Jesus to live

and die for us.

He must think

that we are

in serious danger.

We use this idea,

don't we,

of being lost

in a host

of different ways.

It's possible

to go to an art gallery,

isn't it,

and get lost

in all the beauty.

But that is not

what Jesus means here.

It's possible

to read a really

great book

and get lost

in the book

for an afternoon.

But that's not

what Jesus means here.

It's possible

to take a walk

in the beauty

of the countryside

and be lost

in the beauty

of creation.

But that is not

what he means

by lost here.

No, Jesus seems

to think

our lostness

demands rescue.

And we are

very familiar

with people

being rescued.

So do you remember

earlier a few weeks ago

the explorer

Henry Worsley

died

in the Antarctica.

He was exploring

the Antarctica

and he was lost.

Yesterday

four British rowers

have been rescued

after becoming stranded

in the mid-Atlantic ocean

for more than 16 hours

when their boat

capsized.

What they were doing there,

I don't know,

in the middle

of the Atlantic ocean

but they were there.

On Tuesday,

you might have seen

the video,

a mother and her toddler

drove their car

into an Amsterdam canal.

I don't know

if you've seen the video

have you seen it?

And bypassers

amazingly

dived into the canal.

I don't know

if they're cleaner

than the Brent

but they dived

into the canal

and rescued

the mother

and her toddler.

Now if the four

British rowers

had not been rescued

they would have been

lost.

If the passers-by

had not jumped

into the canal

in Amsterdam

the mother and toddler

would have been

lost.

Unless someone

rescued them

they would perish.

That's what Jesus

is talking about here.

That's the point.

This is what Jesus

has come to do.

But unless somebody

goes after the sheep

the sheep perishes.

This is what

he's come to do.

He's come to do for us

what we cannot do

for ourselves

to search for us

and to find us

and to bring us

home to God.

So when you look

at the life

and the death

of Jesus Christ

you see the love

of God in action.

I don't know

if you've ever

really thought

of what a remarkable

thing it is.

That God should

send his son

to the world

to seek for you

and for me.

That everything

Jesus went through

is because we have

cut ourselves off

from God.

And it is not

God who is lost.

Jesus is like

a shepherd

searching,

searching,

searching

because he knows

if he doesn't

find the sheep

the sheep

will perish.

I'm not sure

why you came to

church this morning

maybe just

this evening

maybe just have it.

But ultimately

spiritually speaking

the reason you came

to church this evening

is because God

is diligently

searching for you.

The fact that

you are here

means that God

is drawing you

to himself.

The difficulty

is like the

Pharisees.

We spend so much

time pretending

that actually

we're not lost.

It's so easy

today to grow

comfortable with

our lostness.

Our food is fast

and plentiful.

Our homes are

comfortable and

very expensive.

We have gadgets

to simplify and

simultaneously

complicate our

lives.

We have medicine

to prolong our

lives.

And entertainment

to dull any

vestige of

hunger for God

and longing

for him.

But I think

one of the

marks of our

lostness is

this kind of

spiritual

drifting in

our culture.

Douglas

Copeland

speaks of a

generation that

has grown up

that has no

use and no

time for God

that moves

between active

consuming and

compulsive

television watching

and apathy.

Life is lived

between the

demands of our

advertising and

our urges.

And I think

there's many

people who feel

that.

Many of your

friends and

work colleagues

and neighbours

many people who

feel this profound

sense of

disconnectedness with

God that life is

not what it was

meant to be.

They were made

for something

greater.

We've got no

responsibilities,

no commitments,

no purpose,

but no hope.

We're free to

think not too

hard about

anything in

particular and

we emulate the

morality of

whatever the

latest movie

film is.

A generation of

young people have

grown up where

death is funny

and nothing is

important.

I read this

week from one

writer who

listened to this

that says this,

we are told that

we can be anything

we want to be

but we have no

particular reason to

be anything in

particular.

Isn't that

brilliant?

We are told that

we can be anything

we want to be

but we have no

particular reason to

be anything in

particular.

And so our

friends, our

colleagues, our

neighbours, maybe

our families drift

from one peak

experience to the

next with that

defensive anthem

I'm not hurting

anyone.

And we've

developed, haven't

we, as a

culture, lots

of clever little

mechanisms to

deal with our

lostness.

So one of the

ways that people

do that is they

kind of draw

themselves a new

map.

They configure

reality with

themselves at the

centre of it.

I know my map

tells me I'm not

lost.

One of the

maps is

spirituality,

people have that,

don't they?

where I

alleviate my

lostness by

going through a

number of

spiritual exercise

which are

basically designed

to make me feel

better about

myself.

Instead of

acknowledging I

am lost.

And I need to

be rescued by

the shepherd.

I devote

myself to

different spiritual

activities.

I think it's

more difficult,

isn't it?

It seems to me

to be more

difficult in

talking to those

people who

think of

themselves as

spiritual to

come to terms

with the fact

with what Jesus

says here that

we are lost.

Another map,

let me call it

is self.

What we do

here is we

make the goal

of human life

for me.

And I

myself, I

am the

ultimate object

of allegiance.

And when that

happens,

when we put

ourselves right

at the center,

my deep longing

for God that

every human

being has,

is replaced

with a desire

for my emotional

well-being.

Sin becomes

addiction.

My longing

for God

becomes pathology.

And I become

anethetized.

My senses are

dull to the

very things

that I need

to listen to.

And I become

a little lost

sheep who's

being retooled

emotionally to

deal with my

anxiety.

And I think

that's why the

words of Jesus

tonight are so

important for us.

In Jesus'

mind, we are

all sheep.

And we have

erred and

strayed from

his ways like

lost sheep.

And we've put

a distance between

ourselves and

God and we

are lost.

And that is why

he says he is

calm.

And what does

he do when he

finds the

sheep?

I'm told

often that when

people find

lost sheep,

the sheep

refuses to

budge.

You've seen

that in me

with the

sheep on

the edge

of the

cliff.

And it

just refuses

to move.

And the

sheep clings

for whatever

it's stuck

in.

So what

does Jesus

do when

he finds

us?

Verse 5,

can you

see that?

He lays

us on

his shoulders

rejoicing.

The shepherd

has gone to

great risk

to find

this wayward

sheep.

You see,

God doesn't

look at us

and say,

here's a

self-help

manual.

Help

yourself.

He comes

to us

and he

finds us

where we

are.

And when

he finds

us,

that is

not the

end of

it.

He picks

us up

and he

puts us

on his

shoulders

and he

takes us

back home

rejoicing.

Rejoicing.

And Jesus

carries us

on his

shoulders

the entire

distance

back to

the fold.

In other

words,

the measure

of Jesus'

burden

is the

exact measure

of our

lostness.

Can you

see that?

The measure

of Jesus'

burden is

the exact

measure of

our lostness.

He carries

us back to

God the

distance we

have strayed.

His shoulders

bear the

burden of

our guilt,

all of it.

And you

will know that

if you read

this gospel to

the end,

what it cost

Jesus to

bear us

and to

bear us

and we

are told

that as

he was

nailed to

the cross

he

shouldered

our sin,

he shouldered

our guilt.

All that

we've done

to push

God away

Jesus

shouldered.

It is by

his death

we are

rescued,

it is by

his death

that we're

forgiven,

it is by

his death

that we're

brought home

to God.

And yet

the most

remarkable

thing about

these words

is that

he tells

us that

he does

it for

joy.

Do you see

that he

puts it

on his

shoulders

rejoicing.

Jesus

knew what

it would

cost him

to rescue

the lost

sheep,

but for

him it's

the opposite

of dull

and tedious,

it brings

joy and

rejoicing.

Yes he

knows,

there's going

to be

the agony

of the

cross,

but he

knows that

through that

agony of

the cross

he will

bring delight

to God

and delight

to him

by saving

us from

being lost

forever.

So let me

speak to us

who are

regulars.

I want

to ask

you,

does it

bring you

joy and

delight when

you see

someone who

is moving

from being

lost to

being found?

And are

there people

who you

know who

are wandering,

who have

maybe not

been in

church for

a few

weeks,

and actually

they are

drifting away.

They're not

following through

on their

spiritual

commitments.

And if

you are

following

Jesus,

I want

to encourage

you to

go after

them in

English

way,

and to

get them,

and to

bring them

back,

not because

of the joy

it's going

to bring

you,

though it

will

bring you

joy,

won't

it?

No,

for the joy

it will

bring them,

but for the

joy it will

bring God.

This is the

point,

there is joy

in heaven

because God

delights in

every single

one of his

people.

He doesn't

want to see

any one of

us lost.

God sent

his son to

rescue us,

and even

though it

cost him

his life,

Jesus loves

to do the

will of the

father.

That's the

joy of the

rescue.

Secondly,

more briefly,

there's the

joy of

restoration.

Can you

look with

me at

verse 6

and 7?

And when

he comes

home,

he calls

together his

friends and

his neighbours

saying to

them,

rejoice with

me,

for I

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,

or ninety-nine

people who

think they

don't need

repentance.

Here's another

side of being

rescued.

We've done

nothing to

force God's

hand to

search for

us,

except by

becoming

lost.

And God

sends his

son to

search for

us,

but when

he finds

us,

he doesn't

drag us

back against

our will.

To be

brought back

to God

means to

repent of

our sin.

It means

to give up

our self-made

maps.

It means

to surrender

to Jesus

Christ.

It means

despite my

abilities and

capabilities and

earnings I

have lost,

it is what

the Bible

means by

sin.

It means

to give up

our self-made

maps.

I met an

American

minister at

lunch this

week in

Covent Garden

and I was

supposed to

pick the

restaurant,

we were

going to go

to Five

Guys,

the burger

place.

And anyway,

after about

ten minutes

of walking

around

Covent Garden,

the American

man said to

me,

you don't

know where

you're going,

do you?

And I

said,

no.

And I

said,

he said,

well do you

think we

should look?

I said,

I'm sure it's

around here.

So we

walked on

another five

to ten

minutes and

then he

got Google

Earth or

whatever it

is,

Google Maps.

You've

got to give

up that at

some point.

I have to

say,

listen,

I don't

know what I

am.

I don't

know any

Covent Garden

any better

than you do

when you're

from Michigan.

We could have

walked for

hours and I

wouldn't have

found it.

You've got to

give up the

self-made

map.

And that's

what you've

got to do

if you will

come to

Christ.

Despite

your abilities

and your

capacities and

earnings,

you are

lost.

That's what

the Bible

means by

sin.

And our

problem is

that the

only place

we see

sin is

on a

kind of

deserted

man.

But in

the Bible

sin is not

so much a

moral issue

as a

spiritual

issue.

It is not

so much the

breaking of

a cold

distant

law but

the

breaking of

a friendship

and relationship

with God.

In all I've

done in

rebellion and

all I've

done in

disobedience to

God, it

results in

separation and

distance from

him.

That is what

it means to

be lost.

And to

repent doesn't

mean to eat

humble pie and

turn over a

new leaf and

find your way

home.

No, to

repent means to

change my

heart and to

change my

mind and to

recognise that

I have got

myself into

the mess I

am in by my

own self

conceit and

my own

self will.

And it is

not despair and

it's not

self loathing.

It's seeing

that what I've

done has

separated me

from God.

And I

thank God

that he has

come and

rescued me.

It is

allowing yourself

to be rescued.

It is letting

Jesus take you

upon his

shoulders and

bring you back

to God.

And the

great truth

tonight is

this.

It doesn't

matter how

far you've

wandered

tonight.

It doesn't

matter how

deeply entangled

you are in

the thing that

you are

entangled in

now.

If you want

to turn away

from it now

and allow

Jesus to

rescue you,

he will

bring you

home.

And when

you do,

and when

he brings

you there,

it will

bring you

great joy

in heaven.

We are

in desperate

need of

rescue.

Do you

think that

God will

have sent

his son

to die

on the

cross if

there isn't

an easier

way for him

to do it?

God cares

for us so

deeply that

even when

we've turned

our backs

on him

and wandered

and kept

wandering,

he sent

his son

to rescue

and to

shoulder us

home and

he invites

us all

to come

back in

a friendship

with him.

And you

may be

thinking,

what must

I do?

And it's

very, very

simple, isn't

it?

It is to

say, I am

lost.

It is to

say, I am

lost and I

need to be

rescued.

It is to

put your

hand out

to Christ

and say,

please rescue

me.

It's as

simple as

that.

And yes,

I have

pushed God

away.

And yes,

I have

wandered a

long way

off.

And I

need to be

forgiven.

And I

need to be

brought home.

And all

you need to

do is ask

God to

bring you

back because

of what

Jesus has

done.

And you

will know

the joy of

rescue and

the joy of

restoration.

Let's pray.

Amen.