God's Search and Rescue

Heavenly Father,

You have called me as a pastor to this church,

but I am a pastor unworthy of the name of shepherd.

You, however, you are the good shepherd.

There is not a sheep among your flock that you do not know intimately.

All the strengths, all the weaknesses, all the failings, all the hurts.

And my desire this morning is that you reveal your love to your people

as their shepherd, as their father.

So please, minister to us with Your Word.

Remind us of how earnestly You sought us to save us.

And teach us how earnestly we should seek to save the lost, as Your witness says.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Luke 15, verses 1 to 10.

Luke 15:1–10

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.

Or what woman,

having ten silver coins,

which she loses one coin,

does not light a lamp and sweep the house

and seek diligently until she finds it?

And when she has found it,

she calls together her friends and neighbors,

saying,

Rejoice with me,

for I have found the coin that I have lost.

Just so, I tell you,

there is joy before the angels of God

over one sinner who repents.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

For many of us,

it's more comfortable and cozy

to hang out with other Christians.

We have shared beliefs and values

so we understand each other,

you feel at home.

Hanging out with non-Christians,

on the other hand,

for some people,

can be more difficult.

We have to explain our beliefs and values,

which are often at odds with theirs.

We can't partake in everything that they say and do,

since they often do and say things

that contradict the teachings of Scripture.

So it can make us feel out of place,

unaccepted even.

But we must not let the comfort

of being with each other

draw us away from befriending those

who do not share our beliefs and values.

And this passage reminds us

that God is on a search and rescue mission,

and that the love of God compels us

to prioritize Christ's mission

of seeking and saving the lost.

We'll take a closer look at this passage

by first examining the portraits

of the major characters in this passage.

First, the portrait of the Pharisees and the scribes.

Second, the portrait of the tax collectors and sinners.

And third, the portrait of God,

as seen in the two parables

of the lost sheep and the lost coin.

First, let's look at the Pharisees and the scribes.

We find in verse 2

that the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling.

They were grumbling about the fact

that tax collectors and sinners

were drawing near to Jesus,

and that Jesus, instead of turning them away

like they usually do,

and like they expected Him to,

He was receiving these sinners and tax collectors

and eating with them.

And because the tax collectors and sinners,

I mean tax collectors,

because Pharisees and the scribes

often play literary foil to Jesus in the Gospels,

they make Jesus look good

because they're self-righteous and prideful.

And because we are aware of that,

it's easy for us to criticize

the Pharisees and the scribes right away.

But for a moment,

let's try to instead imagine ourselves

in the shoes of the Pharisees.

Because after all,

the parables are directed to them.

It's intended to teach them,

the grumbling Pharisees and the scribes.

The name Pharisee comes from the Hebrew word

meaning to set apart,

much like how we as Christians

describe ourselves

as people who are set apart for God,

set apart for His purposes and priorities.

The Pharisees were also the reformers of their day

who sought to purify the religion

and the society of their time.

In much the same way,

we view ourselves as people

who are heirs of the Protestant reformers.

And the scribes,

who are often alongside,

who are seen often alongside the Pharisees,

they're the Jewish legal scholars,

experts of Scripture.

And they kind of lend their academic credence

to the Pharisees' religious agenda.

So in some way,

Pharisees are like the pastors

and lay leaders of churches,

and the scribes are like the seminary professors

of our day.

Are you guys hearing about echo?

Is there a way to turn that mic off?

No.

And the Pharisees, however,

in spite of the fact that they were

these religious authorities,

they lost sight of God's desire

to seek and save the lost.

They were so focused on being set apart

from the world

that they were so focused on being holy,

they kind of separated themselves

from sinners.

And in doing so,

they so distanced themselves

from the very heart of God's mission

to seek and save the lost

that they lost the ability

to rejoice altogether

when lost people returned to Him.

And the example of the Pharisees

is a sobering one.

He teaches us

that it is possible

to miss God's will

while busily doing

what we perceive to be God's work.

It's possible for us,

even as Christians,

to lose sight of God's priority

of seeking and saving the lost.

But Luke tells us

in chapter 19, verse 10,

the Son of Man,

that's Jesus,

He came to seek

and to save the lost.

That is His mission.

That's why Jesus came.

And that mission continues

through us,

His people,

the church.

The Center for the Study

of Global Christianity,

which is a research center

based in

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,

they claim that

one out of five

non-Christians

in North America,

not the predominantly

Muslim North Africa,

North America,

it says,

one out of five

non-Christians

in North America

do not personally

know any Christian.

That's 20%

of people who live

here in North America.

13.5 million people.

That's a tragedy.

Do we have

non-Christian friends

who know

that we are

followers of Christ?

have we shared

the good news

of Jesus Christ

with those who do not

know Him,

know Jesus?

We may have been

trying hard

to live good

Christian lives.

We may have been

trying hard

to love our families

and serve them.

We may have even

been working hard

to serve and love

our church family.

But if we are

doing all of those

things

and losing sight

of God's priority

of seeking and saving

the lost,

then we are not

being faithful.

Some people might

object at this point,

Sean,

that's your job.

You're the full-time

pastor.

We have other jobs

during the week.

Of course,

I need to share

the gospel

with my non-Christian

friends and neighbors

as well.

But as another pastor,

Mark Dever,

puts it,

pastoral ministry

is actually

behind the lines

and equipping

gospel laborers.

And actually,

you're the ones

that are on the

front lines

where the church

meets the world.

I'm privileged

in that I get

to spend time

with dozens of you

every week

and to get to

encourage you

and exhort you

like this

to share the

good news of

Jesus Christ

with everybody.

But a cost

that comes with that

is that I need

to work really

hard,

extra hard

to intentionally

create opportunities

for me to spend

time with

non-Christians

and to share

the gospel

with them.

So there's a price

that pastors pay

in their evangelistic

opportunities.

Some of you

might still object

at this point

saying,

well,

but I'm not

gifted in evangelism.

that's for people

who have the gift

of evangelism.

Yes,

there are some

people who have

the gift of evangelism

just as there are

some people who are

particularly gifted

musically,

like the people we

see on the stage

on Sunday morning.

But do only

the musically

gifted people

sing

during worship?

Of course not.

God wants

all of us

to sing

even if we're

tone deaf,

even if we have

no sense of rhythm.

In the same way,

God wants all of us

to share the good

news of Jesus Christ

whether we have

the gift of evangelism

or not.

That's a command

for all Christians.

And those who

have the gift

are not intended to,

they're not supposed

to do it all

by themselves,

rather they are

to use their gift

to help

and to equip

the rest of the

body of Christ,

the church,

to do evangelism.

So what are some

common interests

that you have

with your non-Christian

friends that you

can explore together?

What are some

contexts in your life

where you can

interact with them,

get to know them

better,

love and serve them

and share the gospel,

the good news of Jesus

with them?

If we lose sight

of Christ's mission,

we become like

the Pharisees

and the scribes.

That's the profile

of the Pharisees

and the scribes.

Profile.

Now let's see

the profile

of the tax collectors

and sinners.

The second point.

Verse 1 says,

Now the tax collectors

and sinners

were all drawing near

to hear Jesus.

As we have seen

throughout the gospel

of Luke,

Jesus,

wherever he went,

drew sinners around him.

They congregated to him.

In fact,

he was so popular

among sinners

and tax collectors,

Luke uses a hyperbole

to express it.

He says,

They were all drawing near

to hear Jesus.

It's almost as if

all the tax collectors

and sinners

all over Judea

have come

to see Jesus.

It's almost as if

they're all coming to him.

That's how popular

he is among them

because they sense

that he understands

their need.

Because they sense

in him

not rejection

but a welcome,

an invitation

to follow him.

Tax collectors

and sinners

together represent

kind of the moral

reprobates,

the miscreants

of society.

If you haven't been

with us throughout

our series

in the Gospel of the Lord,

you might be wondering

what in the world

is wrong with

being a tax collector.

The IRS employees

in our country

have respectable professions.

They're not bad people.

But the tax collectors

in Jesus' day

were another story.

They were people

who had paid

the Roman Empire

money

in order to lease

the right

to exact taxes.

And these tax collectors

had total control

over how much money

they charged,

how much money

they taxed.

So of course,

they would charge

a handsome amount

on top of the money

that they already paid

the Roman Empire

so that they could make

a handsome salary.

So they were,

because of this,

considered extortionists.

They were thieves.

And the Jews,

for that reason,

excommunicated tax collectors

from their synagogues.

And not only that,

if you are a Jewish

tax collector,

you are seen not only

as a thief

and an extortionist,

but also a traitor

because you are taxing,

stealing money

from your own people

and using that

to enrich

the very people

who were oppressing them

and suppressing them.

So they,

the occupiers,

the Romans,

the enemies,

so they were the traitors.

So the Jews,

for that reason,

despised tax collectors

and the Jewish synagogues,

they even refused

to accept offerings

from tax collectors

to the synagogue.

Not only do we not

want you here,

you're excommunicated,

we will not even

take your offering.

We don't want

your dirty money.

Tax collector

is not a flattering description.

The word sinner

also is not

a flattering description.

We have in a way

sanitized the word sinner

because we call ourselves

frequently,

we're a sinner,

we're a sinner

and when we talk about

sinners that God saves,

we often think of people

who maybe have committed

sins that are more or less

socially acceptable.

But in order to understand

the passage rightly,

when you see the word sinner,

you need to imagine

the people who do things

that are viscerally

repulsive to you.

What are some things

you can think of

that are viscerally

repulsive to you?

Oh my goodness,

I can't believe

this person would do that.

And depending on

kind of your

kind of spectrum,

where you fall

on the spectrum of views,

maybe political affiliation

or experiences,

the kind of sins

that cause that kind of

reaction

might be different.

For some of you,

maybe you should think of

the white supremacists

that seem to

delegitimize your identity

and experience.

For some of you,

you have to think of

the chauvinistic man

that abuses his wife.

Or a militant feminist

that lobbies

for free abortion

up to birth.

or a homeless

heroin addict.

Or a man

on the sex offender registry

for having possessed

child pornography.

What are the things,

sins that you can imagine

that cause this

visceral repulsion?

Sinners.

Sinners.

That's the kind of people

you should be thinking about.

These people are

categorized sinners.

They're social outcasts

unacceptable

to the people

in this story.

That's the kind of people

that are in view.

But Jesus,

instead of shunning

these tax collectors

and sinners,

lets them draw near to him.

Not only that,

he welcomes them.

He receives them.

And not only that,

he doesn't stop

at teaching them.

It says he eats

with them.

He shares the table

with them.

He goes into

their homes.

If we categorize

different levels

of human friendships,

we might start

from kind of

stranger to

stranger to acquaintance,

an acquaintance

to kind of

a casual friend,

maybe a casual friend

to a close friend

or an intimate friend.

And unless you are

an exceptionally

open

and hospitable person,

you probably

don't have

anyone below

the level

of casual friend

into your home.

Because to have

someone into your home

kind of signals

acceptance.

It signals

friendship,

fellowship.

And that's

what Jesus

is doing

with these sinners

and tax collectors.

And the Pharisees

and the scribes

have such

a kind of revulsion.

They're repelled

by what Jesus

is doing.

And they express

their distaste

for Jesus'

practice

in the way

they refer to Him.

Look at how

they refer to Him.

They call Him

this man.

Literally in the Greek

it's that one

or this one.

They don't call

Jesus the teacher,

which would be

the respectful thing

to say.

And they do

in other contexts.

They don't even

address Jesus

by His name.

Jesus

receives sinners.

They say

this one

receives

sinners

and eats

with them.

But remember

that their response

is actually

quite reasonable

if we remember

what kind of people

these tax collectors

and sinners are.

Do we,

like Jesus,

draw,

receive,

eat with

sinners

such as these?

That doesn't mean

we condone

their behavior.

Jesus never did that.

He never

dropped the bar.

But He always

told people

you can come

as you are.

You just can't

stay there.

You come,

then repent

and believe

and follow me.

That's the profile

of the tax collectors

and sinners.

And finally

we see a picture

of God

in the two stories

that Jesus

tells us.

And with this

background in mind

of the tax collectors

and the sinners

and the Pharisees

and the scribes

we can better

appreciate

these two parables

we're looking at

of the lost sheep

and the lost coin.

Let me reread

the parable

of the lost sheep

so it's fresh

in your mind

as I'm talking

about it

from verses

3 to 7.

Please follow along

with me.

It says,

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 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.

The first parable

is about a shepherd

who owns

one hundred sheep.

It's most likely

in his

the day in the life

of a shepherd

it's probably

in the evening

because it's in the evening

when you're putting

the sheep back

into the fold

that's when you count

to make sure

you have not lost

any of them.

And so the shepherd

is counting

he's already had

a full day

of taking

leading these sheep

from a patch of grass

to another

giving them food

guiding them

getting the ones

that go astray

bringing them back

and after all this

he's looking forward

to a night's rest

he begins to count

the sheep

that's with him

ninety-seven

ninety-eight

ninety-nine

ninety-nine

and this time

his heart

sinks

as he realizes

that he's missing

a sheep

that he cares for

so he scans

the horizon

he leaves

the ninety-nine

it says

behind

in the open

country

exposed

to the elements

unattended

vulnerable

he goes out

in search

for

the lost

sheep

he moves

briskly

he jumps

over rocky crags

and he scours

every corner

that

of the pasture

and as the night

deepens

he becomes

more frantic

the thought

of the helpless

sheep

bleeding

by a precipice

or being attacked

by a wild animal

quickens his pace

and he goes

it says

in verse four

until he finds

the sheep

it's not a casual

attitude

okay well I guess

if I find him

I find him

if I don't

I don't

it's not

I'll just look for him

for an hour

if I find him

great

then I'll come back

he says

he will look

for the sheep

until he finds

the sheep

with persistence

and determination

now of course

some of the skeptics

among us

and that's

I include myself

and I will ask

did the shepherd

really leave

the ninety-nine sheep

the helpless creatures

by themselves

he must have found

the helping hand

right

have some assistance

to watch them

perhaps

but I think

to ask that question

is to miss

the point of the parable

the very point

of the parable

is that he leaves

the ninety-nine

to go after

the one

lost sheep

this is not

a picture

of a calm

collected

methodical rescue

it's a picture

of an urgent

and desperate

search

it's a picture

of God's

consuming love

the desperate

predicament

of this one

lost sheep

takes precedence

in that time

because this one

is lost

while the ninety-nine

are not lost

it's like

he loves

that lost

sheep

as if

it were

the only

sheep

there

to love

and that

actually

speaks volumes

about how

he loves

the ninety-nine

as well

doesn't it

because imagine

if he lost

that one

sheep

and he said

to himself

oh just one

sheep

I still got

ninety-nine

more

how would

the ninety-nine

sheep feel

about that

well I guess

I'm not that

valuable after

his leaving

the ninety-nine

going after

the one

lost sheep

actually

conveys

the value

the surpassing

value

and importance

of all the

other sheep

that's in fold

he goes

after the

lost one

because

he loves

the sheep

he loves

it like

the only

sheep

he has

to love

the second

parable

makes

a similar

point

it says

in verses

eight to

ten

or what

woman

having

ten

silver

coins

if she

loses

one

coin

does not

light a

lamp

and sweep

the house

and seek

diligently

until

she

finds

it

and when

she has

found it

she calls

together

her friends

and neighbors

saying

rejoice

with me

for I

found the

coin

that I

had

lost

just

so

I

tell

you

there

is

joy

before

the

angels

of

God

over

one

sinner

who

repents

in the

ancient world

in this

culture

most of the

homes were

made of

mud bricks

or stone

bricks

so there

would be

it's mostly

windowless

houses

so there's

really no

natural

light

so they

would have

to use

light

artificial

light

or fire

candle

and

if

they

because

the

ground

also

is made

of

mud

bricks

and stone

there

would be

a lot

of

these

crevices

and a lot

of debris

and dust

and dirt

and coins

would often

get lost

get stuck

in those

crevices

and actually

because of

that

it's a

boon to

archaeologists

because a lot

of archaeologists

can find

these coins

that have

been stuck

in the

crevices

for generations

and they

can date

the period

and learn

about history

and so on

and so

this is kind

of what's

happening

she loses

one

coin

and

the word

here

of the ten

silver coins

she loses

one

it's like

it's a

drachma

it's like

the denarius

which is

its amount

its value

is about

the day's

worth

wage

the regular

laborers

a day's

worth

and she

loses it

and she

has nine

other ones

but she

doesn't say

well

okay well

I'll cut

my losses

and forget

about it

no she

begins

to clean

the entire

house

to find

that one

lost

coin

she lights

the light

she sweeps

the ground

hoping that

that'll make

it a little

more visible

maybe that

she'll hear

the coin

clink

move

she

and again

like the

sheep

it says

that she

searches

for it

until

she

finds it

she seeks

diligently

until

she

finds it

this

is a

picture

of God

God's

love

for those

who are

lost

and notice

how the

initiative

is with

God

himself

the coin

does not

come rolling

to him

come find

me

the sheep

are not

finding

their way

on their

own

they're

not

cats

the

shepherd

must

go

unless

he

goes

they do

not

come

back

they are

lost

so the

shepherd

goes

so the

woman

looks

and this

is God's

heart

in our

salvation

when we

are lost

apart from

him

that's

how God

searches

for us

diligently

until

he

finds

us

he

doesn't

say

I'll

try a

couple

times

try a

couple

times

see if

he'll

respond

see if

she'll

repent

no

until

he

finds

every

last

one

that

belongs

to

him

he

searches

diligently

until

he

finds

it

and

this

image

of

God

as

a

shepherd

has

a

long

history

throughout

the

Bible

and

one

of

the

most

remarkable

one

is

found

in

Ezekiel

34

and

here

God

condemns

the

shepherds

of Israel

the leaders

of Israel

saying

this

thus says

the Lord

God

ah

shepherds

of Israel

who have

been

feeding

yourselves

should

not

shepherds

feed

the

sheep

you

eat

the

fat

you

clothe

yourselves

with

the

wool

you

slaughter

the

fat

ones

but

you

do

not

feed

the

sheep

the

weak

you

have

not

strengthened

the

sick

you

have

not

healed

the

injured

you

have

not

bound

up

the

strayed

you

have

not

brought

back

the

lost

you

have

not

sought

and

with

harshness

you

have

ruled

them

so

they

were

scattered

because

there

was

no

shepherd

and

they

became

food

for

all

the

wild

beasts

my

sheep

were

scattered

but

then

this

is

his

condemnation

of

the

leaders

of

Israel

but

then

after

that

God

promises

this

in

a

prophecy

through

Ezekiel

behold

I

I

myself

will

search

for

my

sheep

and

will

seek

them

out

I

will

feed

them

on

the

mountains

of

Israel

by

the

ravines

and

in

all

the

inhabited

places

of

the

country

I

will

feed

them

with

good

pasture

and

on

the

mountain

heights

of

Israel

shall

be

their

grazing

land

there

they

shall

lie

down

in

good

grazing

land

and

on

rich

pasture

they

shall

feed

on

the

mountains

of

Israel

I

myself

will

be

the

shepherd

of

my

sheep

and

I

myself

will

make

them

lie

down

declares

the

Lord

God

I

will

seek

the

lost

and

I

will

bring

back

the

strayed

and

I

will

bind

up

the

injured

and

I

will

strengthen

the

weak

and

the

fat

and

the

strong

I

will

destroy

I

will

feed

them

in

justice

God

had

promised

that

he

will

himself

do

what

all

of

his

appointed

leaders

failed

to

do

all

the

prophets

all

the

kings

all

the

priests

that

were

supposed

to

leave

God's

people

and

show

them

the

love

of

God

have

failed

him

have

disappointed

him

they

have

hurt

the

sheep

they

have

misled

them

they

had

not

bound

up

to

hurting

they

had

not

fed

the

hungry

but

God

says

I

myself

will

do

it

and

he

does

that

through

Jesus

the

son

of

God

that's

why

when

Jesus

comes

he

describes

himself

in

John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

he

says

I

am

the

good

shepherd

I

know

my

own

and

my

own

know

me

just

as

the

father

knows

me

and

I

know

the

father

and

I

lay

down

my

life

for

the

sheep

and

I

have

other

sheep

that

are

not

of

this

fold

I

must

bring

them

also

and

they

will

listen

to

my

voice

so

there

will

be

one

flock

one

shepherd

Jesus

is

the

one

who

has

come

he

lives

a

life

of

perfect

obedience

to

the

father

he

always

speaks

the

words

of

God

so

that

we

are

never

misled

by

his

teaching

he

obeys

his

father

unto

death

on

the

cross

so

that

he

can

pay

for

the

sins

that

we

have

committed

observe

the

wrath

of

God

receive

the

penalty

for

sin

and

so

that

after

he

is

raised

from

the

dead

we

can

be

called

sons

of

God

children

of

God

that's

what

we

call

the

good

news

of

Jesus

Christ

he

is

the

good

shepherd

that

came

to

rescue

us

we

were

the

ones

who

were

lost

and

destitute

yet

he

brought

us

and

he

restored

us

to

the

fold

of

God

isn't

that

an

amazing

love

how

did

Jesus

love

sinners

this

way

why

is

it

so

hard

for

us

to

love

sinners

in

this

way

Jesus

gives

us

the

answer

in

verse

four

because

he

actually

does

not

think

that

this

is

difficult

look

at

verse

four

with

me

it

says

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

same

idea

is

in

verse

eight

or

what

woman

having

ten

silver

coins