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Book: Luke
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Luke 15:3-7 Lost and Found
Intro. This parable is in response to the criticism of the scribes and
pharisee's who were saying, "This man receives sinners and eats
with them."
I. The accusation was correct Jesus does receive sinners, and aren't you
glad.
A. You must remember the traditions of the scribes and pharisee's.
1. They felt that sin or uncleanness could be transferred
by touch.
2. As they would walk down the street they would clutch
their robes tight to their bodies to keep them from
swishing and accidentally touching a woman, a gentile
or a sinner.
3. Should they accidentally touch a sinner, they would go
through a ceremonial washing to cleanse themselves from
the defilement.
4. Eating with a sinner was even worse, for by their
traditions and teaching eating with a person was
tantamount to becoming one with that person.
a. A problem actually developed in the early
church over this very issue.
b. Peter came to visit the Gentile church in
Antioch which was sort of home base for Paul's
ministry.
c. Peter was eating with the Gentiles until
certain Jews came from the church in Jerusalem,
he then refused to eat with the Gentiles. This
created a division in the church, so that Paul
openly rebuked Peter for being two sided in
the matter.
d. Gentiles were considered unclean by the Jews
so when Jesus called Peter to go with the
gospel to the Gentiles He told him not to call
that unclean, which He had cleansed.
5. In chapter 7 of Luke we have the story of Jesus eating
at the house of Simon the Pharisee, when the woman
stood at the feet of Jesus weeping, as she began to
wash His feet with her tears and wipe them with her
hair, the pharisee said to himself, "If this Man were
a true prophet, He would not allow this woman to touch
Him for she is a sinner."
6. Further on in chapter 19 when Jesus went to the house
of Zacchaeus for dinner they murmured against Him again
saying that He had gone to the house of a sinner to
eat.
B. The accusation was that He received sinners. We can be very
thankful for this.
1. Back in chapter 5 He said that He did not come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
2. This is such a glorious truth that a writer made a hymn
from the theme. "Christ receiveth sinful man."
3. He has received me.
4. If you are a sinner today, and you have about given up
hope of ever changing, I have glorious news for you,
"Christ receives sinful men."
5. The big thing here is that by His touching you or me,
our sin does not defile Him, but His righteousness
transforms us.
6. As followers of Jesus Christ, this should be the case
with us as we live in this sinful world. Rather than
being polluted by this world, we should be a
cleansing influence in this world.
7. The Bible exhorts us to not be overcome with evil, but
to overcome evil with good.
8. Again it is the principle of the expulsive force of the
greater power.
a. You do not drive out the darkness, you simply
turn on the light.
b. Light, being the greater power, will dispel the
darkness.
II. The parable of the lost sheep.
A. "What man of you having one hundred sheep if one of them is
missing does not leave the 99 to go search for the one
lost sheep."
1. He searches until he finds it.
2. He then carries it on his shoulders back to safety
rejoicing that he has found the one that was lost.
B. It is quite obvious that in this story, Jesus is the Shepherd
who goes out to search for the lost sheep.
But none of the ransomed ever knew,
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord
passed through, Ere He found His sheep
that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard it's cry,
Sick and helpless and ready to die,
"Lord, whence are these blood drops all
the way, That mark out the mountains
track?
They were shed for one who had gone
astray,
Ere the shepherd could bring him back,
Lord whence are Thy hands so rent and
torn?
They're pierced tonight by many a thorn.
1. Jesus said, "I am the good Shepherd, and I lay down
My life for the sheep."
2. Note the natural response to finding that which was
lost, is that of rejoicing.
3. We all know that that is true.
a. All of us have known the desperation of
having lost something that was of value to us.
b. We have all of us engaged in a diligent search
to find that which we lost.
c. Sometimes we never find it, and we know how
forlorn that makes us feel.
d. But then to find something after searching for
so long is always such a joyous occasion.
4. Maybe we have shared our loss with someone else who has
joined us in our search, and when that which was lost
is found we call them to share our joy.
5. Jesus then speaks of the joy in heaven over the one
sinner that repents, it is more than over the ninety
nine that needed no repentance.
6. Jesus declared that His mission was to seek and to save
those who were lost.
C. This all means that if you are lost today, Jesus has been
seeking you.
1. He knows the danger that can befall a sheep that is
lost.
2. He knows that the life of that sheep is in jeopardy,
that it can't defend itself against the wild beasts
that would prey upon it.
3. It is interesting that He likens us unto sheep because
sheep are so dumb.
a. They do not have enough sense to keep from
roaming off.
b. They do not seem to have a sense of danger.
c. They are a very easy prey for the wolves.
d. Once they have strayed off, they have no
homing instincts.
They can not find their way back home on their
own.
4. I love the picture of the shepherd carrying the sheep
on His shoulder.
a. The good and faithful shepherd was not content
to let the erring sheep be destroyed, but went
out in search for that which was lost.
b. When he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders
and carries it back to safety, rejoicing all
the way.
c. That joy is also carried over into the
heavenly scene as they rejoice in the finding
of that which was lost.
D. In the next portion of this parable it goes from a lost sheep
to a lost coin.
1. Again we see the diligent search to find that which
was lost, and the subsequent rejoicing when it was
found.
2. Here again the joy is carried over into the spirit
realm as Jesus tells us that there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repents.
E. What does it mean to be lost?
1. It means that your life is separated from God, you are
living by your rules rather than by His.
2. It means that sin dominates your life and it is
destroying you.
a. Some of you, because of sin, have become lost
to your family.
b. A loss to the community.
c. A loss to the church. You rarely attend, your
involvement in the things of the flesh has so
dominated your life that you feel little urge
towards the things of the Spirit.
d. If everyone was like you the church would have
been forced to close it's doors long ago, and
could no longer be an influence for good in
the community.
F. The Holy Spirit is searching for you.
III. The parable is not yet complete, there is another side to the coin.
A. In the third part of the parable, a son demands his share of
his father's inheritance and immediately goes out and gets lost
in a sinful wayward life.
1. It is not long until he realizes how he has lost
everything.
2. As he is seeking to satisfy his hunger now on the corn
husks he is feeding to the swine, he comes to himself
and basically says to himself, "I'm lost, and I'm going
home."
3. We do not see the Father searching diligently for him,
but patiently waiting for him. Herein is the basic
difference in the three stories. In the first two there
is the diligent search for that which was lost. In the
third there is a patient waiting until that one who is
lost finds himself.
4. Again there is the common rejoicing over the fact that
the lost has been found.
B. I pray that today some of you will come to yourself. Face the
truth of your situation, realize what you are doing to yourself
and to others whose hearts you have broken. May you return and
be restored to the family of God.
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