What Jesus Said He’d Do for One Lost Sheep

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

In this week’s sermon, Pastor McCrary shows us that nothing and no one can keep Christ from saving those lost sheep who are lost in the dark.

Introduction

Over the past couple of weeks, I have focused on Christ being the shepherd who watches over His sheep and saves them from a hostile world.  While Christ welcomes and will save all who come to Him, there are many who believe they are too lost to be saved.  Yet, Jesus shared a message in Luke 15 that should fill everyone with hope and joy because He expressed God’s great love for all people, but especially those who are “lost”.

The Sheep of God

We’ve seen in John 9-10 that the sheep of God included those in need of healing, protection, and guidance.  

To be clear, while Jesus healed the physically sick and disabled, His healing was truly spiritual.  Those whom Jesus said were in need of protection needed protection from those and that which would harm them spiritually.  Those whom Jesus said were in need of guidance were in need of spiritual guidance.

Initially, when Jesus spoke of the sheepfold, He spoke of Israel.  However, Jesus said that all who come to Him, the door, and enter by Him will be saved (John 10:9).  Jesus said that He has sheep who are not of the fold of Israel whom He will also bring to the fold and be the shepherd over one flock (John 10:16).  The other sheep He spoke of was a reference to Gentiles, every other nationality not connected to the blood of Israel.

The Pharisees’ Disdain of “Sinners”

Luke 15:1-2 helps to bring even more insight into the makeup of the sheep of God that I truly believe everyone needs to hear.  The scripture states that the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Christ to hear Him.  The tax collectors were a group of people who were viewed as being truly wicked because they were Jews who worked for Rome, which the Jews viewed as evil overlords.

The scripture tells us that the Pharisees saw such a crowd drawing to Jesus, and they grumbled and complained about it.  They said amongst themselves, “This Man receives (or welcomes) sinners and eats with them.”

In their minds, sinners were to be despised and not treated with any sort of grace.  The Pharisees believed that those who were righteous shouldn’t entertain the presence of sinners.  If someone who was supposed to be righteous entertained sinners, the Pharisees believed they must also be sinners.

The Lost Sheep of God

Knowing their thoughts on the matter, Jesus began to share His perspective on receiving and eating with those whom the Pharisees deemed sinners.  Let us pay close attention to what Jesus said about those whom the Pharisees deemed sinners.

Jesus asked, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it (Luke 15:4)?”  This question already speaks to the differing perspectives of Christ and self-righteous religious men.

The Pharisees were gravely mistaken in their view.  Firstly, deeming people as sinners was to condemn the people, which is not within the authority of anyone but God.  Secondly, the Pharisees gave up on those they deemed to be sinners, rather than helping them, which was what they should have done.  

Lastly, in the way they thought and moved, the Pharisees were divisive people; they divided those they deemed to be righteous from those they deemed sinners.  Not only that, but they encouraged those who thought themselves to be righteous to separate themselves from sinners.  This very act works against God’s command to love neighbors!

The Pharisees, like many today, lacked understanding of who and what a true sinner is.  A true sinner is committed to living in disobedience to God’s instruction.  A true sinner has chosen to neglect salvation after hearing the gospel.

Those whom the Pharisees deemed to be sinners, Jesus likened to being lost sheep.  This is to say that they were lost in darkness – ignorant of the way of God.  Therefore, rather than being given up, Jesus expressed that lost sheep are to be loved and helped; they needed to be found and led back to the sheepfold.

So, let us understand that while the lost sheep weren’t valued by the Pharisees, they are of great value to the Lord.  So, if the Lord values those who are lost, shouldn’t we, God’s children, value those who are lost as well?  

God Doesn’t Abandon His Sheep

Again, Jesus asked that if one sheep out of one hundred went missing, wouldn’t its owner (or shepherd) go searching to find it (Luke 15:4)?  Unlike man, who is quick to give up on those who are ‘lost’, God does not abandon.  May I share a few examples with you today to show that God is not one to abandon you?

God calls the lost to follow Him

In Luke 5:27-32, Jesus called Matthew to follow Him, which became rather controversial to the scribes and Pharisees.  Matthew was a tax collector, one who worked for Rome and therefore was viewed as being no good.  

When Matthew threw a feast for Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus with him and other tax collectors.  This led them to complain and to ask the first disciples why they were eating with tax collectors and sinners.  Keep in mind, the Pharisees would have no part in doing such a thing because, in their eyes, they were above sitting and eating with tax collectors and sinners.

To them, Jesus responded, saying, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (those lost in darkness), to repentance (Luke 5:31-32).”

We often think that we have to be perfect to follow Christ, yet the self-righteous, those who are perfect in their eyes, have not been called to follow Christ.  In fact, Jesus said that He didn’t even come for such a one!  No, Christ said that He came for all of you who know that you’re troubled and not good!  Again, Jesus came to the dark to get you out of the darkness!

God comes to the demon-possessed

In Luke 8:26-36, we’re told of a man of the Gadarenes who was possessed by many demons who called themselves Legion.  The Gadarenes had completely given up on the demon-possessed man, and when he would happen to be in his right mind, he chose to dwell in the mountain tombs, ready to give up on himself! 

The Scripture tells us that Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee to come to the country of the Gadarenes, except that Jesus went directly to the place where the demon-possessed man was.  To be clear, Jesus didn’t go to anyone else in the country of the Gadarenes!  Jesus came to the demon-possessed man and commanded Legion to leave him, and Legion obeyed.

So many of you may think that the Lord doesn’t want anything to do with you because you’re a heathen – one who is totally lost in sin.  Yet, Christ will come directly to where you are!  As David asks, where can we go to hide from the Lord?  David said that we can go out into the middle of nowhere, and the omnipresent God will be with us and lead us (Ps. 139:7-10).

Sure, you may be in the darkness of sin today, but in this very moment, if you call on the name of the Lord, He is with you and will pull you out of that dark place!

God comes to chief sinners

Speaking of how the Lord will find you wherever you are, Luke 8:26-36 speaks of a man whom people thought the Lord would never go to see.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector who dwelt in Jericho.  As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus was not only despised for being a tax collector but for being incredibly wealthy.  The people believed that he had obtained his wealth through corruption.

The Scripture tells us that there was a day when Jesus came to Jericho, and Zacchaeus wanted to get a view of Him.  However, Zacchaeus was a short man and had to climb up a tree just to see over the crowd.  Once again, Jesus came directly to the tree Zacchaeus was in and called him by name!

Do you remember that Jesus said that He knows the name of His sheep and will call them by their name (John 10:3,14)?  Don’t you ever think for a second that you aren’t known by the Savior and that the Savior did not come for you!

Jesus called Zacchaeus out of the tree, and Zacchaeus came running to Him.  Do you remember that Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and come to Him, rather than flee from Him, as they would a thief or robber?

Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).”  Even if you are a chief sinner, as I would consider myself, and as Paul also considered himself, God has come to save you!

God is faithful to save

If you’re one who wonders why God would save you, I want you to know that it is because God is faithful to save, regardless of who you are.

Moses told the children of Israel that the Lord would not leave nor forsake them.  In all of the sins of Israel, and I often feel that Scripture barely scratches the surface of their sins, God never abandoned them.  Sure, the children of Israel often strayed from the Lord, but He never strayed from them!  Yes, they were given over to the Assyrians, Babylonians, and even Rome, yet the Lord never abandoned them.

If God did not value the lost, He would have never given the world His only begotten Son!  If God did not value the lost, we would all be lost to sin’s condemnation because we would have no one to atone for our sins!

With that in mind, I ask again, shouldn’t we who are of faith value those who are lost today?  Paul said, “God made alive we who were dead in trespasses and sins, when we once walked according to the course of this world (Eph. 4:1).”

To this day, Christ shepherds all of us who are of faith when we still fall into temptation and disobey.  I am a chief sinner, and I tell you today that I am so grateful that Christ still values me when I can no longer fight it and give in to sin’s temptation.

We who are of faith cannot be like the scribes and Pharisees who looked down upon others because of their sins.  “Christians” must stop such conduct!  “Christians” must stop being so divisive, dividing themselves from those who are lost in sin when Christ didn’t divide Himself from us!

The Compassionate Shepherd

Jesus is the compassionate shepherd whom the Father gave the world.  Where others give up on you, the Lord will never give up on you, and there is great joy when one who is lost is found and returns to Him.

Jesus said, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7).”

Jesus also said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).”

What is there that is more powerful than the compassion of the Lord?  Jesus being so welcoming to all of the lost teaches that the lost are worthy of so much more than being despised and hated by the self-righteous.  The lost are worthy of grace and mercy!  The lost are worthy of forgiveness!

God hasn’t given up on any of you just yet, and because He hasn’t given up on any of us just yet, there is hope.