BACKGROUND:
This passage of Luke begins with the opposition of the Pharisees. Here the Pharisees grumbled about Jesus consorting with “sinners,” as they had done before (5:30; 7:39). Luke placed three parables together that speak of the joy of God at the repentance of a single sinner. For Christians today, this parable of the lost sheep is not only an invitation to rejoice with God at the repentance of sinners but a reminder to follow Jesus’ example in searching for the lost.
Jesus’ association with notorious sinners in the eyes of the Pharisees had been well documented in the book of Luke (5:30; 7:34). Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman Empire in collecting Rome’s taxes from their countrymen. Yet these people came to listen to Jesus teach. These were the very people Jesus had come to reach—those who needed help. In that culture, sitting down and having a meal with a person showed a certain amount of identification and welcome. If Jesus were eating with such horrible people, then he was guilty by association. The Pharisees would not even go near such people, not even to teach them the law or point them to God.
The religious leaders were to picture themselves as shepherds (in reality, as leaders of the nation, they should have been serving as shepherds of God’s people). Each shepherd has one hundred sheep—a typical number for the average flock of sheep. Shepherds counted their sheep every night, for sheep would easily stray away and get lost. When this shepherd counted, he was missing one sheep. Jesus used the shepherd’s concern for each sheep to set up the question, “Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one?” The answer was obvious to these listeners—any caring shepherd would do so. He would search, find the lost sheep, carry it back to the flock, and rejoice.
God’s love for each individual is so great that he seeks each one out and rejoices when he or she is “found.” Jesus associated with sinners because he wanted to bring the lost sheep—people considered beyond hope—the Good News of God’s Kingdom. Just as the shepherd took the initiative to go out and find the sheep, so Jesus actively seeks lost souls. These tax collectors and sinners with whom Jesus was associating were like sheep who had strayed away from God and needed to be returned. More than that, they needed the salvation that Jesus offered.
The shepherd did not rejoice alone. He even called his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him that he found his lost sheep. In the same way, God rejoices when one lost sinner is found and returns to God.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
As I read this passage from Luke 15 this morning, I am reminded that we were all made to have a relationship with God but by our own selfish choices we have severed that relationship. By our own decisions to go our own way instead of God’s way, we’ve broken off the relationship. The Bible says that relationship is broken and there is disharmony not harmony between God and man. And sin has caused that.
The problem is our sin has broken our relationship to God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hid His face from you.”
But because God planned all this in advance, God already saw this coming. And He thought it through. Before any of us ever sinned, He knew we were going to sin, so He figured out the plan to take care of that too. He knew that in giving you the freedom to choose, you were going to make the wrong choice. So even before you made the wrong choice, He already had the solution. God’s solution was He sent His own Son to bring us back to Him.
He took the initiative to bring us back to Himself. We all know John 3:16, but it's good to read it regularly - “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Is there any doubt that people matter to God? Is there any doubt that you matter to God?
2 Corinthians 5:19 says this - “God was in Christ restoring the world to Himself.” This is what Jesus Christ came to earth to do. That was His mission.
Let’s get a little bit more specific. What did Jesus come to do specifically? The good news is, we don’t need to doubt. We don’t need to have any questions in our mind because Jesus spelled out His mission in a large number of circumstances, clearly in a number of ways.
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Luke 19:10 (NIV)
“This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth.”
John 18:37b (NCV)
“I came to give life--life in all its fullness...”
John 10:10 (NCV)
"I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness."
John 12:46 (LB)
"I must tell the Good News about God's kingdom… This is what I was sent to do.”
Luke 4:43 (ICB)
We can see clearly what Jesus came to do: Seek and save the lost, Tell people the truth, give life, Shine in the dark world, Tell people the good news about the kingdom. You may be thinking, “This is great but what does this have to do with me and my mission?”
Your life mission and Jesus’ life mission are very intertwined once you become a Christian. Over the next few days, I want to give you several biblical reasons why Jesus’ mission on earth has to matter to you.
If I want to be like Jesus, my life mission must include His life mission. If I want to be like Jesus (which is the purpose of your life - to become like Jesus) then my life mission must include His life mission. Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17 and said, “In the same way You gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”
Jesus expects me to continue His mission in the world. In fact, this is not an option, this is not a suggestion, this is not a possible good idea if you’ve got any spare time to fit this into your schedule. This is commanded. If you are a Christian, you are commanded to fulfill the mission of Christ.
#1. Because sharing the good news is my responsibility.
Ezekiel 3:18 (NCV) says, “… you must warn them so they may live. If you don't speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death.”
God's saying the people around me that are headed for hell, if I let them go to hell and don’t tell them, I'm responsible. The people around me that are headed for hell, if I let them go to hell and don’t warn them, guess who’s responsible? Me. I can’t let somebody else be responsible for the people closest to me. You can’t let anybody else be responsible for the people closest to you. They are in your life for a reason.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “Telling the good news is my duty, something I must do. How terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the good news.” If I'm a Christian, it is not optional. My mission is not optional.
Luke 15 is such a foundational passage of scripture. My prayer is that God will ignite a passion in you just like Jesus had/has. A passion for the lost. A passion for those who are headed for hell. A passion for people who have not received Jesus.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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