The Lost Sheep and Coin, Part 1

Luke chapter 15 is where we are in our study of the parables, the windows to the soul, in order that we might understand more of our Lord and, of course, our lives. The salvation of a soul is the greatest miracle in the history of the world. There is no greater miracle than when a soul is born again. When a person gives their life to Christ and they become a new creation, They are born again. They receive a new life. Christ lives in them. Those that have been taken captive to do the will of Satan have been transferred into the kingdom of light in order that they might obey the Lord of the universe.

And therefore they become his instruments, his tools in a world that others might see and understand Jesus Christ. That's the greatest miracle in the world, the salvation of a soul. But think about that. So many times we hear about someone giving their life to Christ. And what does it do in our hearts? Oh, that's good. I'm glad to hear that. But is there rejoicing? Is there true joy? Is there excitement over one that was lost is now found? Sometimes I think that we see God in heaven keeping transactions.

You know, that every time someone gets saved, another one saved, it, right it in the book of life. Ah, another one saved, right in the book of life. You know, like, it's like a business deal upstairs with God. But that's not how it is at all. Not even close. And the Bible wants us to understand exactly what happens when a lost soul is reborn. When one that is taken captive by Satan is now born again, the joy of our Lord is profound. It's unbelievable as you examine. and what the word of the Lord says about his care for his people.

Luke Chapter 15 gives us a portrait. Luke 15 is not about three distinct parables. Luke 15 is about one parable with three stages. One parable with three pictures. It's about the parable of lostness. It's about the parable of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. They're not three different parables. They're the same parable. The text is very clear. He told them this parable. He talks about the sheep. He talks about the lost coin. He talks about the lost son. It's all one parable. To help us understand something very significant about the salvation of a sinner.

It teaches us about God's sovereignty and man. And responsibility. The first two portraits tell us about God's sovereignty on how he seeks to save the lost sinner.

The third picture is about man's responsibility and how one turns from his ways to follow the true and living God.

It shows us how when God calls a man what actually happens in his life. It defines for us true biblical repentance when it comes to salvation. But the order of the pictures is very significant. Because if you miss the order of the pictures, you misunderstand the plan of salvation. Because it's the Lord who seeks. No one seeks after God, the Bible says.

There is none good. There is none that seeks after him. And yet the Bible tells us that God seeks his own. God comes unto his own. And therefore, because he seeks them, they in turn respond to his seeking them. And that is a beautiful picture of salvation. And our Lord wants us to understand what happens when a soul is saved. What happens in heaven and what happens on earth? What happens in heaven with God and his angels? And what happens on earth with that individual whose life has been changed?

And Luke 15 helps us understand that great die. doctrine of soteriology, that great doctrine of salvation, of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. And you know what? You can never separate the two. For once you separate the two, you have a misconstrued view of salvation. The two go hand in hand. You must understand them. The Bible is very clear in Romans chapter 2, verses 19 and 20, that people are responsible for what they do with the gospel for whatever light they have. If they suppress the truth, if they reject the truth, they are held responsible for that, and they will burn in hell forever.

That's important to grasp. Jesus said these words in John 540, you are unwilling to come to me that you may have life. That's man's responsibility. You're unwilling to come to me. John E. 24. Unless you believe that I am God, you shall die in your sins. That's a man's responsibility. In John 6, our Lord gives us God's sovereignty along with human responsibility when he says this. In verse number 37, all that the father gives me shall come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.

Verse number 40, for this is the will of my father that everyone who beholds a son and believes in him may have. eternal life. Verse number 44, no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. Verse 47, truly, truly I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. Verse 65, no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the father. How those two realities are true is unknown to the human mind, but they are too. taught in the Bible, and you must understand that. And so what Christ does in Luke 15 has help us to understand that.

He gives us a picture. Remember, the parables are earthly stories with heavenly meaning. And so he's going to tell us about what goes on in heaven by giving us an earthly story that depicts for us true salvation. And the life of a sinner that's been taken captive by Satan to do his will. It shows us once again how our God is long-suffering, not wishing any to perish. but that all would come to repentance. Let's read these two pictures together in Luke 15. Now all the tax gatherers and the sinners were coming near to him to listen to him, and both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying this man received sinners and eats with him.

And he told them this parable, saying, What man among you if he has a hundred sheep? And has lost one of them does not leave the 99 in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds him. it. And when he is founded, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends. And his neighbor saying to them, rejoice with me. For I have found my sheep, which was lost. I tell you, that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.

Or what woman, if she has 10 silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house. and search carefully 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 which I had lost. In the same way I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. The introduction. Three things I want you to see. Number one, the people coming.

Number two, the Pharisees complaint. Number three, the prophets critique. All right? Number one, the people coming.

When were they coming? And who are they who are coming to Jesus? Remember the context. It's the Sabbath day. Luke chapter 14 tells us, on the Sabbath day, Christ went to a man's house, a Pharisee's house for dinner. He told them a series of parables. He closed with a parable with the Great Supper. In emphasizing the fact that we need to compel the world to come in to the dinner, compelled them to come in, thinking that as these people who were listening to Christ would understand the fact that the world needs to hear the gospel, that they would go out to them and compel them to come to this great feast, Christ stops and says to all these people who are coming, before you come, count the cost.

Understand the implications that if you're going to come after me, you want to be one of my followers, you want to be one of my learners, you want to be one of my disciples, that this is what it's about. And then he gives the parable about, the building and being able to finish the building and the battle being able to fight and to face the battle those are very important count the cost and then he closes and says he who has ears to hear let him hear if you're listening take consideration take into consideration the things that you've heard and then it goes right in to chapter 15 there are no chapter breaks in the original text but this is where the chapter break is but after christ gives the parable about counting the cost, it says, now all the tax gatherers and the sinners were coming near him to listen to him.

That's great encouragement. Because you see, he just gave them the parable about counting the cost. He spelled out the demands of the gospel. He made it very clear about the seriousness of following him and how difficult it would be and how harsh it would be for you. And what happens? The sinners are coming. They want to hear. They want to hear more. In other words, they've counted the cost, and they want to know more. That's good. You see, when you preach the gospel, it doesn't mean that people are going to turn away necessarily, but God will call those to himself those whom he wants.

And here he is. And these people, these tax gatherings, these sinners are coming to him. The text says that they were coming. It signifies a continual action, meaning that tax gatherers and sinners came to Jesus as a matter of a habit. This was the habit of the hormongers. This was the habit of the drunkards. This was the habit of the prostitutes. This was the habit of the thieves. This was the habit of the low life. They came to Jesus. They wanted to be around Jesus. They wanted to hear what Jesus.

had to say. That's important to understand. These people who were coming to him, these tax gatherers, these sinners coming out of the taverns, coming out of the cellars, coming out of the back alleys, the perfume parlors, coming out of the gutters, the penthouses, the slum houses, they were coming. They wanted to hear the truth. They wanted to know something. That was real. So they came to Jesus. These people are those that Paul would speak about in 1st Corinthians 6 when he said these words. He says, do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed. but you are sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God. That's the good news, right? Those kind of people are not going to inherit the kingdom of God, but you were that way. But now things have changed.

You're a new creation. You're a new life. You've been born again. Jesus Christ now lives in you because you've been washed. You've been justified. You've been set apart for his purposes. And these people who are coming were counting the cost. And Jesus would give them a parable of such profound meaning. It would rock their world, unlike anything else, because he would tell them about his character, his desire for them to be a part of his kingdom, a part of his mission. Christ would eat with these people.

over and over again the bible says that he he would eat with with tax gatherers he would he would eat with with sinners he was the good shepherd as john 10 14 says he would seek the lost sheep and many times he would have a meal with them he would sit down with them and and over dinner over over lunch or over breakfast begin to strike up a conversation about the things of the kingdom these people would would be willing listeners.

And yet they were hated by the Jewish establishment. Especially the tax gatherers. They were anathematized because they were turn-in-coat Jews who had sold their souls to buy Roman tax gathering franchises so they could tax their fellow Jews. The Jews wouldn't even let them in the synagogue. Wouldn't even let them pay alms they hated him so much and yet they were the ones who were attracted to Jesus task gathers are hated so much that their testimony wouldn't even be heard in a Jewish court and yet Jesus would listen to them Jesus would gather them together these were the people who were coming of course along with the Pharisees and scribes and the Pharisees had a complaint that's point number two this Jesus this this man received sinners this man eats with sinners he eats with the tax gatherers and they hated that I mean they just couldn't stand the fact that this so-called Messiah would associate himself with low life they didn't want that for them and yet in spite of that he he would condemn them and he would condemn their standards He would condemn their rituals.

He would condemn their lifestyle. And they hated them all the more because of his stand. In fact, Jesus would even say in his first sermon that, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven.

And what was that standard? Matthew 548. Be ye perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect. And so Jesus would spell it out for these people that they might understand it. And in so doing, he would rebuke the religious establishment. they were self-righteous. They were hopelessly preoccupied with their own laws and own rituals and own demands and own trivia. They could care less about the sinner. They could care less about the tax gatherer. They couldn't stand them. And yet, Jesus knowing their hearts would in this very parable rebuke them by what he said.

Jesus is one who doesn't passively sit by why people go to hell. The Bible is so clear, he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. That's not what God wants. He passionately pursues the sinner. He longs for them to be saved. He loves them. And yet I want you to notice the prophet's critique.

This is so important to understanding this parable. Unless you'll understand what the prophet Ezekiel said in Ezekiel chapter 34, you won't get a clear picture of what happens in Luke chapter 15. The scandal in Israel was that the leaders, the teachers of the law, were considered the undershepherds of the chief shepherd God himself. But they failed in their task. So if you have a Bible, turn back with me if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel in the Old Testament, the 34th chapter. And listen to what God says as he indicts the leaders of Israel for failing in their shepherding responsibility.

Ezekiel 34, verse number one, then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.

Prophecy and say to those shepherds, thus says the Lord God, Whoa, shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves, should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened. The diseased you have not healed. The broken you have not bound up. The scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost. But with force and with severity, you have dominated this.

them and they were scattered for lack of a shepherd. And they became food for every beast at the field and were scattered. My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill and my flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth and there was no one to search or to seek for them. Verse 11. For thus says the Lord God, behold, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so will I care for my sheep.

And will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel by the streams. and in all the inhabited places of the land, and I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing ground, and they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

I will feed my flock, and I will lead them to rest, declares the Lord God, I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick. The thrust of Ezekiel's prophecy is clear. The undershepherds of Israel had failed. The religious establishment didn't come through for the people as they were supposed to. So God says, I will send myself a shepherd to take care of my flock, to take care of my people.

And who is that? Verse 23 and verse number 24, tell us, what's it say? It says, then I will set over them one shepherd, my servant, my servant, David, and he will feed them. He will feed them himself and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant, David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. God says, this is what I'm going to do.

I'm going to send my servant David. Wait a minute. David's dead. He died 500 years before Ezekiel. Oh, he's not talking about David, the man. He's talking about the son of David. He's talking about the Messiah. The king of kings. and Lord of Lords who would come, the ultimate son of David, the good shepherd of Israel, God the Father was going to shepherd his people. So when you come to Luke chapter 15, what do you have? You have these leaders of Israel who have still failed in their leadership responsibility, who are not binding up the brokenhearted, who are not taking care of the sick, who are not healing in those who are lame, who are not seeking and searching for the scattered.

They're not doing that. So God says, I'm going to send my shepherd. And when he arrives, he'll bring them together. He'll bind their wounds. He'll do what you don't. And so when you come to Luke 15, Jesus is saying, I am the fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 34. I in that shepherd. I in that good shepherd. I am the one who will gather. together, my people. And so as you look at the lost sheep, the lost silver coin, the lost son, what do you have?

You have the heart of God, a compassionate God, a God who seeks the lost, a God who wants man to be found in such a way that he understands the true Messiah. You see, why did Jesus come to earth? Why was he here? Luke 1910, he came to seek and to save that which was lost. That's why Jesus came. And that is so important to understanding true Christianity. You see, Christianity is about God seeking man. Religion is about man's attempt to find God, right? That's why I never put that bumper sticker on my car.

Number years ago, I found it. I didn't find anything. See, that's man's attempt to find God. That's religion. That's not Christianity. Christianity is God searching for man, and man responding to God's seeking him. See? Religion is man's attempt to find God. And so he goes through all the frustrations, all the obsessive rituals, all the tedious exercises to gain standing with God, to gain acceptance with God, to somehow find God. Gotta have God, got to find God. What can I do to find Him? That's religion, doing all I can to somehow find God when all the while God seeks man.

That's true Christianity. One author said it this way, I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew that he moved my soul to seek him seeking me. It was not I that found, O Savior true, no, I was found of thee. That's the emphasis in Luke chapter 15. He is the shepherd who seeks. Let's pray.