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The Lost Sheep and Why It Matters

  • astor7899
  • Sep 21, 2024
  • 4 min read

A quick recap of the parable is in order.


Now, the tax collectors and sinners were all gathered around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the law teachers muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Then Jesus told this parable. Imagine one of you having 100 sheep and losing one of them. Wouldn't you leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, wouldn't you joyfully put it on your shoulders and go home, calling your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you, saying, 'I have found my lost sheep '? I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. This joy, this celebration, is the depth of God's love for each of us.

This parable underscores the immense value God places on each of us, His lost sheep. It is a reminder of our individual significance in His eyes.


Application to the first century: Jesus' primary audience is priests and teachers of the Old Testament. He uses the sheep analogy because it is a shared understanding that sheep are valuable in a pastoral economy. It is currency. All those listening would understand that they would not want to lose any of their stock or money. He is also appealing to listeners of elite status. A hundred sheep is a significant herd. It is unlikely that a small farmer would have this many sheep, but it would be likely that wealthy landowners would have this big a herd. They would be landowners, possibly. The sheep's caretaker is the shepherd. He was poor, getting by on subsistence wages, and was often in debt because of the high tax load. Here, the shepherd may have been a hired hand, nearly equivalent to an enslaved person. In this parable, Jesus has the Pharisees and the teachers enrapt. One can visualize them shaking their heads in agreement as he says that one is lost, and the shepherd leaves the 99 in the open pasture and goes to find the lost sheep, no matter how far away or the weather. They also concur vehemently that he puts the sheep on his shoulders when he reaches it. No matter how far away the sheep might have been or whatever condition, the shepherd must, in their minds, as a mere or lowly worker, lift the burden of the 70-pound injured animal (saving is healing in God's world) onto his shoulders and trek maybe miles, to the herd and then to the village where the sheep can be penned appropriately. The Pharisees and teachers approve that this is precisely what a shepherd should do without complaint. Reaching the town, the shepherd tells the story of the lost sheep and its recovery. The people of the village rejoice it was found. The Pharisees and teachers nod again in accord.


Hook: He has their agreement of what the shepherd should do, firm in their agreement that only this behavior would be worthy of a day's wage of one denarius. The hook is when he tells them there is great rejoicing in heaven by finding a single sinner who repents. Implicitly asking: Are you, as religious leaders, working as hard as the shepherd to find the lost among you?

This is their shame. "Gotcha," says Jesus. The Old Testament refers to God seeking the lost of his people (Ps,23-1) and a prediction by Ezekiel (34:22-24 that a Messiah would appear, as a shepherd, to herd the sheep at his hand and to seek the lost ones. As religious experts, the Pharisees and teachers are now caught in a bind. If they had been careful students, they would have read in the Old Testament that they, too, are shepherds. And that the tax collector, the unclean, and all others of inferior status, sinners have extraordinary value in God's eyes. That they are shepherds, like the one parable, who should work furiously to find the wayward and bring them to God's kingdom. Instead, as Jesus pointed out, the Pharisees lived by rules disconnected from the truth of God's purposes. This parable tells the Pharisees to drop their social distinctions and see all those around them as deserving of their attention and religious teaching. Not just those who follow their petty rules. Jesus says to find the lost sinners and help bring them to God.

 

 

Application to our times 

This is an evangelically themed parable; for contemporary listeners, it says to fulfill your role as a soldier in God's army to bring sinners or the lost into God's loving arms.  Rejoice with the angels when someone returns to God.

Also, the parable reinforces everyone's value and dignity.  The angels in heaven sing when a sinner repents. What this means is not to ignore the disenfranchised and marginalized.  How many of us avert our eyes from the beggar on the street and panhandler at the street corner while we wait for a light to turn? Acknowledgment doesn't mean you must give them money. But do not look away. Many people have problems that money alone cannot fix.  Empathize. Don't judge that they are begging for money to buy drugs or alcohol. That may be true. But you speak with that person and are armed with information about where to go for help or help.  This at least recognizes them as human rather than invisible.

And finally, are our churches doing enough for the needy and those lost? I admire those in the soup kitchens and those in mission work, regardless of denomination. Following Jesus is hard and not for the lazy; He told us it would be.

 
 
 

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I am a graduate student at the Liberty Theological Seminary. I am trying to reach out to people in a way I have not before. Please be patient with me in this start-up. Two dogs run my life, including my wake and sleep schedule.  They are like clocks, so my biorhythm is in tune with them. As I write this, it is late afternoon, and breakfast awaits.  I am married and have a wonderful, supportive spouse who has tolerated me at this time, going back to graduate school. As I said in one of the blogs, I am a practicing psychotherapist and have been at it for some time until the Holy Spirit woke me up to new beginnings. 

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