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3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that 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. Luke 15:3-7
The God of the Bible, along with all of heaven, rejoices when a lost sinner recognizes his need for salvation and cries out to God for help. God, by nature, is our Savior. This is what sets Him apart from all other manufactured gods of this world. He is, by nature, kind, gracious, loving and forgiving. And, He rejoices when one sinner is brought home.
This God, the Good Shepherd, sent His Son into this world to redeem anyone who would believe that His death paid the penalty that separated us from His Father.
In today's text, the Lord Jesus tells a simple story about a shepherd who lost a sheep and found it and brought it home and celebrated its arrival. By the way, sheep are mentioned over four hundred times in the Bible. And over one hundred times God is likened to a shepherd.
Sheep have a tendency to go astray, and that is why they need a shepherd. The religious leaders had no problem seeing the tax-collectors and sinners as “lost sheep,” but they would not apply that image to themselves! And yet, the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, made it clear that all of us have sinned and gone astray. All of us are messed up and in need of the Shepherd Savior.
The shepherd was responsible for each sheep; if one was missing, the shepherd had to pay for it unless he could prove that it was killed by a predator. This explains why he would leave the flock with the other shepherds, go and search for the missing animal, and then rejoice when he found it. Not to find the lost sheep meant money out of his own pocket, plus the disgrace of being known as a careless shepherd.
In v.4 we read, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?"
The Shepherd is known for going after the one lost sheep which are not all that smart and are defenseless. This explains why the sheep wander off away from the shepherd. When the sheep wander off, they are in danger of being accosted by predators, and are in danger of falling off the cliffs, and are in danger of exhaustion and dehydration.
In fact, when sheep become afraid, they get very nervous and fearful. This causes them to lie down and die. They become so despondent and discouraged, they lie down and die if not found by the shepherd.
By leaving the ninety-nine sheep, the shepherd does not declare the other sheep as unimportant. When the shepherd goes after one sheep, it is proof that each animal is dear to Him. The Lord Jesus was not suggesting that the religious leaders were not in need of salvation, for they certainly were.
In v.5 we read, "And when he finds it, he, with much joy, puts it on his shoulders." When the shepherd finds the seventy pound lone lost sheep, he lays it on his shoulders. The belly of the sheep was put against the back of the shepherd’s neck. The shepherd would then take the four legs, pull them around his neck and take a cord and tie the feet together. The shepherd would rejoice as he walked all the way back home.
In v.6 we read, "He goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'" The whole village would have been waiting, wondering if he would find the sheep and in what condition he would find the sheep. This is a picture of what goes on in heaven when a broken one is found by the Savior.
In v.7 we read, "I tell you that 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 whole story is about the joy of God when a lost sinner is sought, found and recovered. One can only wonder how is it that God can be so eager to seek and save the lost, and the religious leaders of Israel, who claim to be God's representatives on earth, only despise the lost.
Why would the Lord Jesus tell these hardened religious leaders these three stories? He is still interested in reaching them. In telling these stories, the Lord Jesus is demonstrating His heart for those who have long been heartless toward Him.
