Lost and found because of a story . . .

A parable is a story or situation in the human realm used to illustrate or defend some spiritual principle. When thinking about parables, most people connect them to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. In the first three books, at least thirty parables are found plus many other short sayings that are parabolic in nature. Matthew 13 and Luke 15 contain a cluster of parables.

So does life. For seventeen years, I wrote a weekly newspaper column called “Parables . . .” Is used ordinary events from my life, the newspaper and other sources to illustrate spiritual truths. People asked me how I got ideas for these articles. It was not difficult. I know the Holy Spirit was involved in bringing them to mind, but everything can be connected to our sovereign God. Everything seemed to remind me that He is involved in this world.

The beginning of Luke 15 relates a parable Jesus told when the religious people grumbled about Jesus receiving and eating with tax collectors and sinners. (All are sinners but these self-righteous leaders thought tax collectors were the worst.) Jesus said to them:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:3–7)

For this culture, the care of sheep was a familiar process. They valued their animals and understood why the owner of a flock of sheep would seek one that was lost and rejoice over finding it. If His listeners didn’t get that one, the next parable would clarify Jesus’ point even more:

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently 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 that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8–10)

Perhaps Jesus was setting them up. He went from lost sheep, to lost money, to a lost child. His next parable was the familiar story of the prodigal son. The boy persuaded his father to give him his inheritance, left home and squandered it, came to the end of his rope, came home willing to be a servant, and his father not only received him with joy but threw a party.

In these three parables, Jesus illustrates the care of God for what is His. He created us but because of our sin, we are lost from Him. Not only that, we are deliberate about it. A sheep might unwittingly wander off, and a coin might fall through the cracks, but the prodigal determined to go his own way and do his own thing. Our human temptation might be to let him pay the price of his folly, but God is determined to rescue the lost. He sent Jesus to do it.

Jesus could have first gone to the religious leaders and tried to rally them to His cause, but He knew that they were not thinking of themselves as lost sinners. He went instead to those who were obviously in that category and they gladly ‘came home’ to their Father, knowing that He was looking for them and would welcome them. The parable helped them understand this truth.

I wanted to write about parables, but these three are filling my heart with joy that God seeks the lost, that He sought me, that He cared enough to rescue me from my determination to do my own thing and run my own life. I was a sheep out on a precipice with no way to safe ground. I was a coin stuck in a dark crevice without the ability to get out of it into the light. I was wasting my life on stuff that didn’t matter. But He kept seeking until I finally heard and responded to His call.

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Jesus, You are so wonderful, so precious. These stories are not about the value of the sheep or the value of the coin or even the value of the son — however much they meant to those who lost them. They are about the persistence of the seeker, the heart of the shepherd, the owner, the Father who created the Son, and they are about You whose sheep I am, whose treasure I am, whose child I am — the one that You created. In this relationship there is safety, value and belonging. Thank You that I am part of Your stories and that You found me.

The Word uses word pictures . . .

Jesus used word pictures to explain spiritual realities to His listeners. Bible scholars say we should not get too carried away with their use because images are not exactly the same as what they illustrate. For instance, I could say, “That mountain stream sparkled like diamonds” but that does not mean the stream is hard, made of carbon, and can be used to cut glass.

Obviously, some of what Jesus said is easier to understand than others. Most of us get the idea that people are like sheep because we are easily scattered and must be led, but we don’t grow wool, run around on four legs, and smell like . . . well, sheep.

In the following accounts, Jesus talks about a shepherd who leaves his flock to find one lost sheep. His listeners lived where this would be a familiar problem, but what I find interesting are the two instances where Jesus used this word picture — to respond to some grumbling and to answer a question.

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.’” (Luke 15:1–7)

The religious leaders of that day thought that Jesus was breaking their rules by spending time with “tax collectors and sinners” but Jesus likened them to lost sheep who needed to be found. This word picture was a direct hit against a religious value system. Those leaders looked down their noses at those who were not ‘pious’ as they were. Today’s equivalent isn’t too hard to imagine. Receiving criminals, addicts, prostitutes, and homeless people would be frowned upon in many religious circles.

The second story answers a question. The disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus set a child in front of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

But He didn’t stop there. Instead, Jesus took another hit at those who reject children or anyone else who humbly trusts Him. Anyone who causes a child or a childlike believer to sin is in trouble with God. Then He added:

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:1–14)

This word picture describes God’s value for those He calls “the greatest” in His kingdom. He will go to any extreme to care for and protect them, even if some religious person causes them to go astray. In fact, He says there is more joy in heaven for the restoration of that straying sheep than there is for those who never have a problem with temptation (this is irony for there is no such person). Again, Jesus challenges the value system of His disciples and of the crowds, and of today’s church people who are interested only in “the faithful” and not too fanatic about those who have wandered off, even if they somehow caused the wandering.

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Jesus, at this, I could name names, but dare not because I myself might have unknowingly turned off someone and been the cause of their sin. Sometimes I’ve also let sheep wander off and not went after them. While I know that You are the Shepherd and this is primarily Your task, I also admit that my attitudes often fail to be as these word pictures describe. Rather than finger-point, I need from You a deeper sense of worth for those outside my comfort zone, and a deeper desire for the restoration of those who have gone astray.

Joy after finding the lost

I keep my earrings in a couple of ice cube trays in a drawer. When I put a pair away, both go in the same space. A few weeks ago, I wanted to wear a certain pair, but only one of them was in the space. I was (and still am) mystified. When I put them away, I would have noticed one was missing, but didn’t. So where did it go? I looked in all the spaces of both trays, on the bathroom vanity by the sink, and finally gave up. It didn’t walk off by itself, but I cannot think of anywhere else to look.

We understand losing something and looking for it. This is likely why Jesus used this parable to illustrate His concern for those lost in sin, a far more serious loss than one earring . . .

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4–7)

In the same story in Matthew, “if he finds it” is used rather than “when he finds it” so I feel a bit better about not finding my earring, but somewhat discouraged about the “if” in relation to lost sinners. Does this mean that not everyone Jesus seeks will be found?

I’ve been told not to use all parts of parables to form doctrines, just the mail idea. This “if” is likely not a vital point, but I digress.

The point is that Jesus cares about those who stray. The ninety-nine, according to the context, are those self-righteous people who figure they do not need Jesus. Interesting that in the parable, the shepherd leaves them alone to fend for themselves while he goes after the lost one.

It’s also interesting that the lost sheep is willing to be carried. I’ve owned a small flock of sheep and cannot imagine even one of them letting any person pick them up and put them across their shoulders. Sheep, like any small animal, would protest with bleating and flailing of limbs.

Perhaps the most delightful part of this story is that the shepherd calls his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him. This gives me the image of Jesus calling those who are His people and taking them to safety. It also pictures His joy — a joy that His people experience because He lives in us. That explains the excitement of Christians when a sinner repents. To us, it is just as joyful an event as it is to Jesus and to the angels in heaven.

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Jesus, it has been awhile since I’ve found a lost sheep or heard from others of finding a lost sheep. I know it happens and it would be wonderful to experience this special joy far more often. You know the names of those on my heart and prayer list. You know the ones who have wandered away and are lost. I’d love to celebrate with You, not if, but when You bring them home.