Luke 15:1-7

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 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.’ 7 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.”

Why would Jesus use this story?

Luke 15:1-2

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

• Jesus cares about people more than His reputation 

Luke 7:34, The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”

Q- What does that mean for us? If Jesus cared more about people than what other people were thinking about him, shouldn’t we be the same way?

• ONE lost sheep is worth everything to Jesus 

Luke 15:3-4

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “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?”

Luke 19:10, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Charles Spurgeon, “No argument tells more powerfully upon men than one which comes close home to their own daily life, and the Savior put it so. They were silenced, if they were not convinced. It was a peculiarly strong argument, because in their case it was only a sheep that they would go after, but in his case, it was something infinitely more precious than all the flocks of sheep that ever fed on Sharon or Carmel; for it was the soul of man which he sought to save.”

John 10:14-15, “ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.“

2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Q- What does that mean for us? If Jesus believed that ONE lost sheep was worth all of his time and energy, what is ONE lost sheep worth to you? 

• Heaven celebrates the lost being found 

5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Isaiah‬ 40:11, He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

‬‬Luke 15:6 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.’

Q- What does that mean for us? If Jesus believes that lost sheep being found is worth celebrating, what are you doing to celebrate it?

• Focusing on the One doesn’t neglect the 99; it energizes the 99 

Luke 15:7, 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.”

1 Peter 2:25, For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.