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By Pastor Brian Bestian
For two days in October of 1987, not just a community, not just a state, not just a nation, but also the entire world was watching with bated breath—the drama of a little girl named Jessica McClure. We learned all over again just how valuable the life of one person is. (Reference 9/11—9th anniversary was yesterday) We watched, spellbound, as the Herculean efforts of hundreds of firefighters, engineers, mining experts, and emergency services specialists, labored to save the life of this eighteen-month-old little girl who had dropped twenty-two feet through an eight-inch opening in an oil pipeline at a daycare center. For fifty-eight solid hours, over two and a half days, using highway construction equipment, pneumatic drills, and special air vents, they expended unbelievable energy to rescue little Jessica. When she was finally pulled from the hole, an entire world cheered.
According to our gospel lesson for today, those cheers are nothing compared to the hallelujahs that are heard in heaven when one person comes to faith in Jesus Christ! Have you ever thought of how you could make heaven happy? Let’s be honest. Most of the time we want heaven to make us happy. Probably the number one prayer prayed to God since the beginning of time—apart from “Help!”—is this one: “Bless me Lord.” The prayer is said in so many different ways: “Bless my studies,” “Bless my family;” “Bless my children;” “Bless my business;” “Bless my marriage;” but basically we’re all saying the same thing—“Lord, make me happy!”
Well, the best way for you to be happy is to make heaven happy. The Lord Jesus told a parable that some call, “God’s Lost And Found Department.” It describes what makes heaven happy. Let me break it down for you in three parts:
I. REALIZE That People Without Christ Are LOST
Now to understand this parable, we have to understand the background. Luke tells us, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So He spoke this parable to them” (vv. 1-3) Jesus told these stories to the Pharisees. As you well know, they were self-righteous hypocrites in whom the milk of human kindness had curdled. Their hearts were as cold as ice and as hard as steel.
One statement here tells us all we need to know about Jesus—we’re told that the sinners loved Him, and the Pharisees hated Him. Incidentally, the sinners loved Jesus not because He catered to them or compromised with them, but because He cared for them.
They were criticizing Jesus because He was hanging around sinners. So in response to their criticism, Jesus told them a parable. Now most people think that there are actually three parables in this chapter, but verse 3 tells us “He spoke this parable to them.” So, this entire chapter is a parable. Each part tells us something that was lost—a lost sheep, a lost silver, and a lost son.
Today we’re going to deal primarily with the first two parts of this parable. Jesus begins by talking about a LOST SHEEP. “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (v. 4) In other words, Jesus compares a lost person to sheep. Now I can assure you this is not a compliment. Because the number one characteristic of a sheep is this: They’re dumb! If you ever visit a circus, you will see trained elephants, trained dogs, and maybe even a trained flea. But you will never see a trained sheep because sheep cannot be trained to do anything.
Sheep are so dumb that their vocabulary is limited to only one word, “Ba-a-a.” They can’t even say, “Ba-a-a humbug”—just “Ba-a-a.” If that doesn’t convince you how dumb they are, then think about their mating behavior. When the females come into season, the males go through a ritual. They challenge other males for the right to mate. They stand several feet apart and run full speed at each other and butt heads. Can you imagine what that does to their ability to think at all?
Did you know that two male sheep will butt heads for as long as 20 minutes until one finally backs down? They say you can hear this sound a mile away. Now think about it. If sheep had any sense at all, don’t you think they would find another way to settle this problem? They could draw straws, spit for distance, flip a coin, see who blinked first, play “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” or they could just ask the female to choose. But, no, what do they do? They butt heads!
Now what is the point? It is simply this: Without God, a lost person is dumb. I don’t mean intellectually dumb; I mean spiritually dumb. A person can have more degrees than a thermometer, but if they don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, they’re absolutely dumb.
What’s really sad about sheep is this: When sheep get lost they don’t even know it. The only thing worse than being lost, is being lost and not knowing it. A person without faith in Christ is hopelessly lost. He is like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that’s not there. Martin Luther once said correctly, “The ultimate proof of the sinner is that he doesn’t know his own sin; our job is to make him see it.”
It is in the nature of sheep to foolishly wander away from the flock. It is our nature to foolishly wander away from God. The prophet Isaiah said, “All we like sheep have gone astray” (53:6). On their own, a person will never find the Lord. They won’t even seek the Lord. Just as the shepherd has to lead a lost sheep back to the flock, so the Holy Spirit must also lead people to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then Jesus tells the story of a LOST COIN. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” (v. 8) Now the tragedy of a lost coin is that it looses all of its value. A coin is made either to be saved or to be spent, but if it’s lost it can’t do either one.
Notice this coin was lost in darkness. We’re told the woman “lights a lamp.” They didn’t have electrical lighting in the First Century, so the houses were always dark. If you needed to find something, you had to light an oil lamp. People without God aren’t just lost, they’re in the dark, and they need the Light of the World, the Lord Jesus.
The reason why the Pharisees hated Jesus is because He was always turning on the light. The Pharisees looked good in the dark, but whenever Jesus would come and expose their sin, they would say, “Turn off that light!” The truth is, everybody looks great in the dark.
Notice also this coin was lost in dirtiness. Because the woman not only lights a lamp, but she “sweeps the house.” In the First Century, houses didn’t have wall-to-wall carpet, or hardwood floors, or ceramic tiles. All they had was dirt. And this coin had been lost in the dirt.
People without God are not just depraved, they’re dirty. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Have you noticed how we’ve even used the word “dirty” to describe bad things. We will talk about “dirty films,” “dirty magazines.” Sometimes a girl will lose her virginity and say, “I feel so dirty.” That’s because sin makes us dirty. Through faith in Jesus, we are made clean!
But this coin was also lost in disgrace. Jesus speaks of this woman having “ten silver coins.” These were not just any ten coins. They had tremendous sentimental value. In First Century, when a Jewish husband took a bride, she didn’t receive a diamond ring. She received a headband with ten silver coins evenly spaced. When she would go out of her home, she would wear this ribbon of coins around her forehead to show she was married. These coins were a love gift from the husband showing that she belonged to him. In fact, usually on each piece of silver, the name of the husband was engraved. But if the woman were ever caught in adultery, the husband would remove one of those coins and there would be a gap there to show this woman had disgraced her marriage vows. So it was a great disgrace to lose any of these coins.
If you reject the Lord Jesus as your Savior, it’s not just a tragedy; it’s a disgrace. For God to send His only Son to live for you, die for you, bleed for you, give His life for you, and then to come back for you, and you refuse it, it’s a disgrace to grace.
II. REMEMBER That People Without Christ Are LOVED
The parable goes on to teach us something else, not just about the sinner, but about the Savior. It teaches us that God is a God who sees the sinner, seeks the sinner, and saves the sinner. Again Luke says in verse 4, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”
The shepherd here is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus leave Heaven and come to earth? It wasn’t primarily to preach or teach or even to perform miracles. He told us Himself in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”
Why did Jesus leave the golden streets of glory to walk the dirty alleys of a sinful world? Why did he lay down a crown of diamonds to pick up a crown of thorns? Why did He leave the hails of Heaven for the nails of Calvary? It was because He came to “seek and to save that which was lost.”
We might be tempted to say, “What’s the big deal about one sheep?” After all, to lose 1 out of a 100 is not a bad average. Most CEOs would be thrilled if they had a 99% profit margin in their companies. Most construction firms figure far more than a 1% loss into whatever project they’re working on.
So the question is valid. Why would the Shepherd leave 99 sheep to go after one? It wasn’t because the sheep was valuable—one sheep by itself is of little worth. No, there is only one explanation—the love of the Shepherd. The reason why Jesus came to this planet to die for us was because of His love for us. Please don’t forget this: Jesus doesn’t love us because we’re valuable; we’re valuable because Jesus loves us.
One day a wife borrowed her husband’s brand new car. And wouldn’t you know it, she totaled the car. She felt terrible. With weepy eyes and trembling hands, she reached into the glove compartment to pull out the insurance papers. When she opened them up, a smile came to her face and joy came to her heart, because there in the middle of the policy was a hand-scribble note from her husband. The note said: “Honey, if you’re in this envelope it must be because you’ve wrecked my brand new car—but just remember, sweetheart, it’s you I love.”
As a church, we better make sure that we’re not more concerned with the 99 already in the fold, than we are with the one out in the field who is lost. If Jesus loved us enough to seek us out, we ought to love others enough to seek them out.
Notice the lost coin was also found. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to cleanse us. When we’re in spiritual darkness, only the Spirit of God can shine the light of the Lord Jesus into our spiritual darkness. Dirt is swept away so that the coin can be restored to its original purpose and condition.
Remember—both the sheep and the silver were found. We don’t really find God; God finds us. Let me tell you why no one has ever found God: Because you can’t find what you’re not looking for. Romans 3:11 says, “There is no one who seeks after God.”
A number of years ago, while shopping in a large department store, I stumbled across a frightened mother. She had been busy shopping, and had taken her eyes off her four-year-old son for less than a minute. In that moment, he slipped away from her, and she had no idea of his whereabouts. I asked for a brief description of him and offered to assist her in her search. She went one way, and I went the other way—towards the toy section. Sure enough, there he was grabbing and squeezing every stuffed animal on the shelf and then throwing it on the floor. I flagged his mother down, and she bolted for him. She swept him up in her arms and hugged him tightly and smothered him in kisses. He hugged her back and then said in all seriousness, “Mommy, I’m so glad I found you!”
Well, you may be glad that you’ve “found the Lord,” but the truth is, He found you. The reason why He even looks for you to begin with is because you are loved.
III. RESOLVE To Bring People Without Christ To The LORD
Did you notice that each time the lost was found, a holy celebration broke loose? Listen to verses 7 and 10, “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. . . . In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” There is happiness in heaven when just one lost sinner is found. Notice, by the way, it doesn’t say that the angels rejoice. It says, “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels” (v. 10). God is the one who does the rejoicing!
If we want to ring the joy bells of heaven; if we want to move the heart of God; if we want to put a smile on the face of Jesus; then let us be about the business of rescuing the lost sheep, restoring the lost silver, and receiving the lost son. Jesus told this parable to help us understand that He wants us to go out and look for people who are not here.
Over the years, there has been tremendous flap about the Augusta National, and the fact that they don’t allow women to be members of their club. Aren’t you glad that you can invite anyone to church? Did you know the church is the only institution that exists for the benefit of its non-members?
I believe Jesus was trying to teach us in this parable—everyone should always be trying to reach someone. That’s why we build relationships with our neighbors, our business associates, our Little League Baseball coaches, our schoolteachers, and in the process help build bridges between them and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let me close by getting you to think seriously about two things: First of all, there are only two kinds of Christians in the world: (1) Those who talk about the lost; (2) Those who talk to the lost.
You may not think this is a big deal, but let me tell you why it is. A visitor to Mother Teresa and her mission to the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India, once asked her, “Mother Teresa, how do you possibly hope to feed all of the hungry people who come to your mission?” Do you know what she said? “One mouth at a time.”
You know what makes heaven happy? When one lost sheep is rescued! When one lost silver is restored! When one lost son returns! With God’s help, I pray we all will be a part of that, so that not only will heaven be happy, but so will we. Amen.
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