Why Does Jesus Care so Much about His Lost Sheep?
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Jesus often used parables, or stories, to teach his listeners a lesson. We all love a good story, and parables are a great way to make the lesson relatable, and easy to understand. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable about lost sheep, here is the complete story:
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘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? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 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 15:1-7).
Who Are the Characters in the Story?
The first thing you notice is that before Jesus tells this story is who he is hanging out with – the tax collectors and the sinners. In Jesus’ time tax collectors were hated, especially by the Jews. Tax collectors were notorious for charging people more taxes than were required by Rome and keeping the difference. This is how many of them got wealthy, by robbing the people. That’s why in the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19), when he repented one of the things he promised to do was pay back anyone who he had cheated.
Jesus is not just eating with tax collectors, that was bad enough, but he was also eating with other kinds of sinners. (I guess tax collectors are a special type of sinner because Luke puts them in a different category.)
Jesus choosing to eat with sinners was a problem for the self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the law who believed this was beneath them. In essence, they were saying how could a man who claims to be so holy and of God choose to hang out and eat with the vilest of people? It is in this moment Jesus tells this story.
Why Sheep?
It’s fascinating that Jesus would use the analogy of sheep, because in Scripture you and I are often described as sheep. Isaiah 53:6 explicitly tells us that we all like sheep have gone astray. There are two reasons the shepherd would go after the sheep.
First of all, according to the law, lost sheep had to be paid for (Exodus 22:10-13). It was expensive and it gave you a bad reputation. Listen to what bible teacher Warren Wiersbe wrote in his commentary:
“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…Not to find the lost sheep meant money out of his own pocket, plus the disgrace of being known as a careless shepherd.”
The second reason, which I believe is the greater motivation in this story, is that the shepherd loved the sheep. Recognizing the sheep was in danger, the shepherd went after the sheep. As long as the sheep stayed in the herd and was with the shepherd, that sheep was safe. The moment the sheep wanders off, that sheep is in immediate danger. The shepherd, because he loved the sheep, could not rest knowing the sheep was in danger. Here is where we see the heart of Jesus.
In this parable, there were four types of people who were lost, separated from the savior. We mentioned two earlier: the tax collectors and the sinners. The other two were the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They too were separated from Jesus, they just didn’t realize it. They didn’t see their need for the savior.
Jesus is the Great Shepherd. He loved all of these people and did not want any of them to remain in the condition they were in, outside of the safety and protection of the shepherd. For this reason he did what any good shepherd would do – he went after the lost sheep. He spent time with the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the tax collectors and the sinners because he was trying to bring them back into the fold. He knew the only way to win them back was to go after them. And that is what he did.
What Can We Learn from This Parable?
1. We are all the sheep in this story.
You and I have all turned away or at one point have been separated from the Shepherd. In his great mercy, God didn’t leave us in that condition but went after us to bring us back home.
2. God cares about all the sheep.
2 Peter 3:9 reminds us that God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but he wants everyone to come to repentance. This desire is why God pursues you, because he loves you deeply and cares about you.
3. You have to go looking for sheep, don’t expect them to look for you.
The heart of this story is the need for those of us who aren’t lost to bring the gospel to those who are. If we are not careful, we can become like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, losing our heart and compassion for those who don’t know Jesus. In our desire to be holy and separate from the world, we sometimes isolate ourselves from the very people who need to hear the gospel. Whether it’s in your neighborhood, your workplace, your family, or your circle of friends and influence, it’s ok to spend a little time with them. Not just always beating them over the head with the gospel, but demonstrating the kindness and the love of Jesus.
The Reward
The reward is the same for you as it is for the shepherd – rejoicing. I don’t know if you have ever experienced the joy of leading someone to Christ. I can tell you from personal experience it is the greatest joy there is on the face of the earth. To know that you helped someone go from lost to found, from death to life, from hell to heaven. This is what it’s all about and this is the heart of Jesus the Great Shepherd.
One of the final things Jesus said before he departed was go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). There are many lost sheep out there and God has commissioned you and I to go and share the gospel with them. I pray that we would never forget this mantle and go looking for the lost sheep. They will be ecstatic when they are found and all of heaven will rejoice because one lost sinner has found their way home.
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