THE LOST SHEEP FOUND
Luke 15:1-7

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This fifteenth chapter of Luke's gospel commences with this introduction (vv.1-3): "Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This Man receives sinners and eats with them.' So He spoke this parable to them, saying: ..."

Actually, Christ spoke to them three parables, each describing something that is lost and the joy experienced when it is found. Each also serves as a rebuke to the self-righteous who complain against the mercy of God in joyfully receiving sinners. The first, that of a lost sheep (vv.3-7), deals with one who is lost as the consequence of his heedlessness. The second, that of a lost coin (vv.8-10), deals with one who is lost as the consequence of his lack of the power of resistance. The third, that of a lost son (vv.11-32), deals with one who is lost as the consequence of his rebellion.

We here will present truths taught in the first parable (vv.3-7): "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which 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 neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (This passage is the basis of the hymn There were ninety and nine that safely lay by Elizabeth C. Clephane, 1869.)

Jesus Christ here describes what would been have the normal course of events regarding a shepherd owning a hundred sheep but losing one, and of what he would do to restore the lost sheep, and of the rejoicing that would result. But in the application of this parable to Himself as the Shepherd of Jehovah's sheep, He directs a sharp rebuke to the self-righteous who complained against Him for doing so over His own lost sheep.

I. Who is this "man having a hundred sheep?" He is Christ in His humanity, "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16; cp. John 1:1, 14), "the Son of Man [who] has come to save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11, which text introduces the other account of this parable).

II. Who are these "hundred sheep"? They are the whole number of Christ's elect given to Him in eternity (John 17:2; Ephesians 1:4), whether presently in heaven or on earth, whether already in the fold or yet to be brought into it.

III. Who are these "ninety-nine"? These are apparently the glorified saints, further identified as "ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (v.7). Christ may therefore "leave the ninety-nine ... and go after the one which is lost" (v.4).

IV. Who is this "one which is lost"? It represents all God's elect, each in its turn. They are in their native state "lost" metaphorically from any relation to their Shepherd. They became lost when they heedlessly wandered away from Him in the sin of their father Adam, and ever subsequently (Isaiah 53:6): "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way." They are "lost" also to themselves, for they know not where they are, nor the extent of the perils around them, nor of how to remedy their plight. The Shepherd declares of them, "So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them" (Ezekiel 34:5f).

V. What will the Shepherd do for this one lost sheep? "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11, introducing a parallel account of this parable).

1. Christ will seek the lost one (v.4): "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost." Christ here speaks in human terms, of a mortal shepherd who cannot be in two places at one time. He therefore must leave his flock, probably under the care of a hireling, while he goes to seek the lost one.

We will not require this parable to "walk on all fours". Christ does not ever truly "leave" any of His sheep (Hebrews 13:5): "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" Nor does He ever entrust them to a hireling (John 10:12f). Most certainly He will not "leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness"; rather, He will go to the wilderness in His search for the lost one. However, He has indeed left the place where the ninety-nine are forever safely enfolded in order to find His one lost sheep. Nevertheless, because of His omnipresence, "He who came down from heaven" was at the same time "the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:12). He is present with His heavenly saints at the same time He is seeking His earthly lost.

But back to the phrase "go after the one which is lost": Christ goes after only "the one which is lost", not all mankind. Christ must take the initiative and go after it because it is, in its native state, unwilling and therefore unable to come to Him (John 5:40): "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life" (cp. 6:44, 65). He did "go after" it in His humiliation and incarnation, when He left the ninety-nine in glory to come to this earth where the lost one is situated (cp. Philippians 2:5-7). He will "go after" it in the sense of tracking it down, following its footsteps away from His fold to the place where it will be found.

2. Christ will find the lost one (v.5): He will "go after the one which is lost until he finds it". He is indefatigable in His efforts, and successful in His mission – "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Nothing prevents Him from accomplishing His mission – neither distance, darkness, hunger, thirst, weariness, storms, nor anything else. Every single solitary sheep Christ seeks will without fail be found and saved.

3. Christ will raise the lost one (v.5): "And when He has found it, he lays it on His shoulders". He does not abase or beat it for its disobedience, because He Himself has already borne all the punishment the sheep deserves (Isaiah 53:6, also vv.4f). Neither does He drive it home before Him, nor require it to follow after Him. (However, afterward it will gladly and obediently follow Him when led by Him to green pastures and still waters, and in paths of righteousness [Psalm 23:1-3].) Rather, He gently gathers the lamb with His arms and lovingly hugs it in His bosom (Isaiah 40:11); this shows His pity and tenderness toward it. He then lays it on His shoulder like a trophy of His grace; this shows His strength in delivering it. From this vantage point the lamb may readily view the treacherous place from which the Shepherd has snatched it, and also easily and adoringly gaze into His face.

VI. What will Christ do after finding this one lost sheep?

1. Christ will rejoice over the found one (v.5): "He lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing." He does not chide the lamb for its foolishness, nor berate it for all the trouble it has caused Him. Rather, He rejoices because the object of His eternal love and diligent search has been found before the wolves of Satan could find and devour it.

2. Christ will bring home the found one (v.6): "And when He comes home ...." The found sheep will be restored to the fold. "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).

3. Christ will celebrate over the found one (v.6): "He calls together His friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep which was lost!'" Christ's "friends and neighbors" are His under-shepherds and the rest of His flock, who all rejoice when He restores a lost sheep to their number. They celebrate what He has done for the lost – not what the lost has done for the Shepherd (as is so often the case in false religion).

VII. What would Christ have us learn from this parable?

1. The righteous rejoice when Christ saves a sinner (v.7): "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." The heavenly celebrants include the "angels of God" (v.10). The meaning is not that they rejoice more over one repentant sinner than over all the glorified saints. Rather, it is their nature to express more passion over something new that pleases them than over things with which they have long been pleased. The same is true of a parent who for a moment rejoices more over a child that has just been delivered from the jaws of death than over their other children. When a lost sheep of Christ is found and restored to the fold, rejoicing is expressed by the Shepherd, the rest of His flock, and His angels. The newly found sheep will joyfully draw closer and closer to Him in repentance and to hear Him (v.1).

2. The self-righteous complain that Christ identifies with sinners (v.2) "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."

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