Lost – Part 1

Luke 15:1-10

¹Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ²And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” ³So 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? ⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶And 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.’ ⁷Just 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. ⁸“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? ⁹And 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.’ ¹⁰Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

We now arrive at the center of the Gospel of Luke. Chapter 15 is so central to the Gospel and so pivotal to the narrative of Jesus’ life that some theologians have focused their entire careers on these three parables. Being found because we were lost is what lies at the center of all our lives.

Over four years ago, my daughter lost her wedding ring. She was pregnant at the time and had lost some weight to morning sickness, so the ring was pretty loose on her finger. One day at work as a High School teacher that precious ring fell off. She was heartsick about it. The other teachers all pitched in to help her find it but it to no avail. A few months later, she and her husband moved from St. Louis, Missouri to Portland, Oregon. The ring was gone forever. Life moved on. Earlier this year, my daughter got a message from one of her former teaching partners. This co-worker had found the ring – 4 years later! It was in her car under a seat. The lost was found and we all rejoiced with my daughter over something that was precious being returned. You can only imagine how shocked and pleased we all were over this return. Each of us has experienced those feelings of joy and exultation when we find something that was lost. If we are willing to rejoice when something that was lost is found again, imagine how God rejoices over the lost human soul found by His love and grace.

The crowd to whom Jesus tells these parables is diverse. His chosen Disciples are there, of course, as well as others who have comes to believe in Him and His message. Also present are the Pharisees. They are the ones who begin the “grumbling.” If you will recall, another group of grumblers were the Israelites wandering the desert way back in the book of Exodus. They too saw God’s miraculous signs (pillar of fire/cloud, the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, manna every morning, water from a rock . . .) but also chose not to believe despite the clear presence of God among them.

Central to each of the three (four if you divide the story of the Prodigal and his brother into two parables) stories is repentance, just as it is central to our lives as well. There is no faith where there is no repentance. The Pharisees stand as a shining example of what it means to look God in the eye and then deny Him. Jesus brilliantly displays the heart of God with these parables because in each instance, the Searcher is heartbroken over that which was lost. And that which is lost is us. With our repentance comes our recognition of our need for a Savior and Jesus is that Savior, offering grace and forgiveness with His own blood.

We will spend a few days on these parables because they are that important. For now, we look upon our own need and come to grips with our own lost state and deep need for Jesus. That recognition drives us to our knees and the Holy Spirit births repentance in our hearts. Jesus is there to cover our confession with His very life and grant us a place in the Kingdom of God for we are found!