Luke 15:1-7
We Were Desperately Lost (vv. 3-4)
- The Pharisees assessment was accurate
- Our lostness was shameful
He Relentlessly Searched for Us (v. 4)
- He valued us
- He pursued us
- He saved us
- He carried us
- He celebrated us
We Were Joyously Found (vv. 5-7)
- The joy of the Shepherd
- The joy of Heaven
More to Consider
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 (see Gen. 31:38–39; Ex. 22:10–13; Amos 3:12). This explains why he would leave the flock with the other shepherds, go and search for the missing animal, and then rejoice when he found it. Not to find the lost sheep meant money out of his own pocket, plus the disgrace of being known as a careless shepherd. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 233). Victor Books.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep teaches that there is … rejoicing in heaven when a sinner … repents. Jesus was not saying the other 99 sheep were not important. Instead, He was emphasizing that the one sheep not in the fold corresponded with the sinners with whom Jesus was eating (vv. 1–2). The 99 righteous persons refer to the Pharisees who thought themselves righteous and therefore in no need to repent. Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 244). Victor Books.
Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn't get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress. They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass. The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand, and then they will put a rope around him, and he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death. "Why don't they go down there when the sheep first gets there?" I asked. "Ah!" He said, "they are so very foolish they would dash right over the precipice and be killed if they did!" And that is the way with men; they won't go back to God till they have no friends and have lost everything. If you are a wanderer I tell you that the Good Shepherd will bring you back the moment you have given up trying to save yourself and are willing to let Him save you His own way. Moody's Anecdotes, pp. 70-71.
