The Lutheran Hour
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"Looking for the Lost"
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Text: Luke 15:1-7
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today the living Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd of the Sheep comes to us. He calls us away from our sins and wanderings to make us part of His flock. Without our deserving it, He brings us into the fold of the saved. By God’s grace, may all who hear these words know there is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents. God grant such a repentant heart to us all. Amen.
The lady had been set up on a blind date. She normally didn’t go on blind dates, but this time she had made an exception. Her friends had been after her, endlessly after her, to go out with this man. It seemed, to her friends speak, that he was a combination of movie star, super hero, and genius. Finally, more out of curiosity than anything else, she consented to go out with him for dinner.
From the moment they got together, he talked about himself. In rapid fire, without room for anyone to inject or insert anything, he told her the litany of his accomplishments and gave an inventory of his many successes. He was a hunter, but more than a hunter, he was a crack shot, bringing down game with one try at impossible distances. He was a success at work, so much so that the bosses four levels above him feared for their jobs at the sound of his name. He was an athlete, proficient in summer and winter sports alike, excelling in cross-country skiing, high diving, and pugilism. In a multitude, a myriad number of ways, he applauded his greatness. Finally, about three-and-a-half hours into the date he abruptly stopped. He blinked a few times and then he apologized. He said, “I’m so sorry. I’ve been monopolizing the conversation with all this talk about me. Let’s talk about you. Tell me, what do you think of my car?”
It is a sad thing, but all too often people bring their egos to areas of religion and theology. Indeed, some people even read the Bible through egotistical eyes and with an egotistical mindset. They think the stories were written for them, revolve around them, and apply to them in the most favorable way. Sometimes they are right, but, and I say this sadly, there are times when such egos can get in the way of what the Lord is trying to teach and tell us. Need a couple of examples? No problem. Jesus once told a parable about a Prodigal Son. Some of you remember the story; others do not. For the second group allow me to summarize. The story starts out in the home of a man who has two boys. One of those boys, the elder son, is a good boy. He does what his father asks; he works where his father says, and he does it all without complaint. The other son, the younger, well, he’s a restless soul and he finds himself frustrated and irritated living under his father’s roof and with his father’s rules.
In a supreme act of self-centeredness and without any regard for his father’s feelings, he came to his dad and said something like, “Look, pops, you and I both know that you’re not going to live forever. When you die, I’m going to get some of your estate. So, if you don’t mind, I’d just as soon take my share now.” Rather than tarring and feathering the brat, the father gave the boy exactly what he asked for. His pockets bulging with cash, the boy set out for parts unknown. In those parts he went through his inheritance like water through a sieve. Before he knew what had happened, he was broke and he was looking for work in the midst of a recession. Now this is in the days before people who were below the poverty level had air conditioning and cable TV. In order to feed himself, he had to take whatever job he could and eat whatever food he could find.
One day, as he was chomping away at the food which usually went to the hogs, he thought, “What am I doing here? I could go home. My dad’s servants are better off than I am. I’m going to go home.” And that is what he did. While he was still a long way off, the father saw his problem child and ran to welcome him home. It was quite a production. There were new clothes and better clothes, fancy rings, fatted calf.
That’s the way Jesus told the story, and it makes us happy. We see ourselves as that wandering boy who is welcomed home from his sinning by an appreciative father; a father who is so glad to see us he doesn’t even ask how we went through so much money so very quickly. You see, people read that story from an egotistical perspective. They think Jesus told that story to show us just how very, very grateful God is to have us. There’s only one problem with that interpretation. That’s not why Jesus told the story. As Paul Harvey used to say, there is a “rest of the story.”
The story went on. Jesus told how the older brother, the good brother, seeing the celebration which was being held for his sinning sibling was pretty perturbed. He felt he was being shortchanged. He was pouting, stomping his feet, and holding his breath when his father came out to see him and encourage him to the feast. Dad said, “We’ve just got to celebrate. Your brother whom we thought was dead is alive. Please, you know I love you. Won’t you come in and join us?” And that’s where the story ends. Jesus never said if the older brother came in to the feast or whether he stayed outside and kept feeling sorry for himself. You see, Jesus wanted His followers to realize we are the older brother, not the younger one. He wanted us to decide what we would do when all kinds of ‘undesirables’, people who seemed so beneath us were brought to faith and were saved. Would we celebrate or would we complain? Would we rejoice or would we grumble? You see, our ego makes us cut the story short; our ego makes us the son who is welcomed home, our ego won’t let us believe we are the son who is throwing a temper tantrum. Our ego makes us miss the entire point of Jesus’ parable.
We are an egotistical race. That is not the only time Jesus’ words have been misinterpreted. I encourage you to look at the opening verses of the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Let me tell you what happened there. Jesus was out teaching and His audience was generally made up of society’s outcasts… you know, the tax collectors and some folks who had reputations for committing some very serious sins. Believing that birds of a feather flock together, some of the community’s pillars started to criticize Jesus for the dregs who were coming to hear Him.
As was His custom, Jesus decided not to get into an argument or a debate with His critics. Instead He told them a parable, a story, a story His deniers could readily understand. He said something like, “Once upon a time there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep. As those sheep were responsible for his livelihood he did his best to take care of them, and that meant making sure they were all safe and stayed part of the flock. Now it was this shepherd’s custom to count his sheep on a regular basis. 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99. 99. The shepherd may have even done a recount: 97, 98, 99. Sure enough one of those sheep had wandered off and left the safety of the flock.”
Without a second thought, right then and there, the shepherd decided to find that sheep, bring him back, and save him from his own stupidity. And, yes, sheep are pretty stupid. Think about it. In all the circuses you have ever attended, at all the variety shows you have seen on TV, have you ever seen a trained sheep act? You haven’t and you won’t. Sheep are sheep. But I wander. The story continues: the shepherd immediately set out to find the lost member of his flock. He left the others right where they were and went on a seek and save mission. Whether it took him a while, or the discovery was quick in coming, the shepherd accomplished his task. The story continues. Jesus says, “when he (the shepherd) has found the sheep he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
And that’s where we egocentric people stop the story. Numerous artists have painted pictures of this parable, and as far as I know, they have all stopped at this particular point. They all show Jesus, shepherd’s crook in hand, standing there with a beatific look of joy on His face and a recovered sheep contentedly resting upon His shoulders. We stop the story there because we like to believe that we are that lost sheep who is so important to Jesus, He was more than willing to leave the other 99 to their own devices. We prefer to think nothing makes Jesus happier than to find us and reclaim us. Indeed, we feel pretty smug and secure thinking Jesus will take us just the way we are; that He is glad to have us with our fleece and our sins intact.
We stop the story, but Paul Harvey would correct us by saying: “There is a rest of the story.” Indeed there was, and Jesus told it. Jesus said when that shepherd gets back to the flock He calls together His fellows, His friends and says, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.” Then, lest even the egotistical miss the point of the parable, Jesus sums it all up by adding, “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.” Do you see? The point of the story is not that Jesus takes us as we are; the point is that He and all of heaven are glad when sinners repent and are saved.
Now I know what I’ve shared comes as a shock to some of you. There are a great many people who think that Jesus, kind, loving, caring, non-judgmental Jesus, ought to take them as they are. They believe the Savior is being pretty pushy, no make that mighty pushy if He asks them to change…and they’re absolutely sure they don’t want to hear that word repentance. “No”, they reason, “God is pretty lucky to have me. After all, I know a lot of pastors and parishes who never mention contrition and sorrow over sin. They say Jesus never turned any sinner away, but He was always glad, always delighted to have sinners come, and come just as they are.”
Now, you can believe that if you want… I may not be able to convince you otherwise… but the facts are clear: that kind of thinking is not correct. God is not the beggar at your table, eager to snap up any crumbs which you might deign to toss His Way. God is God and you are not. Not because of you, but because of His grace and mercy the Father sent His Son into the world to seek and save the lost. Not because you were so adorable, commendable, or remarkable was Jesus born in Bethlehem. Jesus came for the purpose of calling people out of darkness of sin into the light of the Lord’s love.
You see, as a sinner, you had been shanghaied from the Triune God’s family of faith. As a transgressor, you had been lost to the Lord and destined to serve those who had stolen you away. In spite of what sin had made you, Jesus came and lived His entire life for the sole purpose of completing your promised rescue. So you might be saved Christ was rejected; was hated; was persecuted; was lied about. But there is more. So you might be saved, Jesus was betrayed by a friend’s kiss and deserted by those who had been closest to Him. Still I am not finished with His story. The leaders of His religion trumped up charges against Him; brought in liars to convict Him, and stirred up the crowd to call for His crucifixion. His government preferred political expediency over justice and His life was offered up as the ransom price for yours. Jesus’ third-day resurrection from the dead proclaims to all who will hear that the ransom has been paid, our rescue is completed, and there is salvation for all who will be called to repentance and faith in the Savior.
Yes, I know what I am saying today comes as a shock to many people who have convinced themselves that they can keep sinning and Jesus will keep searching. If that is what you believe, it may come as a surprise to you to think that you may not have all the time in the world to believe. It’s true. You may not have all the time in the world to believe. When Jesus appeared in Nazareth, His boyhood home, He told them that the Messiah had come to them. They reacted by trying to murder Him. Now Jesus did not die the Victim of their hatred, but there is never any record that He ever went back to Nazareth to preach. Within the record of Scripture, the lost sheep of Nazareth stayed lost.
The sixth chapter of John speaks of the time Jesus addressed the large crowds which had been following Him. John tells how Jesus shared a message they didn’t like or understand. The Apostle reports, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” Search the Scriptures and you will find no passage which says Jesus went running after them. Unless the Holy Spirit managed to reach these crowds later on, their doubt and disbelief of Jesus meant the loss of their souls. Within the record of Scripture, the lost sheep which composed those crowds stayed lost.
In the 10th chapter of Mark, a rich, young man came to Jesus and asked how to be saved. Jesus told Him and the man didn’t like the Savior’s answer. He disliked Jesus’ answer so much that he ended up walking away. Now the text does record the fact that Jesus loved that man… but it has no report of Jesus searching for that lost sheep. Within the record of Scripture that rich young man, that wandering sheep, stayed lost.
All of these passages, and many others say that God wants you, but He wants you on His terms. All of these passages say that the Shepherd is searching for you, but that search may not go on forever. Simple statistics will bear me out when I say: “For some of you, this message, the one you are listening to right now, is the last time you will ever hear how to be saved. You need not be a great mathematician to calculate this fact: before another Lord’s Day arrives some who hear me today; to whom the message of repentance and salvation is being extended will be dead. You will be gone; your time will be over. One week from today you will be mourned, you will be cried over and you will be cremated, or buried, or lost or… Your time will be over and your eternity, in heaven or in hell, will have begun. All of which says, there’s no time to waste because there may be no time.”
Not so long ago somebody told me a story… a story which may have some bearing on today’s message. It begins with a grandma calling her daughter’s house. She dialed the number and her granddaughter picked up. “Hello”, the little girl whispered. “Hello, honey, is your mama home?” “Yes”, whispered the voice. “Can I speak to her?” “No, she’s busy.” “Is your daddy home”, grandma asked. “Yes, but he’s busy too.” “What are they busy with?” “They’re busy talking to the policeman.” “A policeman, who else is there?” “A fireman. The fireman and the policeman are talking to mommy and daddy.”
It was just about then that Grandma’s phone started carrying a lot of noise. “What’s that racket?” “That’s a hello-copper,” said the granddaughter. “Honey”, said the concerned grandma, trying to keep her worried voice from sounding hysterical, “what’s going on at your house?” “The search team just got out of the hello-copper.” “The Search Team? What are they searching for?” There was a hesitation, a giggle, and a whispered, “They’re searching for me.” You can be pretty sure, when the little girl’s parents found her, there were consequences… Yes, she was hugged, and she was kissed, and she was cried over. But she was also told: “This must never happen again.”
So, too it is for us. When the Savor finds us, if He finds us, He will rejoice and fellow Christians will rejoice and the angels in heaven will rejoice. But amongst the rejoicing there will also be a call to repentance: leave your sins behind. You are part of the flock and your days of wandering and disobedience are over. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
September 12, 2010
Topic: Keeping the Lines OpenAnnouncer: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. And, Pastor Klaus, one of our listeners is looking for some advice today.
Klaus: I don’t know if I can do a whole lot of helping in a few minutes, Mark, but we’ll sure give it a try.
Announcer: We should point out here at the outset that at the author’s request, we’re not using any names and we’ve changed some of the situations a little bit.
Klaus: Past experience tells us that there are probably going to be a whole lot of people then who feel this letter has come from somebody that they know personally.
Announcer: All right. Well, here’s the situation. Our listener writes: my son and his wife are part of the scientific community. Somewhere along the line they have come to believe that life began through some sort of spontaneous molecular activity.
Klaus: In other words, sort of like poof life just sort of happened, without any kind of Divine involvement at all.
Announcer: I think that’s the main point. This is something that happened without the hand of God involved at all.
Klaus: Do we know whether they have abandoned their faith in the Savior?
Announcer: Well, I don’t think our listener says it like that, but I take it that this creation issue is just the tip of the iceberg. Our listener writes, “I’m afraid to bring up my concerns with them because I’m afraid they’ll become angry with me and then stop all communication between us.”
Klaus: Yeah. Sort of like the scientific people are not being all that open-minded to Mom. She’s caught between a rock and a hard place. If she talks to them about her concerns, well, they may cut her off… but if she doesn’t talk, then she feels she’s cut off already.
Announcer: And you’re right. There are probably a lot of people who feel they could have written this letter.
Klaus: Yeah, I think we have to admit this lady is not alone.
Announcer: She’s very much not alone. What can she do?
Klaus: The very first thing she can do, quite frankly, and the second, and the third, is pray for her children. I know I don’t have to tell her that… at least, not now. But often times when things don’t seem to improve immediately or very quickly, people get discouraged in their praying. Don’t let that happen. Keep on praying. Especially when things seem very dark, when you think all is lost, when you’re pretty sure you’re not getting anywhere. Keep praying.
Announcer: Al right, but is praying the only thing we can suggest?
Klaus: I do have one that is really a very practical suggestion.
Announcer: What would that be?
Klaus: Well, it starts out with saying don’t become confrontational. You don’t want to start yelling at your kids, “You ignorant heathens-what? You believe the Bible isn’t true? Well, what you believe is stupid and it’s ignorant too. To think I brought you to church. What did you learn there? You must have learned nothing at all.”
Announcer: Yeah, I could kind of see how that approach might slam the door. But, certainly, nobody would do that… would they?
Klaus: You know, nobody ever starts out with that intention of going that route, but when religion is involved, people get very emotional very quickly and they often end up saying things that they regret.
Announcer: What would you like to see as the alternative?
Klaus: Ask questions. I mean good questions. Honest questions. Questions that jump start thinking. People often take a look at Christians and they say, “You folks are all prejudiced and you have your minds all made up. You know, that’s true for other people as well. What we want to do is get them thinking.
Announcer: Could you give us an example?
Klaus: Yeah. In this case, I’d say, where did the molecules come from? If there wasn’t life and then all of a sudden, poof, there was life–isn’t that creation… something out of nothing? Is it possible that God created the molecules and then gave them life? Questions like that?
Announcer: Have you ever seen that approach get through?
Klaus: Oh, yeah. If I was playing the odds, that’s the way I’d go with my children. It keeps the lines of communication open… it prevents people from digging in their heels… it gets them to thinking.
Announcer: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. And with that we come to the end of our broadcast for another week. We thank you, the listener, for making this program part of your day. We hope you’ll join us again next time. If you have questions or comments, please call us at our toll-free number: 1-800-876-9880. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“My Shepherd Will Supply My Need” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“As Rebels, Lord, Who Foolishly Have Wandered” by Stephen Starke & Jeffrey Blersch. Used by permission.
“Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices” arr. Jeffrey Blersch. From Resounding Alleluias by Jeffrey Blersch (© 2006 Jeffrey Blersch) Concordia Publishing House