Luke 15:1-7 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. [2] And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. [3] And he spake this parable unto them, saying, [4] What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? [5] And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. [7] I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

In verse 1 we see that two kinds of people came to hear Jesus. They are called publicans and sinners. Those who were “Publicans” were people who worked with the public. These were people who were tax collectors for the Romans. The Jewish people didn’t like these Tax Collectors because Rome had conquered Israel, and the Jewish people didn’t feel that they ought to pay these Romans for anything. They hated the Tax Collectors! But alongside of the Tax Collectors are another group of people called merely “Sinners”. Now the Bible says that we are all sinners. The Scripture tells us that:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12 …. death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

We are all sinners who need the Savior. These Tax Collectors and “Sinners” drew near to Jesus so they could hear Him. Jesus loves everyone, and wants to save everyone. But you must come near to Him, to hear Him, to listen to what He has to say. Jesus said a lot of wonderful things. Jesus said that if you would draw near to Him and hear Him, and do what He said that your life would be blessed. Jesus said:

Luke 11:28 (NIV) … “Blessed … are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Matthew 7:24 (NLT) “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

The Tax Collectors and the “Sinners” drew near to Jesus to hear what He had to say. But standing not far away was two other groups of people. These people were sinners just like everyone else are sinners, but they didn’t think they were sinners. These two groups of people are called “Pharisees and scribes” in verse number 2. Who are these people?

The Pharisees were those who thought that the things they did made them right with God. They were religious people, but they did not like Jesus nor even feel that they needed Jesus. Pharisees are people who think that they are right with God because:

• They give money to charities. There are a lot of rich people in the world who are called Philanthropists, and they think that God is please with them because they give a lot of money to charities.

  If you are giving money because you are doing it for Jesus this is a good thing. If you’re giving money to make God love you this is not a good thing. You can’t buy God!
  

• They have certain rituals they follow. They do certain things at certain times in certain ways because they think this will earn them points with God. God isn’t impressed with the rituals you do.

  God wants a RELATIONSHIP with you. God wants you to HEAR AND DO what He says because He loves you.

• They dress a certain way. I have known people who preached in flowing robes, but do not know Jesus. Jesus wants you to live your life hearing and loving Him.

The Bible tells us that there were also people named “Scribes”. These were people who knew the Bible because they wrote it’s words down over and over again. They knew the Bible, but didn’t know the Lord Who wrote the Bible.

It’s good to know what the Bible says, but you need to understand WHO wrote the Bible. The God Who loves you wrote the Bible. These Scribes and Pharisees did not know God, nor did they want to know God. The Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God. Several times in the Bible God the Father said:

This Is My Beloved Son .. Hear Him!
(Matthew 17:5; Mark 1:11)

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. God the Father sent Jesus to this earth so that sinners like us could be made whole. God does not want us wandering and wallowing in sin. God wants us with Him, loving Him as He loves us. He wants us in Christ loving one another. The Bible tells us that (say this with me if you know it):

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God wants us to have LIFE. He wants us to have a GREAT LIFE. He wants us to have a LOVING LIFE. God wants us to have ETERNAL LIFE. He doesn’t want us to just exist. He wants us to LIVE being blessed by Him.

Luke 15:1-2 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to HEAR him. [2] And the Pharisees and scribes MURMURED

The Sinners and the Tax Collectors drew near to Jesus to hear Him. But what did the Scribes and Pharisees do? The Bible says they murmured. They complained. Why did they complain? Jesus was right there. They could hear Jesus just as the Tax Collectors and sinners did. But they complained because Jesus was talking to the Tax Collectors and sinners. They were saying:

Luke 15:2 …. This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 

That word “receiveth” is the Greek PROSDEKOMAI (prosdecomai pronounced pros-dekh’-om-ahee), which means “to embrace, to bring into a place of intimacy or hospitality, to accept as an equal”.

These so called religious people were offended because Jesus was reaching out to Tax Collectors and “sinners”. The Pharisees and Scribes hated that. They thought that they were perfect before God because of the so called good things they did. Yet if they were right with God they would have listened to Jesus. If they were right with God they would have drawn near to Jesus.

God the Father sent Jesus to this world for every person, and Jesus calls out to every person. The Bible says:

2 Corinthians 5:15 {Jesus} DIED FOR ALL, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Jesus came for all people. He said (John 10:10) “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Jesus Christ came to this earth to bring as many as He could into God’s Kingdom. Jesus came looking for sheep. Jesus is the Great Shepherd.

These Scribes and Pharisees start heckling Jesus about the people who were coming to Him. So Jesus told them a story. I love the way that Jesus told stories, because it makes what He says so much easier to understand. Jesus said:

Luke 15:3 {Jesus} spake this parable {a story} unto them, saying, [4] What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? [5] And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

Jesus said “If you had 99 sheep but one got away, wouldn’t you go find it?” When Jesus came to this earth He didn’t just come to the rich, to the privileged, to the well off. He didn’t just come to the well dressed Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes. We are told in

1 John 2:2 (ESV) {Jesus} is the propitiation {the satisfactory payment} for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus is the Great Shepherd Who came looking for whosoever will. He is the Shepherd Who looked for the one that was lost. Jesus came seeking those who would admit they needed a Shepherd, someone who would admit that they were sinners in need of a Savior. He came offering, and those who drew near to hear Him would be embraced.

I want you to notice a few things about this story Jesus told.

• The Shepherd Knew Exactly How Many Sheep He Was Supposed To Have. He looked at His flock, and saw that one was missing.
• The Shepherd Went Looking For SHEEP, For Those Who Would Follow Him. He did not go out looking for dogs, or cats, or bats, or rats. He didn’t go looking for wolves. He went looking for those who would be SHEEP.
• The Shepherd Went Looking For A LOST SHEEP. He left 99 Sheep in the pasture and went to get that Sheep that had wandered away. The 99 were precious to the Great Shepherd, but the lost Sheep was precious as well.
• The Shepherd Went Looking For That Sheep Because The Shepherd Owned The Sheep. If you have been saved by believing on Jesus, by receiving Him as Lord and Savior, you belong to Him just as I belong to Him. The Bible says:

  1 Corinthians 6:19 (KJV) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

  Psalm 100:3 (ESV) Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
  

• When You Belong To Jesus, He Looks After You. This Sheep that the Shepherd looked for was LOST. It was not lost because of what the 99 other sheep did. It is not lost because The Great Shepherd lost it. That Sheep is lost because it wandered away from the Great Shepherd. It went out on its own. That Sheep thought that it knew what was best for itself. “You know, this is pretty good pasture – but I think some grass I saw over yonder was much prettier and would be better for me.”
  

The Lost Sheep left the PROSPERITY of Christ’s Pasture and the PROTECTION of the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd found the Sheep when it cried out to be saved. God hears your cries. God hears your calling, and will come to you if you call out to Him.

• “When He Hath Found It, He Layeth It On His Shoulders, Rejoicing”. When the Good Shepherd found the Sheep the Sheep rested in His arms. Jesus did not bring the Sheep back to the flock kicking and screaming. The Sheep rested in the Master’s arms. Jesus said:

  Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

  Jesus loves to pick up the weary Lamb, the broken Sheep. He rejoices over one sinner who comes home. The Scribes and Pharisees were so busy finding fault and murmuring that they could not be blessed. But the Tax Collectors and so called “Sinners” drew near to Jesus to hear Him. And they loved what they heard!

Luke 15:6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

The Shepherd finding the Lost Sheep carries the Sheep all the way home. When He gets home He celebrates with His friends and neighbors saying:

Rejoice with Me. I have found MY SHEEP which was lost.

Do you know that there is a party in Heaven every time someone comes and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. That’s what Jesus said. He said:

Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Everyone needs to come to Jesus, to hear Him, to receive Him as the Good Shepherd. Jesus lay His life down for the Sheep. Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd, and He said that His flock would be whoever came to Him. He said:

John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. [15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Those who belong to Jesus follow Him as the Good Shepherd. He laid His life down for us. And we who are His hear His Voice, and are united as One People following One Shepherd.

Years ago men were working a coal mine when the roof caved in, trapping about two dozen men. Tons of dirt filled the exit, and there was no way that they could dig it out. They were certain they were going to die. Then one old miner remembered that the shaft they were in connected with an older, little used shaft. He suggested that then men find their way out that way. They went to the shaft and started in. As they traveled the shaft got lower and lower. Finally they all had to get on their hands and knees. They kept going. Finally the old miner in the lead yelled out “I see the light!”. That made everyone move faster. They drew near to the light, and came out of a bad, lost place, and back into the world of the living.

There are times when my life seems dark. When it looks darkest, I look up for my Jesus, My Great Shepherd. I am His Child, His Little One, His Sheep. I found Him not by giving up to the darkness, not by laying down, but by getting on my hands and knees and calling out for Him. He brought His light to me – and will bring His light to you – if you’ll only call on Him. Remember that the Pharisees murmured,

This Man receiveth sinners and eats with them.

Jesus Christ will not turn you away. Ever! He calls out to whosoever will. Let Him pick you up and bring you into His flock today! All of Heaven will cheer when you come to Him!

May God touch your hearts with His Word.