The Gospel for the Outcast - Encouragement for Lost Sheep
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “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? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just 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.”[1]
Jesus irritated the religious leaders of His day. He still irritates religious people. Perhaps the greatest irritant was His willing association with those whom religious society shunned. Then, as now, some people were considered less desirable as members of society. Many people attempt to categorise those coming into the Faith. There are, however, but two categories possible when considering one’s relationship to God—saints and ain’ts. One is either born from above into the Family of God, or one is outside that glorious relationship. In ancient Judea, those outside the Faith were often seen as unworthy of God’s love and were even hated because of their position in society.
Tax collectors were especially hated in Jewish society because they were seen as traitors to their own nation. Tax collectors bid for the right to collect taxes; Rome was thus assured of receiving the amount promised by the highest bidder. Tax collectors routinely gouged those they taxed to insure a tidy profit on their concession. Sinners were those excluded from polite society to this very day—prostitutes, gamblers, thieves—the rowdy elements of the streets. These were not the white-collar criminals accorded respect and honour because of their possessions; these were those people without sufficient resources to provide for a legal defence or without the means to obtain respect by reason of their name or because of their possessions. Jesus deliberately associated with such people, welcoming them. Although a great teacher, He diluted the respect which religious people would otherwise accord Him by His deliberate association with the outcasts of society. In a very real sense, the major source of irritation was that Jesus was unconventional, that He could not be controlled by the elite.
On one occasion, Jesus again welcomed tax collectors and sinners to hear His teaching and the Pharisees and teachers of the law were muttering. Never once do we find an occasion when these religious leaders openly questioned Jesus to His face about His practises. They questioned His disciples [e.g. Luke 5:29-32] or they grumbled among themselves. Jesus knew their thoughts—He knows the innermost thoughts of each man and He knows what is in the heart of a man. Knowing their thoughts He addressed Himself to the questions raised, revealing something of the wonderful heart of God.
Jesus addressed their failure to understand divine love by speaking at a level anyone could understand. He spoke of a father’s love for a wandering son—any parent can grasp this heartfelt love and the compassion for a wayward child. Jesus spoke of the loss of a dowry—any Jew would have understood the importance of such a loss to a woman of that day. First, however, Jesus spoke of the concern any shepherd would feel for a wandering sheep. In an agrarian society, the parable would be instantly understood.
The Worth of a Wanderer — 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? What is the worth of a wandering sheep? Permit me to rephrase the question. What is the value of one life?
What is the value of the life of Daniel Pearl? To Islamic fascists, he was a trophy. Coerced into reading a statement confessing assorted crimes, including his ancestry, he was beheaded and his head held up like a prize. Before the deed is forgotten, it may cost the life of multiplied hundreds of Arabs and Americans and uncounted billions of dollars.
What is the value of the lives of Noah, John, Paul, Luke and Mary Yates? Children between the ages of seven and infancy when drowned by their mother, who among us would place a value on their young lives? Nations watch in horror as Andrea Yates is on trial for her life, and mothers debate whether it is possible to be so sick as to want to kill one’s own children.
What is the value of the life of Mona Wilson and Serena Abotsway, prostitutes from the mean streets of East Vancouver? Ask those who knew these women—friends and family members. Ask the police who have search the grounds of a Port Coquitlam pig farm. Ask the crown counsel what value can be assigned to these lives.
When we ask such a question, whether we have considered the consequences of the question or not, we are categorising people, assigning value to each life on the basis of social acceptance, personal wealth, human potential as we mortals view potential. The wife of Daniel Pearl no doubt valued the life of her husband more then even the President of the United States valued that life. The grandmother of the Yates children valued the lives of her grandchildren more then did all the children’s grieving public throughout North America. Mona Wilson’s husband, despite his scruffy appearance, valued the life of his wife we may be assured and the friends of Serena Abotsway valued her life we know. What is the worth of one life? What value can we place on a life?
Clearly, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law valued life differently than did Jesus. The people to whom Jesus reached out were sinners unworthy of their attention except to take note to avoid them. Such distinction between Jesus and these religious leaders ensured constant friction between the two views. I suppose one of the classic examples of such friction is that provided by the occasion when Jesus was guest at a dinner party given by Simon, a Pharisee. You can read the story in Luke 7:36-50.
As Jesus was reclining at the table, a woman carrying an alabaster jar of perfume entered the house uninvited. I should imagine that every eye was focused on this woman—because every man present knew her. If they did not know her through intimate association, they knew her by reputation. Those men present at that dinner party knew that the woman was a trollop, a despised and despicable creature of the night available to whomever had the price for her that night. Passed from man-to-man, she had perhaps been used even by some of those who despised her so deeply.
She knelt behind Jesus and perhaps remembering lost promises of her youth, she began to weep so hard that the tears poured down her face and rained down onto Jesus’ feet. Having no towel, in her embarrassment she began to wipe His feet with her hair. Then, to the shock of the host and the other guest she began to kiss His feet and poured her perfume on them. Through all this activity Jesus said not a word, but with studied nonchalance He seems to have observed the discomfort of the others present.
The uncomfortable silence of the moment was finally broken when Jesus spoke to the host: Simon, I have something to say to you.
Carefully, I should imagine, Simon responded: Say it, Teacher.
Jesus continued: A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him [ajgaphvsei] more?
The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt, Simon answered.
Jesus affirmed Simon’s assessment: You have judged rightly. Then, turning toward the woman, still kneeling at His feet and still kissing them, Jesus asked Simon in particular and all the guests in general: Do you see this woman?
Who could miss her? Every eye was turned toward her and every mind was sharply focused on the singular thought that Jesus was permitting her to touch Him. Before anyone could form a rejoinder, Jesus continued: I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet (a responsibility incumbent upon every host), but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss (the responsibility of each host as he welcomed a guest into his home), but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil (again the responsibility of the host toward the guest of honour at any such gathering), but she has anointed My feet with ointment. Then, revealing His heart and the value He placed on all people, Jesus spoke what were perhaps the most stunning words these religious leaders had ever heard: Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
Then, focusing on the woman, Jesus said, Your sins are forgiven.
I am astonished when I consider this incident in light of the perfect knowledge of our Lord. Jesus knew that the sin of this wicked woman would send Him to the cross. Jesus knew that the evil lurking in the heart of this fallen woman would necessitate His cruel death, would force His unimaginable separation from the Father, and yet He was so moved with compassion for her that He did not shrink back in horror at her touch.
I have on occasion been called to minister to bad people—prostitutes, thieves, murderers, outcasts. One day in particular I was called to speak to a young woman drying out from drug addition in Twin Maples, a facility in New Westminster. She had been forced into prostitution at an early age and now in her late teens, she was infected with a variety of loathsome diseases, all the consequence of her life on the streets.
By her own admission she had been used by so many men that she couldn’t begin to recall the numbers. In the course of several visits, I spoke of the love of Jesus and how God was a loving father who would receive her with a pure, holy love. She questioned how any man could love her in any manner other then sexually. She had never known a man who did not use her for his own sexual gratification—beginning with her own father. I wept at that thought, and as I wept, I asked if I could pray for her. She told me that she had never had a man weep over her, and therefore I could pray for her.
As I prepared the message, I thought again of the trepidation with which I reached out to her and held her hand as I prayed, asking for God’s mercy and love to be given her. There was no sense of hesitation on the part of Jesus when He reached out to the wandering elements of society. He touched sinners—and He ate with them.
Do you love the lost of this world? Do you place a similar value on the life of the lost as did Jesus? For a moment, push from your mind the fact that Jesus is in view in this strange incident. Ask yourself whether you more readily identify with those questioning why Jesus would permit a fallen woman to bathe His feet in tears, wipe them with her hair and then repeatedly kiss his feet, or whether you innately identify with Jesus permitting the woman to caress His foot. Are you comfortable at the thought of associating with sinners—with wicked men and women? Jesus is. When did you last inconvenience yourself to tell some someone about the life which is freely offered in Christ the Lord?
We will celebrate Easter in a few, short weeks, and some of you will no doubt attend services on Good Friday. You will undoubtedly hear again the incomprehensible account of the sacrifice of the Son of God for wicked mankind. Remember that in His sacrifice He revealed the worth of the wanderer. The wanderer is of infinite value to the Son of God. May I remind you that each of us was once a wanderer. May I remind you that none of us sought Christ, but that rather He sought us. May I remind you that fallen, wicked people are forever ennobled by the sacrifice of the Son of God for their benefit. May I remind you that the redeemed have been purchased with an infinite price and that thus each child of God is of inestimable worth. May I remind you that those yet outside the fold of Christ are objects of divine love, for Christ died for sinners.
The Relief Resulting from Rescue — When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” The picture before us is the stuff from which great paintings have been created. The theme of Christ carrying a lamb on His shoulders has been commonly employed throughout the ages.
I heard of an incident in which a church council was debating the budget for the coming year. A motion had been presented to eliminate the youth program for that church, and it was under discussion. The presenter was making a forceful argument in which he stressed that only one child had confessed Christ during the entire year. Only one child! His argument was that this was not a wise expenditure of moneys since for the cost of a youth program for that church only one child was converted.
At that point, a quiet member of the council spoke up. “I understand the concerns of my brother,” said the speaker. “No doubt he is genuinely concerned about efficient administration of the moneys of our church. If the cost is too much for this congregation, I personally will repay every cent invested. You see, that one child who was converted was my boy; and to me my boy is worth the expense.”
May I comment that by conducting such a debate, church demonstrates that it had lost sight of the joy resulting from the salvation of the lost. I recall another debate in a church I pastored. It was reported in a council meeting that unnamed people had complained that moneys had been spent on Vacation Bible School without the results some had expected. It did not matter that families were added to that church as result of the outreach; they wanted numbers, even if the numbers were not present as worshippers.
One year the church had spent over a thousand dollars to hire a team of “experts” to conduct a vacation Bible school. Not a single member of the congregation inconvenienced themselves to work with the outreach. Nevertheless, over forty children had professed to be saved. None of those children were ever contacted. Not a single child ever attended the church and not one family representing any of those children ever came to church, but the church was able to trumpet that they were effective in winning souls to Christ because forty children raised their hands when asked if they loved Jesus.
The following year, I was the pastor. I invited my daughter to direct a VBS program in which we involved about twelve of our own people. We rejoiced to see several children profess Christ and many more who learned of the love of God through the dedicated ministry of those young men and women. We visited the families of the children in attendance and a number of families began to attend the services of the church. In the following months we baptised several parents of those children as they came confessing Christ. The church grew steadily and we all rejoiced.
It did not matter that some were saved and were now in regular attendance at our services. What mattered to unnamed people was that there were not thirty or forty professions as had been the year previous. Never mind that there was not one family present from that previous year’s effort! Never mind that we now had families labouring for the cause of Christ and teaching of His love! I suppose the unnamed could boast in the unnamed professions. Somehow, it seems far more important that the pews be peopled with individuals who have a name instead of mere ciphers.
When the Shepherd finds a lost sheep, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Friends and neighbours are invited to rejoice together with the Shepherd, for He has found His lost sheep. Notice, please, that the Shepherd is willing to be inconvenienced, even to take risks, for the sake of the sheep. He leaves the band of sheep in the wilderness in order that He might seek out the one sheep. He searches diligently until he finds the wandering sheep. Not trusting the strength of the newly found sheep, the Shepherd places it on His own shoulders and carries the weakened sheep home. How precious is that one sheep to the Shepherd!
Once home, the Shepherd calls all His friends and neighbours, inviting them to join Him in celebration because He has found the one sheep. The Shepherd has a party to celebrate finding that one sheep. The cynical might complain that it was not wise to leave the remainder of the flock in the wilderness, that it was not efficient to expend that energy in a search, that it was not necessary. There are always grumblers who are able to fault the conduct of the most conscientious of shepherds, but those grumblers seem never to find sheep! The Shepherd simply rejoices and invites others to rejoice with Him.
The Comparison between Sheep and People — Just 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. One of the great difficulties in understanding this parable is that we are not the same as those Jews who listened to the Master tell this tale. Theirs was an agrarian society in which people would immediately understand the concern of a shepherd for his flock. Theirs was a predominantly rural society in which even those dwelling in the city would be conversant with the importance of even one sheep to a shepherd. Not being an agrarian society and being mostly ignorant of life beyond the concrete canyons of modern urban environment, we are unable to grasp the emotional impact of this parable.
Jesus no doubt anticipated our ignorance in such matters by making the intent of the parable plain. Listen again to the explanation Jesus provides. Perhaps this explanation will encourage you if you are a lost sheep. 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.
All heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents, and the joy expressed in the presence of God is greater than that over ninety-nine saints who are walking in the Faith. By the criterion presented by the parable in our text, one lost sheep clearly tugs at the heartstrings of the Chief Shepherd, and compassion impels Him to discomfort Himself to seek out the wanderer. Such a statement must not be construed as permission to neglect the welfare of the saved, but it should challenge and recast our perspective until we have ensured that the heart of Christ is displayed in our own outreach to the sinners of this world. To fail to demonstrate this divine compassion is to align ourselves with the pharisaic spirit. Soon, such religious individuals, situated in their comfortable surroundings will be muttering at the introduction of those less desirable than themselves.
Down in Forth Worth, during the early part of the last century was a preacher often referred as “the Texas Tornado.” J. Frank Norris was controversial, to say the least. Whatever an individual may otherwise think of this preacher, he was dedicated to winning the lost and bringing them into the fellowship of His church. The common people heard him gladly, because they were welcomed by this man of God.
Shortly after assuming the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Forth Worth, he was censured because too many of the “wrong kind” of people were beginning to attend the services. The deacons met to consider terminating the pastor because of this serious problem. Norris was heartbroken and broken in spirit.
However, during a brief respite from the pressures of the church, while preaching a revival meeting in San Antonio, he recaptured the heart of the Master and decided to stay and to fight. He won his fight and every deacon, save one, left the church. It was the best thing to ever happen to that congregation. Years later, the church had grown until it was one of the largest churches in the world. This was during the depression years, and the congregation was peopled with the poor, the impoverished, the outcasts of society. Despite the pressures of operating such a huge church, the ladies of the church scrimped and saved money to purchase carpeting for the auditorium of the congregation.
After the auditorium was carpeted, many of the members of the Women’s Missionary Union began to complain that too many “dirty children” were present in the auditorium during the various children’s activities. These good women were offended that the children were not as careful as the ladies were, and they finally issued a demand that the children be excluded from the auditorium. Their intent was that the church auditorium would be reserved for their upwardly mobile aspirations.
To his credit, Norris responded in a fashion which helped them see that their priorities were all wrong. On a certain Sunday, unbeknownst to the good ladies of the church, the pastor instructed that free ice cream cones would be given to each Sunday School child as he or she entered the auditorium. They were then invited to sit in the front rows of the auditorium until the early portion of the service was completed.
The pastor then proceeded to preach a message on the value of one soul. There was no firestorm over this issue because the church realised that the winning of souls was uppermost among the priorities of the church. They rejoiced in the salvation of souls and made much of those who came to faith in Christ, unlike modern churches.
I still recall the anger of the good saints at a church in New Westminster when God came around to visit us. When I first went to that congregation as pastor, there were precisely fifty-five people present on any given Sunday—no more and no less. Six months later it was standing room only and one had to arrive at least thirty minutes before the scheduled start of the service to find a seat. God had performed a gracious work and souls were being saved and people were in attendance who had never been in a church.
I remember the first time someone responded to the invitation; all heaven seemed to attend that service. The son of a deacon came confessing that he had strayed far from the Lord and now he came seeking salvation and requesting baptism. A gracious Barbadian lady came confessing Christ and requesting baptism. Others came at the invitation to confess sin and to seek restoration. The congregation was rejoicing and mixed with tears of joy were shouts of praise resounding throughout the building.
Suddenly, the Chairman of the Church stood and said: “Wait a minute. We can’t accept these people. I haven’t examined them. Maybe they ain’t saved. Our pastor is young and he doesn’t understand how we do things around here. I’ll determine whether these people ought to join us or not.” It was as though a great cloud had suddenly descended on the congregation blotting out the sunshine. Although he decided these people might be saved, it was a confused congregation which exited the doors that day.
That man later foolishly complained in a deacon’s meeting that the pastor had brought too many of “the wrong kind of people” into the church. I challenged him: “They have two arms, two legs, two eyes—what is wrong with these people?”
“They ain’t like us,” he responded.
“No, thank God” I returned immediately, “they’ve been saved.”
I know I shouldn’t have said such a thing, but someone needed to confront that Pharisee spirit. That man dropped to his knees and began to scream, and to my utter horror the bulk of the seven deacons began to berate me for hurting dear old Frank!
Dear people, the heart of the Saviour longs to see souls saved. The heart of the Saviour rejoices at the salvation of souls. The heart of the Saviour labours to see the lost brought home to the safety of the fold. If we draw back from reaching out to the outcasts of society, if we hesitate to speak of the love of Christ to the lost, if we fail to seek the less respectable members of society, we reveal that we know nothing of the heart of Christ. Those far from respectability were the focus of Christ’s love as seen in the statement of the host of the great banquet in Jesus parable in Luke 14:21 & 23. The master of the house … said to his servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” The master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.
Jesus insisted that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost [Luke 19:10]. Those who appear farthest from the love of God, are objects of divine affection, as is evident from Paul’s classic statement in Romans 5:6 & 8. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly… God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The heart of Christ is seen clearest in the compassion of a soul winner.
The classic statement concerning the worth of the individual is that of John 3:16. God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Without question, this is an evaluation of life from the Divine perspective. The casual observer may object that the statement speaks of God’s estimate of the world; after all, God so loved the world!
I grant that it appears initially that such a view is correct, but the issue is quickly clarified when the point of that love is brought into sharp relief by the application to the individual—for whoever believes … [shall] not perish but have eternal life. Nothing I say today will deter us from placing our own value on individual lives; but I pray that my words will cause some to think, to reassess the value of life from the divine perspective.
May I bring the message to a conclusion in this manner. If you are yet outside the shelter of Christ’s church, He seeks you and calls you to come home, for you are of great worth to the Master. If you are yet beyond the pale of the assembly of the faithful, you are not beyond the pale of Christ’s love; He loves you with a great love. Heed the loving call of the Great Shepherd today, for He even now seeks you, calling out: ‘‘Come. Come. Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price [Revelation 22:17].
The Word of God is emphatic. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].
Primarily, I have addressed believers in this message. You call Jesus Master and Saviour, and as much as is possible you no doubt mean this. Let me ask, though: do you display the heart of the Master? Is the seeking heart of the Chief Shepherd seen in you? Isn’t it time that you again reached out to the lost, witnessing to the grace of God and calling some someone—a friend or a loved one, a neighbour or a colleague at work—to faith in the Son of God. Honestly, the most of us have never invited one soul to Christ, much less to a service of worship. Most of us, were God to challenge us, would be unable to recall when we last asked another of the status of their soul before the Lord.
My invitation to all such believers this day is to repent of this stifling of the heart. My invitation is that we who are believers shall turn from the way of the Pharisees and endeavour to permit the heart of the Saviour to shine through. Perhaps it is time that we ask God to grant us grace and courage to win some someone to the Faith, beginning by seeking the lost and by bringing the lost to Christ. Who today says, “God being my helper I shall bring a someone to faith this year”?
I’m going to do something unusual. Perhaps we have played church too long. If you have a someone who weighs on your heart and you are willing to commit yourself to demonstrate the seeking heart of the Saviour, I invite you to stand where you are as a sign that you are committing yourself to seek that someone. By standing, you will indicate that you will not give yourself rest until that someone is safely inside the Shepherd’s fold. As you stand I invite you to be prepared to name the name of that someone in prayer that God will use you to bring that someone to faith in Christ. May God bless us to show the seeking heart of the Lord. Stand now and may God give you grace and power to glorify His Name.
Among us are, no doubt, some who are precious to the Saviour. You know you are precious, because you know that He has been calling you and seeking you in the wilderness. Today is a day in which to respond to the call of the Master. Come, take the pastor’s hand and say that you will now receive Christ as Saviour. Come, confessing Him and stating your willingness to be obedient to His command of baptism. Amen.
What is the value of the life of Daniel Pearl? To Islamic fascists, he was a trophy. Coerced into reading a statement confessing assorted crimes, including his ancestry, he was beheaded and his head held up like a prize. Before the deed is forgotten, it may cost the life of multiplied hundreds of Arabs and Americans and uncounted billions of dollars.
What is the value of the lives of Noah, John, Paul, Luke and Mary Yates? Children between the ages of seven and infancy when drowned by their mother, who among us would place a value on their young lives? Nations watch in horror as Andrea Yates is on trial for her life, and mothers debate whether it is possible to be so sick as to want to kill one’s own children.
What is the value of the life of Mona Wilson and Serena Abotsway, prostitutes from the mean streets of East Vancouver? Ask those who knew these women—friends and family members. Ask the police who have search the grounds of a Port Coquitlam pig farm. Ask the crown counsel what value can be assigned to these lives.
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[1] Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright Ó 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.