Spoken at SGBC

Luke #113

15:1-10

"He came to Seek and to Save"

(Luke 15:1-10 NASB) "Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him (Jesus) to listen to Him. {2} And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." {3} And He told them this parable, saying, {4} "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? {5} "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. {6} "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' {7} "I tell you that in the same way, 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, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? {9} "And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!' {10} "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

(Luke 15:2) " . . . THIS MAN RECEIVES SINNERS AND EATS WITH THEM." The Pharisees and Scribes brought this accusation against Jesus and meant it in a negative sense. This was a terrible thing in their eyes. It was a though He had committed a crime. Jesus received and ate with sinners! A shameful thing to them, but, music to the sinners ears. Here is a beautiful description of our Savior. This Man, the Man Christ Jesus, receives and eats with sinners!

What should such a statement mean to us? It means that there is hope for people such as you and I. It means that you may have hope as concerns your unsaved husband, son, daughter or friend. For Jesus receives and eats with sinners. What a comforting statement this should be to all who hear it and know something of the truth about themselves, that they, like the sheep in the parable, have gone astray.

The Pharisees were a self-righteous lot who separated themselves from the common man. They would not associate with the rabble on the street. Therefore, they could not understand how a teacher of the scriptures and a preacher of religion could have anything to do with wicked men. A reasonable picture of the Pharisaic attitude is found in a familiar text, Luke 18:10-14 NASB. "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. {11} "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. (The tax gatherer was one of the sinners the Pharisees would not have had anything to do with but which Jesus received and ate with. The Pharisee continues revealing his self-righteous attitude.) {12} 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' {13} "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' {14} "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for EVERYONE WHO EXALTS HIMSELF SHALL BE HUMBLED, BUT HE WHO HUMBLES HIMSELF SHALL BE EXALTED."

The "sinners," rejected by the Pharisees, are the people Jesus came to save. Hear the word of the Lord.

(Luke 19:10 NASB) "For the Son of Man has come to SEEK AND TO SAVE that which was lost."

(Luke 5:29-32 NASB) And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax-gatherers and other people who were reclining at the table with them. {30} And the Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax-gatherers and sinners?" {31} And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well (People like the Pharisees who do not recognize their illness, i.e., sin.) who need a physician, but those who are sick. (People who are convinced of their sinfulness and need of a Savior.) {32} "I HAVE NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS (self-righteous) BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE."

(Matthew 9:13 NASB) "But go and learn what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I DID NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, (self-righteous) BUT SINNERS."

(1 Timothy 1:15 NASB) "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS, among whom I am foremost of all."

Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is why He receives and eats with them. He will not send the seeking sinner away empty handed. He will not reject the sinner who comes to Him by faith. (John 6:37 NASB) "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one (the sinner) who comes to Me I will CERTAINLY NOT cast out."

Jesus receives sinners. But why or for what purpose does He receive them. He receives them to save them from the wrath of God which will certainly fall upon those who will not come to Him by faith. He receives sinners to pardon them, to make them holy, to make them acceptable to God, to guarantee their access to heaven. Jesus came into the world to SAVE sinners, people who know they are lost and doomed.

The idea of saving someone from a drowning or a mugger is familiar to us. But what about spiritual salvation. What do sinners need to be saved from? Well, to keep it short and simple, from hell. Sinners who are not saved by the Savior will experience the torments of hell forever. They will die the second death which is eternal separation from God without end or remedy. These will never stop paying for their sin. They will never see heaven. They will never be given a second chance. Hell is final and eternal. This is what sinners are saved from when they flee for forgiveness to Jesus. This is why He receives them, to save them from the wrath to come.

J. C. Ryle writes in reference to our text. "Have we any sense of sin? Do we feel bad, and wicked, and guilty, and deserving of God’s anger? Is the remembrance of our past lives bitter to us? Does the recollection of our past conduct make us ashamed? Then we are the very people who ought to apply to Christ, just as we are, pleading nothing of our own, making no useless delay. Christ will receive us graciously, pardon us freely, and give us eternal life. He is the One that receives sinners. Let us not be lost for refusing to come to Him that we might be saved." (End Quote)

The Pharisees spoke negatively of Christ when he received sinners. Now our Lord answers these, pastors of the people of Israel in a way that should have convicted them of their lack of love and concern for the lost.

(Luke 15:3-7 NASB) And He told them this parable, saying, {4} "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep (He speaks here of literal animals without eternal souls as opposed to people) and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? {5} "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. {6} "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' (This is something any and every shepherd would do. This is something these Pharisees would do for an animal but, they revile Christ for doing the same thing in reference to a human with a never dying soul.) {7} "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine (self) righteous persons who (think they) need no repentance."

In this parable we have a picture of two kinds of sinful man. On the one hand, as represented by the one lost sheep, we have a sinner who is lost and knows he is lost. He understands he is outside the grace of God, guilty because of sin, and that he deserves the wrath or God. Then there is a picture of self-righteous humanity. These, by their own estimation, have no need of repentance. They do not believe themselves to be lost, in danger, or in need of a Savior. These are the ninety-nine righteous persons referred to in verse seven. Then, of course, we have the shepherd, the God-Man-Savior who receives and eats with sinners. Not only does He receive and eat with sinners He hunts them down in the wilderness of sin to save them from the dangers that surround them. One man describes the dangers that exist for people lost in the wilderness of sin and then he speaks of what Christ has done for them.

"In that wilderness there are no plants of pleasure, no fruits of righteousness, nothing but only thorns and briers, of sins and corruptions. There is no bread of life, no water of life; no sincere milk of the word, nothing but husks, and the bread of deceit. Unbelief is like a wilderness, because of solitariness. Sinners are alone, without God, and Christ, and the blessed Spirit. They are aliens from the people of God, and converse with none but wicked men, comparable to savage beasts of the desert. Moreover the state of unbelief is like a wilderness because of the dangers of it. The unbeliever is exposed to beasts of prey; particularly to Satan, the red dragon, and roaring lion; to pits, and snares, to hellfire, destruction, and misery. These are in a desperate state and place of hopelessness yet Christ goes after such as these until He finds and saves them. He does not go after the ninety nine, for Christ came not to call the self-righteous but sinners to repentance. He came forth from his Father. He came down from heaven for their sakes. He died to gather them together. He represented them all in his sufferings and death. He bore all their sins, and made reconciliation for them. He procured the full pardon of them; he satisfied the law and justice of God, wrought out an everlasting righteousness, and obtained eternal redemption for them, the lost hell deserving sinner. He came into this world, a wilderness of wickedness, sorrow, and trouble, of cruelty, and barbarity; and the reason of his coming here was, because his sheep were here and they were lost. He came to seek and to save that which was lost." (End Quote) This Jesus receives and eats with sinners.

What love is this? What incredible mercy we see exhibited before us! What condescension and grace. Behold the Creator, God in the flesh, seeking out and saving His lost sheep. Sheep that have lost their way and know it. Sheep that are without hope and without God in the world. Sheep that have no strength and no wisdom of their own. Sheep that will perish if left to themselves. The lost sheep that this Shepherd seeks hear His voice and they are glad to see Him when He comes. Jesus asks the Pharisees, "What man among you would not do the same?" Well, they had not done the same, they had no heart for the lost, no compassion for sinners. They were so caught up in the mechanics of religion they had no love for souls. In another place Jesus speaks to them on this same subject.

(Matthew 9:10-13 NASB) "And it happened that as He was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. {11} And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?" {12} But when He heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. {13} "But go and learn what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." I believe the meaning of this last statement is this. "What I want from you is for you to have love and compassion for the lost like I do. I receive these sinners because they need salvation. I would rather you show love and compassion toward one sinner than offer a thousand sacrifices." The new Bible teaches that true religion has to do with loving God with all your and heart and your neighbor as yourself. This includes both our saved and unsaved neighbors.

That the ministers or pastors or shepherds of Israel were not sheep seekers or lovers of sinners is made clear in the following Old Testament passage. Thank God, His sheep will not be lost for the sinful neglect of ungodly shepherds. For God by Christ will save His people from their sin. Look with me at (Ezekiel 34 NASB) Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, {2} "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? {3} "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. {4} "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, NOR HAVE YOU SOUGHT FOR THE LOST; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. {5} "And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. {6} "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill, and My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth; and there was NO ONE TO SEARCH OR SEEK FOR THEM." {7} "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: {8} "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; {9} therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: {10} 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I shall demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I SHALL DELIVER MY FLOCK FROM THEIR MOUTH, THAT THEY MAY NOT BE FOOD FOR THEM." {11} "For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I MYSELF WILL SEARCH FOR MY SHEEP AND SEEK THEM OUT. {12} "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I WILL CARE FOR MY SHEEP AND WILL DELIVER THEM FROM ALL THE PLACES TO WHICH THEY WERE SCATTERED ON A CLOUDY AND GLOOMY DAY. {13} "And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. {14} "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in good grazing ground, and they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. {15} "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD. {16} "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong (the self-righteous who feel no need for a saving shepherd, the 99 in our text for today) I will destroy. I WILL FEED THEM WITH JUDGMENT. . . {21} "Because you push with side and with shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad, {22} therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another." We have a shepherd who faithfully seeks His lost sheep. When He finds them He saves them from the wrath to come. Many of God’s lost sheep are saved though the ministries of faithful pastors and other spiritual leaders but many are saved in spite of unfaithful pastors also. Christ will save His people from their sin no matter what. Praise be to God for His unspeakable grace!

In the last portion of our text we see just how serious Christ is about finding and saving His lost sheep and how much joy it brings to Him.

(Luke 15:5-10 NASB) "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, REJOICING. {6} "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'REJOICE WITH ME, FOR I HAVE FOUND MY SHEEP WHICH WAS LOST!' {7} "I tell you that IN THE SAME WAY, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need (think they need) no repentance. {8} "Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (Some say this one silver coin was a whole days wages. Have you ever lost something real important to you, perhaps a paycheck? Did you not search high and low, without rest, till it was found?) {9} "And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!' {10} "IN THE SAME WAY, I TELL YOU, THERE IS JOY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS OF GOD OVER ONE SINNER WHO REPENTS."

Surely the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man is set before us. Here we see the Seeking Savior hunting for and finding His lost sheep. The Savior lifts the lost sheep and lays him on His shoulders. It is by the Saviors strength and that alone that this sheep will get home to heaven. Yet, twice Jesus speaks of the sinner’s, repentance. Here is how it unfolds; "The sinner is lost and desperate, he is aware of his sin and the judgement to come. The Savior, the Good Shepherd, comes near and calls his name. With that call comes the gifts of faith and repentance which the sheep immediately exercises toward Christ. The lost sheep comes by faith to the shepherd and he is received. Yet, we understand that the sheep did not seek the Savior until He was sought by the Savior. We know that the sheep had no strength with which to heed Christ’s call and that power to respond came with the call. Faith is a gift, repentance is a gift, in fact the whole journey home to heaven is a ride on the shoulders of the Seeking Savior. Hear this bit of poetry I discovered in my studies.

"I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew

He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me;

It was not I that found you, O Savior true,

No, I was found, was found by You."

A final word about the joy it brings to the Blessed Trinity when a sinner repents. {7} "I tell you that IN THE SAME WAY, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need (think they need) no repentance. . . {10} "IN THE SAME WAY, I TELL YOU, THERE IS JOY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS OF GOD OVER ONE SINNER WHO REPENTS."

The self righteous person who thinks he is a sheep but is not is disgusting to God and will be fed with judgement. However, a repentant, believing, sinner brings joy to God and His Christ. There is happiness in heaven when a sinner repents of his sin and comes to faith in Christ. As you live and breath this day you have an opportunity, indeed, a responsibility to repent. Right now is a good time to turn from your sin to the Savior who receives people just like you and is happy to do so.

I pray that God by the Holy Spirit will enable you to hear the voice of the seeking Savior. I pray that He will give you all things necessary to salvation so that you will flee to God through faith in His Christ. Friend, there will be joy in heaven because of your repentance.

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