Seeker of Lost Things

Greetings everyone.

Today I will begin my exegesis of Luke 15.  In this chapter, Jesus tells three stories of something lost and how it gets found.  The three lost items are a sheep, a coin and a son.  Today we will focus on the first of these stories. Here is my translation of Luke 15:1-7".

1 All of the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus, to listen to him. 2 Meanwhile, the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.” 

3 So Jesus told them this parable, 4“Which man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go find the one that is lost? 5 Upon finding it, he will place it on his shoulders with rejoicing. 6 He will return home and call together all of his friends and neighbors, and say to them, “Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep.” 7 I tell you, there will, likewise, be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents, than the ninety-nine righteous, who do not need to repent. 

Jesus has developed quite a reputation as a friend of the tax collectors and sinners.  They were coming in large numbers to listen him.  Meanwhile, the religious elites, the Pharisees and the scribes, had noticed this and were complaining about it.  What is implied here is that they wonder how the man who claims to be from God, could keep company with such obvious sinners. 

This topic has come up before. In Luke 5 Jesus has called Levi, the tax collector, and Jesus goes to a banquet that Levi throws, inviting all of his friends and associates.  The Pharisees complain about this to his disciples. In Luke 5:31-32, Jesus responds to their complaint,“The healthy don’t need a doctor.  Sick people do.  I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but the sinners.” 

About Jesus and his willingness to eat with 'sinners', Darrell Bock states “table fellowship with such people suggests a level of acceptance that is distasteful to the leaders.” (Bock, 1298.) 

Kenneth Bailey adds, “a nobleman may feed any number of lesser needy persons as a sign of his generosity, but he does not eat with them….The meal is a special sign of acceptance.” (Bailey, 143.)  

According to Luke, the Pharisees use the Greek word Προσδέχεται (prosdechetai) to describe how Jesus recieves these 'sinners.' The word means to ‘receive in a friendly manner.’ I assume that these Pharisees and scribes thought Jesus ought to rebuke these people for their waywardness, but instead he was sitting down at the table with them and eating. Jesus does not have their mentality to keep separate from the ‘sinners.’  INstead, Jesus’ plan is to draw them toward God. (Bock, 1299) Sadly, the Pharisees and their self-righteous behavior, will push people away from God. 

In response to the complaints of the Pharisees, Jesus tells three parables.  All three of these parables connect to sinners repenting. In this first parable, Jesus tells of a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep in the pasture, to go off and look for the one that has wandered off. Shepherds were a familiar sight.  This is a parable that everyone would be able to understand.  The shepherd knew his flock well enough to know that one was missing.  

Jesus tells this parable in a way to suggest that any shepherd would do this, leave the ninety-nine and go find the one that is lost. Is Jesus making a point that the Pharisees and scribes were bad shepherds?  Maybe.  They certainly were bad shepherds.  But the point that Jesus is driving home here is that the lost sheep receives special attention.  It wasn’t just avoided and forgotten.  

So then, what does the good shepherd do?  He searches for the lost animal.  Then, when he finds it, he carries it home.  This shepherd presents a tenderness that the Pharisees clearly lacked.  

Afterwards, the shepherd rejoiced.  The lost animal could have been stolen, eaten or just never found.  With the sheep returned safely to the flock, the shepherd has reason to rejoice. This is what Jesus is saying to the Pharisees.  God loves all of his ‘sheep,’ and He rejoices when one of them is returned to him safely. 

Now, upon finding the sheep, the shepherd is tasked with a burden.  He must now carry the found sheep, yet he still sees this as a cause for celebration.  The burden of carrying the sheep does not seem to dampen his enthusiasm for the sheep. 

Then the shepherd rejoices a second time.  Once when he finds the sheep and then again when he returns home with it. The shepherd does not just rejoice privately.  He has a big party and invites his community. It is a celebration of something that had been lost, but now was found.  Bailey makes the point that the flock was likely owned by the community, but tended to by the shepherd.  The loss of one sheep is a loss to the whole community, and having it found is a cause for celebration for the whole community. (Bailey, Poet, 150.) 

The rescue of the lost sheep is a cause of great joy.  The sheep was in danger, but is now safe.  Jesus likens this to the celebration that occurs in Heaven when a sinner repents. God, who wants everyone to be saved, rejoices over anyone who chooses to repent and come to Him.  

This is why Jesus would spend time with the ‘sinners.’ He treated everyone with dignity and respect, even the ‘sinners,’ in an effort to call them to repentance, and give Heaven cause to celebrate. The Pharisees should have been doing what Jesus was doing.  Instead, they were doing everything they could do to push such people away. 

     Darrell Bock, Luke - Volume 2 - 9:51-24:53, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 1996.

      Kenneth Bailey, Poet and Peasant, Grand Rapids, Michigan, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1976.