8/6/2023 0 Comments Shepherd lost sheep bible![]() In a similar way, God wants us to use the light of the gospels to diligently cut through the darkness and mess of sin to bring back the lost souls that belong to Him. The woman was undeterred by the darkness or the messiness of the search, clearing away as much dirt as necessary to uncover what belonged to her. ![]() While searching for her lost coin, the woman of the parable lit a lamp and relied on its light to help restore the thing of value. Likewise, each human is valuable because he has been made in God’s image, “stamped” with His likeness ( Genesis 1:27). The light of truth helps restore those lost in the dark messiness of sin. The silver coin in Jesus’ story became valuable once it was stamped with the earthly king’s image. Once she finds it, she can’t contain her joy and invites those around her to rejoice with her ( Luke 15:8-10).ġ. Having lost a tenth of her money, the woman understandably panics and turns her house upside down as she searches for the coin well into the night. We learn of a woman who has ten silver coins - each worth a full day’s wage - and that she loses one of them. ![]() Here, in merely three verses, Christ tells a powerful story of something valuable lost and then found. Jesus told His audience a second parable about a lost coin. Therefore, when someone returns to God, the angels are elated by heaven’s victory over evil. Rather, when Jesus refers to the joy angels feel when a sinner repents, this refers to the fact that the angels know full-well the ferocity of the spiritual battle and that the scales can be tipped toward darkness for a lost soul. It’s important to note here that Scripture doesn’t assign any greater value to a lost soul than to people who live righteously and never separate from the flock, so to speak. In doing so, Jesus metaphorically carried us through the wilderness to show us the way back home. Just as the shepherd carried his lost sheep through the wilderness home, Jesus bore the weight of our sins at His Crucifixion. Rather, he gently “lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” that his valued possession is coming home ( Luke 15:5). In Jesus’ parable, when the shepherd finds the stray sheep, he doesn’t scold it but ties a rope around its neck to drag it back to the fold. Jesus will take the weight of our sins if we follow Him. He offers us His Word as a roadmap and sent us His Son to light the way ( John 3:16).Ģ. Like the good shepherd who searches for his lost sheep, God seeks out the scattered flock of humanity to guide them back to Him. As the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus is likewise described as our shepherd ( Micah 5:4). The Bible tells us that God is our shepherd, wanting to tend to our needs and keep us safe ( Psalm 23:1). In the same way that a shepherd values each sheep in his flock, God holds dear each and every one of us. They knew how valuable each animal was and that one stray sheep was in more danger of death than an entire flock, which tended to stay together. The parable ends by comparing the joy in heaven when a sinner repents to that of the joy this shepherd felt when he recovered his lost sheep ( Luke 15:1-7). When he finds the sheep, the shepherd joyously carries it home and invites his friends to join him in celebrating the successful recovery. Upon noticing that one has wandered off, he leaves the other 99 in search of the lost animal. In this parable, a shepherd goes out to pasture his flock of a hundred sheep. ![]() In response to the legal experts’ scorn, Jesus told three parables with one common thread: we must never let life’s obstacles make us lose sight of what holds true value. The legal experts implied that Jesus was unworthy of following because He associated with sinners instead of banishing them as “unclean” and, therefore, not right with God ( Luke 15:2). In contrast to this group of sinners stood a group of legal experts - Pharisees and scribes - who watched and grumbled against Jesus. In this particular scene, Jesus welcomed His listeners to dine with Him ( Luke 15:1-2). Luke opens his fifteenth chapter with a familiar scene in the gospels: Jesus is surrounded by sinners who are eager to hear His words. Let’s take a closer look at the parables and see how. Most of us can see ourselves in at least one of the “lost” parables. In it, we read of the symbolism between lost things of value and sinners, and the symbolism between a community rejoicing over lost things found and the joy in heaven when a sinner repents. ![]() The fifteenth chapter of Luke’s gospel is a short chapter packed with meaning. ![]()
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