What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? Luke 15:4
This Scripture passage comes from the parable of the Lost Sheep. The Pharisees confronted Jesus about welcoming sinners and eating with them. The Pharisees considered themselves to be righteous or you could say they were self-righteous. They were appalled that Jesus was in the company of sinful people.
Shepherds in the middle east were responsible for each sheep. He was obligated to his master to see that not one sheep was lost, killed, or injured. In John 10:11, Jesus describes Himself by saying, “I am the good shepherd, the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Jesus says that once this man finds his sheep, he puts the sheep across his shoulders, calls his friends and neighbors, and invites them to come and rejoice with him because he found his sheep. In verse 7, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.”
Pay attention to what Jesus is saying here, he speaks of people who don’t need repentance. Who doesn’t need repentance, right? Romans 3:23 tells us we are all sinners. Isaiah 64:6 says all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind, have taken us away.
Interestingly, the Pharisees would not have gotten that Jesus was saying that we are all sheep led astray. We all need a savior. Even the self-righteous Pharisees needed a savior. But they were too impressed with themselves to realize this.
If you think you’ve got it going on and don’t need any help from Jesus, our shepherd, you may want to think again. We are all like lost sheep. We are told in Isaiah 53:6 we all went astray like sheep; we have all turned our way; and God has punished Jesus for the sins of us all.
If you are sitting around thinking you have nothing to repent for, you are kidding yourself. 1 John 1:8 says we are deceiving ourselves if we say we have no sin, and the truth is not in us. Denying our need for a savior will do us no good. Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 7:21 when He says that not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of My Father in heaven.”
He goes on to say that many people will believe that they were good enough but will be rejected and he will say to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you lawbreakers.”
If you think you are better than the average lowly sinner, you may want to rethink that and repent.
If you have come to realize that you are lost, that’s okay, Jesus wants to save you. He’s looking for you to come home to Him. He wants to put you across His shoulders and carry you when you are too weak to walk. He wants to lead and guide you. Cry out to Him, He’s listening. He waits for you with open arms.
When you see someone who is lost in sin, remember the time you were lost in sin. You can use your past experiences to help them and guide them to the Lord. You can tell them how Jesus came for you when you were lost and cried out to Him.
We are all sinners. We are all like sheep who have gone astray, but that’s okay. Jesus will leave the flock to come and rescue us. Call out to Him. Confess your sins and repent. Accept Him as your Savior before it’s too late.
Have a great day!