READ: JOHN 10:1-18/24-30 TEXT: LUKE 15:1-7 [VERSE BY VERSE]
v1. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. (Luke 15:1)
Every word/Bible is given by inspiration/God and therefore important
Should not ignore the various prepositions: In this case the word then
When? – Go back to previous verse (14:35)
Jesus said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear
Two ways we can read this verse:
[i] From God’s sovereignty side:
Sinner, by sinful nature, is deaf to the call of God
Unless grace imparts him ears to hear…then he will be left to perish
Hence Jesus said: Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. (John 8:43)
Only as grace intervenes is the deafness removed
Illustrated by those miracles where deaf folk were enabled to hear
[ii] From man’s responsibility side:
We can say to sinners: “Do you want to hear?”
Take the battle to the gates of Man’s soul and challenge the sinner
Let none hide behind the sovereign decrees/god in this matter
They are there to encourage sinners to believe
They are there to remind us that God has mercy towards sinners
It is a sad indictment that people focus on the negative on the decree/God
This verse 1 captures both sides well:
[i] God’s sovereignty: They were sinners, yet they drew near
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)
[ii] Man’s responsibility: They needed to draw near to Him as sinners
Only He can save the sinner and only saves those:
Who draw near to Him
Who come to hear (i.e. heed) Him
But not every one was happy on this great occasion:
v2. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
What arrogance and wickedness on their part:
This is where such thoughts would have been least expected
You expect such distaste from materialists and atheists
But not from those who study God’s word with its central message/mercy
Yet this was happened:
[i] Did they not see themselves as sinners?
Their Book told them that they were so
Their various offerings kept them well informed/reminded
Their own wretched experience and conscience did so
The Speaker (“This man”) was not slow to remind them of the fact
(I remind you of the Adulterous woman incident in John 8)
[ii] Even if they were not sinners…why would they murmur that
those who had fallen into this most foul/damning condition should be
received?
Were they holier than God?
Yes- this man receives sinners – but not to any ill effect
He receives them to have mercy upon them
He receives them to change them into living saints
He receives them to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6)
There would be room for such murmuring if He were endorsing their sin
or joining them in it or but leaving them in it – but this was
not so
Furthermore…why murmur? (Greek: implied subdued threatening)
Could they not approach Him graciously and seek explanation?
We know that God is answerable to none, but He did become man and has explained Himself anyway – why not here?
In this verse, we have good news for sinners
Jesus will receive you if but you draw near and eat with Him
Captured best in Revelation 3:20
I remind you again: it is a drawing near in order to be saved
These people came as sinners and left as saints
Drawing near i.e. they were leaving/forsaking their old position
v3. And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
What grace that He even took these proud men under His notice
But He did and sealed it all by giving us a parable
Note the thrust of the parable though: To them
From Matthew 13:10-11, we learn that while the parables were used to
enlighten the eyes/those who were willing to learn, yet they were also
used to further blind the eyes of those who had no desire to learn
Again: The responsibility goes unto the sinner on this matter
Sinner needs to ask himself: Which am I going to be?
Am I going to sit here and criticise/reject the gospel and be lost
Or am I going to find out more with a view of receiving it and be saved?
v4.
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that
which is lost, until he find it?
What man? – How much more God who is infinitely greater than man
A hundred sheep – a large number for sin affects us all
Lose one of them – A small number but real nevertheless
We must face the individuality of our sinnership: Isaiah 53:6
I am the lost sheep in this parable
These Pharisees wouldn’t accept that and so they were lost
Notice where the sinner is lost: In the wilderness
Place of danger – despair – death
All denoting the place of sin as it eats into the soul
Note the condescension of the Lord Jesus: Go after it (wilderness)
Consider where this action brought the Lord Jesus from: Heights/glory
Did you ever open a door from a lovely warm, welcoming room into a cold, dismal, wet, dark, miserable street ?
Only a faint picture of what it meant for the Lord Jesus to leave Heaven to save us
Note how long he searched: Till he found it
Consider the many nooks/crannies of the howling wilderness this took Him
Took Him to the poverty/Bethlehem
Misery of growing up in this sinful world
Gethsemane – Judgement Hall – Horrors/Cross
Came into your life even before you had any thoughtof Him
Followed you in your sin and your disappointments
Until He found you and drew you to Himself
v5. And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
He really is determined to get this sheep home!
He could have left it to perish in the wilderness (Content: 99/100)
But He is not the hireling shepherd who couldn’t care less
Why does the hireling not care less? Ans; The sheep are not his
But the sheep here do belong to the Good Shepherd:
His by sovereign election
His by suffering atonement
His because the Spirit/God brings them to Him for salvation
He actually saves them – He carries them on His shoulders:
Hebrews 7:25
He is a strong Saviour – incapable of failure
v6.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and
neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my
sheep which was lost.
Which is in stark contrast with the murmuring (v2)
These men ought to have said:
“Brilliant!
We’ve tried for years to do something with these wrecks of fallen
humanity! We could only reform one or two here and there, but here is
One who has come and who translates them from Kingdom/Darkness to Light
– is not this the Christ as prophesied in Isaiah 61?”
Let us rejoice when sinners are converted to God
Let’s go further -and do all that we can to see sinners converted to God
We are the people the Lord uses to see this most happy time accomplished
I think this is a great boost to our evangelistic efforts
How weak they are in themselves
Paul went in fear/trembling to his evangelistic fields/serve
But the Saviour is Jesus! He takes the weak things to confound the mighty
v7.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need
no repentance. (Luke 15:7)
There are no ninety/nine persons who
do not need repentance, just a bunch of fools who are so self righteous
that they think that they are beyond all that
We all need to
repent – to turn away from our sins in hatred and disgust and to turn
to Jesus Christ – drawing near and asking him to save us as the lost
sheep was saved
Appeal