Scripture to Read: Luke 15:3-4
Jesus knew the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes, and so, He knew He needed to teach them a lesson about how far and wide the grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness of God the Father reaches. God had Luke record this for us in Luke 15:3–4, “So 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?’” Jesus starts with a parable about a lost sheep; but why a lost sheep? There are several reasons Jesus used the lost sheep in His parable. Jesus, and of course everyone there, knew that sheep were helpless when they got separated from the rest of the flock. They all knew that sheep have no way to protect themselves from predators. They all knew that sheep without their shepherd had little or no chance of finding their way back to the flock on their own. Jesus’ parable began to reveal how mankind, just like a lost sheep, has no way to save themselves from their sin-filled lives. Though the shepherd still had ninety-nine sheep, he still saw the value in the one that was lost. The shepherd didn’t “write off” the missing sheep as unimportant but instead sought to find that lost sheep. What our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us is that God the Father does not treat the wayward person, the struggling person, or the “sinner” as any less important than those who are already His.
Challenge & Application
So far, what has God taught you through the parable of the lost sheep?
How has our Lord encouraged you about how He viewed you before you surrendered to Christ as Lord of your life?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!