Buried Treasure index

BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Copyright © 1997 by J. W. Jepson

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

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17.

THE LOST SHEEP

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? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

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 15:4-7

THE LOST SHEEP

One of Jesus' most beautiful parables portrays the concern of a shepherd over one wayward sheep.

Never having been a sheep, none of us can say for sure just what fancies stimulated that one sheep to leave the flock and strike out on its own. But we have seen people behave like the wooly rebel in the parable. So perhaps the impulses are similar.

Like its human counterpart, perhaps the sheep looked over the fence at what seemed to be greener pastures.

"There's a world of exciting experiences out there, and here I am, stuck with ninety-nine boring duds. We go only where the shepherd leads us, eat only what he feeds us, and do only what he says.

"'Follow here'. 'Don't go there'! 'Come'! 'Go'! 'Wait'. 'Rest'. I've had it with taking orders. These conformists can stay in their rut if they want to. Me? I'm born free. I don't need anybody to tell me what to do, and I don't want any responsibilities to tie me down.

"I've been repressed by the reactionary rules of the shepherd long enough. It's time I discovered life for myself. I'm going to do my own thing. I'm going to be free!"

So as the flock headed home, our independent-minded friend began drifting toward the rear. When they rounded the next bend, his chance would come! Tailing along behind, he let the rest of the flock turn and disappear from sight.

This was it! With a bound he left the trail and was gone, his heart beating wildly with excitement.

Over the foothills he scampered, climbing higher and higher. What a view! He saw things he had never seen before.

He paused only a moment, because the strange new thrills that rippled through his little spirit drove him on.

So this is freedom, he thought. What a heady experience!

Once ignited, his reservoir of volatile impulses quickly exploded. But once the initial eruption was over, the anti-climax set in.

"That's over; so what's next? More, more, I want more!"

Meanwhile, our self-seeking friend had been too busy to notice his own lengthening shadow. The sun disappeared behind the hills. Clouds gathered. The sharp air stung his nostrils.

Suddenly he sensed something else he had never experienced before. He could not define it, but he felt the sharp torment of it. We human beings call it fear.

Satiated desires suddenly lost their attraction. Once they had appealed to him as liberators, but now they mocked him as masters that had betrayed him.

Darkness drew its shroud around him. Howling wolves taunted him. Thunder crashed over his head. Fleeting fingers of lightning reached out for him from a dozen directions as icy blasts of wind drove sharp pellets of sleet against his shivering flesh. Cocky self-confidence surrendered to despair.

What he had dreamed would be an exercise of freedom turned out to be a nightmare--an aimless, senseless, irresponsible plunge into confusion and loss. He had started out with no real sense of direction, and now he had arrived at where he was going--nowhere. He was alone, completely lost, and his bleating cries were being carried away by the laughing wind.

Just so it is with people who wander though life without Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. They are lost--lost to the cause of Christ here on earth, lost to the great opportunities for service in the kingdom of God, lost to God forever, lost to the eternal blessings that would have been theirs to enjoy had they obeyed, lost souls in eternal darkness!

For one person who is without Christ forever, all the combined misery and woe of all time cannot begin to equal the tragedy of that one word--lost!

It is no wonder Jesus said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36,37).

Meanwhile, as dusk painted subdued tones on the landscape, the flock in the valley prepared for the night. Safe inside the sheep-fold, they were content. Everything good was theirs, for they had stayed close to the shepherd.

But the shepherd was troubled, deeply troubled. He counted his sheep once; then twice. There were only ninety-nine. One was missing! Out there in the darkness and danger, one sheep was stumbling in confusion.

So, leaving the comfort and safety of the fold, the shepherd committed himself to the dangerous rescue operation.

Into the mountains he went, wind and rain lashing his flesh, branches tearing at him, wild animals snarling nearby.

On he stumbled, all the while calling to his sheep. Oh, what the shepherd had to suffer because of the foolish disobedience of one sheep!

So it was with Jesus. Our rebellion cost Him everything, including His life! "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep," He said (John 10:11). The prophet had foretold it: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).

All at once the shepherd heard a faint, pitiful cry. With quickened step he pressed on toward the advancing sound.

Then he found it! Caught and held fast in a thicket, the exhausted, trembling sheep had come to the end of its wanderings. Gone were the rebellious impulses. Gone was the ambition to live its own life to please itself. It was back in the arms of the shepherd, and that was all that mattered.

One night many years ago at the close of D. L. Moody's sermon on the lost sheep, Ira Sankey sat down at his organ and began to sing a poem he had recently found, written by Elizabeth C. Clephane. Publicly composing the music as he went along, he sang:

"There were ninety and nine that safely lay

In the shelter of the fold,

But one was out on the hills away,

Far off from the gates of gold:

Away on the mountains wild and bare,

Away from the tender Shepherd's care.

 

"'Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;

Are they not enough for Thee?'

But the Shepherd made answer:

'This of mine has wandered away from Me;

And although the road be rough and steep,

I go to the desert to find my sheep'.

 

"'But none of the ransomed ever knew

How deep were the waters crossed;

Or how dark was the night that the Lord passed through

Ere He found His sheep that was lost.

Out in the desert He heard its cry--

Sick and helpless, and ready to die.

 

"'Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way

That mark out the mountain's track?'

'They were shed for one who had gone astray

Ere the Shepherd could bring him back'.

'Lord whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?'

'They are pierced tonight by many a thorn'.

 

"But all through the mountains, thunder-riven,

And up from the rocky steep,

There arose a cry to the gate of heaven,

'Rejoice! I have found my sheep!'

And the angels echoed around the throne,

'Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!'"

As the song ended, the congregation was hushed. Tears flowed, and wandering sheep surrendered to the Good Shepherd. Jesus said, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Surrender to Him now. He will save you and give you true freedom.

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18. Lost In The House

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