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A LESSON FOR THE GOOD SHEEP BACK HOME

We spend a lot of radio time wringing our hands over the ‘one lost sheep.’ But what about the 99 good sheep who stayed close to home, who didn’t wander off? What should we be doing while the Shepherd is 50 miles away in the darkness, rescuing our naughty little brother?
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Have you ever gotten really excited about a sermon that So-and-So sitting two pews back really needed to hear? “Man, I hope they’re getting this!” you think to yourself, almost risking a glance behind you to make sure the preacher’s fiery darts are hitting their target and that Mr. Stupid isn’t dozing through the spiritual barrage. Which, of course, he always is.

We’re studying this week the powerful parable of Jesus about the one lost sheep . . . in contrast to the 99 good sheep who didn’t wander off. And in case you and I have both let down our guard, thinking, “I’m not a lost sheep; I’m safely in the fold; I’m in church every week — so I don’t have to listen,” let’s respond by saying, “All right, then, we’ll talk today about the 99 sheep instead.” But first, a great story, which is a lot nicer to tell on someone else than on ourselves.

Steven Mosley passes this one along in his book, A Tale of Three Virtues, and he discovered it in the great biography, Moody, by J. C. Pollock. Here’s the story:

“During one long preaching tour [Dwight L.] Moody was traveling by train,” Steven writes, “with a singer named Towner. A drunk with a badly bruised eye recognized the famous evangelist and started bawling out hymns. The weary Moody didn’t want to deal with the man and suggested, ‘Let’s get out of here.’ Towner told him all the other cars were full. When a conductor came down the aisle, Moody stopped him and pointed out the drunk. The conductor gently quieted the man, bathed and bandaged his eye, then led him back to a seat where he could fall asleep.”

I guess we would label the drunk guy in this story the one lost sheep, although Moody finds himself in another of Jesus’ parables instead. Here’s the rest of the story:

“After reflecting on all this for a while, Moody turned to his companion. ‘Towner, this has been a terrible rebuke for me! I preached last night to that crowd against Pharisaism and exhorted them to imitate the Good Samaritan. Now this morning God has given me an opportunity to practice what I preached, and I find I have both feet in the shoes of the priest and Levite!’” Then Mosley adds: “Moody included this story AGAINST HIMSELF during the rest of the tour.”

Well, it’s a terrific tale, and Mosley sums up with this great tribute about Moody:

“This man who could shoot straight about sin and salvation to receptive crowds on both sides of the Atlantic could also respond humbly when God shot straight at HIM.”

By the way, speaking of Moody, many of you know the famous story of how his musician, Ira Sankey, found the words to this poem, “The Ninety and Nine,” written six years earlier in 1868 by an Elizabeth C. Clephane. He’d spotted the poem in a British newspaper, tore it out, and stuffed it in his pocket. Later that very same day, in Edinburgh at the nightly meeting, Moody turned to him and abruptly asked for a closing song. So the story goes, the Holy Spirit reminded him of that poem in his pocket, he pulled it out, breathed a prayer, and composed the great tune to The Ninety and Nine AS HE SANG! It was his very first attempt at hymn writing! Interesting anecdote, but we have to actually critique Mrs. Clephane for her lyrics, because as she puts it:

“There were ninety and nine that safely lay, In the shelter of the FOLD.”

And frankly, the Bible doesn’t say it that way. In the King James — both in Luke and in Matthew — Jesus describes the 99 sheep being left “in the wilderness,” as the Shepherd goes to find the lost sheep. Here’s the NIV:

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine IN THE OPEN COUNTRY and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”

The Clear Word paraphrase takes a bit of license by suggesting it this way:
“Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine who are peacefully grazing IN SOMEONE ELSE’S CARE?”

The bottom line, certainly, from a spiritual point, is this: there are times when God’s faithful children have to kind of stand by while God gives a lot of attention to lost and wandering sinners. We’ve studied that very concept on this program: how sometimes the most faithful saints seemingly don’t have their prayers answered. Sometimes they don’t seem to get the same generous blessings that degenerate rebels appear to get. And we wonder: “God, what’s going on? Where are You?”

Well, that’s not to say that God can’t do two things at a time. He certainly can. But is it possible that sometimes God says to His church: “Nurture each other. Care for each other. Stay together; press together; stay in unity, you ninety-nine saints. I’m going to be on a search mission, but you carry on doing the Lord’s work”? And He trusts that the 99 of us can hold things together while He seeks and saves the lost.

With that in mind, let’s read the “backstory,” as they say, and find out why Jesus is even talking here about leaving 99 sheep stranded on a hillside while He goes into the deep weeds to find #100. Here in Luke chapter 15, Jesus has just been stung by a bit of criticism. Here are verse one and two:

“Now the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear [Jesus]. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”

And Jesus immediately tells this story. It’s obvious from the setting that He isn’t just telling us how the Father feels about lost sinners. He’s also telling us how WE, the Church, the 99 good sheep that didn’t stray away should feel about the lost sheep too! We think immediately about another story Jesus told — in fact, it’s also right here in Luke 15, the third parable in the trilogy — where the younger brother, prodigal son who was lost, finally comes home. And the attitude of the older brother who faithfully stayed by is an important part of the story. So friend, the 99 sheep are very central to the lesson we want to learn here.

One Bible commentary we looked through had this to say:

“The parables of chapter 15 emphasize God’s care for those whom MEN often despise, His efforts to win their confidence, and His joy when they respond to His appeals.”

Are there people we think aren’t fit for God’s kingdom? People we hope are listening to the sermon? Drunks on the train who are living on the very edges of God’s grace — we think? Sure there are. And God has a few things to teach us 21st century Pharisees, doesn’t He?

That same Bible commentary had this to say about what this parable teaches regarding repentance itself . . . and friend, this is huge! Listen:

“The rabbis taught that the sinner must repent BEFORE God is willing to love him,” they write, “or pay any attention to him. Their concept of God was all too frequently what Satan wanted them to think about God. They conceived of Him as One who bestowed His affection and blessings upon those who obeyed Him, and who withheld these from men who did not. In the parable of the Lost Son Jesus endeavors to set forth the true nature of the love of God.”

The Pharisees, you see, thought that it was the task of the sinner to come to God, to find God. “Repent, and then maybe God will forgive you” was their tight-lipped sermon every Sabbath of the year. And this story turns all that on its head, as Jesus says: “No! The Shepherd comes looking for the sheep! That’s how My Father feels about the lost! And how I feel about the lost! And how YOU ought to feel about the lost too!” Some of you recall this memorable line from the classic book, Christ’s Object Lessons:

“We do not repent in order that God may love us, but He reveals to us His love in order that we may repent.”

Now one final point. This classic story is also found in Matthew 18 — and the minute I say “Matthew 18,” many, many Christians think of one thing right away. You’ve had a fight with a fellow believer, an argument, a disagreement. And the pastor of the church immediately says: “Brother, have you followed the rules of Matthew 18?” I’ve said that to others, and had it said to me. Are we following the principles of Matthew 18?

And what does Matthew 18 teach? A method for reclaiming someone about to lose his way over sin. First you go to him alone. You don’t gossip it to the whole church; you don’t put it on the Internet. You go to him alone, in an effort to rescue him. If that doesn’t work, you take one or two other people with you. If that doesn’t work, you involve the whole church in this reclamation project. And finally, regretfully, if even THAT doesn’t work, you sadly permit the sheep who has determinedly walked away . . . to STAY away.

Friend, what a huge lesson this is! And what an indictment of how we usually operate! Christians remember with reluctance the regulations of “Matthew 18,” and almost always forget that this precious, poignant story of the one lost sheep is right there next to it! It’s really one and the same story! God is forever and always gently reclaiming lost sheep, and when someone sins, we should always “go thou and do likewise.”