The Lost Sheep and the Good Shepherd: Why God Goes After the One

Celebrate! Part Two: a series on Luke 15 at The Woodlands First Baptist Church

Last week, the Celebrate! series at The Woodlands First Baptist Church in The Woodlands, TX began with two verses of context. Luke 15:1–2 says: “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.’” As Part One explored, the religious leaders wanted to know why Jesus was spending time with tax collectors and sinners. In the three stories that follow, Jesus asks them the opposite question: why aren’t you?

This week Dr. Bruce Webb turns to the first of those three stories, the parable of the lost sheep. Before getting to the story itself, however, he wants us to understand something about how Jesus teaches.

The Story Itself Is the Theology

Kenneth Bailey, a scholar intimately familiar with both Western and Eastern culture, helps explain a difference in how the two traditions approach teaching. In the West, we teach truth through propositions and then illustrate those propositions with stories. That is how Dr. Webb was trained to preach: make three points, illustrate each one with a story, and apply it. The stories are interesting and helpful, but everyone understands they are not the main point. In the West, the proposition is what really matters.

In Eastern thought, truth is often taught through the story itself. Propositions might explain the story, but the story is the main thing.

Because we come from a Western perspective, we tend to treat the Apostle Paul as the source of our theology, since he teaches by proposition in a way we readily understand. God has certainly spoken to us through Paul. Unfortunately, we then tend to relegate Jesus to the role of a mere storyteller who shows us how to live ethically. What we need to understand is that Jesus is a theologian. In fact, he is the Theologian, and he teaches through story. He is not simply illustrating truth about God; the story is the truth. The story is theology, and it does more than show us how to live. It tells us about the character of God.

This article will make plenty of propositional statements and applications. Even so, Dr. Webb does not want us to lose sight of the fact that the story itself is theology. God speaks to us through Jesus’ stories the way light shines off a diamond in many different directions, which is why these particular stories keep telling us something true about God at every stage of our lives.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15:4–7 says: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

What do we learn from this story? Dr. Webb draws out three lessons.

Lesson One: God Loves Every Individual

Start with the subject matter, a shepherd and a sheep. The choice demonstrates not only the affection God has for his people but his love for all people.

Why a Shepherd Was the Perfect Choice

During the ministry of Jesus, a shepherd was broadly considered the lowest, poorest, least educated, and therefore least respected class of person in society. Because shepherds worked out in the fields, they could not keep the pharisaic regulation of ceremonially washing their hands, which meant they were counted among the “sinners” and the unclean.

Then Jesus comes along and compares the character of God, and his own ministry, to the work of a good shepherd. He does it implicitly in this parable and explicitly in John 10. It was no accident, and it did not go unnoticed by the Pharisees or by the shepherds. The comparison irritated the religious leaders. At the same time, it gave shepherds and people like them hope.

None of that should surprise us, because throughout Scripture God seems especially aware of how the good news sounds to the outcast. Remember how Jesus began his ministry in Luke 4:18–19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Did that mean Jesus would not preach to the rich? Not at all. The rich always get attention; Jesus was going to give special attention to the poor. Likewise, when Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel, he was not talking only about geography. He was talking about sociology, about carrying the good news into every segment of our world, because every individual matters to God.

Ninety-Nine Out of a Hundred Is an Incomplete

Even though ninety-nine sheep were safe in the fold, the shepherd went out and searched until he found the one. Ninety-nine out of a hundred might be an A+ in school. When it comes to the Lord and his people, Dr. Webb says, ninety-nine out of a hundred is an incomplete.

In every church he has served, people have asked him how big he wants the church to get. The truth is that what he wants does not matter. The real question is how big God wants the church to get, and the answer is that as long as there is one lost sheep, he wants his people to go out in his name and find it, so that his church will be one person bigger. Ninety-nine may be enough for you and me. It is not enough for God.

It is from this passage that people rightly say if you were the only person in the world, Jesus would still have died for you. Or, as Buckner Fanning used to put it, “Jesus does not love all of us. Jesus loves each one of us.” It does not matter to God where you came from, what you wear, or how rich or educated you are. God receives and welcomes anyone who will come to him, and so does his church. Whosoever will may come.

Lesson Two: Some People Are Lost and Cannot Help It

When Dr. Webb says “lost” here, he is not speaking only in terms of salvation. He is also speaking about Christians who have wandered away from God’s will for their lives, and whose lives have consequently lost direction, purpose, and joy.

The Woodlands First is like every church that exists or has ever existed. A good number of members are no longer attending. They are not going anywhere else, either. They simply wandered away. In fact, the back door of Christian churches in America runs over 50 percent after three years, meaning that in the average church, more than half the people who join in any given year will not be attending three years later. Look down a church membership roll and you will find plenty of people in that category. Some of them are exactly like the lost sheep. They are lost, they know it, and they cannot help it.

What a Downcast Sheep Looks Like

In his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller describes the lost sheep as a downcast sheep. Sometimes a sheep puts its head down and starts eating, moving from one clump of grass to the next, until it has wandered off without ever realizing it. Other times a sheep, especially a heavy one, lies down and cannot get back up, because the weight of its own body has it pinned. Keller describes such a sheep as a pathetic sight, lying on its back with its feet in the air, flailing and frightened, sometimes bleating for help and often just struggling in silence. If the shepherd does not arrive within a reasonably short time, the sheep will die.

Dr. Webb’s brother-in-law Dan, who raised sheep in West Texas for many years, used to say that when Jesus affectionately compared people to sheep, it was not a compliment. Sheep are genuinely loved by the shepherd. They are simply not the smartest or most self-sufficient animals on the ranch. And there are people who go through seasons in life when they are exactly like a downcast sheep.

When “Cowboy Up” Does Not Work

Dr. Webb was raised in West Texas with a good ol’ boy attitude of self-sufficiency. When you struggle, you pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. You do not ask for help or expect it. You cowboy up. He says he never once heard the word depression spoken in his home growing up, although his father, an alcoholic, very likely dealt with it. The word could not be said, because emotional depression was regarded as weakness. Nobody got depressed at his house. It was against the rules.

Then he got married. One day he was having a bad day, and Nancy sympathetically asked if he was depressed. That fired him up. “No, I’m not depressed,” he told her. “I don’t get depressed.” Nancy’s reply: “Oh, aren’t you tough. You’re depressed, all right.”

A Family That Could Not Shake It Off

The deeper problem was that he had very little tolerance for people who were struggling. Why couldn’t they just change their attitude and get with it? Then, at his first church, a young couple joined who had been called to missions in Mexico a year earlier. When the wife’s mother learned they were leaving the country, she became deeply distraught. Not realizing the extent of her instability, the couple left their two young daughters with her while they ran to the store. They came home to find that she had taken her own life and the lives of both girls. Dr. Webb and Nancy watched that couple walk through their first Christmas afterward, and they were downcast.

What do you say to people in that condition? Come on, shake it off? Get with the program? You have to move on? No. Dr. Webb has ministered to people who were abused and who carry it their whole lives, to people who struggle with chemical depression, and to others walking through grief or addiction who simply cannot shake it off alone for a time.

The Shepherd Carries What Cannot Walk

So how does this parable tell us to minister to people who are downcast and cannot help it? Look at what the shepherd does. He searches until he finds the lost sheep, and then he does not make it walk back under its own power. He picks it up and carries it home on his shoulders.

Jesus Never Asks Whose Fault It Is

Notice what is missing from the story. Jesus never asks whose fault it was that the sheep wandered off. No blame is assigned anywhere in the parable, and that is significant, because something in our fallen human nature makes us point fingers instead of solving problems.

Dr. Webb is convinced this is one of the reasons churches do not do a better job of reaching the lost sheep. Rather than figuring out how to find them and joyfully bring them back, we play the blame game. It is the pastor’s fault for the things he says, or the way he says them, or for changing things. No, it is the Bible study teacher, who is boring, or unfriendly, or does no outreach. No, it is the deacons and deaconesses, who never call on birthdays. Well, actually it is the congregation, because there are too many hypocrites and everybody gossips. Whose fault is it?

Even Jesus Watched People Walk Away

Consider what happened in Jesus’ own ministry. Thousands followed him while he was feeding them and healing the sick. Then he began explaining that following him would be difficult and would demand sacrifice. John 6:66–67 records the result: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve.” Was it Jesus’ fault the crowds wandered off? Did he fail to follow up? No.

When someone drifts away from the Lord and the church, blame is always easy to find, and people who are downcast do not always respond the right way. Hurt people hurt people. A church that intends to find the lost sheep has to be emotionally healthy enough to spend its energy reaching the people who cannot help themselves rather than pointing fingers at one another. So the next time you hear that someone has dropped out of church, resist the urge to ask whose fault it is. Ask instead: how can I help carry this person on my shoulders back to the Lord and to his church?

Lesson Three: Search and Rescue Is a Community Activity

When the shepherd left the ninety-nine to go find the one, it meant another shepherd stayed behind to watch the flock in the open country. Significantly, the shepherd who stayed did not criticize the shepherd who went. They worked together.

Notice as well what happens when the lost sheep comes home. The shepherd calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me.” The whole community valued the finding, and the whole community celebrated it. Then Jesus adds the line that reframes everything: “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

What does that mean for us? It means the Lord places premium value on lost people being found. As his followers, we can either resent that because we are already in the fold and feel neglected, or we can join him in the search and rescue and in the celebration when it succeeds.

Furthermore, we have every reason to celebrate, because the shepherd’s willingness to go after the one is precisely what gives the other ninety-nine their security. If the shepherd had been willing to write off the one in favor of the ninety-nine, that would mean God would be willing to write us off in the same situation. His concern for the one lost sheep is our guarantee that he will not leave us either if we get lost.

Having Faith for People Who Cannot Have It Yet

Are there any downcast or lost sheep kind of people who have come to mind while reading this? Consider the possibility that the Holy Spirit put that person there, and take the initiative to reach out. Searching for the lost sheep is all of our responsibility and all of our privilege.

Dr. Webb recalls hearing Levi Price, former pastor of First Baptist Church of El Paso and a professor at Truett Seminary, share a testimony about being hospitalized and close to death, with doctors offering little hope. As he lay in intensive care alone day after day, he became deeply depressed. He felt as though God had deserted him and his friends had forgotten him. One day while his wife was visiting, she told him they had to have faith that God would help them. His answer was honest: “I’m trying, but I’m so depressed right now I don’t have any faith.” Her response was profound. “That’s all right. I’ll have enough faith for both of us for a while.”

That is a picture of the church at its best. Instead of giving up on people, part of the ministry of the church is having faith for people who are too discouraged to have faith on their own.

Nothing Is Written Unless God Writes It

One of Dr. Webb’s favorite films is Lawrence of Arabia. Its most powerful scene comes during a ten-day march across the desert. The army staggers along, nearly dead from dehydration, until they spot an oasis and fall gratefully into the water. Taking a head count, Lawrence notices that one of the camel boys is missing, and the boy’s camel is found riderless near the back of the camp. Lawrence tells his men they must go back and find him.

The men refuse. It was God’s will that the boy did not return, they argue; his fate was already written, and they must not interfere. Lawrence remounts alone and rides back into the dunes while the men shake their heads, certain they have now lost him too. Two days later a shimmering figure emerges from the heat, and the soldiers run forward shouting that Lawrence has found the boy. He leans down, hands them the unconscious child, and tells them hoarsely to remember that nothing is written unless you write it.

Lawrence was almost right. Nothing is written until God writes it, and the message of Luke 15 is that God, revealed in Jesus Christ, does not write anyone off. Consequently, neither should we.

An Invitation and a Name to Carry

If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, you could cause a celebration in heaven, in this church, and in your own life by following him today. Perhaps God is calling you to join a church family and help search for the lost sheep. Or maybe your response to this story is to leave with one person on your mind, someone you can go find and carry on your shoulders back to the Lord.

Next week the Celebrate! series continues with the second story Jesus tells, the parable of the lost coin. If you are searching for a church near me in The Woodlands, TX where nobody is written off, we would love for you to join us at The Woodlands First Baptist Church.

Learn More about The Woodlands First

► Watch the full sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idnXiDmDoR4

► Plan your visit this Sunday: https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/new/

► Learn about our church: https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/beliefs/

► First Kids (Children’s Ministry): https://thewoodlandsfirst.org/ministries/first-kids/

Visit The Woodlands First Baptist Church

We offer worship services in traditional, modern, and Spanish-language styles across two campuses in The Woodlands, TX, along with Bible study classes and small groups for all ages.

South Campus: 11801 Grogan’s Mill Rd, The Woodlands, TX 77380

North Campus: 5148 FM 1488, The Woodlands, TX 77354

Phone: (281) 367-4317

Website: thewoodlandsfirst.org

Looking for churches near me in The Woodlands, TX? The Woodlands First Baptist Church has served this community since 1979. Come discover a community that takes Scripture seriously and welcomes everyone who is searching.