"THE URGENT RESCUE MISSION"

“THE URGENT RESCUE MISSION”

LUKE 15:1-7

          Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

          So He told them this parable, saying, "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?" "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

          I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (NASB).

INTRODUCTION

            On Sunday, December 22, 1996, Carnell Taylor was working on a paving crew repairing the Interstate 64 Bridge over the Elizabeth River in Virginia. The road was icy, and a pickup truck slid out of control and hit Taylor, knocking him off the bridge. He fell seventy feet and hit the cold waters of the river below. His pelvis and some of the bones in his face were broken.

          Joseph J. Brisson, the captain of the barge passing by at that moment, saw Taylor fall and quickly had to make a life-or-death decision. He knew Taylor could drown before he and his crew could launch their small boat and reach him. The numbingly cold water and strong currents of the river could kill him if he dived in to rescue Taylor. He had a family, and Christmas was three days away.

          Brisson decided to risk his life for a man he had never met. He dived into the river, swam to Taylor, and grabbed hold of him. “Don’t worry, buddy,” he said, “I got you.” Brisson held Taylor’s face above the water and encouraged him to keep talking. Then he took hold of a piece of wood in the water and slid it under Taylor to help keep him afloat. The current was too strong for them to swim to safety, and eventually the cold caused Brisson to lose his grip on Taylor. So Brisson wrapped his legs around the injured man’s waist and held on.

          After nearly thirty minutes the crew from the barge was finally able to reach the two men and pull them from the water into the small boat. Taylor was hospitalized for broken bones. Brisson, the hero, was treated for mild hypothermia.

          Brisson later told the Associated Press he knew what he had to do when he saw the man fall. “I have a family,” he said. “I thought about that. But I thought about how life is very important. I’m a Christian man, and I couldn’t let anything happen to him.”

          In this dangerous rescue, Joseph Brisson shows the heart of God. The God of love knows better than anyone the tremendous value of a human being and his/her eternal soul. For even one person Jesus was willing to leave the safety and joy of his family in heaven and give Himself to save others.

THE SETTING

          Among the parables Jesus taught, the parable of the lost sheep has been one that appeals to children. Children love the parable of the lost sheep. They visualize the wandering sheep, the love and concern of the shepherd, and the joy and happiness when sheep and shepherd are reunited. Many songs and hymns have been written about this sheep.

          Both Matthew and Luke have incorporated the parable of the lost sheep. Substantially, the two accounts in Matthew and Luke show an identical outline, although the details vary. It is likely that Jesus told the parable twice but in two different settings. Moreover, stories about sheep and shepherds had particular interest and meaning for the agricultural people of Jesus’ day.

          Luke 15 is one of the best-known and best-loved chapters in the whole Bible. Three parables bring out the joy of God when the lost sinner is found.

I.                  CRITICS OF THE MISSION VV. 1-2

          As has been in many instances, Jesus’ parables are occasioned by events that precede them. The parable we are going to look at is not an exception. The Pharisees and scribes took offense because the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to Jesus to listen to Him. This gives you and me a clue that these religious elites of Jesus’ day did not permit the tax collectors and the so-called “sinners” to get near to them. Before we proceed further, let me share with you the situation in which the tax collectors and the sinners found themselves in those days.

          The tax collectors were not highly regarded, for they both helped the hated Romans in their administration of conquered territory and enriched themselves at the expense of their fellow countrymen. The tax collectors were ostracized by many and regarded as outcasts by the religious people. In the mind of the people, tax collectors were traitors who had distanced themselves from society. They were in the same class as the moral outcasts. The sinners were the immoral or those who followed occupations that the religious people regarded as incompatible with the Law. “The Pharisees and the scribes kept grumbling because Jesus received such people. There was an old rule that states, “One must not associate with an ungodly man.” The rabbis took this rule so serious that they would not associate with such a person and refused to teach him the Law (cf. Acts 10:28). Eating with tax collectors and sinners was regarded as worse than mere association: it implied welcome and recognition. So in effect, the religious people were saying that Jesus was contemptuous. The problem is who sets the standards and defines what the sinner is? The problem with people, especially, religious people is that it is easy to look down on those they think they are better off than them morally. However, Jesus did not let the censorship of the Pharisees and scribes affect His mission and ministry. He bridged the gap and brought the sinner back to God. Some people have abandoned God's mission for their lives because they are afraid of the critics.

            Jesus has come to help sinners; He has come to rescue sinners. The only way He can help sinners is to meet them. Do not forget that in the preceding parable, Jesus made a significant point that He demands uncompromising stance for whole-heartedness on those who want to be His disciples. After such heart searching and motive evaluating demand these sinners came near to hear Him. Whatever the case with the Pharisees and their like, these sinners had been challenged. They knew the condition and the cost of discipleship. Jesus called them to hear; and they heard the message loud and clear.

          The attitude that the Pharisees and scribes show reflects the attitude and temptation of many Christians to ignore the lost. However, God is committed to finding those that are lost. In fact, Jesus gives His commission statement in Luke 19:10. Therefore, this parable is a precursor to Jesus’ commission to this sinful world. Jesus came to see and to save the lost.

          The Pharisees and scribes cannot believe that Jesus is spending so much time receiving sinners and eating with them. My question is, “were they jealous or envious because Jesus would not spend such time with them?” The Pharisees and scribes, like many Christians today have got it all wrong. They think that righteousness means separation from sinners. They equated contact with contamination. However, Jesus has shown us that contact does not mean contamination. Jesus argues with the religious hypocrites that the call of God demands that time be spent seeking the lost. Let me ask you a question? Do you have friends who are not Christians? How many non-Christian friends do you have? And what are you doing with them?

II.               COMPULSION OF THE MISSION VV. 3-5

          In order to point out to the Pharisees the perversity of their criticism, Jesus relates three parables. Some scholars think that these are not three separate parables but one with three segments. By the way, everyone can be a critic. You do not need a degree to be a critic. You do not need wisdom to be a critic. Criticism is cheap because talk is cheap. This is the scenario. The Pharisees and scribes are surrounded by people with all kinds of needs. However, they are impotent to meet the needs of these people. Jesus has come to meet the needs of these people, and they have the audacity to criticize Him.        

          Jesus relates a parable of a shepherd who has one hundred sheep and loses one. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one that is lost. In those days, a person who owned a hundred sheep was a man of considerable means. He was a well-to-do person. This wealthy man employed a shepherd and assistants to care for his sheep. The shepherd knew all the sheep by name, and counted them at least once a day.

          When the shepherd’s attention was temporarily diverted, one of the sheep wandered off, nibbling here and there, until it was completely by itself. The shepherd left the rest of the flock in the open country. The parable does not state that the ninety-nine were unprotected. Besides, the focus of the parable is not on the ninety-nine sheep but on the one sheep that was lost. Sheep are very social animals; they stay and live together as a flock. When a sheep is cut off from the flock, it becomes bewildered. It lies down, unwilling to move, waiting for the shepherd. Jesus compares the tax collectors and the immoral people to a sheep that was lost. The sheep, when it was lost, did not respond anymore to the shepherd’s call. When the shepherd at last finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and carries it, in order to cover the distance back to the flock more quickly. This burdensome task of carrying a seventy-pound animal for an extended distance can be tiresome. Anyone who has ever searched for something lost knows how upsetting it is to look for it and not find it. That frustration underlies this text. However, soon shepherd, sheep, and flock are together again.

          This could have been the end of the story, but it is not. The story has a climactic ending because the shepherd is filled with happiness. The note of joy fits the cultural context, since such animals had commercial value.

III.           CELEBRATION OF THE MISSION VV. 6-7

          Finding the lost sheep is a joyful experience of the shepherd, his family, and friends. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off” (Matt. 18:13). For happiness to be genuine, it must be shared. Therefore, the shepherd goes home, calls his friends and neighbors together, and invites them to share his joy, because says the shepherd, “I have found my lost sheep.” The tension that the shepherd had experienced while searching for the lost sheep has been released and has turned into joy. When you put much efforts, sacrifice, and time into anything worth doing, and you accomplish the goal, there is a sense of euphoria and accomplishment that comes over you. Therefore, the shepherd celebrates with friends and neighbors.

            The recovery of the lost sheep leads to shared joy. The celebration that is taking place because of the recovery of the lost sheep is a picture of God’s heart and joy at the turning of one sinner back to Him. The joy of God over one of these moral outcasts that repents far exceeds the ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. God is genuinely interested in the salvation of the sinner. As a Shepherd, God searches out the person who is unable to do anything for himself/herself. God goes out to man, not man to God. In this respect, Christianity differs from other world religions. In other religions, the people are trying to reach out to God; in Christianity however; God reaches out to us by sending His Son Jesus Christ. God finds man who is lost in sin. When He has found him, heaven rejoices. Of course, there is joy over those who do God’s will, but when a sinner turns to God in repentance and faith, it is time to celebrate together. God’s child who was lost has been found. All people are God’s children by creation. However, all people are lost because of sin (Rom. 3:23). Those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ are the true children of God (1 John 3:1). Jesus searches for sinners because heaven rejoices at their recovery.

          Jesus is no longer with us physically, but He has given us the Holy Spirit. He has entrusted the rescue mission of the lost world to you and me. We have had our share of several Hurricanes in the United States in recent years including Hurricane Rita that hit Texas, Hurricane Katrina that pummeled the Gulf Coast, including Louisiana and Mississippi, and recently Hurricane Sandy that decimated New Jersey and New York. The various states and the Federal Government have done their best to try to bring people to safety. Why were the states and the Federal government doing this? Because they know the potential devastation Hurricanes could cause to human life. Ladies and gentlemen, the great tribulation that is described in the Bible that is coming upon those without Christ is going to be more deadly and destructive than any hurricane we could ever experience.

          Jesus has appointed you and me to go get the lost people and bring them to safety before the great tribulation strikes. This tribulation is unprecedented; it is incomparable. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Sandi put together pale in comparison to the impending great tribulation. Until we obey the mandate of God and launch into the business of bringing lost people to God, there will be no joy in heaven. Imagine you live in Houston, or Galveston, New Orleans, Newark, or New York City and there were enough seats in your car, but you left your siblings, parents, and friends at the mercy of the hurricane ! If they died in the hurricane, you would blame yourself for the rest of your life. The question is what are you doing for your family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers who are lost? Why don’t you tell them about the Savior Jesus Christ who wants to save them? Why have you joined the cynics and critics who attack believers who are sharing the good news with "the sinners?" Are you for Jesus or against Him?