TEXT: LUKE 15:4 NKJV
[4] “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
Discussion
Today’s devotional focuses on a very popular parable Jesus gave about a man who lost one sheep out of a hundred. He left the ninety-nine and went after the one that was lost. When we read and study this parable in context, we should be able to understand the depth of the love Jesus was communicating.
Jesus was not portraying the shepherd as reckless for leaving the ninety-nine to go in search of one. Rather, He was showing the passion of a shepherd who is not interested in losing any of the hundred sheep. The love the shepherd has for the ninety-nine is equally the same as the love he has for the one that was lost. This brings to mind John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” The “world” here refers to all human beings not just one person, race, or tribe, but everyone.
The reason the shepherd could leave the ninety-nine and go in search of the one was because the ninety-nine were safe and secure from the wolves that might be after them. Jesus was portraying a picture of salvation through this parable. Heaven rejoices when one soul is added to the kingdom, not when one soul is added while ninety-nine are lost.
Losing ninety-nine for the sake of one is not an attribute of a good shepherd. A good shepherd will make sure that the one who was lost is found and brought back to the others he already has. Otherwise, he is no longer functioning as a shepherd. A person with only one sheep cannot be called a shepherd of a flock.
It is important that we understand this so that we know that, as soon as we are found, we are no longer lost. We have been added to the ninety-nine to make a hundred, and we are not expected to keep getting lost every time.
The next parable Jesus gave immediately after this was about the prodigal son. The father did not lose both of his children; he lost one while the other remained faithful and served him diligently. When the prodigal son returned home, the father was so excited that the elder brother became jealous. The father then said to him, “All I have is yours.”
It is very important to understand that God will not punish the faithful because another person has been unfaithful by exposing the faithful to danger in order to rescue the unfaithful. Our God judges perfectly.
Therefore, we need to understand that being found means being added to the fold. Jesus is trusting us to become firmly established in Him so that He can trust us to remain faithful while He seeks more of the lost to be added to the flock.
Declarations:
Now that Jesus has found me, I shall remain faithful until the end, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Light Up Christian Fellowship
