The Blessing Of Finding One
Luke 15:1-10 - Lost Sheep & Lost Coin
1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4 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?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 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.
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Luke 19:1-10 — Zacchaeus
1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
{Side note on Publicans — Publican - American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
An officer of the revenue, employed in collecting taxes.
Among the Romans there were two sorts of tax-gatherers; some were general receivers, who in each province had deputies; they collected the revenues of the empire, and accounted to the emperor. These were men of great consideration in the government; and Cicero says that among these were the flower of the Roman knights, the ornaments of the city, and the strength of the commonwealth.
But the deputies, the under-collectors, the publicans of the lower order, were looked upon as so many thieves and pickpockets. Theocritus being asked which was the cruelest of all beasts, answered, Among the beasts of the wilderness, the bear and the lion; among the beasts of the city, the publican and the parasite.
Among the Jews, the name and profession of a publican were especially odious. They could not, without the utmost reluctance, see publicans exacting tributes and impositions laid on them by foreigners, the Romans. The Galileans, or Herodians, especially, submitted to this with the greatest impatience, and thought it even unlawful.
Those of their own nation who undertook this office they looked upon as heathen, . It is even said that they would not allow them to enter the temple or the synagogues, to engage in the public prayers or offices of judicature, or to give testimony in a court of justice.
There were many publicans in Judea in the time of our Savior; Zaccheus, probably, was one of the principal receivers, since he is called chief among the publicans; but Matthew was only an inferior publican.
The Jews reproached Jesus with being a friend of publicans and sinners, and eating with them; but he, knowing the self-righteousness, unbelief and hypocrisy of his accusers, replied, The publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.}
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These three stories have always intrigued me. I think, in part, because of the high emphasis placed upon finding the ONE. There’s something refreshing, encouraging and liberating in the concept of slowing things down to such a degree that we spend our time and energy finding the ONE sinner in need of repentance.
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First, a few things to note:
*We are to be in contact with “publicans and sinners.”
*The need for repentance from sin is to be our primary mission.
*Sin, though pleasurable for a season, (Hebrews 11:25) is an empty promise that always disappoints.
*SOMEONE has to actually tell others of their need of repentance from sin.
By way of example, notice:
Matthew 3:1-2
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:12-17
12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Both John and Jesus, right from the very beginning of their outreach ministries, started with preaching that clearly emphasized: Sin and Repentance.
They came right out with it. They didn’t beat around the bush. They didn’t try to sneak in through the back door of peoples’ hearts. They walked right up and knocked on the front door with a very direct, no nonsense, approach.
Now I don’t know how that strikes you, but it initially gives me a feeling of being just a little too confrontational for my comfort zone. How about you?
This type of approach challenges the concept of "friendship” evangelism as it has been presented over the last several decades. Don’t misunderstand me, please. I'm in favor of friendship evangelism.
But I’m not …
If it means we constantly fail to address sin, separation from God, and the need for salvation through repentance. And more often than not, I fear that’s what happens.
Have you ever, never, ended up witnessing while waiting for the “right time” or the “right circumstance” to appear?
Has that ever happened to you? Has that ever happened to me? For me, yes it has … more times than I’d like to admit to myself. And I fear that my “waiting for the right time” resulted, at times, in the right time never arriving.
Plainly stated …
One-on-one evangelism is very challenging in a sort of uncomfortable way, right? It makes you feel very vulnerable due to fear of rejection and/or confrontation. It can be daunting to converse with a person concerning sin and their need of salvation. That can be a challenging mountain to climb.
But that’s what we’ve been saved and called to do.
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Back to The Blessing of Finding One in Luke 15.
I’m not sure we’re called upon to reach the masses but, I am fairly convinced, we are called upon to seek after that lost ONE in need of being found.
And …
For us to have an inner unction, a compulsion to find the ONE, we need to take the eternal lostness of that ONE personally.
Perhaps like this:
*The unsaved people around us are just like that lost sheep which has strayed away from the care of its owner the Shepherd. And if not sought after it may never be found.
Or, perhaps like this:
*The people around us are to be valued like that woman’s lost silver coin.
A personal Illustration:
One day, years ago when we lived in New Orleans with just Coy and crawling Luke, Judy noticed that the diamond from her engagement ring had come out of its setting. One of the prongs had gotten broken off at the top. If I remember correctly, she first noticed it was missing in the duplex in which we lived.
Well …
What should we do? Where do we start? It could have happened … who knows when or where!
My first thought: Start right here in the duplex. But how, where? The only thing I knew to do was to get the vacuum cleaner and start vacuuming.
So that’s what I did … rather hopelessly, I must admit. But, I had nothing to loose. As I was vacuuming in the bedroom, the roller on the vacuum came to a loud screeching halt. I immediately I shut if off and low-and-behold, there was the diamond. I can tell you there WAS rejoicing that day for sure. Our lost possession was no longer lost … it was saved from its lost condition and returned (after repairs) to its proper place on Judy’s finger..
We were determined to find that item which meant so much to us personally that we did all we could do to find it.
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One final thing that has always blessed me in the Luke 15 passage:
*Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.
*There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
I find that so amazingly encouraging. What a great motivation for endeavoring to fine the ONE sinner that needs repentance who will one day be among the angles that rejoiced at his salvation.
And just think, we have the potential to become part of that in someone’s life.
Amen.