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2. The Good Shepherd and His lost sheep
A thousand years after David had grazed his sheep as a young shepherd, founded an empire as king, and sang his praises as a prophet, Jesus - the good Shepherd - walked on this earth. He confirmed the Song of David and deepened it in a way that leads us into worship.
Jesus taught the Parable of the Lost Sheep to His followers and explained to them - with the depiction of the searching Shepherd - how God is seeking the lost until He finds them. Mind you: The Shepherd is not seeking the self- righteous, the super religious or the refined hypocrites, but is caring for those who have turned away from God and who are recognizing they are are lost in the abyss of sin. They know they have no other hope of being saved but the faithfulness of the Shepherd, who is searching for them.
Jesus asked His followers:
Luke 15:4-7
4 "Who is there among you, owning a hundred sheep, who will not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go searching for the lost one - until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders with joy. 6 When he comes home he calls his friends and neighbors and says unto them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say unto you: so will there be more joy in heaven over one repenting sinner than over ninety-nine righteous who do not need repentance".
Whoever meditates on this parable will have the words rush into his mind like scenes from a movie: A shepherd suddenly realizes that one of his sheep is missing and leaves his flock. He quickly brings the other sheep into a safe enclosure and runs the long days way back to find his lost sheep, before wild beasts could tear it apart. He hurries through the bush and is cut by sharp grasses and thorns that tear clothes and skin, he stumbles over stones, wades through muddy waters, climbs a hill and is left gasping for breath. He is tired and falls to the ground, but pulls himself up again. He stumbles forward and collapses exhausted. But the thought of the lost sheep will not let him come to rest. He has to find it and bring it safely home at all costs.
Finally, in the distance he hears a miserable bleating. He reaches the edge of the abyss. There, in the clutches of a shrub, his sheep is hanging helplessly over a vast emptiness, now hopefully looking up to him. Vultures circle above the site, hoping to soon devour the lost sheep.
The Shepherd, already dead tired, ties a rope to a tree trunk at the edge of the abyss and slowly descends down to the stubborn sheep. With difficulty he gets close to it, always in danger of falling himself. The long search for the lost sheep has been tiring; Now, its rescue is life-threatening. A full-grown sheep can weigh 120 kg. Slowly the shepherd untangles the sheep from the thorns and, while still hanging over the abyss, draws it gently upon his shoulders. The sheep does not stay quiet on the back of the shepherd, but shakes with joy, almost tearing its savior down into the abyss. Slowly the troubled shepherd works himself upward on his rope, inch by inch, until he finally reaches safe ground, totally exhausted. He is not letting go of the animal for a moment, that it might not once again jump into the abyss. Now the shepherd also recognizes the sheep has broken a leg and cannot get up by itself. He rises up, lifts the heavy sheep again onto his shoulders, and takes it home by night, all the long way back. But still the animal does not remain quiet on his back, but flails about and wants to get off again. It wants to be free, and does not realize that it can no longer run with its broken leg. So, the good shepherd has to carry it for many kilometers and keep an iron grip on it. It is not to escape him once more after he saved it.
Finally, late at night, the shepherd reaches the flock with his load. He splints the broken leg of his found- again sheep and puts it back to the ruminant flock.
The next morning, full of joy, he calls to the other shepherds in the area, and tells how he found the lost sheep and how he took it home at night with such great difficulty. His joy is contagious, because the shepherd loves his sheep with all his heart.
With this parable Jesus explains His love for the lost in a graphic way, and promises to each one who has gone astray: "I will run after you - if it be for days and years. I will seek you until I find you. I can hear you screaming over the gaping abyss of devastation. I will come and help you!" Maybe you are silent in your desperation, but the good Shepherd wants to come close to you and lift you onto His shoulders. Will you follow His winning until you are safe with Him? He has rescued you with great difficulty and pulled you out from the thorns of your sin. He accepts you as you are. He will take you home and walk a long way with you. You are lying heavy on His shoulders, you are often disobedient, you want to jump from His shoulders and run away again. But He will capture you, restore you, and bring you into His community.
Then Jesus revealed the wonderful summary of His parable: "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous who do not need repentance"
Have you ever thought about what it means that the whole of heaven is rejoicing? All angels are making music! God, the Father, is happy, the Holy Spirit is full of joy, and the good Shepherd rejoices – all because a man has given in to the drawing of His love, has been transformed and saved. Has heaven rejoiced over you, or do you belong to the self-righteous, who regard themselves as decent people and do not need repentance? Have you ever prayed for forgiveness for both your apparent and your hidden sins? Are you a lost man, whom Jesus has found, or are you a hard-hearted hypocrite, no longer able to rejoice when an apparent sinner comes to church seeking comfort and help? Where do you belong? Are you still lonely, hanging over the deep abyss, or are you safe on the shoulders of your faithful Shepherd? Have you already come to the communion of saints and been joined to the herd of the good Shepherd? If so there will be great joy in the whole of heaven, because you have repented and your Lord has brought you home. Have you taken time to give thanks to your Savior for His suffering? You can increase the joy in heaven if you tune in to the worship of the good Shepherd, and share with many where you live how He saved your life.