Everyone is Wanted!

Series: The Pursuit: God's Steadfast Love

Who’s Valuable?

What makes something valuable to us?

  • For example, all those people still in the foyer … what makes coffee so valuable?
  • Or for those bidding, what makes one item of baking more valuable than the other?
  • Shout out answers

What makes someone valuable to us?

  • I’d like you to keep that question in your mind as we go further into the parables of Luke 15.

 

Let’s pray together and ask Jesus to reveal himself to us through his Parables this morning.

 

15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

 

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

 

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

 

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons…

  • Stop there and Pastor Brad will pick up that story next Sunday…

 

 Who’s the Focus?

 

So who is the main focus in Luke 15?

  • Luke 15 begins with the Pharisees and scribes calling Jesus out and putting the spotlight on him.
  • All of Luke 15 focuses on Jesus and his answer to the accusation of the Pharisees and the religious teachers in vs. 2 that he is “associating and eating with sinners.”

 

  • Verse 1 says that the “tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.”
  • And when they did, Jesus would “associate” with them… which really isn’t a strong enough interpretation in the NLT.
  • The original word Luke is using, means “to receive,” “to eagerly await or expect and look for.”
  • Everywhere else that Luke uses this word; he’s referring to a relationship, to anticipating being with someone.

 

  • Jesus isn’t just “associating” with these sinners, he’s making real space for them, encouraging them to come, stay and eat at his tables with him.
  • Jesus is looking out for these sinners, he’s eagerly awaiting their coming when they show up to listen to him teach.
  • He has his eye out for them.
  • Even tax collectors, who are in the “financial bed” so-to-speak, with Rome … the enemies of Israelites/Jews.
  • Jesus is inviting sinners and enemies over for a meal.
  • Who does that? Really, who opens up their kitchen table, especially if you have a family, to prostitutes, murderers, homeless, drug addicts… when’s the last time any of us did that?

 

The Pharisees and scribes accuse Jesus of breaking Jewish law and demeaning the office of a religious prophet/teacher.

  • And the rest of the chapter is Jesus’ explanation to them of what is really happening when he not only welcomes sinners, but pursues them and eats with them.

 

  • The first answer is in vs.3–7, which Pastor Brad spoke on last Sunday, coming in the form of the Parable of the Lost Sheep.
    • When Jesus eats with sinners, it’s like a shepherd who finds a lost sheep and celebrates with his friends.
  • The second answer is in vs.8–10, the Parable of the Lost Coin.
    • When Jesus eats with sinners, it’s like a woman who finds a lost coin and celebrates with all her friends.
  • And then the third answer will come in vs.11-32, in the Parable of the Lost Son.
    • And when we’ll get into that story over the next two weeks, because there are really 2 sons in the story.
    • But spoiler alert, it will end with a celebration!

 

All three parables have this in common: being lost and being found, followed by great joy/party in heaven.

  • 6: “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep!”
  • 9: “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin!”
  • 24: “‘This son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”

 

  • A lost and found sheep — and a party.
  • A lost and found coin — and a party.
  • A lost and found son — and a party.

 

And in each parable, Jesus leaves no doubt about what he means… which is what parables are supposed to do… they are meant to be the short, quick, wake up, proverbial slap in the face…

  • In other words, you don’t need a theological degree to understand a parable.
  • You simply need to be looking for the truth.
    • The lost sheep, coin and son represent lost sinners

 

  • And the being found represents repentance… turning away from our own ways and turning toward God.

 

  • And the celebration represents the party that God and all the angels are having in heaven when repentance happens on earth.

 

These parables are intended to be simple, and in that moment some of the Pharisees get it and some don’t.

  • Jesus is saying, “I eat with sinners because I am the incarnation of God’s love pursuing the lost.”
    • I am the shepherd seeking the sheep.
    • I am the woman seeking her coin.
  • “And this meal that we are eating together is a little bit of what’s happening in heaven right now… and it’s a foretaste of the perfect joy that is coming in eternity.”
    • When sinners turn from their sin and enter into a relationship with Jesus, they have returned to their Creator, and He, God the Father, is ecstatic.

 

So What?

So if it’s simple, what’s the big deal? It’s just the gospel. We get these parables now because it’s been 2000 years since Jesus told them and heh, I’m not the first preacher to talk about these stories in Luke 15.

  • So what’s the big deal? What’s the point of spending all of February on something I just explained in 5 minutes?
  • What’s the point of preaching on these parables?
  • Is the point of preaching on these parables that we should act like Jesus and go find lost sheep and coins and sons and bring them home to the Father?
  • Is the point that we shouldn’t be like the Pharisees?
  • Is the point that we should invite people over for dinner, even people we don’t like?

 

Friends, our deep desire in these stories is that you would see Jesus.

  • Jesus didn’t end these parables with “go and do likewise.”
  • And Luke didn’t end this chapter with, “Go and imitate Jesus.”
  • The reason we have these stories 2000 years later is first and foremost so that we can see Jesus.

 

Would you pause with me right now, and in your Spirit, take a breath, let all the distractions settle, and simple say, “Jesus, I want to see you. Show me who you are.”

  • And the Holy Spirit, the one who counsel and leads us to what is true, is at work…
  • …as you look at Jesus this morning … seeing him in these stories… soak it in.
  • Learn who this Person is, which you say that you trust and love and worship and follow in life.
  • Linger in Jesus’ shadow as he talks with the Pharisees.
  • Saturate your soul with his expressions, perspectives, ways as he describes how he lived on earth.

 Watch him. Listen to him. Stand in awe of him. Let him overwhelm you with who and the way he is.

 This may be the only time this week that you pause long enough to be permeated with the beauty of this risky, painful, sacrificial, loving way of life … the pursuit: God’s relentless love for humanity.

 

 The Pharisees couldn’t get there… they simply refused to pause long enough to relate to Jesus.

  • They couldn’t be in relationship with Jesus because they wouldn’t relate to the lost, the at-risk, the marginalized, the outcasts of society.
  • At the beginning of these parables, Jesus strikes right at their heart issue.
  • 4, "If a man (you) had a 100 sheep and one gets lost what would you do?"
    • And right there, they would have been mortified, “Uuhhhhhhhhh! How dare you compare me to Shepherd.”
    • Shepherds are unclean… shepherds are defiled…
    • They wouldn't have anything to do with a shepherd… they wouldn't go near a shepherd… they would never be like a shepherd…
    • And yet Jesus says, put yourself in the shoes of a shepherd… in the shoes of a so-called defiled person.

 

  • And then, he has them imagine that they are a woman.
    • 8, “Or suppose a woman loses a coin…”
    • This would have been an absolute, outright insult to address Pharisees and scribes and ask them to put themselves in a woman's place to evaluate how a woman would think and how she would behave.
    • Shepherds were unclean but women were “unrespected”… they had no status.
    • In fact, in Middle Eastern culture, it’s an insult to compare a male audience to a woman.

 

  • Needless to say, these Pharisees and Scribes are not pausing and in their spirits, saying, “Jesus, we want to see you. Show us who you are.”

 

And while the Pharisees didn't want to be compared to a shepherd or a woman … Jesus/God has no problem stepping into the shoes of an unclean shepherd or the robe of a marginalized woman.

  • We tend to think of God in male terms, and yes, that's the predominant way He presents Himself in Scripture … with the masculine pronoun.
  • But friends, God created women and men equally in His image.
  • And there are many times in the Bible that God presents Himself as analogous to a woman.
  • I'll give you one example that most of us will be familiar with, in which God depicts himself as both a male shepherd and a female hostess (just as in Luke 15).
  • Psalm 23,

1The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need…
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

  • God as a male shepherd…
  • God as a woman hosting him with a feast… in ancient culture the men never set the table or prepared the meal.
  • God’s house… a household is represented by a husband and wife working in tandem to create a family.

 

Pause, take a deep breath, let silence fill our space … “Jesus, we want to see you. Show us who you are.”

 

Now What?

In Matthew 25, Jesus ends another section of parables with this incredible revelation.

  • He says of himself,

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King/Jesus will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

 

And now we bring to the forefront the question, “What makes someone, not something, but someone valuable to us?”

  • Valuable enough that we would pursue them?
  • Valuable enough that we wouldn’t just look for them, but we would risk giving them access to one of our most cherished spaces … our kitchen/family table?
  • Valuable enough that we just can’t wait for an enemy to approach us so that we can invite them over for a meal?
    • A bully, a radical Muslim, a convicted criminal, a creditor wanting repayment, a prostitute…

 

Luke 15 is about the love of God coming into the cities and suburbs of our world to find lost brothers and sisters, sons and daughters.

  • It’s about the person of Jesus Christ and the meaning of his mission in the world — then and today.
  • It’s about the brokenness you will drive past at almost every main intersection on your way home today.
  • It’s about the person you give a toonie to, knowing you are probably being ripped off…
    • And yet believing that this is the heart of Jesus… pursuing, being in relationship with those who are lost.

 

  • Why? Because Jesus values them as his prized creation!
    • So much so that he came to this world, repeatedly stood in front of a bunch of religious leaders, took their best shots … and then showed them the way to the Father in heaven.

 

Luke records so many stories/parables about people who are neglected, forgotten, ignored, lost.

  • He writes about widows, beggars and rebellious sons with an eye that reflects the fact that he saw Jesus.
  • Luke was drawn to the person of Jesus and his love for people.
  • Luke learned why someone is valuable, no matter what his or her state in life might be.
  • People are valuable to Jesus.
  • All three parables in Luke 15 are stories of relationship and restoration.
  • God’s relentless pursuit of humanity… wanting everyone in a loving relationship with Himself.
  • His creation, female and male in his image… me, you, notorious sinners, enemies.
  • Everyone is valuable; everyone is worth pursuing!

 10 [because] there is joy in the presence of [heaven] when even one sinner repents.”

Amen.

Why would anyone pursue "notorious sinners" and enemies? What makes someone valuable, especially when we don't think they are?

Speaker: Wally Nickel

February 10, 2019
Luke 15:1-10

Wally Nickel

Transitional Pastor

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