The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Written by my wife)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

My favorite parable from Jesus is The Parable of the Lost Sheep.  It is proof that Jesus loves us and does not want any of us to perish spiritually.  He is actively seeking out each and every one of us, and wants to welcome us into His fold.

There is more than one version of this parable, so I'll start with the one from Matthew:

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  Matthew 18:10-14
 
As I am writing this, I am realizing there is so much to say on this topic, that it may be difficult to say all that is rattling around in my brain.  I pray I can convey all God is laying on my heart. 
 

 
First of all, Jesus already gave His life for us.  He shed us holy, sinless blood on the cross with the desire that we might live with Him forever. 
 
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16
 
Christ does not have to do anything else; it is up us to choose to accept God's precious gift.  Yet, in spite of this fact, God still actively seeks each of us out and calls us to Him.  He will search for the one lost sheep that has wandered away.
 

 
I would next like to focus on what it means to be lost.  The bible makes it clear that we are all like sheep that have gone astray.   
 
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6

Or put it another way:
 
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23
 
Which means we are all in need of God's saving grace.  In another blog I will explore more on the topic that, although God is full of grace and mercy, there is a whole lot more to salvation than most churches preach.  For today, I will keep it more simple.
 
We all have sinned, but being a lost sheep does not just refer to those who have not received Christ as their Savior.  For one thing, we all sin most every day (without losing our salvation), which means we confess our sins daily.  There are those, whoever, who have been saved and have backslidden.  Therefore, to me this parable is also about those who received Christ as Lord of their life, then later fell away.  In other words, one can become lost again, even after God found you.
 
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.  Revelation 2:5
 
There is no shame in admitting that we have done wrong and allow God to change us from the inside out.  Sometime that requires a daily cleansing and always a daily self-examination of our hearts.
 
Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.
Psalm 119:175-176

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24 

 
Jesus loves us all very much and wants to rescue us from a life of sin.  He will never stop chasing us.  His Word shows He has compassion for us and longs to capture us forever.  He wants to teach us, guide us, direct us, encourage us.  He wants us to cling to the folds of His robes and learn at His feet (by daily reading the Bible).
 
And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.  Mark 6:34
 
Once we have been rescued, we are to remain changed.  We are not to give into the temptations of the world.  Reading the words of Jesus will really encourage and guide you in your daily walk.  Obviously, there is nothing wrong with the Old Testament and I love and study the entire bible.  However, if you truly want to learn and grow and be worthy of being rescued, studying the gospels and really allowing Jesus' own words to sink deep into your heart and soul will transform you.  I can say from experience that really focusing on the words of Christ will make you calmer and feel more at peace with every day life.  It will make it easier to live a life set apart from the ways of the world.   
 
Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.  1 Peter 2:1-3 & 21-25
 

Jesus referred to Himself as "The Good Shepherd," and He is indeed good.  Life is often full of pain, sorrow, and frustration, but God's love never changes.  Jesus is the only way to Salvation and a life of peace. 

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.   “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.   “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”  John 10:7-18

Since I started with the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Matthew, I will end with the version of Luke: 

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He spoke this parable to them, saying:  “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?  5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.  Luke 15:1-7
 

Understanding The New Covenant

Understanding  The New Covenant

 

Colossians 2: 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,  17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

Eph 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,  15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,  16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

There are many groups today that are teaching that God requires Christians to be Torah observant, but this is contrary to Scripture. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and wiped out the requirements of it, as well as taken it out of the way, through his death upon the cross (Col 2:14-17).  The Lord’s atonement provided for a new covenant that is based upon faith, as well as grace (unmerited favor).  The Law given to Moses by angels was necessary to teach us about sin, it was our school master, and as children the Israelites were kept by it, but as children they were also slaves to it (Gal 3:19-25).  But through Christ’s atonement upon the cross we have now been justified by faith, and are no longer slaves to the Law, but free men, who are sons, heirs of God (Gal 4:1-7). To put the heavy yoke of the Mosaic Law upon the necks of free men is to bring them under bondage, as well as a curse (Gal 3:10-14). The apostle Paul said that to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage by trying to be justified by the Law, will make you estranged from Christ, as well as fallen from grace.

 Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.  4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Under the old covenant of the Law, men were required to be circumcised, as a sign of being in covenant with God, but the sign of being in covenant with Christ today, is water baptism. Through water baptism we proclaim, as well as identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Under the old covenant, if a person was caught in adultery they would be stoned to death, but Christ said, that he who is without sin cast the first stone. Also, Christ taught that the old custom of eye for an eye, or tooth for a tooth, was replaced by turning the other cheek when slapped or wronged. Also, the dietary laws of the old testament were set in place to symbolize sin, but all food is declared to be clean through prayer, (Mark7:14-23) (1 Timothy 4:1-5) (Rom 14:1-6).

 I have never met a truly Torah observant person in my life. If a person buys a shirt that is a mix of polyester and cotton he is in violation of Torah, or a farmer raises two different crops within the same field, he is also in violation of Torah. If your house has mold in it, you are required to burn it down according to the Mosaic Law. I could go on and on with many examples of how it is impossible to keep the old Law.

 The early new testament Christians, as well as Christians  today, were and are, being influenced by those who teach that we are required to keep the Mosaic law.  The Apostles and Elders of the church at Jerusalem, under the leadership of James, the brother of Christ, made a decree concerning this matter. They were all in agreement, that the keeping of the Law should not be required of the Gentile Christians. They only asked that they would abstain from sexual immorality, eating food sacrificed to idols, eating of things strangled, as well as, the consumption of blood.  No further requirements were put upon these new converts.  But the new testament is clear that we need to be born again in order to be truly saved.  To be born again, we must repent and turn away from our sins, as well as, live a separated lifestyle from that of the sinful world.  We must truly make Jesus Christ the Lord of every area of our lives. The Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in one statement, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul, as well as love your neighbor as yourself.  Below, I have listed the Scriptures addressed in this writing.    

 The Jerusalem Decree

Acts15:19  Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,  20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.  21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” 22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 23 They wrote this letter by them:  The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—  25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,  26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.  28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:  29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

 

Galatians 3:1  O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Galatians 3: 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”  11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”  12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

 Purpose of the Law

Galatians 3: 19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.  20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.  22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.  23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.  24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Galatians 4: Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,  2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.  3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.  4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born  of a woman, born under the law,  5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Two Covenants

Galatians 4: 1 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?  22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.  23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,  24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—  25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—  26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.  27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.” 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.  29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.  30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”  31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Galatians 5: 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.  4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Galatians 5: 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

Dietary laws

Mark 7: 14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him,  19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”  20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,  22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,  2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,  3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;  5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Romans 14:1  Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.  2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.  3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.  4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.  6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.