In Luke chapter 15 and verses 1-7 our Lord Jesus told a parable of the lost sheep to his audience. Usually, parables are clues (metaphors) to a greater hidden message, they are search engines in modern parlance.
So what is the hidden message in the parable of the lost sheep? The story of reconciliation, of redemption and of the love of the Shepherd is the hidden message in this parable. Our Lord Jesus is the Shepherd and man is that lost sheep. Our Lord Jesus left all the 99 fold and came for one lost sheep, and how precious is that one lost sheep.
Of all of God’s creation, man is the only one that disobeys His command. “Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shall not eat of it, for in the day that thou eat of it thou shall surely die” (Gen 2: 17). And man ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, contrary to the commandment given.
But here is love in action, “For God so love the world (man), that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3: 16).
Our Lord Jesus set aside His glory, His majesty, became man in the flesh to save and reconcile in order to take man back from his lost estate. 1Peter 1 verses 11 and 12 speaks “They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward… It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen“. What a wonderful story of grace, of love our salvation is.
No other creation including the devil disobey or defies God’s command (yes the devil rebelled and stirred up mutiny in heaven as he wants to be like God), but it was only man (made in God’s image and likeness), of all of God’s creation that disobeyed and openly defied God’s command and through his disobedience because rebellious, taking the nature of the devil. Proverbs 8 in verse 29 gives an example of creations’ obedience to God’s command. We remember the status of the fig tree that came under a curse because it defied its course of order ( Mark 11: 14).
But for man there was redemption and our Lord Jesus Christ is our redemption, given of God for the reconciliation of man. The book of Hebrews chapter 2 is instructive for us and it asks a rhetorical question, “shall we neglect (forsake) so great a salvation? How shall we escape from the impending and consequential wrath of man’s disobedience. The book of Hebrews furthermore in chapter 12 verse 9 says even our earthly fathers chastise us and we give them reverence and asks the question; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits (to whom all mankind shall give account) and live.
We have all sinned and have come short of the glory of God, but the gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is eternal life (Romans 6: 23). It’s time to come home, acknowledge we have come short of the glory of God (fallen from the nature of God) and let the invitation of our Lord Jesus echo in our lives. “Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28).
Life is lonely and hazardous for a lost, lonely sheep without a Shepherd. We have a good Shepherd in Christ Jesus our Lord. And having been reconciled unto God by Christ, we are to live and grow to become like Him, even Christ Jesus, dying daily to self and to every human nature that takes us away from God.
