The Lost Sheep - Luke 15:1-7

Because I don’t really have a concept of the geography of ancient Israel, it’s hard for me to follow a lot of what’s going on and where, so for instance, when the scriptures say that the “Pharisees” say or do something, I think that it’s the same group of people who have been hassling Jesus this whole time. Apparently, there are different groups of Pharisees who live in different cities, and it’s interesting because these different groups of Pharisees in these different towns all seem to have problems with the same things that Jesus is doing. From the house of the Pharisee where Jesus taught previously, a crowd of “all the publicans and sinners” surround Jesus to hear him teach. Again, I don’t know why the Pharisees think it’s any of their business, but they are not pleased with the company that Jesus keeps, and they let him know saying, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” I think what is so baffling to me is that these people truly believe that they have no need for repentance. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s so heavily stressed in the AD Christianity that we are all sinners and are all in need of repentance, but it just seems unreasonable for me to understand that these ancient Jews believe that they will be saved simply because they were born Jews, that they are perfect and have no need to repent. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

Jesus answers them with a parable of a shepherd who has 100 sheep. When one of the 100 sheep wanders off, the shepherd leaves the other 99 and goes searching for the lost sheep. When the lost sheep is found “he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing,” and when he gets home rejoices with his friends and family because he found the sheep that had been lost. The lesson is spelled out, “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.” Again, this is a difficult concept for me because I so fully understand that no one in this life, except Jesus, is without need for repentance. But there’s also the flip side of that because if the 99 don’t need a lot of repentance, and they avoid serious sin, the implication of this statement is that God is happier with the one that repents, more than those who didn’t do anything serious wrong in the first place. But really, is there any one of us, any person ever born, who doesn’t have need of serious repentance? I know that I do, and I would imagine that it’s like that for almost all people, though it might not seem like it from the outside. Maybe the message is that God is happier with the one sheep that repents over the 99 that don’t. Perhaps he’s likening the Pharisees to the 99 sheep who never leave the fold because they don’t perceive that they are in need of repentance.

There is a lot that goes into these few simple verses that I wouldn’t have expected, like the Good Samaritan, each parable or character means something just a little bit different. The IM quotes President David O. McKay as teaching “How did that sheep get lost? He was not rebellious. If you follow the comparison, the lamb was seeking its livelihood in a perfectly legitimate manner, but either stupidly, perhaps unconsciously, it followed the enticement of the field, the prospect of better grass until it got out beyond the fold and was lost. So we have those in the Church… who wander away from the fold in perfectly legitimate ways. They are seeking success, success in business, success in their professions, and before long they become disinterested in Church and finally disconnected from the fold.”

It is so easy to look at anyone who doesn’t beat their chest for the church like we do as being “less than,” less than valiant, less than believing, less than worthy. It is so important for us to remember that there are many different reasons why people become disaffected with the gospel, and it’s important to remember that conversion is an eternal pursuit. Everyone has their own experiences and what we might consider to be horrific might be someone’s past, and what might be an irritation for someone else might be a spirit breaker for us. We are all on our own spiritual journeys in our own places on the path, and that instead of being critical or derogatory towards others, we need to build them up just as much as we need them to build us up.

The IM quotes Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin as teaching, “Some are lost because they are different. They feel as though they don’t belong. Perhaps because they are different, they find themselves slipping away from the flock. They may look act, think, or speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not needed… Brothers and sisters, if only we had more compassion for those who are different from us, it would lighten many of the problems and sorrows in the world today… Some are lost because they are weary. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. With all the pressures and demands on our time and the stress we face each say, it’s little wonder we get tired. Many feeling discouraged because they have not measured up to their potential. Others simply feel too weak to contribute. And so, as the flock moves on, gradually, almost imperceptibly, some fall behind.” It is so important for us to only have one mission when it comes to interacting with others, and that is to strengthen them, to help them be happier. Why they do anything that they do is none of our business, and should have no impact of the way we treat them.

Interestingly, the IM also quotes Elder Bruce C. Hafen as teaching, “The lost sheep are not just the people who don’t come to church… The lost sheep is a mother who goes down into the valley of the dark shadows to bring forth children. The lost sheep is a young person, far away from home and faced with loneliness and temptation. The lost sheep is a person who has just lost a critically needed job; a business person in financial distress; a new missionary in a foreign culture; a man just called to be bishop; a married couple who are misunderstanding each other; a grandmother whose children are forgetting her. I am the lost sheep. You are the lost sheep. ‘All we like sheep have gone astray.’ The times of feeling lost are not always times when we have wandered from the straight and narrow path. Not at all. We may be precisely where the Lord would have us be.”