This parable is the Gospel within the Gospel. Primary to the theological significance of the story are the themes of joy, the shepherd’s relentless pursuit to find the sheep, and the fact that the sheep really does nothing to make itself worthy of rescuing. Jesus’ parable reinterprets for Israel how God sees repentance and forgiveness, and what type of people God wants in his kingdom. The theological significance of this story must be applied to our own situation, in our own era.
Let’s dig in. By the time the sheep is found, it is exhausted, hungry, and weak. Ironically, the sheep would most likely refuse to follow the shepherd. To rescue the sheep, the shepherd must “place it over his two shoulders, with its stomach against the back of his neck, and with its four feet tied together in front of his face.”1 This Middle-Eastern custom would have been familiar to the shepherd, “He lays it on his shoulders and rejoices” (v. 6). “Without the shouldering of this burden there is no restoration.”2 This restoration points to Christ and his cross. Jesus will shoulder the burdens of humanity. To him, “we are important and valued, and the transformation of a single sinner brings joy, not only to God, but also to all who share his heart of love.”3
The cross is the place of restoration and Jesus’ burden. The message to the Pharisees is simple: those people they dismiss as unholy and unclean are the people Jesus came to find, to burden himself with, to die on the cross for, and to lead safely home. “Those we have given up on or forgotten about or dismissed because of their unworthiness are the very ones that Jesus has headed out to look for.”4 Jesus challenges the divisions the Pharisees make based on socio economic conditions. He “challenges the tyranny of tradition; he dared to touch innumerable sacred cows of ritual and socio-political-economic custom that make people expendable and stratify in terms of competitive advantage.”5 Ultimately, all sheep belong to God!
This passage is filled with rejoicing: The community rejoices at the return of the Lost Sheep, and for the shepherd and his honor. There is also rejoicing in heaven: “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” (v 7.) All those “in heaven” rejoice: People “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues” appear standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb. They sing with the angels, “Amen! Blessings and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen” (Rev. 7:12.) Isaiah 25: 6-9 carries this theme using the imagery of a heavenly banquet. The kingdom of God will belong to people like these tax collectors and sinners. They will be restored by the Messiah to the communal life God intended for them. The Pharisees, intent on building walls of separation, may just find themselves on the wrong side of the fence.
There is a danger in postponing this until the Second Coming of our Lord. This is exactly Jesus’ point to the Pharisees. Since the Kingdom of God is already here, we must do our searching and reconciling work today, and we must start the rejoicing today. I believe that most people prefer to be in churches that rejoice over repentant sinners and have a good practice of meeting people in the cliffs and gutters of life. People do not come to church looking for more condemnation. We all want restoration. Let me give you a few examples of what this restoration looks like.
In 1815, the fictional character of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, Jean Val Jean, stands accused of theft in front of Bishop Myriel. He faces certain return to prison where he has spent nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread. As he awaits the word of condemnation that would end his life, he hears, “Jean Val Jean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I have bought your soul. I have ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God. You are his now.” At this point, years of hatred and pain wash away as Val Jean weeps.6 In 1773, John Newton seats at his desk writing an illustration for a sermon he is to deliver the next day. He remembers when he was a slave trader in 1748, and a terrible storm threatened to capsize his boat. As he rejoices in God’s deliverance, he writes, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”7
On December 28, 1984, at Louisiana State Penitentiary, killer, rapist, and arm-robber, Robert Lee Willie was executed. (His story is told in the movie “Dead Man Walking,” where they use the name Matthew Poncelett.) Before his death, he faced the parents of one of his victims and stated, "I would just like to say, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, I hope you get some relief from my death. Killing people is wrong, that's why you've put me to death; it makes no difference whether it's citizens, countries or governments - killing is wrong." About 25 minutes before his death, he finally confessed to his spiritual director. His last words to her were, “Sister Helen, I think God is going to be waiting for me.”8 As he died, he claimed God had forgiven him.
Inspector Javert in Les Misérables, Newton’s critics in England, righteous folks in Louisiana, and the Pharisees of 2000 years ago all scream in unison, “It’s not Fair! This cannot be! If these people are worthy of forgiveness then why bother being good? Why play by the rules when killers, thieves, and slave traders are given a free pass to heaven?” This is the beauty of the radical nature of the gospel. The shepherd looks for his sheep until he finds it because the sheep is valuable to him. There is nothing he will not do to find his sheep. Yet, there are many lost sheep who don’t know the extent of the shepherd’s love for them.
We must resist the temptation to associate the shepherd only with Christ. Remember that this parable is directed at Pharisees. Jesus wants them (and us) to find the lost, tear down walls of separation, and go out into the fields of Galilee, the Angola prisons of the world, and the gutters of our inner cities to look for stray sheep. This parable is clearly directed at religious people, which includes you and I who call ourselves disciples of Jesus. It is in God’s wisdom to call former lost sheep to become shepherds. This is part of the cross Christ invites us to carry! Where Javert, Newton’s critics, and the righteous people of today go wrong is in believing that Jean Val Jean, Newton, and even Willie are worse sinners than we are. Sin is sin and all sin is offensive to God. We are all sinners in need of restoration. We are as much in need of this unconditional grace as the three characters above. God has sent his Son to seek the lost, and in return, the Son has sent his disciples to seek the lost. This is the beauty of this parable.
Repentance is difficult to understand. Some of the Rabbis in Jesus’ day believed that there were “perfectly righteous” people and only they deserved eternal salvation. Others believed there were no perfectly righteous people, only repentant people. Jesus stands on the side of the second group. The logical consequence of this argument is that the ninety-nine sheep who need no repentance do not really exist. We can best understand that statement as irony. I love the fact that Luke does not give us the size or value of the sheep. There is also no mention that the sheep did anything to facilitate the conclusion of the parable. There was no action on its part to make itself worthy of finding. This has powerful theological significance, because it makes repentance not a work. Jean Val Jean did nothing to deserve the bishop’s pardon. As he stands waiting for his sentence of death he is surprised by forgiveness and love. The lost sheep does nothing to deserve rescuing, it just waits in its lostness until a hand reaches down the cliff and grabs it. Perhaps repentance is nothing more than allowing God to rescue us. Repentance is opening our minds and hearts to God and allowing him to do the rest. The kingdom is already here among us and there is no need to be perfectly righteous to bring it about. Our response then is one of humble acceptance. We acknowledge we are irreparably lost, and we let God find us.
Our religious works are only a grateful response to an action already taken by Jesus. He saved us while we were still sinners, as Paul reminds us. Now we accept that salvation, and as a sign of gratitude, we strive to produce the fruits of the kingdom. There is no need to become meritorious of God’s grace. It has been done! It is completed! He has done it for us all, forever.
I must confess that I, and many other Christians, still struggle with this. Many of us believe that we must do something to make God love us better. “If I were able to do more, I would be a better disciple. If I were devout enough, I would be certain of my salvation. If I could forever end the sin of pride, God would bless me more (love me more). If I!” But this is not how this works! God’s love is not conditional. It is not transactional. I do understand our anxiety, however. After all, “Christian Meritocracy” is at the very core of the DNA of many Christian denominations. The good news is that unconditional grace is the very core of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not about what we do for God, but about what God has already done for us in the person of his Son. It is all about him, and for this I am deeply grateful.
Blessings,
Fr. Roman+
1 Hendriksen, William. The Gospel of Luke. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), 745.
2 Baily, Kenneth. Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Combined Edition. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983), 154.
3 Richards, Lawrence O. The Teachers Commentary. (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1987), 685.
4 Sterne, Martha P. “Seeking the Lost Sheep.” Christian Century, (August-September 2, 1998): 781.
5 Danker, Frederick W. Luke. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976), 112.
6 Les Misérables, as quoted by Perry, Julie R. “You are the One Whom Jesus Loves: A Sermon on Luke 15:1-10; Ezekiel 34:11-16”. Review and Expositor, 109, (Spring 2012): 292.
7 Wikipedia, “Amazing Grace.” Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace on 12/10/2021.
8 Purnell, Allan and McMahon, Bill. “Victim’s parent says execution too painless. Nun says murderer felt God would receive him.” The Advocate, December 28, 1984. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/angel/articles/advocate1228.html on 12/10/2021.
