If you’re fortunate, it’s been long enough since you’ve experienced being lost, that you’ve forgotten the sheer terror of it. Dig into your memories and find yourself there again, tucked into a clothing rack at a department store, searching for signs of your mama, or wandering through an unfamiliar city without your GPS, and allow yourself to feel it anew. The sweaty palms, the dry mouth, the disorientation that comes from not knowing which direction to go, the desperation to find yourself safely tucked back into the arms of the familiar.
We can’t fault the Pharisees and scribes, not really. They saw Jesus breaking bread with the “lost,” and they forgot, bless them, how remarkable it is to be found. “And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:2). And so Jesus lays out a series of lessons.
He starts with sheep, a relatively disposable commodity. As a sheep farmer myself, I can say with certainty that the flock matters, as do the individual hooves and horns that make it up, but a lost sheep or two is relatively minor. That is, unless you’re the Good Shepherd… or that one sheep who’s wandered off.
As the religious leaders listened to Jesus, perhaps they counted themselves among the ninety-nine, safe in the pen of rules and right thinking. And yet, whether in the pen or gone astray, the Good Shepherd deeply loves His sheep, all of them. Pay attention to the numbers in this first scene. The ratio of lost to found is one to ninety-nine, but Jesus is about to raise the stakes.
Consider a woman with ten silver coins. One slips through her fingers. It’s lost but not forgotten. She searches earnestly until the coin is in her hands. In Jesus’s second story, the ratio of lost to found is one to nine. Perhaps the Pharisees were still stifling a yawn at this point. Who cares about a single straggling sheep or even a single roll-away coin? When it comes to livestock and treasure, value is all relative.
But what about a son? Would we disregard a lost son carelessly? A loving parent would exhaust every resource to bring their lost boy home. The ratio here is intimate. One boy at home and one gone astray, one obedient and one in rebellion. Each time the Lord teaches the principle, the margins narrow. Heaven can never become so full of the saved that the Lord will cease to care about the lost.
Those who bear His image are not cattle to Him. He doesn’t think of us like pennies, barely worth being picked up off the sidewalk. We are His beloved children, the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). At the cross, He proved He would pay any ransom for us, even if we were the only one lost in the darkness of sin. What the Pharisees didn’t see was that Jesus wasn’t just eating a meal with the lost. He was searching for lost sheep, seeking missing treasure, and running to meet His beloved sons and daughters.
Erin Davis is an author, blogger, and speaker who loves to see women of all ages run to the deep well of God’s Word. When she’s not writing, you can find Erin chasing chickens and children on her small farm in the Midwest.
what an uplifting devotional today! many have said it already but i too hadn’t realized how the comparisons grew more and more intimate. keely, i can relate to your post so much!! i am so reassured by this message today.
“Heaven can never become so full of the saved that the Lord will cease to care about the lost.”
“At the cross, He proved He would pay any ransom for us, even if we were the only one lost in the darkness of sin.”
i will keep these thoughts close to heart, especially as i pray for my S/O to come to faith. <3
What a great explanation! Thank you! ❤️
Bama Girl in TN, I’m so glad you’re here with us! I’m praying for peace, comfort, and strength for you and your family right now. ❤️
Beautifully said.
Erin, your explanation of the ratios in these parables gave me greater understanding of this passage. Thanks to the SRT community for sharing your insight to God’s message for us!
I had never thought about how these 3 parables of Jesus begin broad moving to the intimate. I see them as a beautiful lesson in the importance of the daily.
Sheep. My former principal would say, “Angie, you can’t save them all (referring to my students),” and I would think, “But I have to try.” Those very tough kiddos, very tough parents, they are lost lambs. The Shepherd is allowing me to join him on a search and find rescue mission. He values each one. Who are our lost lambs?
Coins. Each part of this journey has worth and value, not just 90%. So when one part of God’s gifts/plan for me has been “lost” He wants me to search and find it. Lost reputation, opportunities, moments help me Lord to value every little part of your plan.
A son. I already place value on the intimate. It hurts when it is lost. This father didn’t compromise his values and tell the son he could live his sin-filled life at home, if he would just remain. Interestingly, the son didn’t expect that either. He took what the father gave and left. Like the father in this parable I will watch (and pray, pray, pray) with anticipation to celebrate the return of the intimate lost.
We join in the search and find rescue mission as we lift each other in prayer ,for Jesus values the 1/99, the 1/10, and the 1/1.
Thank you Lord Jesus that you teach us to value “all,” through your parables and through your sacrifice on the cross. Daily make us more like You. Amen.
My mind is blown. I’ve read this story more times than i can count. And this hit me so hard! ‘The Father didn’t compromise his values…’ YES! How often do we want to ‘follow’ God and want His blessings, but still do it our own way and then are confused by the following consequences or that God didn’t bless when we do it our way! He is perfect and cannot compromise himself. But will lovingly wait for us to come home and fall over Himself with love to welcome us back. Thank you for the insight! Giving me much to chew on…
I want to thank Annie F. Downs for mentioning SRT in her 100 Days to Brave book. I started with the Advent plan in December. I now look forward to studying the Bible. These readings and devotional writers bring so many “nuggets” of information…things I had never thought about before. I love reading the comments and gain wisdom from them as well.
My mom passed away 2 months ago. I have never been through something so painful. Getting used to a new normal is tough. But it has brought me back to God, and I praise him for leading me to this precious community of sisters. I love knowing that this is an environment where it is ok to not be ok.
Have a blessed day and know you are all in my prayers today, wherever you may be.
I love me some Annie F. Downs! Welcome to SRT. It has helped me so much as I seek to draw closer to Christ and become the person He wants to be.
My mom will have been gone 7 years on January 25. I’m praying for you during this time. It can just straight up suck.Take each day as it comes and feel what you need to feel. Jesus can handle whatever you throw at Him
I loved this today! Just the reminder I needed as I struggle with personal issues of health & weight. I can do nothing to make Jesus love me more. Yes He cares about my health and how I treat my temple but that’s because of His great love for me. Not because I must weigh a certain amount to he healthy.