Portraits of our Father - Luke 15 - Part Two

Luke 15 are three stories (portraits) of who God, our Father, is.  As I shared last week, these are not about a sheep, a coin, or a son.  They are told to reveal to religious Jews (and us) who God, the Father, is like.

As the Jews grumbled about Jesus eating with sinners, He begin to share the three infamous stories that are the heart of Luke 15. 

The first is the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15: 4-7).

This story would quickly resonate with all the hearers as shepherds was a common profession in first-century Palestine, so all the Jews knew well about sheep getting separated from their flock.  What they did not necessarily resonate with was the idea of shepherds.  This profession, though popular, was not one with which they would "sit and eat." Shepherds provided the essential element of Temple worship (sheep), but they were not welcomed inside.

So the mere mention of the shepherd causes some to squirm, their uneasiness only grew with each word. 

The shepherd has a flock of one hundred sheep loses one and then goes out to find it, leaving the others behind safe in the fold.  He searches for the lost sheep until he finds it and brings it home, calling his neighbors to join him in celebrating the sheep's recovery and safe return.

What value the shepherd put on this one lost sheep?  The ninety-nine he left together are worth more than the one lost sheep, but the shepherd does not permit that to enter into his calculation.  The lost sheep is so valuable to the shepherd he will leave the others behind to find it.  

The shepherd risks his own life to rescue the lost sheep.  When he leaves the fold, he does not know if he will have to wrestle a bear, or a lion, or cross perilous mountains to find him.  But he is a good shepherd who is "willing to lay down his life for the sheep." (John 10:15)

This is our Father.  The incalculable value God places on one lost sheep.  And that one lost sheep was me one day.  It may be you today.  He came looking for us, laying down His life on the cross for our salvation and bringing us home on His shoulders fully supporting our salvation and security. Then, reaching home, He rejoices with all of Heaven and the angels over this one He found.