Last Saturday, in Stories Jesus Told, Part 4, we saw how some discover the Kingdom of God, recognize its value and do everything in their power to have it. But even those who aren’t at all interested will also be given every chance possible to recognize the value of God’s Kingdom! That’s how deeply God wants us in His Kingdom!
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty special that God wants us so much! And this message is echoed throughout other parts of Scripture as well: “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4 NLT; see also 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 8:32, etc.)
Jesus’ next recorded parable isn’t mentioned until five chapters later, in Matthew 18:10-14—The Parable of the Wandering Sheep.
We are quite familiar with this parable, actually. A shepherd has 100 sheep, but one goes missing. The shepherd then leaves the 99 sheep behind and goes out to find the lost sheep, and when he brings him home, there is great rejoicing in heaven. We have often heard this referred to in songs and sermons to indicate how much God loves us and how much He wants the lost to be saved. But is there more to this parable than what we’ve always learned?
In order to fully understand this particular story, it is important to read the rest of Matthew 18. The chapter starts off with the disciples asking Jesus who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, to which Jesus takes a small child and says, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3b-4 NLT).
He then goes on in vs 6–9 to help us understand the terrible consequences of causing one of God’s children to stumble. Jesus says, “…it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6b NLT). He then goes on to tell us that anything that could possibly cause us to stumble must be done away with: “And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.” (Matthew 18:9a NLT).
Jesus then immediately transitions into the Parable of the Wandering Sheep. In context, this wandering sheep isn’t necessarily someone who has never known the Lord! Rather, it is specifically one who has been led astray!
From a human perspective, it might be easy to think that someone who once knew the truth and strayed away might just be a victim of their own demise. While we put our efforts into saving those who had never known the Lord, we might be tempted to think that those who knew the Lord and fell away aren’t as worthy of our efforts, and we might not have tons of patience in trying to get them back! But this is not God’s perspective at all! In the context of God’s children falling away, God leaves the rest behind to search, not just for those who have never known Him, but for those who have fallen away! Why? Because, “…your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14 NLT)! That’s how much He loves us, that’s how much He wants us in His kingdom! His love for us is so forgiving that He seeks even those who have turned away, making every possible effort to bring them back!
What amazing love!
But here is a very interesting thought: If God puts this much effort into bringing back the wandering sheep, the believers who have fallen away, then shouldn’t we as well? Shouldn’t we be putting just as much effort into bringing the wandering sheep back as we do towards bringing the lost into the fold?
Think about it!
Please join us next Saturday as we continue to find hidden truths in the “Stories Jesus Told!”
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
(To access the entire “Stories Jesus Told” mini-series, please click here!)
