Friday Jan.
24th
Walking in Wisdom!
Lost and
Found! God’s love for sinners!
It starts
out with the tax collectors and sinners coming often to listen to Jesus
teach.
Tax
collectors were men who collected taxes for the Romans and had a bad reputation
for extortion and malpractice. Sinners
were those whose daily occupations rendered them ceremonially unclean and not
to be associated with. [foot note in my bible]
Read
Matt. 9:10-13
[Interesting that they asked the
disciples instead of asking Jesus who was right there with them.]
Eight times
in this chapter the "lostness" of man is emphasized
vs.
4-What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open
pasture and go after the one which is lost
until he finds it?
:6
-And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors,
saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost
:8-10
Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and
search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together
her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin
which I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
:11-13-A
man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the
share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth
between them.
And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went
on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with
loose living.
:17-But
when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have
more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
:24-for
this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they
began to celebrate.
:32-But
we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has
begun to live, and was lost and has
been found.’”
The Lost Sheep
A shepherd cares much for his sheep. He nurtures, heals and leads them. If he finds that one is lost, he will leave
the rest [who are still being cared for] and goes and finds the lost one.
The Lost Coin
Here is a woman who lost a precious
silver coin.
She searches for it till she finds it.
The Lost Son
Here we have a son who chooses to leave
and go out on his own. He is given his
inheritance and squanders it to the point that he has nothing left and no one
is giving anything to him.
He comes to his senses and realizes that
he can return home to his father. He
will repent before his father and ask to be accepted as one of his father’s
hired servants.
Well, his father does more than
that. His father sees him in the
distance and has compassion for him and runs and embraces him and kisses
him. He welcomes him with open arms and
plans a feast for him. The father is
rejoicing because his lost son is found.
We have 3 examples of Christ’s love for
the sinners and the lost.
In the first two stories what was lost
was sought after till found.
In the last story there was no seeking
for that lost one but a waiting. I can
only think that this father prayed for and eagerly awaited the return of his
son.
When he saw his son coming he had great
compassion for him and ran to him and embraced and kissed him.
Read Luke 15: 25-32
Here we have the brother of the prodigal son, who is
very much like the Pharisees and scribes.
Not happy about his father’s reaction when his brother returns. He was
not rejoicing!
In all 3 stories there was great
rejoicing when the lost was found. So
much so that they partied and invited friends and neighbors.
It is the same with us.
Did we wander off?
Did we lose something?
Did we make a choice?
Know this-
The
Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient
toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. II Peter 3:9
Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost.
God is a loving heavenly Father who is not willing for
any to perish without repentance. He
sent His Son Jesus to live on this earth to save us from our sinful lives. He gave His own life for us while we were yet
sinners. When we come to Him, repent and
turn from our sinful way of life and follow Him there is much rejoicing in heaven.
Lyn
