August 19, 2012
Ministry:
Let’s refer back to the Hebrews 10:4. God instituted the sacrifices when the tabernacle was built. But why were they not satisfactory for Him? It was because the animal came from a fallen creation: it was not possible for any animal to take away sin. We needed someone who was perfectly sinless. In eternity passed, God planned for Jesus to come and be that perfect sacrifice. Now, let’s turn to Ephesians 2:13. As a result of His sacrifice, He not only put away sin, but also made it possible for us to have a personal relationship with Him. We are also made perfect and sinless, as He is. We are IN Christ—think about it. That is why it is possible for us to become His bride: He made us suitable. How wondrous and glorious! We are His chosen and blessed bride and we are loved more than anyone else. He made us His very own chief treasure and sold everything for us. May this touch our hearts!
Hymn 367- When he cometh
Prayer
We’ve been reading about the Lord’s life on earth. Sometimes, we read part of a story in the Bible, and we can assume the rest of it. Today we will look at one of these stories. The beginning of this story isn’t given in the Bible, but I’ll tell you what must have happened based on what we’ll read.
In Galilee, there lived a young lady and a young man. They fell in love and eventually got married. It was a very happy time for them. Soon after, another happy time came: the young women gave birth to a son. However, one day something sad happened. The young husband died. This was a hard time for the woman, but she raised her son so that he would be able to support her in her later years. But troubles hit again when the son died also. Now, all her hope was gone. All that was left to do was bury him.
Luke 7:11-15
This is where the story starts in the Bible. Jesus was heading into the town of Nain; a group of people followed him As they entered the city, they came to the funeral procession for this young man on its way to the cemetery. The Lord Jesus had compassion for this mother. The Lord still has compassion for what each of us is going through today.
It starts to get interesting here. Instead of the traffic stopping for the funeral procession, Jesus stopped the procession and started to talk to the dead son. I have been to the visitation for many deaths, where there are a lot of people talking. However, nobody was ever talking to the dead person. Amazingly, the dead son responded to Jesus’ words. He sat up and started to talk also. The poor widow had another happy day that topped all the rest.
You might say that you would never talk to a dead man. You might not realize that when you tell someone the gospel or hand a tract to someone, you are dealing with a dead person. There are two ways to be dead: physically and spiritually. You wouldn’t talk to a physically dead person, because there would be no response. When someone is spiritually dead, they have no response to the Lord. Jesus raised this son from the dead, and He can also give eternal life to those who are dead in their sins. Then they will have a relationship with the Lord.
It is wonderful to read of this boy being raised from the dead and given back to his mother. It is more wonderful when a sinner goes from being dead in their sins to alive in Christ.
Luke 15
We mentioned last week that the phrase “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” might be the most repeated phrase in the Bible. Searching revealed that the phrase “let him hear” appears fifteen times in the New Testament (in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Revelation) and once in the Old Testament (in Ezekiel). It is coupled with phrases like: “he that hath an ear”, or “he that hath ears”.
Chapter fifteen starts with a group of people that Jesus has attracted to Himself: the publicans and sinners. There is also another group of people, but these were opposed to Jesus: the scribes and Pharisees. Those in this group were self-righteous. They subscribed to the law (it was part of their traditions) and they thought that they kept it. Naturally, the publicans and sinners didn’t like the law, and were attracted to the grace that Jesus was presenting. They came to hear more about this grace, and the Pharisees didn’t like it. No good Pharisee ever ate with publicans and sinners. “The Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners…” (v.2). That’s the gospel! Yes, Jesus received sinners; He receives us! That’s not something to criticize.
Jesus sat and ate with sinners, and that shows communion. He didn’t have communion with the Pharisees; He rebuked them, and they complained about Him and His disciples. Jesus came unto His own, but they didn’t receive Him. We get His full pedigree in both Matthew and Luke. He came from heaven, but still fully qualified to be Israel’s king; yet He came to His own, and they didn’t receive Him. He wasn’t received, but He received others.
Does this chapter present one parable to us, or three? It does bring the God-head before us, so perhaps it’s three. In the first parable we have a shepherd. In Scripture, our Lord is revealed as the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd; and He often told parables about himself, so the shepherd is God the Son. The third story is about a father welcoming home his wayward son. There is the Father in the God-head. Finally, the second story is about a woman with a lamp, seeking for a lost coin. That sounds like the activity of God the Spirit. Of course, these stories don’t reveal each person of the God-head perfectly, but they fit what was needed at that time.
Let’s look at the first parable. Jesus probably told these stories loudly, because I imagine a circle of publicans and sinners close around Him; and then, farther out, another circle of scribes and Pharisees looking for things to criticize.
V.4. Jesus challenges his listeners here. What would they have done? Wouldn’t they have gone to look for the lost sheep? There were ninety-nine sheep that thought they were all right; but there was one that was lost, and the more it wandered, the farther it went, and the more danger it was in. The ninety-nine were the scribes and Pharisees. They thought that they were all right. In reality, they needed the shepherd, too. They were in the wilderness, not the barn. The one in trouble was a wanderer, a sinner. This story is about Jesus, the One Who came to seek the lost. He will “go after” them, because they’ll never find their way back by themselves.
It’s not all bad that we are lost, ruined sinners. That makes us eligible for a Saviour. The story of the lost sheep is the story of the cross. Christ gave His life for the sheep. He will “go after that which is lost, until he find it” (v.4). It would be so different if He didn’t. The Shepherd doesn’t stand and call the sheep to Himself. He doesn’t stand at the top of the precipice and coax the sheep up. That would require effort on our part. That’s what the law did, and it’s impossible for us to keep the law. The sheep and the coin are passive in these parables; they are found, they didn’t seek. It’s not by our efforts or deeds that we are saved, it’s by Christ.
The Shepherd also didn’t drive the sheep home. You drive cows, but you lead sheep. In this case He carried the sheep, not on one, but two shoulders. That gives safety. The Lord sought the sheep, found it, and provided for it until it was in a place of safety. But He was happy to do so! V6. The Lord and His friends rejoice over the sheep that He found. A soul was saved, and He doesn’t care what it was before. We can make joy in heaven by repenting! Just repenting, not even salvation (although that will follow true repentance), just agreeing with God as to our condition.
The ninety-nine didn’t make the Lord happy; but those publicans and sinners did, and there was joy in heaven. Chapters thirteen and fourteen of Luke opened with the Lord being brought into man’s world, but there was no joy there. Here in chapter 15, man is brought into heaven, and we have joy three times, and the final time it doesn’t end.
Hymn 227 - I was a wandering sheep
Prayer