Walking With Christ

Luke 15:7  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.(ESV)

This goes along with the “leave the ninety-nine for the one” conversation.  I think this might be one of the more difficult concepts to understand simply because it’s so hard to conceptualize a righteous person.  If you’re saved then you were the one at some point.  If you’re not arrogant enough to forget that you actually needed saving, then you empathize with that one lost sheep.

Oddly, I think a lot of people empathize with the ninety-nine because they don’t see that they’ve done anything wrong.  They don’t believe that they need to repent because they haven’t done anything that they need to repent from.  For those, the idea that Jesus, our shepherd, would leave them to fend for themselves while He goes to chase one silly and rebellious sheep/person who is probably just going to stray again seems ridiculous.  Leaving the ninety-nine leaves them without any defense.  The enemy, like the prowling wolf or coyote, does love a defenseless target.  What better time to attack than when the shepherd is away?

To that mentality, risking the whole flock to save one seems foolish.  To them, you save what you can and let the foolish or stupid ones to fend for themselves.  Only the ones who are smart enough to stay in the flock where they belong actually deserve to be kept safe.

I can’t say enough about what is wrong with this mentality.  If the one lost sheep could fend for themselves, if there was another way safely home, then they wouldn’t need the shepherd.  If that was the case, those who did stay with the flock would be the foolish ones.  A good shepherd will not leave the flock in an unsafe place where the enemy can easily attack.  The size of the main flock is often enough to prevent all but the most brazen of predators from attacking.  Leaving the main flock to retrieve the one lost sheep is not as foolish as the ninety-nine might assume because there is safety in numbers.  Finally, all sheep eventually wander.  If the shepherd only watches the ones smart enough to stay with the flock, eventually, there will not be a flock left.

Every lost sheep must be chased zealously or the entire flock will be at risk.  The shepherd is the only one who truly knows the way home.  We, the sheep, must trust in Him whether we are in the ninety-nine or we are the one.