There were ninety and nine
Luke 15:1-7
15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 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.
Luke 15 contains 3 parables about things getting lost – lost sheep, lost coin, lost son (prodigal son). The three share the same context. Jesus hung out with tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors were hated because they cheated and they worked for the Roman government who had captured and occupied Israel. So tax collectors were traitors and cheats. Sinners was a code word for prostitutes. So Jesus hung out with people who were unsavory, from the wrong side of the tracks, they were bad people. And the Pharisees and scribes, the good people, grumbled about the company Jesus kept – what a bad example he was being to the young people.
Jesus told this parable. The shepherd loses one of the 100 sheep in the flock. Leaving the 99 in the open field (a crazy thing to do because the 99 will wander away and the shepherd will constantly be chasing lost sheep), in urgency and care the shepherd goes to look for the lost sheep. Upon finding the lost sheep the shepherd carries it home and has a party. The lost as been found.
There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents then over 99 righteous people who do not need to repent. But maybe the question is who are the 99 who do not need to repent. Is there anyone who does not have something they should repent of? Maybe even the righteous Pharisees and scribes are lost? Maybe everyone is like a lost sheep?
Note: The hymn “There were ninety and nine” which is based on this parable was written by the sister of George Clephane when she heard of his untimely death. George Clephane is buried in the St. Andrew’s, Fergus cemetery.
PRAYER:
God who goes to seek the lost, we confess that we are lost sheep, we have turned each of us to our own way, we have rejected you and your path. But we stand amazed that you have sought us, looked for us, and have brought us into your fold of care and love. Thank you that your Son, Jesus, has found us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.