What About The Ninety-Nine? – by Eliezer Gonzalez         

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Sep 28, 2015 2594

One of the all-time favourite stories that Jesus told was about the lost sheep. You remember, don’t you? A shepherd had 100 sheep, and he lost one of them, and he went back to find it. It illustrates the love of God for even one lost sinner.

But what about the ninety-nine other sheep?

You see, we tend to focus so much on one thing that we forget about others, and that is true in this story as well. We tend to assume that what happened was that the shepherd got back to the safety of the sheep pen, counted the sheep, and discovered that one was missing, so he locked the ninety-nine safety in the sheep pen, and went out to find the missing one.

But that’s not what happened at all. Here is what the Jesus actually said,

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? – Luke 15:4, NKJV

The Shepherd Risks It All…

What Jesus is highlighting here is that the shepherd risks it all for that one lost sheep. This is an amazing thought. His love for the one is so great, that he is prepared to lose everything for its sake.

That is what the cross was all about. For you, he was prepared to give up the universe, to risk it all.

There is also another lesson here. The ninety-nine must share in the risk of the search. Because the shepherd risks, they too must risk.

…Because the Shepherd Risks, They Must Risk

Belonging to the shepherd is not just about comfortable church lives. When the Shepherd is in the wilderness, searching for his sheep, we must be there too. If we share his love, we must share in his mission as he searches for the lost in this world.

That’s a hard lesson, especially for those ninety-nine people who consider themselves just and without a need to repent – those who think they have already made it (v.7)… those who consider themselves safe within church walls.

You see, the Shepherd wants us all to go home together – yes, all the wounded, all the lost, all the broken – and none of us will get there before the other.

And for those who follow the Shepherd, what makes it all the sweeter is the love of the Shepherd, who has risked it all for the love of the one lost sheep. Are we willing to do the same? Because I am that sheep… and you are too.

­– Eliezer Gonzalez

Eliezer Gonzalez

Nov 10, 2017

Sorry. I don't know.

Vicky Yeates

Nov 10, 2017

How can I get a copy of this picture?