Sermon - Trinity III 2021 - Luke 15:1-11

Parable of the Lost Sheep, by Jan Luyken. 1649-1712

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” Humility doesn’t usually come to many of us that naturally, and so God often has to humble us with His mighty hand. A good illustration of this comes from the life of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel. 

During the time of the Babylonian exile, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego were deported to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride was astounding! He had a ninety foot tall golden statue made of him for everyone to bow down and worship. Of course as you remember, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego refused to worship it, were tossed into a fiery furnace, and Jesus rescued them. 

Nebuchadnezzar praised God for that miracle, but still he was filled with pride. A year later he stood on the roof of his palace and declared of his kingdom: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” But no sooner had he spoken those words that God spoke to him from heaven: “The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 

Immediately he was driven into the wilderness and lived as a beast for seven years. At the conclusion of those seven years his sanity returned and he blessed God, saying: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”

Indeed, as Solomon said: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Nebuchadnezzar was filled with pride and regarded himself more highly than any other, so God caused him to fall. But through that fall into humility he was brought to faith in God, and was exalted to the greater kingdom of heaven. Likewise, we ourselves are humbled with repentant hearts. Through repentance we are humbled, so that Christ may exalt us in heaven.

This is a lesson which the Pharisees and scribes needed to learn. When they saw that “the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus to hear Him” they grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” The Pharisees and scribes saw themselves not as sinners, but as great men in the eyes of all the world. The tax collectors and other sinners knew who they were and what they’d done because Jesus had told them, so they drew near to Christ to receive His mercy. But the Pharisees and scribes stood aloof.

Though before we become too critical of the Pharisees and scribes, we should concede that it’s typically unwise to hang out with the wrong crowd. Bad company ruins good morals and birds of a feather flock together. No parents want their children getting into the wrong crowd, because they know that their children will soon end up like those around them. If all of the people you spend your time with are heathens, you’ll end up being one too.

What the Pharisees and Scribes don’t understand is that Jesus isn’t like us and He’s not influenced the way we are. He spends His time with sinners, because all people are sinners, and He is the one influencing them. Jesus tells sinners: Go and sin no more! You be holy as my Father in heaven is holy! 

Jesus doesn’t spend time with sinners in order to affirm them in their sins. Jesus would not be flying a rainbow flag, celebrating sodomy and other sexual deviancies, during this sinful month of pride. Rather, Jesus spends time with sinners in order to draw them out of their sins, to bring them to repentance and humility, so that they would confess their sins and draw near to hear Jesus.

Because to the humble and contrite spirit, what does Jesus proclaim? Mercy and forgiveness! He is the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep in the wilderness! When He finds the sheep, He bears it on His shoulders and rejoices! He brings that lost sheep home with Him, not to butcher it and eat leg of lamb, but to rejoice with His neighbors!

In repentant humility we confess that we sinners are that lost sheep. Jesus descended from heaven into this wilderness in order to seek us out. He lifts up His arms upon the cross so that He may forgive our sins and carry us home to heaven. He rejoices in bitter agony while crying out that it is finished, our sins are forgiven! He throws a celebration and we sinners feast upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. “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.”

Jesus is the woman of the house who searches for the lost coin with such diligence. He lights a lamp, cleans the house, and looks until He finds His lost coin. When He finds it, he throws a party and spends nine other coins to rejoice over this one coin which He has now found. 

In humility we confess that we sinners are that lost coin. Jesus is the light of the world and exposes the darkness in our hearts, casting it away. He sweeps our hearts of all the old sins and skeletons in our closets. He does all of this until He finds us and brings us back. He spares no expense in looking for us, since He has laid down His life to redeem ours. “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The message of God for repentant sinners like us is grace, mercy, and peace. When we humble ourselves beneath God’s mighty hand, that is a position of safety and comfort. His hand is over us, protecting and guarding us from all anxieties of the devil and this world. It may be painful to admit that we’re poor, miserable, sinners, but in this humility we’re in the safest place we could ever be. 

The worst place to be is filled with pride, to lift ourselves above God’s hand. When Jesus talks about the ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance, He doesn’t mean that there are actually such righteous people who don’t need to be forgiven. Rather, He’s judging those prideful sinners, who believe that they’re righteous by their own merit. Their prideful righteousness will gain them an earthly kingdom, but this is all that they will get. Our humble righteousness, which is bestowed upon us by Jesus’ merit, will gain us a seat at the heavenly banquet for all time. 

God came for poor, humble, lowly sinners in order to forgive us and bring us home with Him. So let us humble ourselves beneath God’s mighty hand. Let us be the lost sheep and the lost coins. Let’s willingly admit that we’re often lost in our sin. Let us see ourselves as the grass-eating beasts like Nebuchadnezzar. Because then God lifts us up and exalts us to a place higher than any earthly kingdom. He tramples our sins beneath His feet, but He lifts us up on His arms to heaven. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

    and passing over transgression

    for the remnant of his inheritance?

    He does not retain his anger forever,

    because he delights in steadfast love.

    He will again have compassion on us;

    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.

    You will cast all our sins

    into the depths of the sea.”