It is ever soothing to the spirit to ponder the character of the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd, in whatever aspect of that character we view Him; whether as "the good shepherd," laying down His life for the sheep; "that great shepherd," coming up out of the grave having, in the greatness of His strength, deprived death of its sting, and the grave of its victory; or, as "the chief Shepherd," when surrounded by all His subordinate shepherds, who from love to His adorable Person and, through the grace of His spirit, have watched over and cared for the flock, He shall wreathe the brow of each with a diadem of glory. In any or all of these stages of our divine Shepherd's history, it is happy and edifying to consider Him.
Indeed, there is something in our Lord's character as Shepherd, which is peculiarly adapted to our present condition. Through grace we have been constituted "the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand" (Psalm 95:77For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, (Psalm 95:7)); and, as such, it is a shepherd we specially need. As sinners, ruined and guilty, we need Him as the "Lamb of God"; His atoning blood meets us at that point in our history, and satisfies our utmost need. As worshipers, we need Him as our "great high priest," whose robes, the varied expression of His attributes and qualifications, most blessedly prove to our souls how effectually He fills that office. As sheep, exposed to countless dangers in our passage through this dark wilderness in this gloomy dark day, we truly stand in need of the voice of our Shepherd, whose rod and staff give security and stability to our footsteps as we journey on toward home.
Now, in these verses of Luke 15, we find the Shepherd presented to us in a deeply interesting stage of His gracious work; He is here seen in search of the sheep. The parable derives peculiar force from the fact that it was put forth, together with the lost piece of silver and the lost son, as an argument in favor of God's gracious actings toward sinners.
God, in the Person of the Lord Jesus, had come so very near to the sinner, that legalism and Pharisaism, as represented by the scribes and Pharisees, took offense at it. "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." Here was the offense of which divine grace stood charged at the bar of man's legal, proud, self-righteous heart. But it was the very glory of God—God manifest in the flesh—God come down to earth thus to receive sinners. It was for that He came down into a ruined world. He left not the throne above to come down here to search for righteous people; for why should He search for them? Who would think of going to look for anything but that which was lost? Surely the very presence of Christ in the world proved that He had come in search of something and, moreover, that that something must have been lost.
"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10). The soul should greatly rejoice in the fact that it was as a lost thing that it drew forth the grace and pity of the Shepherd's heart. We may inquire what it was that could have drawn the heart of Jesus toward such as we are; yes, we may inquire, but eternity alone will unfold to us the answer to the inquiry. We might ask the shepherd in this parable why he thought more about the one solitary lost sheep than he did about the ninety and nine which were not lost. What would have been his answer?—The lost one is my object, it is valuable to me, and I must find it.
Jesus alone could see, in a helpless sinner, an object for which He thought it worth stooping from His Father's bright throne to save.
"He saw us ruined in the fall,
Yet loved us notwithstanding all;
He saved us from our lost estate;
His loving-kindness, oh how great!"