The Joy of Restoration
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Two parables that take us beyond the evangelistic mission of the church to the joy of restoration to the image of the Master.
Text: Luke 15:1-7
Date: 05/19/2024, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 150
Description:
The great themes of Luke's Gospel continue to ebb and flow as the mission and purpose of Jesus' Cosmic Initiative comes back into focus. Noticing the grumbling of the religious elite over His ministry to the "riffraff" they ignored and disdained, Jesus tells two delightful parables that highlight the reason He came and how important the lost elect are to Him-- whoever and wherever they may be. We will analyze the first of these parables in which a shepherd who loses one of his sheep, risks his entire flock to find it. The emphasis is on the sovereignty of the seeker, the importance of the one, and the joy to be found in its restoration. Jesus has come to seek and save the lost and will continue to search for them, whether during His earthly ministry or through His church that will follow, until the last one is found and brought into the fold. Ultimately we will see where the emphasis of this parable lies-- not just in the search and rescue of the lost, but in their joyful restoration to the very image of their Master.
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I. Introduction, Luke 2:14.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 15:1-10.
A. Context
B. Two parables of the joy of restoration.
1. Setting the scene, vs. 1-3.
a. Tax collectors and sinners, vs. 1.
b. Pharisees and scribes, vs. 2.
i. Jesus fulfilling His calling.
ii. The Pharisees abrogating theirs, Ezek. 34:4-6.
c. Two parables of the lost, vs. 3, John 15:16, 6:44, 17:6; Eph. 1:4.
2. The lost sheep, vs. 4-7.
a. When one sheep is lost, vs. 4.
i. The incredulous address.
1) Noticing the tone.
2) Noticing the address.
3) Noticing the irony, Ezek. 34:11-12; Psa. 23:1; Isa. 40:11; John 10:11.
ii. The large flock.
iii. The one lost.
iv. Leaving the ninety-nine.
1) Defining the location, Matt. 3:1; Isa. 40:3; Luke 4:1.
2) The importance of the one, John 11:49-50.
v. The intensity of the search, John 6:38-40.
b. When the one sheep is found, vs. 5.
i. An image of restoration.
ii. An image of rejoicing.
c. The community rejoices, vs. 6.
d. The application, vs. 7.
i. Looking at the words.
1) Establishing relevance and significance.
2) When heaven rejoices.
3) Identifying the sheep, Matt. 25:34.
4) Identifying the Shepherd.
5) The necessity of repentance.
6) Identifying the ninety-nine, Matt. 15:24, 9:36.
ii. The anomaly, 1John 1:9; Luke 18:9; Ezek. 34:10.
III. Application
A. Two ditches and a narrow path.
1. The ditch on the left, Psa. 14:2-3.
2. The ditch on the right.
3. The Narrow Path.
IV. Conclusion
