Just look at a few verses in
Matthew 18 verse 12. How think ye? Now this is the
son of God asking you, what do you think? Considering this context and in this text, this
parable that he's going to tell in these three verses, how think
ye? If a man have an hundred sheep,
and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety
and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which
is gone astray? And if so be that he find it,
verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the
ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so, you think about
this and what do you think? What think ye? Even so, it is
not the will of your father, which is in heaven. We're talking
about God now. We're not talking about the little
G religious God of this world. We're talking about God in heaven.
We're talking about the one on the throne. It's not his will. that one of these that he's been
talking about all through this chapter, these little ones, should perish. What do you think
about that? This particular conversation
in these verses began with our Lord asking his disciples a question. We saw that in in the book of
Mark, and we'll turn over there if you'd like to, but listen
to this. He asked them this question. While you were walking along,
what were you talking about? What were you discussing? And
they were all waiting on somebody else to answer. They didn't want
to answer him because of what it was they were talking about.
You remember that? Look at Mark 9, and let's read
this together. I saw a thing or two that I had
not seen last time about these little children. You're talking
about little children. Mark 9, 33, he came to Capernaum
and being in the house, he asked them, what was it that you disputed
among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace for
by the way, they had disputed among themselves who should be
the greatest. They didn't want him to know
about it. I don't blame him, do you? And he sat down and he
did know about it though. And he sat down, and called the
twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first,
the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took
a child, and set him in the midst of them. And when he had taken
him in his arms." I didn't see that last week. Did you notice
that? And he took that little child
in his arms and said, you're going to have to be like this
if you're going to come in my kingdom. A little baby, a little toddler,
I'm sure, just a little bitty child in his arms. And said unto
them, whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name
receiveth me. And whosoever shall receive me
receiveth not me, but him that sent me. We know from our text in Matthew
that he said some other things to them. He said, unless you
become as this little child in my arms. In the arms of the Lord Jesus
Christ, defenseless and dependent, but perfectly safe. Don't you
offend one of my little ones, he said. Perfectly safe in the arms of the Son of God. And then having mentioned offenses,
he talks about offenses in offending one of his little
ones. He had just said, if you receive one of these little ones
in my name, you're receiving me. And now he says, if you offend
one of these little ones, You're gonna have to deal with me. If anything or anybody, now he's
talking to the little ones. And he says this, if anything
or anybody does hinder you, does offend you, and that word offend
means to hinder or put a stumbling block in the way of. If anybody
or anything does offend you with regard to entering into the kingdom,
cut them off. Cut them off. verses 8 and 9
in chapter 8, 10, we saw that. And then our Lord in here in
verses 10 through 14, he comforts and instructs his disciples with
regard to their status in his kingdom. Talking all along now
about their status in the kingdom. Who's going to be the greatest
up there? He didn't even answer that question. He taught them
rather what it means to be in his kingdom. and what the status
is of everybody that's in his kingdom, all of his little ones.
And we read verses 12 through 14, but look at verse nine, if
that I offend thee, or verse 10, take heed that you despise
not one of these little ones, for I say unto you that in heaven,
their angels do always behold the face of my father, which
is in heaven, for the son of man has come to save. He came
to save them. It's not like religions talking
about. It's just not that way. He came down here to save them.
And having accomplished that, he said, it's finished. That
which was lost, that one sheep, what was lost? Context, look
at verse 12. He came to save that which was
lost. What was lost? That one sheep. There were 99
that weren't lost, but there was one that was lost. And he
went after that one. Which one were you? Which one
are you? He instructs them. I say he instructed
and comforted. He instructs by showing that
this kingdom of his, it's not a hierarchy like earthly kingdoms. There aren't big shots and little
shots in his kingdom. There's just little children.
There's sheep, lost sheep that he's found and brought home and
taken in his arms. Our Lord hasn't chosen worthy
men to help him manage things in his kingdom, and some are
more worthy than others, so some should receive more honor than
others. You're a sheep. Is that all right with you? A
sheep. And you're not even a smart sheep.
You're a straying, self-destructive sheep. How does that sit with
you? Even among sheep, you stand out
as being unruly, foolish, and self-destructive. First, the
Lord says, you're a little child in my arms. And now he says,
you're a straying, lost sheep. Are we getting the picture? Does
that put a little perspective on this whole discussion about
who's going to be the greatest? He called that little child.
He called that little child. It says he took a little child.
Is that what he did for you? He took him and pulled him up
in his arms and said, this is you if you're in my kingdom. And the sheep, the shepherd had
to go after that sheep and find him and lay that sheep on his
shoulders and bring him home. Who's going to be the greatest? Really? The shepherd goes after the sheep.
He don't invite him back. He doesn't shout out into the
woods, you know, up into the mountain. If you ever want to
come back, you're perfectly welcome to come back. That's worthless. That's useless. He knows sheep
better than that. And he loves them more than that. Does it bother religious people?
You think it bothers people who believe that salvation is by
the so-called free will of man, that no picture of salvation
in the scripture, no teaching regarding the salvation of the
sinner ever pictures the sinner as capable of doing anything
to contribute to their own salvation? You think that bothers them at
all? Does that raise a red flag, you think? You know why the shepherd goes
after that lost sheep? Because he knows that if he doesn't,
that sheep ain't coming back. He's a goner. He's not smart
enough to come back. He doesn't have the capacity,
the mental capacity to ever find his way home. Our Lord could
have used any animal to illustrate us. A dog, you know, I've read
stories about dogs and I guess some of them are true. They can
find their way home from miles. Have you ever read a story like
that? It's just amazing what they're able to do. The Lord
didn't call us lost dogs. He called us lost sheep. He refers
to us as dogs in the scripture, but only with regard to our worthiness. When he's talking about our lost
condition, we're sheep. Psalm 14, 2. The Lord looked
down from heaven upon the children of men. to see if there were
any that did understand. You know how the scriptures use
human language to describe our Lord. He didn't have to look
down here to know that. But it pictures Him looking down
to see, is anybody gonna seek me? If there were any that did
understand and seek God. If there's gonna be any seeking
done, the shepherd's gonna have to do it. Because he saw this,
they're all going aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. There is all of
religion's hope down the toilet right there. Flushed right down
the tube. They're waiting on somebody to
come make a decision for Jesus and God's already seen that it's
not ever going to happen. It's not going to happen. All
we, all we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned every
one to his own way and the Lord. Here's what we do and here's
what the Lord did. We all have gone astray. We all
lost. We're all goners. We're dead,
just as good as dead. Spiritually dead and dying every
day in the flesh But when he's talking about that one sheep
He says this the Lord laid on him the iniquity of that little
sheep Always Which one of those hundred sheep
in our Lord's parable are you I And did you hear what Isaiah
just said in that verse that we read? He said the Lord Jesus
died for that one. All of the ones that went astray. God the Father laid their iniquities
on the son. And he bled and died in their
place as their substitute and took all their sins away. and saved them. That's what he said. All we are that one. Is that what he said? One of
them went astray. Which one are you? All of his
people, all of the ones for whom he died, all of the ones whose
iniquities he took upon himself. and died in their place before
God under the wrath of God, bore the punishment for their sins
so that they might go free, so that he might present them faultless
before the presence of his glory. That's the lost ones. That's
his elect. Isaiah said, the Lord died for
that one sheep that went astray and everybody like him. In verse 13 in our text, it says,
If so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth
more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not
astray. The same truth is worded this way in Luke 15 7. Who are
the ninety nine? Well, they're called sheep, they
must be the Lord's people. Don't misunderstand the way our
Lord uses parables in the scripture. He uses parables to teach one
truth. Don't try to make everything in the parable mean something.
It's very clear what truth he's preaching there. His lost sheep,
he went after and saved them. He brought them home and did
it rejoicing. And it's not his will that any
of his lost sheep should perish. And don't make it try to say
something else. These 99, listen to what Luke said about, Luke
15, seven says about Tim. He said, I say unto you that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth
rather than over 99 just persons which need no repentance. We
know who that is. Isaiah said that every one of
those whose iniquities were laid on him are those ones who went
astray. That's who we're talking about,
God's sheep. And sheep are helpless and defenseless. Pray to every predator. We're
not only too dumb to find our way home, but we're weak. Weak. The scripture says that
when we were yet without strength, Christ died for us, the ungodly. Sheep can't feed themselves.
Did you know that? Neither can little babies. You
said a little baby lives, so you're on your own now. I've
got you this far. What's going to happen to him? But David said, he, my shepherd,
maketh me to lie down in green pastures. If he doesn't do that,
I'm going to starve to death. I'll wander into a rocky place.
Did you notice where this sheep was in our text when the Lord
found him? He's up in the mountains. Sheep don't do well in the mountains.
There's no grass up there. A goat, was made for the mountains,
but not a sheep. We'll wander off somewhere and
starve to death. Why in the world did he come
after us? Well, notice in the text that
we're his sheep. If any men have a sheep that goes astray. And here's what we're to understand
now. Think about this, about our Lord's teaching here. When
he says, what think ye? Look what he said. right before
he said what think ye he said the son of man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost what think ye you think he can
do it you think he's going to get it done do you think he's willing to do
it that's the question too he's saying one of you if you had
a hundred sheep and one of them went astray even you'd go after
it and find it and rejoice to have found it. But here's what we understand
by grace. In the parable, the shepherd
goes out and finds that sheep and brings him home. And we see
the physical earthly picture of that, but we know what that's
talking about. How did the Lord Jesus Christ
bring you home? What did it take for him to bring
you home? First Peter 3.18, Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for in the place of
the unjust, as representative of the unjust. Why? That he might bring us. That's what's being illustrated
here. In order for him to bring you home, he had to die in your
place. That's what Isaiah said. We've gone astray. What's it
going to take to bring us back? He's going to have to bear our
sins. The Lord is going to have to lay on him our iniquities. And that just one is going to
have to die in the place of a wretch like me. that he might bring
me to God. What think ye? What think ye? He was put to death in the flesh
to bring me to God. His sheep. How many times in
John 10 and elsewhere in the Word of God Does he say my sheep? Luke 15 6 rejoice with me for
I found my sheep which was lost. John 10 14 I'm the good shepherd
and I know my sheep and am known of mine. John 10 26 you believe not because
you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 21, 17, the Lord was talking
to Peter and asking him, do you love me? And asking us, do you love me? He saith unto him the third time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because
he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto
him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee.
And Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep. How did we come to be his sheep? Because we believe? No. He said to the Pharisees,
you believe not because you're not my sheep. Not the other way
around. He didn't say you're not my sheep
because you don't believe. You believe not because you're
not my sheep. So if you believe, how come?
Because you're his sheep. He said in John 6, 38, I came
down from heaven to do something. Not my own will, but the will
of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that of all which He hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. His sheep are His elect, given
to Him by the Father. That's how we came to be His
sheep, not because we believed. We believe because we're His
sheep. How'd we come to be His sheep? The Father gave us to
Him. In that covenant of grace, before
the foundation of the world, and every single last one of
them we brought home. Turn to John 10, and let's look
at that together. This is a comfort. Never, never fails to be a comfort
to my heart, and I know yours too. John 10, 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Everything that happens to that
sheep after that birth is because of that. But he that is in hireling, and
not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth the sheep. The harling fleeth, because he
is in harling, and he don't care about them sheep, but the shepherd."
Paul said, you can cast all your care upon him, because he cares
for you. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold. They're not
alive, now they're not even on the earth yet. Them also I must bring. I must. What happens to the sheep is
not in question. It's not up to them. It's not it's not that we're
holding on to him. He said you I mean you're in
my hand and nobody can take you out Consider these words of our Lord
in the text. What think ye what think ye? What is he? What what should
we be thinking if he says what he said here if we are his sheep
and in order to come where we were and bring us home to himself,
bring us to God. He had to come to this earth
and take upon himself our nature, the seed of Abraham. It says
in Hebrews 2.17, in all things it behooved him to be made like
unto his brethren, to become one of us, to become just like
us, yet without sin. that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest, that he might represent us before God
and offer sacrifice on our behalf before God. That's what the high
priest did. In things pertaining to God,
to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. That's what
the high priest's office was. And all the things that he did,
it had to do with the people reconciliation being made for
the sins of the people. And our Lord Jesus Christ became
one of us that he might do that faithfully and mercifully. And what think ye that he made
reconciliation for our sins and brought in everlasting righteousness
by his perfect light As our representative, He lived for us. As my surety, the Lord God of
heaven and earth never looks to me to obey His law, to please
Him, to honor the covenant. Since Christ became my surety,
the Lord God of heaven and earth looks to Him. to fulfill that
covenant, to please him, to honor him, to obey him as my representative. And he's always been my surety.
But not only by his perfect life as my representative, but by
his sin atoning death as my substitute. He lived for me and he died for
me. He did all that I couldn't do,
and he paid for what I did do. As Isaiah said in that verse
we read a while ago, our part in this is that we've gone astray.
Our part in salvation is that we need it. We've all turned
everyone to his own way, and here's his part. He goes after
us and brings us home. How does he do that? The Lord
hath laid on him the iniquity of the soul. Our sins have got
to be, we can't come to God unless our sins are dealt with. How
did God deal with our sins? He put them on his son. and poured
out hell upon his son. And people talk about that like
they know what they're talking about. I just told you all I
know about that. And it's enough. My Lord died
in my place. My sins were put on him, and
he paid for them. He was punished for them. And
I never will be. What think ye? He had to come where we are,
become what we are, and die the just for the unjust in order
to bring that lost, stray, foolish, self-destructive sheep home. And he did it with joy. For the
joy that was set before him, he endured that cross, counting
all the shame as a small thing. What think ye about that? I'll
tell you what I think. I think that if he did that, if verse 14 of our text is true, that it is not the will of your
father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should
perish. And if he so loved them that he sent his only begotten
son, to die in their place, that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish, but be brought home to God, accepted
of God. And clearly it is true that that's
what happened, seeing who he is and what he was willing to
do. It's obviously not his will that we perish. No, if all of this is true, he
did what he did in order to save us, being who he is, then here's
what I think. I think we're safe. Don't you? I think there's no way that one
of his lost sheep is ever going to perish. That's what I think. I think that's what we're supposed
to think here, don't you think? We're safe and secure. We have
here both instruction and comfort. Safe in the shepherd's fold Because there I'm under his blood Securing him under the blood
of my Lord Jesus Christ And it isn't this what our Lord's teaching
these disciples here if you're if you're one of my little defenseless
humble ignorant helpless little ones one of my sheep given unto
me of my father and You're not going to be great
ever in the sense of what men call greatness. Is that what
you desire? Nor should you ever seek to be.
But you're great in the kingdom of God. Which would you rather be? A big shot compared to others?
That's what they're talking about. Which of us is going to be greatest?
I want to be greater than them. And our Lord told them here, it's not your father's will that
one of you sheep, not great ones, sheep should ever perish. You're precious to him. And all that's seen here in this
text, that in order for the shepherd to find us, what he had to do,
to come where we are, what that took, to bring us home to God,
what was required in order for him to do that. You're not great compared to
one another, but that's all the great I ever want to be. He's
not ashamed to call me his brother. Is that good enough for you?
How great is that? What kind of greatness are you
interested in? Do you seek the favor of men,
the respect and admiration of men, or the favor of God? You're not gonna have both. Does
it matter to you? I don't really care about both,
do you? Paul said, unto me who am less
than the least of all saints. If there's any comparison made
between me and everybody else, I'm on the bottom. But unto me
is this grace given that I should preach. among the
Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul was happy, perfectly happy
and pleased with the honorable and high title, I'm a servant
of Jesus Christ. Revelation 1-5, from Jesus Christ
who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead
and the prince of the kings of the earth, there's greatness. Oh, him that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood, and hath made us kings, And priests
unto God. Unto God. Not compared to one
another. Who cares about that? Unto God. And His Father. To Him be glory. Not to me. The psalmist said,
not unto us, O Lord. Not unto us, but unto Thy name
give glory. Unto Him be glory and dominion.
forever and ever. Amen. May the Lord teach us this
simple lesson. What does it mean to be great? We're sheep and little children,
but God Almighty loved us and gave himself for us. Let's bow
in prayer together.