The religious leaders, the scribes,
the preachers, theologians, they murmured. What were they murmuring
about? They didn't clutter about him
and prowl unto him to hear him. They murmured, saying, this man, this man who
claims to be the Christ, this man who claims to be the son
of God. This man who claims to be a prophet,
son of God, he receives sinners. He receives sinners to himself. He even sits down and eats with
them, talks with them. You know, many a true word Many
a true word has been spoken in ridicule. Because somebody ridicules a
person, does not necessarily cause us
to look down upon them. Maybe that ridicule, and in this
case, it is true. He does receive senator. But
they weren't saying it. with a delightful heart. They
were saying it with ridicule. You remember when he was in the
house of Simon the Pharisee and the woman came in and Simon the
Pharisee, the member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court, most
moral man in the community outwardly, was sitting up here with all
his friends and Christ was out there reclined about the meal
and the woman who was we judged to be a harlot came in and washed his feet with tears and
anointed them with the precious ointment, kissed his feet. And
this man up here, this Pharisee, was horrified. And he said, if this man was
truly a prophet, he wouldn't let that woman touch him. And many a true statement has
been made in ridicule and many times real tribute has been paid by the tongue of
hatred. A religious person said about
a friend of mine, a preacher one time, that all he ever preaches
is the gospel. It was hatred, dripping with
hatred. But what a wonderful statement,
how true. All he ever preaches is Christ,
Christ, Christ. And these enemies of our Lord,
these religious Pharisees, thought that they would brand him with
shame. He's the friend of sinners. They
thought they would brand him with shame. that they'd hold
him up to ridicule before the people. Look at him. He receives
sinners. He eats with sinners. He welcomes
sinners. They thought that they would
brand his name with shame and leave reproach on his name forever. But thank God he receives sinners. This man receiveth sinners and
eats with them. And how blind these men were
who thought they could see. how blind these men were who
thought they could see. This man received sinners. Of
course, that's why he became a man. That's the only reason why he
became a man. The angel said to his father, don't be afraid to take Mary
to be your wife. She's with child by the Holy
Ghost. And that holy thing conceived
within her is the Son of God. And he'll become a man. And you
call his name Jesus because he'll save his people from their sins. This man, this man received sinners,
of course. That's why he became a man. His incarnation reveals His love
for sinners. Paul said, Jesus Christ. This
is a faithful saying. It's worthy of acceptation by
all men. Not just sinners, but all men.
Religious leaders too. That Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I'm chief. He said the well do
not need a physician. Who visits the doctor's office?
Who visits the doctor's office? Sick people. Who comes to Christ? Sinful people. The Son of Man
has come to seek and to save the lost. His name reveals His
love for sinners. He's the Lamb of God. Behold
the Lamb, behold the sacrifice, behold the substitute, behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin. of the world. His office reveals his love for
sinners. Thou art a priest. I know that men who are called priests today
have turned us almost away from the word. Unfortunately, that's
bad. It's such a vital and important
scriptural word, priest, the high priest, the priest. But
a true priest of God is ordained of God on behalf of men as a
mediator in things pertaining to God. And thank God we have
a high priest. who's Jesus Christ the man, the
righteous. He's our priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. He's our advocate. He's our mediator. He's our intercessor. He is ordained
of God in things pertaining to God on my behalf. I've got to
have him because I'm a sinner. That's why he became a priest, to intercede for sinners. His
words revealed his love for sinners. He said, come unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. He said to the woman at the well,
this poor woman, this poor sinner, he said, woman, if you knew the
gift of God and who it is that's talking to you, the sinner's
friend, I'd give you living water. You'd ask me and I'd give you
living water. He said, on the great day of
the feast, if anybody's really thirsty, let him come to me and drink. And out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water. To Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus, all
these people around there, Zacchaeus, come down. Today, I must abide
at your house, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save
sinners." And they were horrified. They said, this man has gone
to be the guest of a man that's a sinner. His death on the cross
sends the message of the love of God, the love
of Christ for sinners, and on that cross, he gave us the crowning
example of his love for sinners. At the end of his redemptive
work, he turned to a sinner. Of all the people around there,
this is the worst. Thief, outcast, even these people
wouldn't have anything to do with it. Even these people delivered
him to be crucified. Even these people thought him
only fit to die, not to live. And he turned to the thief and
said, today you'll be with me in paradise. You'll accompany
me into the presence of my father. This man received his sentence,
no doubt about it. No doubt about it. Come ye sinners. That's what Mike was just singing.
Poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick, sore. Jesus ready His ordained
commission, sin of God, to save you. And He's full of two things. Pity. Three things. Pity, love,
and power. He pities you, He loves you,
and He has the power to save you. Don't let conscience make
you linger. Nor of fitness fondly dream,
all the fitness he requireth." What does he require for a man
to come to him? Fill your need of him. You're hungry, he said, come.
You're thirsty, come. You're weary, heavy laden, come. You're lost, come. I looked at
that over and over. This man received his sinners.
This man, the God man, received it, actually receives them, embraces
them, welcomes them, eats with them, fellowships with them,
sinners. And what they considered bad
news, that's bad news to religious men. To me that's good news. What they call his shame, Honestly,
is His greater glory. His greater glory is not making
worlds. His greater glory is not planting
trees. His greater glory is not sending
the rain. His greater glory is saving the
sinner. Moses says, show me your glory.
God said, my glory is my goodness. I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful. Believe me. The greater glory
of God is not in making the heavens and the earth. It's making you
a believer. Making you and me a son of God.
That's His glory. His glory is Christ became a
man and men become sons of God by Christ. The rock that's a
stumbling block to them is my foundation. These fellows just
tripped and rolled over the rock, Christ Jesus. He's my foundation. I build, and every believer builds
his hope of eternal life on that stumbling stone, the rock, the
tribestone, the sure foundation. And what is to them foolishness? The preaching of the gospel is
to them foolishness, to me it's the wisdom of God. Power of God. The intellectuals in our universities
and colleges, the professors, the teachers, the thinkers, the
free thinkers, the liberal thinkers, the folks that have graduated
above this book, what I'm preaching this morning is foolishness.
Sheer nonsense. They don't have the time for
it, nor the patience with it, nor interest in it. To them,
it's foolishness. To me, to you, this gospel is
the power of God. It's the wisdom of God. It's the glory of God. That's
right. That's right. So, verse 3. This man receives sinners, eats
with them. The only way to receive them
is by blood, by death. It can separate him from his
death, from his blood, from his sacrifice, from his righteousness,
from his cross. And he spake this parable unto
them. Who spake the parable? The Lord
Jesus. He spake it. He spake this parable. It's not three parables. It's
this parable. with three parts. To them, to whom? To these people
who ridiculed and murmured, the man who received sinners. The God-man who received sinners. Alright, verse 4. Tell me, in this passage, you
remember I read it a moment ago, you recall it, It's evident the
Lord's calling attention to someone here. Someone, someone's work. Who is this someone special in
this first part? The sheep? No. If you wrote down
the sheep, that's not right. The 99 just
persons who need no repentance? I don't even know who they are.
I could venture a guess. The neighbors? No, sir. He. That's the leading character
in this first portion. He, the shepherd. Read it again.
Which man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go, he
goes after that which is lost, or he finds it, and when he finds
it, he lays it on his shoulders. Rejoicing and when he comes home
with his sheep he calls his neighbors and friends together and said
rejoice with me I found my sheep Shepherds our Lord Jesus Christ
he often calls himself the shepherd. He said I'm the good shepherd
There are a lot of shepherds, but I'm the good shepherd the
only good shepherd That great shepherd of the sheep, Paul said
in Hebrews, God brought forth on the day of that great shepherd
of the sheep. And then we preachers are under-shepherds,
but he's the what? Chief Shepherd. He's the Chief
Shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not walk. You see, he owns the sheep. He
said here, my sheep, I found. Who'd I find? I found the wandering
sheep. out there. I just was looking
for sheep, various sheep. And I found a wandering sheep.
No, I found my sheep. I found my sheep. Turn to John
10. Let's hear him talk about these
sheep. This is the shepherd talking about his sheep. Look at John
10, verse 14. John 10, 14. I'm the good shepherd. I know
my sheep. And they know me. I know my sheep. Verse 15. As the Father knoweth
me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for my
sheep. I know them. I die for them. Verse 16. Other
sheep I have which are not of this fold, Jews, disciples, them
also I must bring. I must bring my sheep. And they
shall hear my voice. And they shall be one foe and
one shepherd. And verse 28, And I give them
eternal life, my sheep, and they'll never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. It says here in verse 4, Which
man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
doth not leave the ninety-nine, in the wilderness and go after
that which is lost. Go after it. How long does he
pursue it? Until he finds it. Until he finds
it. Five things about this search.
Number one, it's personal. He goes himself. He didn't send
anyone. He didn't send an underling. He, himself, the owner, the master,
the Lord of Glory. He goes after that sheep. And
the search is costly. He went into the wilderness.
It cost him his life. I laid down my life for my sheep. It was a persevering search.
He searches till he finds it. Does he ever fail? Never fails. Does he ever just give up the
search? Never. Does he ever say, well that's
a hard case? He searches till he finds it. And the search is unaided. He
found it and laid it on his shoulders. And he didn't put it in a cart
to church. And he didn't turn it over to an under shepherd.
And he didn't say, follow me home, because he knew that sheep
couldn't find it if he's looking for the home. He personally searched
until he found it. Cost him his life. Picked it
up, put it on his shoulders, and brought it home. He came
home himself. He came back home. He went back
to glory. Took that sheep with him. He took that sheep with him.
He didn't say, meet me there. Meet me there. When the trials
of life are over, meet me there. Took him home. Took him home. And the search
was successful and rejoicing, and he said, rejoice with me. Rejoice with me, and you can't
rejoice over this, you can't rejoice with me. I found my sheep. I found Him. He's mine. And He was lost, and I found
Him. Can you rejoice in that? They were looking for each other.
No, they weren't. They crossed paths because He
was out there waiting for the sheep to find Him. No, they didn't.
He found it. Put it on his shoulder and brought
him home. Yes, this man receives sinners. Gives his life for them. Finds them. Brings them home. And says, rejoice with me. Alright, look at the second parable. Who's the leading character here
in this second one? Not the Cohen. Not the light, not the neighbors. Let's read it. Either what woman? There she is, a woman. She had
ten pieces of silver. She's not poor. She doesn't have
to have this coin. Isn't that right? But it's hers. She's not poor. She had ten coins. This fellow
with the sheep, he had 99 others. He wasn't poor. The sheep needed
him. The reason he needed the sheep
is because he loved the sheep. But this one was not poor. And
this Cohen's lost. The Cohen is not the leading
character because the Cohen's dead, lifeless, as we are, dead
in sin. Lifeless. Died in Adam. And the coin is fallen. It's
somewhere lost. Fallen. In the dust. And totally
ignorant of its state. And doesn't care whether it's
in a pocketbook or on the floor. It doesn't care. Sinners are
ignorant. Insane. Foolish. content in darkness and dust
and death. The coin nevertheless belongs
to her. It's her coin and it's valued by her. It's just a Roman
penny but it's important to her because it's hers. It's meaningful,
it's important. Reflection on her wisdom and
ability to lose anything that belongs to her. God's not going
to lose anything that belongs to Him. That's a reflection on
His character. It belongs to Him. So what does
she do? Listen. She lights a candle. Got to have light. If something's
in darkness, if you're going to find it, you've got to have
light. What is that light? where you
and I are concerned, lost in darkness and sin. Thy Word is a lamp under my feet
and a light under my path. It's the Word of God. You're
going to find out who you are. You're going to find out where
you are. You're going to find out what you are. You're going
to find yourself. He finds you. The Word is the
light. She lights a candle. Christ is
the light. And she sweeps the house. She
sweeps the whole house. Because that coin is lost somewhere
in that house. And the gospel is preached, and
the light lighteth every man that cometh into the world. In
a sense, in a way, gospel lightens the whole world. When the gospel
is preached, it may be that everybody in this congregation is one of
the lost coins that will be found and has been found. But there
may be coins that do not belong to him that won't be found. But the gospel is still there.
The light is there. She sweeps the whole house. Gospel
goes everywhere, all over the world. And watch this. And she
seeks diligently, diligently, powerfully, focused. She's looking
for a coin. She's looking for a coin. The
shepherd is looking for a sheep. He knows that sheep. He knows
it by name. That woman knows that coin. It's
hers. And she's going to seek diligently
to shepherd it. And my Lord, one clear word.
He that hath begun a good work in you shall finish it." You'll
complete it. You'll find it. My sheep. Those
Pharisees said, if you be the Christ, tell us plainly. He said,
I told you, the light's shining. But you have eyes and don't see.
I've told you plainly, but you're not my sheep. You believe not
because you're not my sheep. I said unto you, my sheep, Hear
my voice, my sheep, the light shines on them, reflects on them,
and I see them, and they see me." And when she found it, she came
in, and verse 7 says, it's joy in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, and she said in verse 10, Or verse 9, Rejoice with
me, I've found the coin. Verse 10, There's joy in the
presence of the angels of God. Do they rejoice over that one
sheep? Yes, sir. Over that one coin? Yes, sir. But the great rejoicing
is over the success of the shepherd. The success of the woman. Rejoice
with me. See what I'm saying? Don't rejoice
with him. The dummy wandered off on his
own. Glad you found, kid. But rejoice with me. I have found
my sheep. And I'm greatly concerned about
all the methods and And foolish talk about, I want to be standing
at Mother's grave when Christ comes, and shake hands with Mother
again, and will the circle be unbroken, and all this thing
calling attention to this flesh, and what we did and are doing,
and rejoice with me. In heaven the song is not unto
the preacher, unto the elders, unto the sinner, It's unto Him
who loved us. That song says it made headlines
in heaven when I got saved. But your name wasn't in the headlines.
His name was in the headlines. He found His sheep. The headlines
didn't say another sinner came to Jesus. The headlines said,
He found another sinner. That's right. That's the headline. He gets the glory, not you. And that's how you know whether
the gospel you're hearing is the gospel, who gets the glory.
That's how you know when somebody tells you about their experience,
how they got saved as they say, I got saved, didn't you tell
me about it? Who gets the glory? He loved me. He saved me. He called me. He washed me. He raised me. He exalted me. He gets the glory. That's the
difference. But here's the last one. Who's the chief person in
the last part of the parable? Is it the particle son? No, sir. It tells us who it is
in verse 11. He said a certain man, a certain
man had two sons. Now, preachers often preach from
this, and they preach about the prodigal son. They try to preach
the gospel from this. But you can't preach a gospel
message on redemption of sinners and use this prodigal son, because
there's no Savior seeking the lost. There's no cross and suffering
of one who laid down his life, like in the first part of this
parable, to find his sheep. There's no Holy Spirit conviction.
There's no light of the gospel. There's no one finding the lost
son and changing his mind and bringing him home. Left alone,
this one segment apart, exalts the prodigal son and implies
he saved himself. He came to himself. He reasoned
naturally. I'm a fool to stay down here
and work when I can go home and live free. That's natural reasoning. I'm a fool to do without when
my heathen servants in my Father's house have plenty. The Gospels
in the first parable, first part of the parable, the shepherd
and the sheep, finding the lost sheep, giving his life, finding
it, bringing it home, the Holy Spirit's work Second part, the
woman with the light, the gospel. But all of them are finding sinners,
say, lost son, lost sheep, lost coin. This people said this man
received sinners. Of course he does. The whole
trinity is given to saving lost sinners. The son gave his life. The Holy Spirit comes with light
of the gospel and calls them out of darkness. What's the third
part? The Father welcomes them home. He welcomes them home. This boy
down there in this foreign country, he's been a fool. He's been a
fool. And we've been fools. But it's
the Holy Spirit who shows us we've been fools. It's the Holy
Spirit who reveals to us we've sinned. It's the Holy Spirit
that humbles us and brings us down. It's the Savior who puts
away the... I'll show you something in a
minute. So let's see. And when He came to Himself,
verse 17, He said, how many hired servants
in my Father's house have bread enough to spare and I perish
with hunger. I will arise and go to my Father. I'll say to
Him, Father, I've sinned against Heaven before Thee. He had to.
Just like we did in Adam. He said to his Father, I don't
need You. I don't need Your house. I just need Your money. Give
it to me and I'll go. And he went down there and threw
it away. Wasted it. evil, rebellion. By all rights, his father could
have locked the gate. He said, you don't deserve to
be a son. You violated every principle of sonship. And what
he's saying is true. I'm not worthy to be called a
son. You and I aren't fit to be saved, aren't worthy to be
saved. We deserve hell. The wages of sin is death. Whatever
hell is, we deserve it. I'll be glad to be a hired servant.
He rose and came to his father. Now listen, when he was a great
way off, his father saw him. His father never stopped loving
him. His father always loved him, even in his rebellion. That's
my father. I didn't love him, he loved me.
This boy didn't love his dad. He wouldn't have done that to
him if he loved him. But his father loved him. Always did. Did then. When he was lost, he
loved him. And he saw him. How did he see
him coming? He was looking for him. That
old man stood by that window many a day, and I'm sure many a night, wondering where that boy was, loving him. hoping he'd come
home. And he, one day, he saw. Boy, it wasn't the one that went
away. It was the one, but he was a mess. He was a mess. But that didn't change the Father's
love. The Father loved sinners. If he didn't love me before I
was born, he wouldn't have loved me after I was born. If he hadn't
loved me before I left home, he wouldn't have loved me when
I came back, the mess I came back. His father saw him and had compassion,
love for him, and ran! That old man ran! I don't know
how old he was, but I can't run much, but I'd run to meet a lost
son, wouldn't you? And the boy didn't fall on his
neck. He fell on the boy's neck. Now let me tell you something.
Salvations of the Lord. You read my article in the bulletin
today. Father kissed him. This is a picture of the Father,
our Lord God. Now wait, hold on just a minute.
Let me tell you the most important thing right here. Father kissed
him. And the Heavenly Father, the
holy, immutable, eternal Father, welcomes all whom Christ brings
home. All the lost sheep, lost coins,
lost sons. Remember now, this was His Son.
Even when He was lost, He was His Son. But He kissed Him. And the Father kisses us. And
you know how the Father can kiss us? Fallen prodigals as we are. Turn
to Psalm 85. How can a holy God, how can a
righteous, holy, just God kiss a sinner like you and me? I'll
tell you how. Because of another kiss. In Psalm 85, 10. Mercy and truth
are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. And on the cross of Calvary,
when Christ took our sins and took our place, took our guilt,
God's mercy and truth and righteousness and peace kissed, were reconciled. You don't kiss somebody unless
you love them. Not really, not honestly, not voluntarily, not
willingly. You kiss them because you love
them. Kiss Him because you're friends. Kiss Him because you're
reconciled. Kiss Him because there's nothing
between you. And the Father could kiss me because His righteousness
and His peace kissed at the cross. And I'll tell you this, all whom
He saves, they kiss the Son. That's what he said in Psalm
2. Kiss the Son! The Son! Not the prodigal. The Son of God. Kiss Him! And
that woman who bought the alabaster box, she was doing the right
thing. The heart thing. She kissed His
feet. That's where believers are found.
At the feet of the Lord. So the shepherd seeks the lost
sheep. The Holy Spirit takes the Word,
seeks the sheep, the lost coin. And when they are found, after
a diligent search, the Father welcomes them home. And with a righteous kiss, He takes them in. Salvation of
the Lord.