We're in the fourth session this morning of the parable of the lost sheep. This morning I want to continue our study of our Lord Jesus Christ who, if I am correct in my analysis of this parable, is speaking of himself as one who seeks and saves those who are lost. I think sometimes we forget just how strong a Redeemer we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. When he says, all power and all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, he means it. And if that's the case, that he does have all power and all authority in heaven and earth, and he is our Shepherd King, which he is, then he can save anybody around us. Again, I think that because we just don't see this taking place a lot in our, in among our family or relatives or friends or in our society in these days that, as I mentioned in the verse in the prayer meeting sheet, we're liable to faint and lose heart about the kingdom of Christ, about seeing people saved, And I just want to assure you this morning that this study is intended to bring us to a greater hope in that regard. Also, it should lead us to more prayer for our loved ones, friends, acquaintances, and people that we come into contact with, that the Lord might save them, and even through us, that they might see that we are not afraid to associate with sinners. It doesn't mean that we make them our best friends. It doesn't mean that we spend all our time with them. But it does mean that we're not afraid to receive them or associate with them so that we might be able to preach to them the gospel through our our life and by our witness of our words. Both are really necessary. A lot of it, in terms of the effectiveness of our witness, depends on our attitude towards sinners around us. I think we have to ask ourselves, do we really think about sinners around us? And then when we do, what do we do about it? When we come into contact with them, are we praying in our spirit that we might somehow minister to them? That's what the Lord Jesus was continually doing in his life and ministry. Let me read for you this parable once again in Luke 15, verses 1 to 7. Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him, to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them. So he spoke this parable to them, saying, what man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I found my sheep, which was lost. I say to you that likewise, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. So I want to draw your attention to the idea here that it's the Lord Jesus Christ who, as the good shepherd, seeks the sheep. He seeks the sheep. And when he finds them, it says here he knows how to minister to them. First of all, he seeks to deliver them from false shepherds. Now, he's delivering this parable to the scribes and Pharisees who were judging him at this time. They were judging him in the sense that he was associating with sinners, and he was receiving them, and he was eating with them. And it says that they complained about this. And so he spoke this parable saying to them, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? Well, if the Lord Jesus is the one who came to seek and save that which is lost, then there must be a very definite seeking that he does in terms of all of his elect people, all of God's elect people, all those God has chosen to save and give eternal life to. In other words, this is a very definite salvation that the Lord Jesus brings to those whom he seeks and finds, those who were lost. And this is what I want to try to show you here today. One of the first ways that the Lord Jesus does this is in terms of delivering people from false shepherds. And I want you to turn with me over to Ezekiel chapter 34. And I'm going to read you 12 verses here. The first 12 verses of Ezekiel 34. And the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God to the shepherds, woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool and you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost, but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. Yes, my flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth and no one was seeking or searching for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, says the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, And my flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did my shepherds search for my flock. but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed my flock. Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at their hand and I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more for I will deliver my flock from their mouths that they may no longer be food for them. And then these wonderful verses, Verses 11 and 12, for thus says the Lord God indeed, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered. on a cloudy and dark day. We could read the rest of the chapter as well, but we'll stop there for right now. And in the paper that I handed out to you, I've got some questions here that you can help me answer here. What were some of the real sinful problems of the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus' day according to this prophetic passage, I'm thinking of verses 2 to 8. What do we find here? What was the problem here about these shepherds in Israel? Definitely. Yeah, that's what's meant by they would feed themselves, but they wouldn't feed the sheep, nor serve them. They were very selfish people. They weren't feeding them good spiritual food. They weren't really seeking that sinners might be saved, that they might have true and saving faith in God's promise of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Then in verses 2 and 3 we see here, what? What was it that they were given to in terms of their shepherding? In terms of their overseeing the sheep? Well, they were very selfish people, weren't they? And they wanted to try to force and have control over the sheep, and so it says that they would dominate them in force and severity, force and cruelty, verse four. You can always tell a false shepherd, by the way, a false under-shepherd, supposed under-shepherd to Christ, if he's a man who wants to try to force people to see things his way and tries to control them. That is the worst possible characteristic in a shepherd and under-shepherd to Christ. If you see that, you know that you're in the wrong church. You know that that man, whoever he is, is serving himself and his own interests, not the interests of Christ. What do we see In verse 6, here in this passage, it says, My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth. No one was seeking or searching for them. So this is the very problem that Jesus was facing here with these scribes and Pharisees. Did those men ever seek for sinners that they might be saved? in the nation of Israel in Jesus' day. Instead, no, they didn't seek them. Instead, they're complaining about the Lord Jesus that He's associating with them. Once again, there's a great problem here. When we think about this, what would the Lord Jesus do about these shepherds? It says in verse 10, this whole passage is prophetic, by the way, It's prophetic about not only the times in the Old Testament where there were shepherds like this, but it was prophetic of the days of our Lord Jesus Christ's earthly ministry and this very situation that we are looking at here. What will the Lord Jesus do? It looked like the scribes and the Pharisees that they had control. of the Lord Jesus and this whole situation that we're looking at here in Luke 15. But what was really happening here in these confrontations between Jesus and the scribes and the Pharisees? What was really happening in terms of their being shepherds? What was he trying to say to them? What was he going to do with them? He says he's going to take the sheep from them. He's not going to let them continue to to shepherd over those flocks. That's exactly right, Jenny. It says he would deliver them, he would cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more. So he was doing that really during his whole entire earthly ministry, personally, up front, one-on-one with the shepherds of Israel. I don't know if you've ever thought about this much, But the Lord Jesus in His perfections was perfect in every interaction that He had with these false shepherds. He was absolutely perfect. In other words, when they blasphemed Him, and when they spoke against Him, which they did on many, many, many occasions, He did not sin once against them. And in the process of his interaction with them, he was actually delivering them. Do you see that? I'm talking about the sheep. Now, he was calling his sheep. He was preaching and teaching and feeding the sheep. And they were being called to him. They were being delivered from these false shepherds of the nation of Israel. And then, We find in verses 11, I didn't guess I read far enough, to 16. It says in 13, I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, bring them to their own land, feed them on the mountains of Israel and the valleys and all the inhabited places of the country, feed them in good pasture, and their food shall be in the high mountains of Israel. And there they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. And I will feed my flock, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek what was lost, bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken, and strengthen what was sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong and feed them with judgment." Now, we're talking about these very men who were able to see the Lord Jesus put to death on the cross. This is incredible, isn't it? But this is the way that the Lord Jesus dealt with them. This is the way that he conquered them in their falsehood, was by going to the cross so that the sheep would be most definitely delivered from them and saved spiritually. Those whom he would call to himself, he would seek and he would find them. It says here, that's what he would do for them. So that's my first point. That's what he did first of all. And he seeks for the sheep and he ministers to them. The first way that he ministers to them is delivering them from what is false. The second is watching over the flock. That's what I put it very simply. And I want you to turn with me over to Isaiah 40. I want to read for you verses 10 and 11 of Isaiah 40. It says, Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, and he will gather the lambs with his arm. and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young." Whoa, is that a wonderful set of verses here that I just read to you. So when we think about these verses that I just read to you, when it says, question four, when it says that his arm will rule for him and his reward is with him and his work is before him, what does he mean by those things? Can you tell me? What does he mean by that? His arm will rule for Him. What's that a picture of? Well, I believe that it means that He has the power and authority in God Himself, from God Himself, His Father, backed up by His Father and the Holy Spirit, to engage in the work of a divine shepherd king. That's what the Lord Jesus is. He's our prophet and our priest, but he's also our divine shepherd king. Yes. Amen. Yes, because he had that kind of authority, didn't he? The Lord Jesus has that kind of authority as well. What's really wonderful here is the way that this is worded. Having an arm which is ruling for him, and he has this strong hand. He has this great power and authority, backed up by the Father and the Holy Spirit. And His reward is what? His reward is with Him. What would you say that is? It may be hard for you to see this. I'll see if I can give it to you. If you can't see it. His reward is with Him. And His work is before Him. The two phrases are tied together. His reward is with Him. and His work is before Him. Yeah, I'll answer that in just a second. Yeah, His people. Yeah, I think what it's talking about here, His reward is the purchase of redemption, the purchase of His people, his elect sheep, his people who he will save by laboring. That's what his work is. His work is before him. He's going to labor for them. And that's what our Lord Jesus Christ did while he was here upon the earth, walking upon the earth. He was laboring. He was working. While there was day, there would come night when no man could work. time when he would have to go to the cross, but again, that ties in with this because that's the consummation of all of his labor. It's the consummation of all of his work, laboring for our salvation. So he would accomplish all of this finished work in two ways. Can you tell me? I haven't got this as a question, but can you tell me? Two ways that Jesus labored to purchase our redemption. That's right, in his death and as a shepherd. That's right. That the shepherd would have to lay down his life for the sheep. the shepherd would be crucified and the flock would be temporarily scattered at his crucifixion. So one of the ways that Jesus purchases redemption on our behalf is that he laid down his life for our sins. What is his active obedience? Amen. That's exactly what I was looking for. Perfectly fulfilled the law of God in our place. So the Lord Jesus, while He was here upon the earth, He's actively engaged in our salvation. And the way that He goes about it is He humbles Himself, like it says in the book of Philippians, chapter 2, to the point of death. Even the death of the cross. But the way that he goes about that, going to the cross, is becoming obedient to that point. Fulfilling all of God's holy law in every respect. And thus, going to the cross as a sinless and righteous sacrifice. So what an amazing, amazing wording this is here. When it says in that he will, in these verses that I just read to you from Isaiah 40, what does it mean when he says, question five, that he will feed, he will gather, he will carry his sheep in his bosom, gently leading those who are young? Can you tell me? What does that mean, those word pictures there of his shepherding work? He will feed? How does he do that? With His Word, that's right, Sarah. He will gather, how does He do that? By seeking sinners. Again, you look at the earthly ministry of Christ, and you see the multitudes were following Him. Now, obviously, they had so much to learn, and in John chapter 6, after He fed the 5,000, you see them, many of them turned away from him and followed him no more. It says at the end of six. But we have to ask ourselves this question, was that the end of Jesus's ministry to those people? Well, it was not, wasn't it? It was all part of it because they didn't understand. So when we are witnessing to people about their sinnership, a lot of times they don't understand. They don't understand what we're trying to say to them when we're actually seeking them on Jesus' behalf. They don't understand what kind of a sinner they are. They don't understand how deep their sin runs in them. They don't understand how they've broken God's law. They don't understand their own depth of unbelief, even in the Lord Jesus. They don't understand His power and authority. They don't understand His mission. which is to seek and to save that which is lost, like them. They think, well, if I can only just become a better person, turn over a new leaf, if I can just prove something to God that I'm really a religious person and I really do want to know God in the sense that I am willing to come to church, I am willing to learn. Sometimes people, they still don't understand, do they? Which is why we're seeing what's taking place in our own community here in relation to our own church taking place. And what do you and I need to do? Well, what we need to do is we need to first of all see that the Lord Jesus seeks and saves those who are lost. And He is sovereign in that. You and I can't do that, but what we can do is we can tell people about what sin is, why Jesus had to come into this fallen world of woe and sin, why he had to be perfectly obedient, why he had to suffer and die on the cross, why it is that we have to preach the gospel to people. You and I can do that. And we can think creatively of how we can do that when we pray. And we come into contact with all these dear people that we want to be a good witness to. Will you not remember these things that I'm telling you right now? That the Lord Jesus, it says here, will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm. Oh boy, this is good. Can you think of one of the apostles that Jesus spoke this way to in terms of his ministry after Jesus was raised from the dead? You remember the apostle Peter? What did he say to Peter when Peter denied him three times? What did he say in the first reply? He said to Peter, he said, Peter, do you love me? And Peter said, you know that I love you, Lord. And then Jesus said what to him? Do you remember? Yes, feed my lambs. The lambs are the little sheep, the young ones, the ones that really need to hear and to understand more of the truth of the word and the gospel. But Jesus is gentle with them. Do you see that? And he's very definitely this way. I'm talking about personally now. Jesus is this way, even though we can't see him. He is with us and in us. And he is seeking and he's going to save those whom he's going to call to himself. But how is he going to do it? He doesn't force them to it. He doesn't control them in it. He shows them how he works. He shows them that he is a good shepherd. that they can come to. What a great thing it is, isn't it? A great thing. So these questions are very pertinent, I think, to us, aren't they? What does it mean that he will carry them in his bosom? How does Jesus carry them in his bosom in our day? Can you tell me? Those young ones who are coming to Christ, those babes in Christ, they need to hear this, don't they? They need to hear that from us who are older, more mature in the faith. He carries them spiritually close to his heart, doesn't he? Yes, he does. And it says here that he What he's trying to say is that he desires to have intimate communion and fellowship with them and lead them gently on the path of righteousness. He gently leads all those who are with young. And you remember what he says, I'm gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle, he says. So he gently leads those who are young in the faith, young people or children who have faith in him, babes of whatever age. You could apply this also to mothers who are going to have children, leading them gently along. Also children who desire to come to know him and learn from him. He is careful to watch over all such. So all I'm trying to say to you here this morning is Jesus is the shepherd king of all of his people, but he's very tender in his care over them, watching over the flock. And next time we'll look at the fact that he brings a very definite salvation to perishing sinners, and we'll look at Isaiah 53 in our next study. Well, let's look to the Lord in prayer. Thank you, Father, for this study and pray that we will Each of us be those who understand your loving, tender care as a shepherd over us and that we would be able to help others to see that as well. We pray it in your dear name. Amen.