12 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? 13 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. 14 Even so it is not the
will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should
perish. (Matt 18:11-14)
The Collect
St. Barnabas the
Apostle
|
O
|
LORD God Almighty, who didst endue
thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost; Leave us not,
we beseech thee,destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them
alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord loves to use sheep as
examples of His people. Sheep are totally trusting of their Shepherd, not
aggressive, do not kill, give their all to the Shepherd – not only their wool,
but their body as well. Sheep not only love their Shepherd, they desperately
NEED Him for their very survival. Lambs were sacramental animals
sacrificed in the Temple at Jerusalem. That sacrificial lamb prefigured that
Lamb of God "sacrificed from before the foundations of the world"
– Jesus Christ. We will revisit the first principle of this parable at a later
point in Luke 15 (the sheep, the silver coin, and the Prodigal Son.). But the
present emphasis is upon the sheep as a little child, precious in the sight of
God. This sheep represents one who is already a member of the Kingdom of
Heaven. In a day when little children are being abused and used in every wicked
and conceivable manner by evil men, we must know that God is sorely displeased
with our society. I do not believe that God will long withhold His Mighty Hand
of Judgment upon our Godless and adulterous generation. Parents no longer
train their children in responsibility and righteous behavior. They excuse
their permissiveness in the name of love which is not love, but a lack thereof.
No longer do they apply biblical principles of respect, purity, and obedience
to the raising of their children. We see the fruits of Dr. Spock's ridiculous
teachings being revealed today in our lawless society.
12 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? Christ, as the best of teachers,
approaches His students with a challenge of thought. If interest can be evoked
at the beginning of the lesson, the learning process will be facilitated.
"How think ye?"
"What do you think of that which I am about to tell you?" It is
very much worth listening to because it comes from the lips of the LORD. A man
who owns a hundred sheep is obviously in the business of sheep. The interest of
sheep is what dominates his thinking. Christ, too, is in the business of sheep.
We are the sheep of His pasture and our welfare and care is His constant
concern and obsession. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that
hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture. (Psalms 100:3) It is the nature of sheep to remain in the
pasture of the LORD. As Christians, do we remain within the boundaries of God's
will for our lives, or are we mavericks that constantly slip away at random
moments? Most of the true sheep of the Lord's flock remain under His careful watch,
but there are times when a younger lamb, oblivious to the dangers that lurk
beyond, wander into the hills and rocks seeking greener pastures. Had he been
mature in His Shepherd, he would have known that there are no greener pastures
than those to which His Shepherd has led him. The LORD is my shepherd; I
shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me
beside the still waters. (Psalms 23:1-2)
An interesting characteristic of
the Shepherd is that He loves every one of His Sheep and knows the name of
each. This puts to shame many modern under-shepherds who do not know the names
of each of their flock. "….the sheep
hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out"
(John 10:3) Love is indivisible. The love of one sheep among one hundred that
are loved does not mean that the love of one is reduced to one one-hundredth.
Christ loves us each alike and with an immeasurable love. A mother with ten
children would lay down her life for either one of them. She cannot say that
she loves one more than another. The man who has one hundred sheep values each
alike. If He gave them their names, he will also know their hearts. Jesus
relates this parable just after the following episode with His Apostles: 1 At
the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him
in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say
unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso
shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matt
18:1-6)
Christ will go to any length in
seeking His own. He knows who His own are even if they do not yet know. But if
one has been born to his flock, He cannot rest if that one wanders into places
of danger. He will leave the ninety and nine in good fettle and run to the
mountains and caves to find that one that has aimlessly and unintentionally
wandered away.
How does a young sheep behave when
it first realizes it is lost and separated from the security of the Shepherd?
It does that which every separated Christian should do – it begins to bleak
(pray) with all its might. When separated from the Shepherd, it is subjected to
the dangers of the wild. Satan, too, lurks among the rocks and caverns of the
lonely mountain. When we have known God, and through careless living get
separated from Him, we place ourselves in great danger of becoming the prey of
the Devil.
The Shepherd will search the
Wilderness until He finds His lamb. He carries the Shepherds staff – sharp on
one end for chastisement, and hooked on the other for pulling the sheep from
dangerous rocks and crevices.
13 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. There is no certainty that a sheep
that wanders away from the Shepherd will be found unhurt. But if the Shepherd
finds the sheep, what a joy is His. I love books. Sometimes, I miss a treasured
book that has been misplaced in my library. At that moment, I pass over the old
and priceless books in my library in search of the one that is lost. I cannot
rest until I find the one book. When I find it, I rejoice in the find and hold
it warmly in my hands with renewed gratitude. How much more does God cherish us
above books and sheep!
14 Even
so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these
little ones should perish. Everything that happens in this
life is not necessarily the will of the Father. It is not His will that any
little child perish. It is not His will that sin is committed daily. But the
love of God and His divine will is centered no more staunchly than upon the
little child. While their virtuous minds and hearts may still be molded to know
Him intimately, it is an unimaginable tragedy that they might be led astray by the
very persons into whose charge they have been placed. Can you barely consider
the indignation of the Lord at those who would mar little minds and hearts? God
never wills that any one of these little ones perish. Woe unto them by whom the
little ones are led astray.
The next time you see a four year old
child, ask him if he believes in God? I have yet to ask one who did not believe
in God. What happens between the age of four and fourteen to their hearts? Have
you done your all to defend them from the abuses of modern educators, public
media, and daily conversation? One day, we must all answer to the LORD! Are you
ready, friend?
"There is
an old fresco in Florence, Italy, by Simone Memmi, representing in one view the
church militant and the church triumphant. Long processions of wayfarers wind
across the lower part of the scene in ascending lines to the center of the
canvas, where stands a platform supporting the gate of heaven. As the grown men
and women step upon this threshold, they suddenly become of very small stature,
and are now `little children' whose is the kingdom of heaven. The guardian
genius of the upper world standing outside the heavenly portal `crowns' each
with a garland and hands him through the archway, where he is received by celestial
companions with angels and archangels, who cluster in still rising ranks and
fill the picture until serried legions at last surround the throne at the very
summit of the scene. The pictorial rendering of a physical change typical of
spiritual childlikeness, though quaint, is striking." Mrs. Merrill E.
Gates, (The Sunday School Times).
