The one lost sheep



(Matthew 18: 12-14)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 it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
 

The story is that the shepherd puts ninety-nine on the mountain and seeks out one lost sheep. The mountain means Mount Zion with the city of Jerusalem, Israel, and the sheep of nine Ahonites are the Israelites. However, the one lost sheep is the gentile, the ones who do not know God. Jesus, the shepherd, is heading for the Gentiles. After Jesus 'ascension, Jesus' disciples go out to the Gentiles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Mark 4:12.『That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. 』 Jesus quotes the words of Isaiah, sighing for the Israelites' failure to see the Messiah.

The Old Testament Hebrews were slaves to Egypt. When they cried, they saw a miracle of the Red Sea splitting. In the wilderness, they ate manna from the sky for 40 years. But what was revealed in the wilderness was their disobedience and transgression. God was angry with them. The Lord gave them the Ten Commandments and the Law through Moses. God made the Israelites realize that they had left God. And through their descendants, Israel was established in the land of Canaan.

They were with the Lord in obedience in worship. The Lord overcame the enemy they could not win. They had worship and a priest who received the Word of God. Nevertheless, they have fallen. Worship never ceased and there was no word, but they fell. So God sent a prophet. The prophets exclaimed, "You must repent." Although they worshiped, they stoned and killed all the prophets God sent. This is the total fall of man in God's eyes. It means that even if you watch the Bible and worship in your entire life, you will stone the people of God. They do not listen to God. God kept sending the prophets to Israel until it was destroyed, and no one thought that their country would be destroyed.

This is God's declaration to all human beings through the Jews. In the eyes of God, human condition is like this. It is the same now. Church people say they believe in God. It is said to believe in Jesus. And they are reading the Bible hard. So they think they know God well. However, the Lord would say, "I don't know you." The Old Testament shock continues as it is now. The Lord says he sees and knows the fruit.

A tree without fruit means that even if the leaves are lush, they are cut and thrown into the fire. Everyone may think they are all saved because they believe in Jesus. All of this is evidence that "they believe without repentance." They believe without repentance. Their faith is the faith they believe because they cannot be united with the Lord. Prayer is rarely answered. This is the "spiritual condition of those who do not repent." "It would be their idea that they were saved if they only went to church". They think they are saved because they believe in Jesus. If you deny yourself and don't hang your cross, you're still a lost sheep.

 

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