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JESUS STILL SEEKS OUT LOST SHEEP… AND THAT INCLUDES JEWISH PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA
SEEKING AND FINDING THE LOST SHEEP
In Luke 15:1-7 Jesus is challenged by the religious leaders about his practice of keeping company with sinners. His response is the parable of the lost sheep. Here Jesus is teaching us the high value God places on those who he wants to save – in this case, lost Jewish sinners.
Since October 7, antisemitism has surged globally. Jewish people have been marginalised at best. It is near impossible not to be affected by what we see on the news and what is happening in the Middle East. What would Jesus say to us about the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
Jesus tells us that the shepherd goes after the lost sheep until he finds it. Then he carries it home on his shoulders and rejoices with his friends.
In verse 7 Jesus says, “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”
JEWISH PEOPLE NEED JESUS NOW
Today the temptation is to be like the Pharisees and scribes in Luke 15 and wash our hands of Jewish people who have once again become despised.
Many Christians have now placed hard limits in their minds when thinking about Jewish people. Whether or not God has finished with Israel, they have. They are sick of the news and sick of the Jews. But has God forsaken the lost sheep of the house of Israel?
No. Jewish people and Jewish evangelism are being pushed to the side once again. And yet, as we see in Luke 15, Jesus continues to seek his lost sheep.
It is not easy to be Jewish now. In the diaspora, most hide and keep their heads down. What we see happening in Gaza and the marches in major western cities across the globe have only made it harder. And yet this pressure, unprecedented since the Holocaust, has only caused more Jewish people to ask spiritual questions, to seek God like the outcasts who hung out with Jesus in Luke 15:1.
Our response must be like that of Jesus:
We must seek out lost Jewish sheep while they cry out to God for help. Only the Good Shepherd can save his sheep.