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You are a tax-collector. You cheat, lie, covet and take what does not belong to you. You are a sinner. Like the Apostle, you don't do what you know the Lord wants you to do, while you keep on doing those things that you know you shouldn't be doing. You, my brothers and sisters, are the lame, blind, disabled and poor. You are, of yourselves, lost sheep.

You are a Pharisee and Scribe. Deep down, you do think you're better than others and that you do a pretty good job at being good. If you don't think you're a hypocrite, well then, you prove the case against yourselves. You are that lost sheep.

Pharisees and Publicans, and everyone else, SIN and are that lost black sheep. All the sheep that ever were, or will be, are found wandering lost and dying in the cold, wet, lonely wilderness. The only thing the sheep can take credit for is being dumb, stubborn, unable to fend for itself, and being lost. "Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand." That's the Word of the Good Shepherd calling for his pathetic lost lamb.

The fact that the creator of the universe is sovereign and omnipotent is beside the point. As creator of the cosmos He would have to be all-powerful. Power without mercy, authority without love, ownership without care is all pointless.

He's not just "ancient of days," and "potentate of time," He is shepherd. He is the "Good Shepherd" who gives His own life for the sheep. The shepherd must carry the weakened and traumatized sheep on His own shoulders. The shepherd must bear all the burden of the rescued sheep. Without shouldering the weight there is no restoration. Your shepherd is a Redeemer who buys back the sheep from death with His own death. He is a Savior who cleanses the sheep with His own blood, washing them, changing them, making them spotless and white in His Father's eyes, even as He is Pure and Holy.

Beyond even Lord, He is also Table Host. He doesn't just give you a "daily requirement" of food as if you were an animal, but He prepares a table for you of fine meats and choicest wine from the lees. He eats with you. It is a banquet. There is joy at the meal. There is great celebration heralding your return. It is a feast of joy. At His sheep-fold, His Kingdom, He provides all that the sheep needs in abundance. He gives lush green pastures and cool still waters. He gives family, acceptance, togetherness. He gives a place of comfort and security, where everyone is loved and taken care of. In this sacred pen there is Grace. You have love and forgiveness flowing from a never-ending cup of blessing. When you err, wander away, stumble and grumble... He gently leads you back. Sometimes he leads you back "not so gently" but He recovers you nonetheless. "Repent! For the Kingdom is at hand." There is great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. By His good pasturing, His good pastor-ing, you are kept close to His Table.

Each one of you, individually, are that one lost sheep in the parable. He knows you by name. You alone meant enough to Him to give up His precious body and to shed His divine blood to get you back to your home. But it isn't just you and you alone... you are a sheep in the Shepherd's flock. He wants a large flock, a big-family, a full dinner table. There are 99 other lost sheep still out there. They are no worse than you, no blacker or deader than you were before He found you. Jesus doesn't want anyone to stay lost. He desires His searching Word to find the lost. He wishes for His Word to change the blackened little Pharisee & Scribe goats into lost sheep that know they are lost. It's good to know one is lame, deaf and dying. "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." [5.32]