The Depths of God’s Love
I was reminded of the well-known Christian hymn Amazing Grace, composed by John Newton in 1779.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
Newton, a slave trader, experienced a conversion to Christ during a storm off the coast of Ireland in 1748. Crying out to God for mercy, he discovered the depths of God’s love. Ultimately, he left slave trading to become an ordained Anglican minister.
Many of us can relate to the lyrics of this song, thankful for God’s grace and mercy bestowed upon us through Jesus.
Amazing grace, scandalous grace, that reaches down to rescue us!
I’m thankful that Jesus no longer sees my past but invites me daily to explore the depths of God’s love and grace—long after I said my initial “yes” to follow him.
Consider this: God’s relentless grace pursues us not only during our conversion experience but throughout our lives. Our experience of salvation through Jesus is not merely a “one-time” prayer for receiving God’s mercy and justification. Instead, He invites us to follow Him daily and experience His rescuing grace each day—especially during seasons when God seems distant or when we may “wander” from the Lord.
I want to explore the depths of God’s love in this article through the parable of the Lost Sheep.
Grace for Tax Collectors and Sinners
In Luke 15:1-7, we read:
1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 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. (NKJV)
Let’s discuss the context of this story. Among the audience are tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees, and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes raise a complaint, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
In Luke 15, Jesus responds with three parables that explain why He eats with sinners. While we will focus on the first story- the parable of the lost sheep- all three are interconnected.
These stories illustrate how God perceives and feels about each of us. They embody the “Depths of God’s Love” toward fallen humanity.
The stories also act as a rebuke to the religious elite who prioritize practice over presence, image over authenticity, and rules over relationships.
In the Gospels, tax collectors were often associated with sinners, the sexually immoral, and non-Jews—Gentiles. Tax collectors were despised by Jewish society and were primarily Gentile “tax farmers,” individuals who paid Roman authorities for the right to collect taxes, setting their own rates and extorting money from the people!
But notice that these people, scorned by the Pharisees and scribes, are approaching Jesus to “hear Him.”
You see, Jesus alone has the words of life! Society, both then and now, longs for the true Jesus because He welcomes people as they are! Jesus didn’t compromise His values but loved them, seeing past their sins and brokenness. The people knew where Jesus stood on spiritual matters, but they also recognized that he was safe and drew close to him.
The Pharisees and Scribes complain, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them…” The phrase “receives sinners ” comes from the Greek word “prosdechomai,” which means “to welcome into fellowship.”
Jesus was doing more than merely sitting down and talking with these societal outcasts; he was embracing them as friends!
In Romans 16:2 and Philippians 2:29, Paul uses the same Greek word, prosdechomai, to welcome someone as a sister or brother in the Lord.
Not only does Jesus welcome them as friends, but He also shares meals with them! For the Pharisees and scribes, the religious elite, this is unacceptable. Why?
First, in their eyes, Jesus, as a Jew, was now defiled by contact. He was ceremonially unclean. A sure sign of unhealthy religion is control. Religion that is’ law”-based rather than’ grace”-based seeks to keep the’ flock pure” by keeping the’ unclean” out! Not so with Jesus, though.
Secondly, in Middle Eastern culture, sharing a meal with someone signifies deep acceptance in a relationship. When the person is a Rabbi or teacher, enjoying a meal with such a guest bestows a “blessing” simply through their presence. The Pharisees and Scribes were infuriated that Jesus was essentially “blessing” them!
I have ministered in various parts of the world, and in many countries, especially in developing nations, you are received as an honored guest. Having you come into their home to share a meal is a true “blessing” to them; in fact, they are “receiving” the grace upon your life into their home.
By the way, the fight between Paul and Peter was about the issue of eating with the uncircumcised. Paul challenges Peter’s hypocrisy!
He shares his perspective in Gal. 2:11-12 NLT:
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.
You Are Responsible for the Lost Sheep!
The Pharisees held bi-vocational roles, working secular jobs alongside their teaching. For example, Jesus was a carpenter, and Paul was a tentmaker.
However, the Pharisees regarded shepherds as “common people” and shunned them. Jesus, on the other hand, does not view shepherding as an unclean profession. The Pharisees hired shepherds to tend their flocks; yet, they considered shepherding menial and beneath them.
The phrase “having 100 sheep” can refer to ownership, and having 100 sheep represented considerable wealth. The Pharisees would not have expected Jesus to imply that they were the ones looking for a lost sheep—that would have been someone else’s job.
This story likely references Psalm 23 and the Shepherd Psalms (Ps 22-24). Jesus is at the heart of this story; He is the great shepherd!
Jesus continues, “… if he loses one of them...” However, past Arabic translations would have rendered this statement in a passive voice, reading, “If one of them is lost…”
According to Middle Eastern NT scholar Kenneth Bailey, in Arabic or Spanish, “I dropped the dish” would be expressed as “the dish fell from my hand.” Instead of saying, “I lost my pen,” one would say, “the pen went from me.” It took over 1000 years for Arabic translators to overcome the idiomatic phrase, “If he loses one of them.”
Bailey’s study reveals that Jesus broke the common speech patterns of his time by placing responsibility on the shepherd, stating, “… if he loses one of them…” Why is this important?
Jesus, identifying himself as the great shepherd, says to the Pharisees, “You lost your sheep (they were the spiritual shepherds of Israel), but I went after it and brought it home, yet you have the nerve to complain and criticize me?”
The Apostle Paul triumphantly proclaims,
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Rom. 5:8 NLT)
God took the initiative toward us! Paul wrote later in this letter,
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom. 8:1-2 NKJV)
You are loved, accepted, and in right standing with God through Jesus Christ. You are not striving for His love, acceptance, and righteousness—it has been generously given; it is called grace! He sought out you and me, determined to reconcile us to Father God.
The Pharisees and scribes were not operating in God’s love. On the contrary—they were judging others for their sins while remaining unaware of their own imperfections (hypocrisy). Moreover, they weren’t sufficiently concerned about those on the margins to reach out to them. Church, we often do the same! But God has called us His ambassadors, His ministers of reconciliation, to a world that He is reconciling to Himself (See 2 Cor. 5).
Paul described the true essence of God’s love,
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8Love never fails. (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NLT)
Love is patient with imperfect people and kind toward them. Religious pride inhibits a person from practicing sincere love. Faultfinding indicates pride—keeping score of failures is not love; it is pride. Love releases the offender and operates in grace, not in the justice of the law. If you seek justice, you are not walking in God’s love and grace.
Live in grace and drop the rocks! Love and forgiveness are inseparable!
Jesus leaves the ninety-nine to pursue the one.
Is it wise to leave the flock? Yes! For the shepherd to go after just one gives the ninety-nine real security, as this act demonstrates that He will do it for each of us!
When the Shepherd pays a high price to find one, he offers the entire flock (His Church, His Body) the deepest security!
God’s love never fails; it never gives up on you. He pursues you with His love across the rocky terrain of your life. Your “mess” is no trouble for Jesus!
Jesus finds the lost sheep, places it on his shoulders, and rejoices! The shepherd returns to the community with the lost sheep and says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost!”
In ancient Israel, a large flock like this may have been collectively owned by the villagers. The loss of a single sheep is a concern for the entire community! When an individual is lost or strays from the faith, it should also be a concern for the Church.
The Pharisees, the scribes, and the Church today must see broken humanity through God’s heart of love.
If the “religious” cannot love as God loves, what hope exists for humanity? If the Church is quick to condemn humanity’s behavior, aren’t we pointing the finger of judgment at ourselves?
Jesus, present among us, desires His body to share meals and fellowship with those who live on the margins of life!
In this story, Jesus states, “There is no such thing as 99 who do not need repentance!”
The righteous who need no repentance do not exist. Consider Romans 3:23 (NKJV): “for all have sinned…” and Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NLT): “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.”
The sheep in this story clearly represents a repentant sinner. But how can this sheep signify repentance?
We often define repentance as “turning from ungodly thinking and behavior toward God and His way.” This is true, but repentance, as illustrated by Jesus in this story, also involves the “acceptance of being found.”
Jesus is searching for you, ready to bring you home. Accept His love and forgiveness—He rejoices over you! Repentance is not a work that earns rescue; rather, it is accepting being found by Jesus and experiencing the depths of His love and grace!
Prayer of surrender to Jesus:
Jesus, thank you for being the great shepherd. Thank you for sacrificing yourself so that I can be loved and accepted by the Father. I yield my heart to you once more. Forgive me for my sins and wayward ways. Fill me with your love and peace, and grant me the grace to share that with others as I follow you. Amen!
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
